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Old 05-29-2019, 09:06 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Hi Sharee,that sounds pretty cool.I kind of think that the windows in the shuttles are a bit large for a home on wheels configuration,interested to see what a shuttle looks like with the windows closed in a bit,and maybe a few entirely eliminated.Good luck with your project!

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Old 05-30-2019, 06:04 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by Juan Handed View Post
Hi Sharee,that sounds pretty cool.I kind of think that the windows in the shuttles are a bit large for a home on wheels configuration,interested to see what a shuttle looks like with the windows closed in a bit,and maybe a few entirely eliminated.Good luck with your project!
Check out Robert Brandon shuttle bus on youtube for shuttle with windows covered.
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Old 05-30-2019, 10:24 AM   #23
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Yes, I know of him. He is the reason I bought my bus. I saw his video of a bathroom that fold down into a seat.
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Old 05-30-2019, 12:03 PM   #24
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Thanks,I will check that out.Fold down bathroom? Epic.
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Old 05-30-2019, 12:32 PM   #25
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And here I thought I was sooooo clever, building in the toilet beneath a hinged lid at the foot of my bed!
I reckon just because somebody else did it first, validates my inspiration...
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Old 05-30-2019, 12:49 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by haz.matt.1960 View Post
And here I thought I was sooooo clever, building in the toilet beneath a hinged lid at the foot of my bed!
I reckon just because somebody else did it first, validates my inspiration...

once upon a time, many years ago, I got the idea of putting a motor driven track on a bicycle ( snowmobiles were just becoming popular, there was no such thing as a snow bike back then ) - a ski on front, with suspension, angles, and movement figured out quite carefully - took the drawing to a friend of mine in town that had a shop equipped to make the 'Snow Bike' - 'let's build it' he said after looking at the drawings - 'we can get on it right after I get back from holidays' - 4 weeks went by with me on pins and needles, anxious to get busy on the new invention - he phoned me when he came back, "drop over tomorrow, I want to talk to you' - when I arrived at his shop, he flopped a new issue of Mechanics Illustrated on the counter - there on the front cover was a drawing of 'My Bike!' - the magazine hadn't been distributed until after I had made my drawing, but someone in Sweden or Norway had come up with the same idea and design as mine - his design made the cover of an international magazine and mine landed in the waste basket, so yeah, first come gets the credit - lol
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Old 05-30-2019, 02:56 PM   #27
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THAT was taking the long way 'round the mulberry bush to get to the point. I like it!!
Timing is everything. Hate to say it, but kinda sux to be you. [emoji6]
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once upon a time, many years ago, I got the idea of putting a motor driven track on a bicycle ( snowmobiles were just becoming popular, there was no such thing as a snow bike back then ) - a ski on front, with suspension, angles, and movement figured out quite carefully - took the drawing to a friend of mine in town that had a shop equipped to make the 'Snow Bike' - 'let's build it' he said after looking at the drawings - 'we can get on it right after I get back from holidays' - 4 weeks went by with me on pins and needles, anxious to get busy on the new invention - he phoned me when he came back, "drop over tomorrow, I want to talk to you' - when I arrived at his shop, he flopped a new issue of Mechanics Illustrated on the counter - there on the front cover was a drawing of 'My Bike!' - the magazine hadn't been distributed until after I had made my drawing, but someone in Sweden or Norway had come up with the same idea and design as mine - his design made the cover of an international magazine and mine landed in the waste basket, so yeah, first come gets the credit - lol
Not nearly so elaborate, but bike related:
When I was 9, maybe 10, I came into a box of 1/2" bolts, with nuts & double washers. (To his dying day, my Dad never did figure out how he misplaced those fasteners...)
I poked holes into my bikes' tires (after dismounting 'em from their rims), ran the bolts thru, head inside, with a warpy washer on either side of the rubber, tweaked the nuts down, and assiduously cut tube patches to adhere to the bolt heads, so's not to puncture the inner tubes.
Those bolts bit like nobody's bidness, and was awesome for blasting across frozen ponds.
Discovered early on, however, that attempting a smuggler's turn would catapult me along my original vector...
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Old 05-30-2019, 04:11 PM   #28
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Originally Posted by haz.matt.1960 View Post
THAT was taking the long way 'round the mulberry bush to get to the point. I like it!!
Timing is everything. Hate to say it, but kinda sux to be you. [emoji6]Not nearly so elaborate, but bike related:
When I was 9, maybe 10, I came into a box of 1/2" bolts, with nuts & double washers. (To his dying day, my Dad never did figure out how he misplaced those fasteners...)
I poked holes into my bikes' tires (after dismounting 'em from their rims), ran the bolts thru, head inside, with a warpy washer on either side of the rubber, tweaked the nuts down, and assiduously cut tube patches to adhere to the bolt heads, so's not to puncture the inner tubes.
Those bolts bit like nobody's bidness, and was awesome for blasting across frozen ponds.
Discovered early on, however, that attempting a smuggler's turn would catapult me along my original vector...


