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Old 04-05-2016, 07:51 AM   #1
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securing your bus?

for those that have original school bus doors.. (main, wheelchair and rear).. how are you securing them?

the front main door is easy as it latches and is a bit tougher to be opened..

however the wheel chair door and the rear exit door are the ones im interested in... my bus is too old to have an electronic interlock.. I still want it to be able to be easily opened from inside if an emergency occurs..

but i want to be able to lock it from the outside when I leave my bus parked..

I realize a bus is never fully secure.. however id like to at least prevent the local kids from playing in it or the homeless guy from sleeping in it when its parked overnight outside..

the wheelchair door I may just bolt shut since im removing the lift??

-Christopher

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Old 04-05-2016, 08:57 AM   #2
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Just get some door locks.
I keep mine on private property in "gun country" and don't have to worry about anyone messing with it.
The most important thing seems to be making sure kids don't break out the windows.

Got any pics of your bus?
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Old 04-05-2016, 09:05 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
Just get some door locks.
I keep mine on private property in "gun country" and don't have to worry about anyone messing with it.
The most important thing seems to be making sure kids don't break out the windows.

Got any pics of your bus?
what type door locks? like house door locks and drill a hole in the frame for a deadbolt to go? or offset a deadbolt such that it can cross the door onto the inside of the frame?

I have some before pics.. its getting painted as we speak.. how do i post pics here without having to host them? or can I just put links to externally hosted pics and thats it?
-Christopher
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Old 04-05-2016, 09:28 AM   #4
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or can I just put links to externally hosted pics and thats it?
-Christopher
That's usually the easiest way to get pics up here
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Old 04-05-2016, 09:36 AM   #5
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I put a barrel bolt on the inside of the lift door, and used hasps with padlocks for the front and back doors. I keep the padlocks locked on the door when not in use to prevent us from some jokester locking us in our own bus...
I can post pics if you'd like...

John
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Old 04-05-2016, 10:59 AM   #6
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Here is what I plan to do with my back door. Can't recall at the moment whose bus build I borrowed these pics from, sorry. This is just a common deadbolt lock you can get at any hardware store.



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Old 04-05-2016, 11:12 AM   #7
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Here is what I plan to do with my back door. Can't recall at the moment whose bus build I borrowed these pics from, sorry. This is just a common deadbolt lock you can get at any hardware store.



That is an awesome idea, totally borrowing this!
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Old 04-05-2016, 11:22 AM   #8
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That's pretty clever.

It's easy to lock the emergency doors from the inside, but there is always that chance of some early rising neighbor kids latching the hasp with a little stick. Being able to access the rear and side doors from the outside by key would be a convenience at times.
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Old 04-05-2016, 11:29 AM   #9
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That's pretty clever.

It's easy to lock the emergency doors from the inside, but there is always that chance of some early rising neighbor kids latching the hasp with a little stick. Being able to access the rear and side doors from the outside by key would be a convenience at times.
could you cut a portion of that lever off on the outside or even replace it entirely with a knob or something?
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Old 04-05-2016, 11:53 AM   #10
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On my back emergency door the long inside handle has a guard bar that goes around it. I just put a ziptie on it and tie the handle to the bar. It slides off when I need to open it.

I'm still struggling to figure out how to lock the front door that folds in.
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Old 04-05-2016, 12:22 PM   #11
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this deadbolt idea is exactly perfect for what I need.. standard Inside deadbolt..

still allows me to unlock the door from the inside if I needed to exit quickly.. (no different than a house)..

and will allow me to fully latch my main entrance door..

perfect! thanks for the tip!
-Christopher
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Old 04-05-2016, 12:29 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by karrlot View Post
On my back emergency door the long inside handle has a guard bar that goes around it. I just put a ziptie on it and tie the handle to the bar. It slides off when I need to open it.

