Sweet As - The 2006 Chevy Collins Makeover

[Epomethius]

Well there is more work to fitting a 14x8x48 inch tank than I thought. Glad I’m having someone else do this from the start.

The spare tire.... wouldn’t do it again. The cost, another thing to maintain, sits lower than I’d figured.

[Epomethius]

Moving along on the propane locker. Yes! That particle board is leftover from a speaker build. Rain is prophesied for the remainder of the week.

[Frochevy]

Looking good! I'm working on a propane locker as well. I decided to build mine from steel and will be accessed from outside and will hold two grill sized bottles. I ordered my door, holder rack and dual regulator setup. Ugh... It hasn't been easy so far...

[Epomethius]

That sounds awesome. Two tanks.... what is the expected usage? Cold weather? I have close to a dozen 1 pounders that'll go in the box. I expect them to last me/us years actually.

[Frochevy]

Originally Posted by Epomethius

That sounds awesome. Two tanks.... what is the expected usage? Cold weather? I have close to a dozen 1 pounders that'll go in the box. I expect them to last me/us years actually.

I will use propane for the heater (from an RV) for deer hunting trips in the future. My fridge I bought will also run on propane. The water heater I plan to purchase will be propane powered. And I now have a 36" griddle that will be traveling with us on camping trips and tailgating. So I'll be using it as well as grilling on occasions from those bottles. I'm also now leaning towards a generator that runs on propane to eliminate carrying any gas cans since my bus is diesel.

[dazdconfsd]

Originally Posted by samaustralia

Mate is there any chance you could give me the true internal dimensions of the 5 window. It's the chassis I'd like to use ?

I'm planning this build from Australia and this information is hard to come by on the internet and I feel like I'm chasing my tail.

the ones I'm particularly after are:

Internal height at the window
Internal length from drivers seat to rear
internal radius of curvature of roof (if possible)

Presuming mine with no lift is the same, ~28" to the bottom of the windows and a little over 13' behind the drivers seat.

[Epomethius]

Goodness I apologize for missing the posts.

samaustralia, what dimensions are you asking about? Windows themselves, floor, height, etc? What manufacturer(s) and year(s) are you looking into? This one is a 2006 by Collins.

outnabowt, we are indeed quite close! I am ok for now. What are you thinking?

Propane locker is built, today is for adding the plumbing pieces and then done. Hopefully! Also did a bunch of crimping and connecting. Hooray the pump turns on by the new switches.

The spare tire really sits low. Like waste of money low: it rubbed going into my flat driveway on the gutter dip. There is a place inside I was counting on for something else where it could go I guess. This is now feeling like throwing good money after something bad. Maybe I'll forget the tire. Fuk.

[Epomethius]

Ok, reading comprehension testing exceptionally low.

Window: 27 3/4
Ceiling 70 at sides to 76 in the middle
Length is about 13 feet

[Epomethius]

Frochevy, sounds like epic plans!!

[Frochevy]

Originally Posted by Epomethius

Frochevy, sounds like epic plans!!

Big plans!! Big hopes! Just got to make them reality!! Lol

[Epomethius]

Definitely bringing the spare tire inside. I have some things I can strap underneath which works out fine. Basically. If ignoring the cost.

In the middle of making the drawers, put in most of the 10lb rv latches, put together the propane piping using the yellow tape save where it'll go through the box and one piece that is in the mail, and actually found a counter top on the side of the road that I'll use.

[CaseyProut]

Hey Epom,

I just picked up a 2006 Chevy Collins diesel short bus as well. I’m pretty darn sure from the photos that we have he same bus! I’d love to chat and swap stories and such! I noticed you talked a bit about taking up the floor but didn’t seem to state if you finished taking it all up. I just pulled all my seats out and at about the stage of pulling the floor. I’d love to hear about your experiences. My father thinks I’ll never be able to get as strong a subfloor as what’s already in there. But I still worry about all the crap that could be under the floor. My bus was purchased and used only here in Southern California so I know at least the body is pretty safe from rust. But lord knows what kids spilt onto the floor.
Also if your on if hit me up I’m @abuscalledhome !

[Epomethius]

Hello Casey. The floor..... definitely the internet suggests it is the right thing to do. Especially if the bus is likely rusty. My bus of course has rust though the structural stuff is solid; really the rust is mostly on the sheet metal under the plywood itself and is still strong despite the lovely color.

I didn’t because I didn’t have time and am glad I didn’t spend the time/money/etc. because the folks who’ve actually prodded and are paid to remediate it don’t think anything more than rustoleum and paint are needed and that only if I’m in salted road territory.