so that's where your fortune came from, you invented studded tires
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Old 05-30-2019, 04:18 PM   #29
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Shall we compare whose brilliant innovation netted anything remotely fortune-like..?
I'm definitely dropping deuces in the high cotton.
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Old 05-31-2019, 06:06 AM   #30
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I used a clothes pin to clamp the Ace of Spades to my bicycle fork once.
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Old 05-31-2019, 06:22 AM   #31
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The Death Card, nice!
As close to a rapping-out engine sound any boy can get to, before scoring a learner's permit!
(BTW, apologies for the hijack...
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Old 06-01-2019, 07:50 AM   #32
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How is it to gut a bus like this. Did you remove the old flooring and strip it down or add on top?
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Old 06-01-2019, 09:29 AM   #33
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My shuttle already had most of the seats taken out. The prior owner had converted the shuttle, but everything was rotted. So I still had to gut it. I removed the flooring down to the bottom layer of plywood. There is no metal flooring, just the metal frame. Then I added another layer of plywood, 2 x 4's and 1 1/2 inch solid insulation, and another layer of plywood for the subfloor. Then I laid vinyl sheet flooring. Removing the stove was difficult just because it was heavy and I had to do that part by myself. The metal strips in the floor and walls (to anchor the seating) had not been removed. Those bolts were a challenge, too. Sometimes I had to ask for help. Most of the removal and flooring reinstall was just tedious making all the cuts and predrilling and putting in screws.
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Old 06-01-2019, 09:36 AM   #34
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School buses like a Collins has plywood on top of a metal subfloor. Commercial buses like an ElDorado just has a plywood floor on top of the frame and outriggers.



If you pull up the plywood on a school bus you can add a layer of insulation and put plywood back down.



If you pull up the plywood on a commercial bus you will be staring at the ground.



As far as raising the roof, on a school bus the ribs are a continuous piece that go from the floor, up and over the roof, and back down to the floor. If you cut the ribs and skins anywhere you can lift everything up, add a section, and then weld it all back together. It is a doable job especially if you know or know someone who can weld.


On a commercial bus it isn't as straight forward. The sides of the body usually use some sort of composite sandwich with a steel framework inside. The roof is mated to the sides of the body. In other words the bus body is five basic pieces--the rear wall, the two side walls, the roof, and the front cap. If you were able to separate the roof from the sides, front cap, and rear you could then add a section between the roof and the rest of the bus. But then you would have to fabricate a new front cap and fabricate a new section of wall.


I personally don't think raising the roof on commercial bus is worth the time and effort when a school bus is so much easier and straight forward.
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Old 06-01-2019, 01:48 PM   #35
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Good info Cowlitz. The impression I get is that school buses in general are put together much the same way. However shuttles and coaches are very individual as per the manufacturer. And I would also have to believe they change their methods in different years of construction. However it appears that the school bus really doesn't change much over the years.
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Old 06-01-2019, 01:55 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach View Post

On a commercial bus it isn't as straight forward. The sides of the body usually use some sort of composite sandwich with a steel framework inside. The roof is mated to the sides of the body. In other words the bus body is five basic pieces--the rear wall, the two side walls, the roof, and the front cap. If you were able to separate the roof from the sides, front cap, and rear you could then add a section between the roof and the rest of the bus. But then you would have to fabricate a new front cap and fabricate a new section of wall.


I think you have nailed it, as far as describing the job I Envision doing for a shuttle bus for my own use. It may not seem as straightforward as some of the school bus raises I have seen, but in reality I don't think it is any more complicated. It also opens up a lot of design opportunities that others may not be able to accomplish.
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Old 06-01-2019, 02:03 PM   #37
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Not remotely relevant to my Thomas Shorty:

Quote:
Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach View Post
...If you pull up the plywood on a commercial bus you will be staring at the ground.

On a commercial bus it isn't as straight forward. The sides of the body usually use some sort of composite sandwich with a steel framework inside. The roof is mated to the sides of the body. In other words the bus body is five basic pieces--the rear wall, the two side walls, the roof, and the front cap...
But that is so cool!
Thanx for the explanation! 🤙
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Old 08-23-2020, 04:05 AM   #38
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I would love to know how this roof raise went? I’m really wanting to take the FG off of the walls, but want to make sure the bus is still supported as well. Got a carpenter ant situation in the FG and just want to get rid of it and raise the roof as well, but also wanting to make sure it is still structurally supported. Any advice on this would be wonderful 🙂
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