I'm still struggling to figure out how to lock the front door that folds in.
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Old 04-05-2016, 01:00 PM   #13
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on mine when the main door is closed theres a handle latch that has to have a button depressed on the handle before it can open.. I figure thats as secure as im going to get.. sure someone can hack the driver window latch open and use a broom handle to open the door but otherwise it seems pretty secure..

-Christopher
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Old 04-05-2016, 01:15 PM   #14
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The original point was how to unlock one or both of the rear doors from the outside, hence the deadbolt configuration with keyed entry from the outside. I had not figured out how to do that yet.

On the other hand I like the way the rear doors lock from the inside. You can bend the tip 2" of those long handles 90* and they will catch on the guard preventing opening from the outside. You open it from the inside by pushing the handle toward the door before raising the handle. No lock required, but you've still got to go through the bus to open the door.
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Old 04-05-2016, 01:22 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
The original point was how to unlock one or both of the rear doors from the outside, hence the deadbolt configuration with keyed entry from the outside. I had not figured out how to do that yet.

On the other hand I like the way the rear doors lock from the inside. You can bend the tip 2" of those long handles 90* and they will catch on the guard preventing opening from the outside. You open it from the inside by pushing the handle toward the door before raising the handle. No lock required, but you've still got to go through the bus to open the door.
I had thought about that very thing.. but since my bus doesnt have an air door my main door is secured easily.. my wheelchair door I can just padlock or other "inside-open-only" type mechanism..

my rear door is the one that i'll use for entry to the bus most times.. other than a short stop where I can leave the main door unlatched.. like a fuel stop or such...

-Christopher
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Old 04-05-2016, 02:41 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
The original point was how to unlock one or both of the rear doors from the outside, hence the deadbolt configuration with keyed entry from the outside. I had not figured out how to do that yet.

On the other hand I like the way the rear doors lock from the inside. You can bend the tip 2" of those long handles 90* and they will catch on the guard preventing opening from the outside. You open it from the inside by pushing the handle toward the door before raising the handle. No lock required, but you've still got to go through the bus to open the door.

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Nuttin' fancy, hard to lock something up when it's got over fifty pieces of glass. Keeps honest people honest I guess, while in storage. I'm rippin' the rear/back apart in the future.
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Old 04-05-2016, 05:30 PM   #17
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On my E-door, I simply drilled through the safety shield and the handle and installed a snap-link through the holes. The snap-link is large enough to find, even in the dark. Of course, there is STILL the back window, but that's a LONG way down to the ground. Now, as for the front doors ---

I have air doors. Both sides open outward. Securing it while I am NOT inside is easy. I have a length of chain with two keyed-alike padlocks securing it on either end to brackets on the frame. I have YET to figure out how to secure it from the inside.
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Old 04-05-2016, 08:20 PM   #18
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I have air doors. Both sides open outward. Securing it while I am NOT inside is easy. I have a length of chain with two keyed-alike padlocks securing it on either end to brackets on the frame. I have YET to figure out how to secure it from the inside.
Hey Capt. for your front air doors why can't you do what Pimental did in his video?
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Old 04-05-2016, 10:02 PM   #19
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Hmmm, that's the same type of deadbolt that was used on a back door earlier. I hadn't thought of using that type of deadbolt for either front or rear. I was going to ask a locksmith sometime when in town and it's likely this is what he might have logically suggested.

My front air controlled doors will occasionally suddenly open part way during wind storms. There actually is a factory lock on the door that locks with the ignition key from the outside only, and that has turned out to be the best way to create any type of seal. I had taken to tying them shut with paracord previously. I had been thinking of making a couple large handles on the front doors that I could slide a 2x4 through at night. The deadbolt seems just a bit more civilized.
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Old 04-06-2016, 01:06 PM   #20
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i built a step well floor/topper to fill out the open space of the step well at floor level. the other awesome thing is you can not open the door when it is in its down position as my amtran doors are bi fold hinged inside opening.

where can i post pics to get a url?
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