What are you concerned is underneath the floor? Have you crawled around to look at the underside? Poked kinda hard with a screwdriver and banged with something to get an idea of the integrity?

[CaseyProut]

Hello Ep,

I’ve got a Southern California bus who as far as I can tell never left so cal since it was delivered new. So I’ve got no rust on the under carriage at all. My worry is any window leaks though all my windows currently are perfect. And also all the **** kids and staff members do on the floor over the years. Things like kids spilling, hosing off the floors to clean and things like that.

So your saying you left the floor in during your build. Did you put a top piece of flooring above the rubber that comes standard with the bus? If so did it end up working well for you? Does the floor smell?

Also how hard was taking the side wall sections below the window? Did you have any structural problems when those panels were off? Did you find that worth the work after insulation? I’ve been debating on just insulating on top of the current interior wall instead of taking those panels out and going to the inside edge of the outer wall.

[Ravendancer]

Great reads. Thanks for all the great info and idea sharing. Currently trying to get the Bus started. Any recommendations on batteries. Will start by replacing them as I am sure they froze at one point.

Got caught short with weather and didn’t have a trickle charger, then used a 10 amp smart charger and am realizing that may not have been a great idea...

Butternut cabinets getting sanded and polyurethaned when it warms up some more. Cubic mini stove heating up nice with no insulation installed yet!

Chasing the dream with ya all.

[Epomethius]

Casey,

Re: potential window leaks. I did take off the metal, yeah there was some evidence of rust. Still, I chose to play the Game of Hope and blazed forward recovering with plywood. So far so good.

Taking the side panels was simply a lot of unscrewing. I had a dream of covering the insides with a dynamat copycat; I considered the time to benefit and chose to leave on time. This time, week after week I hear myself saying “One more week”.

I hear you about the floor. Truth is it is a shoes on floor in the front and none in the back. Meaning I didn’t change the floor at all except to put a small rug in the back. Actually it was an extra towel at first lol.

[Epomethius]

Ravendancer,

Thank you for checking in.

Truth is the bus came with a second battery for the lift, charged by the alternator. It’s been fine. Next time I’ll get a solar panel to charge it perhaps for those late start days when it’s hot: sometimes the fridge doesn’t make it till the morning before it auto shuts off due to lowish battery. Still, not a big deal to either of us and we ended up turning it off and covering when it was hot like that with no problems.

[dazdconfsd]

Originally Posted by Epomethius

Ravendancer,

Thank you for checking in.

Truth is the bus came with a second battery for the lift, charged by the alternator. It’s been fine. Next time I’ll get a solar panel to charge it perhaps for those late start days when it’s hot: sometimes the fridge doesn’t make it till the morning before it auto shuts off due to lowish battery. Still, not a big deal to either of us and we ended up turning it off and covering when it was hot like that with no problems.

I suspect the 2nd battery is standard. Mine without the lift has two batteries also.

[dazdconfsd]

Originally Posted by CaseyProut

Hello Ep,

I’ve got a Southern California bus who as far as I can tell never left so cal since it was delivered new. So I’ve got no rust on the under carriage at all. My worry is any window leaks though all my windows currently are perfect. And also all the **** kids and staff members do on the floor over the years. Things like kids spilling, hosing off the floors to clean and things like that.

So your saying you left the floor in during your build. Did you put a top piece of flooring above the rubber that comes standard with the bus? If so did it end up working well for you? Does the floor smell?

Also how hard was taking the side wall sections below the window? Did you have any structural problems when those panels were off? Did you find that worth the work after insulation? I’ve been debating on just insulating on top of the current interior wall instead of taking those panels out and going to the inside edge of the outer wall.

I have 277082x from the same place. Be sure to check the roof for issues (I had a couple quick ones to fix). Also you'll probably have a small leak where the arm supporting the right mirror attaches to the cab roof.

[Epomethius]

As much as things are getting done man is this taking time.

All the drawers are great, and the faces for two totally came from the re-purposed drawer. I painted the things which'll get water and finished the wood part of the tank protection. Then some aluminum will be attached too. The top mount sink is mounted and shims cut to allow the old redwood fencing to be flush with the high point when I make the counter and turn that sink into an undermount. Most of the pex is in though enough small stuff remains that I may be at 50%.

Regarding heat on long climbs, I was advised to get the RPMs up, which makes sense given that is one of the things tow/haul apparently does. A friend with a cummins engine says he thought stay at max torque, which for him is 1700. That's not very high!