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Old 07-23-2017, 09:44 PM   #181
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Weeki Wachee, FL
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Year: 1997
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Rated Cap: 72
I rolled my personal datacenter up into a few cloud servers and converted my bad ass desktop pc into a bad ass laptop when we moved into the bus. I spent a LOT of time thinking about if it might be reasonable to keep "just one tower" running but I had to come to my senses. I'm able to work pretty well from this laptop but I'm fairly dependent on having internet connectivity.

Although I'll be surprised if this laptop lasts a year, it's fallen off of multiple places I didn't think it would fall of of already. I thought about building some "laptop slots" to put them in when we're driving but haven't gotten around to it yet.

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Old 07-24-2017, 07:14 AM   #182
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If you want to try cheap cameras, I would recommend android phones. They work with zoneminder (https://wiki.zoneminder.com/Android) and can be had for $20 or less at several stores. Just look for the pre-paid phones and don't bother activating the service plan. I've been playing with the PI B+ models in my research lately. All I can say is that they work, but if you do vision processing with them, they can only handle a few frames a second, so I would be a little concerned about how well one would handle muxing several video streams and storing. Something you might try instead is an older i386 box (something like an athlon xp). If the load demand isn't too high, they will run just fine headless with no fan (just use a good heat sink). I did this for a while to run an extra server for zoneminder. Just my 2 cents worth, but I can tell you it does work without consuming too much power. I don't have hard numbers unfortunately as I was working on this before the PI's came out, and kilo-watt meters weren't a think yet.
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:26 AM   #183
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
ZM works good on those lower power atom boxes.. Ive run it on a mini ITX based system that was designed for lower power consumotion.. I cant remember ny wattage now but it was well less than 50.. trick is loading an optimized OS on it with a minimal install.. no GUI or such just the apache required for ZM to work..

im not sure how much the pre-packaged systems that sell on amazon or micro-center pull for power.. personally all my cams at home are wired so i have the overhead of a POE switch running to power them.

-Christopher
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Old 08-04-2017, 08:41 PM   #184
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Weeki Wachee, FL
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Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Rated Cap: 72
We're still sitting pretty in the california mountainside. At least until this weekend! For all my Florida friends, it's been 73 degrees and almost no humidity. We went out sailing last weekend and did a lap around Alcatraz, it was cold in the wind! We were pushing 30 knots of wind and running nearly 9 knots through the water with the sail reefed...

I'm told that the next place we go is particularly unfriendly to overnight parking. The story I hear is that the cost of housing has gone so high people started buying RVs and parking in neighborhoods to save money.. And that I'm likely to get a big fat ticket! That's not very nice! So I'm going to consult a map for some options that I can make it to at night. I don't like driving at night but my LED headlights make it at least tolerable.

Accidentally left our freezer running the other day and came back to a bunch of frozen bottles. Since we're on a liquid diet we don't have any food to ruin if we don't perfectly maintain temperature....

I have a few things lined up I want to do with the bus, but we're in rich people land and not somewhere I can just bust out tools and start building things. I might not be able to build anything for a while.

Anyway that's my update. I've done nothing with the bus besides living in it since we got here.
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Old 08-13-2017, 07:11 PM   #185
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Location: Weeki Wachee, FL
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We are in Tahoe, it's so nice here! So many places to fish, so little time.

A word of advice, don't try to go to fallen leaf lake in a bus, anything bigger than ours won't make it. I was white knuckling it for about 4 miles.

Getting ready to filet yesterday's caught, several salmon and trout. Taking advantage of use of a house up here while we can.

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Old 08-13-2017, 07:25 PM   #186
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wow look at those Views!!!!!!!!!!!!! awesome!!!!!
-Christopher
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Old 08-13-2017, 07:29 PM   #187
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Perfect, palm size, for eating. White wine is a must. Beautiful vistss, too.
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Old 08-13-2017, 09:51 PM   #188
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We didn't keep any of the bluegill but we are about to eat the salmon and trout we got yesterday!

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Old 08-14-2017, 08:12 AM   #189
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Year: 1946
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Many thanks for sharing! Just added Tahoe to my Bucket List.

BTW...I LOVE salmon!
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Old 08-21-2017, 12:15 PM   #190
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Thomas vista

Wondering how you guys like the bus? We are looking at one that has the same setup but came as a library bus so it already is insulated and has shore power with a generator? Just wondering we want to use it as an RV alternative not really full time living. I like the length and the motor though so thought I would ask if there is anything specific about these Thomas Vistas?

Thanks Tyler
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Old 08-21-2017, 08:09 PM   #191
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tstege View Post
Wondering how you guys like the bus? We are looking at one that has the same setup but came as a library bus so it already is insulated and has shore power with a generator? Just wondering we want to use it as an RV alternative not really full time living. I like the length and the motor though so thought I would ask if there is anything specific about these Thomas Vistas?

Thanks Tyler
We love it. Could be bigger, could be faster, but it's a bus and we are living the dream right now!


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Old 08-21-2017, 08:19 PM   #192
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Updates!

So we ended up in Oregon a few days ahead of schedule. Originally we were planning to arrive Sunday, but the lack of anything between Tahoe and Redmond, plus the implied that of have eclipse traffic, we do just kept driving and got here on Thursday.

Today we enjoyed the eclipse, we were fully blacked out and marveling at the corona. Pretty amazing stuff!

Otherwise, with the bus... I finally installed my go down utility steps. Now I can get on the roof from the outside! Hillary lost one of them so my set of four turned into a set of three, but I'm sprightly enough to get in the roof with three steps. I started out thinking u would use sheet metal screws to attach then but changed my mind. Ended up drilling through to the inside and running bolts with a washer and nut on the end. These are the steps I got, they appear very well made and super strong! http://amzn.to/2fWjTti

Photos!


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Old 08-21-2017, 08:26 PM   #193
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Nice steps. Was looking for those so I can step into my service door instead of climb in.
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Old 08-21-2017, 10:04 PM   #194
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Funny but my 1946 Chevy shorty came with one of the exact same steps. I plan on adding a couple more. And you are correct...they are really well made! Good news is, the "new" ones appear to be identical.
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Old 08-22-2017, 07:17 AM   #195
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Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
love the steps... my bus has one on each side to get up to the windshield. they come in real handy.. I leave them down all the time.. i know im going to use them..

-Christopher
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Old 08-23-2017, 12:47 PM   #196
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Rated Cap: 72
Saw a 6 window version of my bus today!

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Old 08-23-2017, 02:12 PM   #197
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I see one every once in a while.. they arent real common though!
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Old 08-23-2017, 02:59 PM   #198
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I like that idea for a way up to the roof! I am ordering a set!
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Old 08-23-2017, 07:33 PM   #199
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Brokedown, seeing that 6 window, had me wondering how much of a difference that 1 window would make, compared to your 5 window. How many feet between the back of your drivers seat, and the back door? I wonder if the extra weight, and fewer mpg be worth it?
Really enjoying your updates. Keep em coming.
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Old 08-23-2017, 07:36 PM   #200
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Location: Eustis FLORIDA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1olfart View Post
Brokedown, seeing that 6 window, had me wondering how much of a difference that 1 window would make, compared to your 5 window. How many feet between the back of your drivers seat, and the back door? I wonder if the extra weight, and fewer mpg be worth it?
Really enjoying your updates. Keep em coming.
I doubt 1 window is gonna make a hill of beans in MPG.
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