The Roach Motel

[CaptSquid]

Couldn't find it at my local HD; called Anderson instead. Of course, I have a slightly different door arrangement on my Thomas. I'd also want to use piano hinge instead of regular hinges.

[jhashey]

Thanks Roachie! I read through this thread with our 2001 Ford 450 coming tomorrow. Now I'm both excited...and terrified...from all the fixes

For a new bus owner, which of your regular maintenance items would you suggest to start with?

[roach711]

I'd check for cracked tire sidewalls and have a good look at brake rotors and pads. Check for uneven tire wear that might signal some bad tie rod ends or ball joints.



Assuming yours has the 7.3L diesel, change out the fuel filter and clean the fuel strainers in the fuel tank. Air filters are flat easy to check and replace. The Powerstroke uses engine oil to fire the injectors so fresh oil is a plus. The trans fluid should be a nice red color. When you pull the air filter cowl to change the fuel filter that's a good time to change out the serpentine belt. If you replace the belt check the idler pulleys, they can fail and leave you stranded. Look for coolant leaking out of the water pump housing.



Look for oil or fuel in the engine valley. Both the high pressure oil pump and the turbo pedestal can leak oil and the fuel bowl can leak fuel into the valley. Engine valley leaks will drip down the back of the engine and appear to be a rear seal leak.



You can check the engine for piston ring blowby by removing the oil fill cap and feeling for pressure pulses there. Oil dripping from the exhaust pipe is a symptom of bad turbo seals.



Maybe have the oil and trans fluid lab tested. Blackstone Labs does a good job.



The starter should spin the engine pretty quickly, almost as fast as a car engine. Otherwise, just drive it and look for vibrations (universal joints, axle bearings or tire balance) and exhaust smoke. A little white smoke on startup isn't unheard of but a properly running Powerstroke should make little or no smoke.



That's about all I can think of offhand.



http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f34/th...sel-10607.html

[SirLewie]

trying to decide if I can keep adding the door DIY or should have it placed by someone else?? If you have replaced the door with a storm door on a shuttle bus I would love some advice! Also, wanting to know if you figured out a way to not have the hinges exposed? want to make the door as secure as possible. thanks!!

[roach711]

The door install on our Eldorado was very DIY friendly. The door opening was just the right width for the 36" Anderson door to fit but the opening height was 4 or 5" higher than the new door so I had to build up the bottom step a bit. I screwed the frame pieces right to the existing bus steel door frame.

The hinge strip is a full length hinge and pretty secure. Frankly, if I wanted to break into my bus I wouldn't mess with the hinges, I'd just smash the driver side door window and be inside within seconds.

[Juan Handed]

Great thread,great project and great job.
Thank you for explaining and documenting it all.I especially like the fact that you worked full time during the project and were stealing time here and there to make the progress you needed.Gives a true gauge on an honest time frame.


I only have another 7 or 8 pages before I get to the end of it...I just know,when I do, I will be sad and depressed. Any recommendations for that?

[roach711]

Originally Posted by Juan Handed

Great thread,great project and great job.
Thank you for explaining and documenting it all.I especially like the fact that you worked full time during the project and were stealing time here and there to make the progress you needed.Gives a true gauge on an honest time frame.


I only have another 7 or 8 pages before I get to the end of it...I just know,when I do, I will be sad and depressed. Any recommendations for that?

Thanx Juan.



I had originally figured on 6 months or so to do the conversion. As you saw, that was a bit optimistic.



The only cure for bus envy I know of is to just buy a bus and join the madhouse.

[vi_king2013@yahoo]

Did you also take out the honeycomb looking stuff that is under the panels?

[roach711]

Originally Posted by vi_king2013@yahoo

Did you also take out the honeycomb looking stuff that is under the panels?

The honeycomb is structural so removing it would probably be a bad idea. My insulation is glued directly over the inner fiberglass shell.

[Juan Handed]

Originally Posted by roach711

The honeycomb is structural so removing it would probably be a bad idea. My insulation is glued directly over the inner fiberglass shell.

Wait a minute,is that honeycomb separated between the two shells,or are the shells and honeycomb stuck together as one?

[vi_king2013@yahoo]

I'm not sure. I'll have to look again, Juan. I believe there is a space between the outer shell and the honeycomb. It's driving me crazy because I'm at a standstill over this. I thought there would be ribs going across the top too. But I guess not. That screws up my plan for a hammock. Lol

[vi_king2013@yahoo]

Thanks. How did u go about leaving the space to prevent condensation?

[roach711]

Here's a piece of the body wall. An inner and outer shell with the corrugation bonded in between. I haven't found any steel but there is some plywood running along the center line of the roof and along the chair rail. The roof would support a hammock but you'd probably have to put bolts through from the outside. To keep condensation from getting between the foam board and the body you can seal the gaps with aluminum HVAC tape and caulk the edges around the windows and floor.

[vi_king2013@yahoo]

Thank you so much. Sorry to keep pestering you. You're very helpful.uh

[Juan Handed]

Yeah that's pretty cool and I wonder how they do it? definitely plenty of strength there as long as everything stays in good shape and bonded together. In theory, Probably comparable strength to a solid shell of inch and a half metal or aluminum. In good shape I'm sure you could jump on that roof and it should feel pretty solid.


Somewhere in a search I did before I began posting, I was reading somewhere of someone who had a fiberglass shuttle, what was noting that it had a wicked moldy smell inside that was hard to track down. It seemed as if a hole was cut and a cardboard like corrugation was inside of it all. That would definitely become moldy as all hell. I would definitely like to avoid something like that, if possible.

[Juan Handed]

Originally Posted by vi_king2013@yahoo

I'm not sure. I'll have to look again, Juan. I believe there is a space between the outer shell and the honeycomb. It's driving me crazy because I'm at a standstill over this. I thought there would be ribs going across the top too. But I guess not. That screws up my plan for a hammock. Lol

Maybe just go with a Banana Hammock?

[roach711]

Ours actually had some water damage in one wall section. The water leak had delaminated some of the corrugation and I repaired it by cutting out the inner wall, stripping out the corrugation in the area, fiberglassing in some plywood then re-attaching the inner wall panel. There was no mold at all.

[Juan Handed]

Originally Posted by roach711

Ours actually had some water damage in one wall section. The water leak had delaminated some of the corrugation and I repaired it by cutting out the inner wall, stripping out the corrugation in the area, fiberglassing in some plywood then re-attaching the inner wall panel. There was no mold at all.

What evidence was there that it was damaged and delaminated? Was it sagging or loose inside?

[roach711]

Originally Posted by Juan Handed

What evidence was there that it was damaged and delaminated? Was it sagging or loose inside?

When I took out the inside body trim I noticed the inner body skin by the wheelchair door was loose. When I peeled it back a bit I could see the plywood reinforcement underneath was rotted so I cut away the inner skin until I found solid corrugation under the side windows then filled the gap with fiberglass resin coated plywood. The resin bonded the outer skin to the plywood. The repair starts at post #45.

[KalamariSafari]

Great read. Created an account to say thanks for sharing your build in detail. We came up with a very similar floorplan, and it's nice to see it in action.

How are the golf cart batteries holding up to your demands?