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Old 04-29-2016, 08:37 PM   #1
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Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: CA
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Year: 1997
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International S3800
Engine: DT466E
Let's make a great bus

Hello, comRades!)

Soo... if everything goes well, we'll buy a bus day after tomorrow in Texas to take it to California and make our DreamBus (not very original name, i know).

Here is the idea: dreambusproject.com A road trip on a bus across the U.S.
And here is the route to travel: Route (sorry some texts are in russian)

Will definitely share with you all the workflow, but for now i have few things to ask and to offer:

1. What would you say if i will suggest you to be a part of a project:

for sure we'll need a help of experienced people who already made their projects and would love to share their experience and as a gratitude for your help we could offer you to join us on a part of a trip

2. As a bus will be bought in Texas, could you suggest an insurance contacts so it to be quick

Actually it is just thrilling and we can't wait to start this adventure!))

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Old 05-03-2016, 12:37 PM   #2
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Welcome

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Looks like a hell of an adventure

post pictures of progress
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Old 05-03-2016, 02:10 PM   #3
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The word "bus" is not enough. Big, little, mileage, engine, transmission, rear end ratio, build plans. We need to know.
You'll get lots of suggestions here, on everything, including how to buy the right bus for your trip.
Welcome.
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Old 05-05-2016, 02:41 AM   #4
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Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: CA
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Year: 1997
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International S3800
Engine: DT466E
So here we are!

We've got International 3800 DT466E 1997 bus.




Some story:

We now are in CA, but found the nearest good bus for the money we had at that time only in TX (San Antonio).

So we took a car and drove to San Antonio, bought a bus, and having temp plates, no insurance, and even no CDL, headed back to CA, via OK...))

1800 miles in 3 days and the bus runs great!

SO now it is time to buy an insurance and register it as RV.

Questions:

1) Who knows the insurance companies in CA (Big Bear City; San Bernardino, Los Angeles)?

2) What are the requirements to register bus as RV in California?


Who knows?
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Old 05-05-2016, 06:05 AM   #5
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what a great lookin bus!!! welcome fellow Carpenter!! (the manufacturer that made the body on your bus is Crown by Carpenter).. looks like you found a good one!!

im not from california so I cant comment on the RV requirements for there.. registration for california can be tricky because of the emission requirements for vehicles never registered in california previously.. others who have bought out-of-state busses and registered them in cali can comment.. I know a couple of the bus dealers ive talked to said sometimes they are picky in cali..

insurance-wise you can call Progressive insurance and ask for their COMMERCIAL division.. get a COMMERCIAL policy for personal use for your bus..

dont tell them you are converting it to a camper.. they dont like that and would cancel you as they dont typically insure converted skoolies.. however their commercial policy will cover a school bus for personal use..

-Christopher
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Old 05-05-2016, 06:08 AM   #6
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just looked at your route! cool as heck project you are doing.. you left pretty much my whole area of the country off your list so I wont be abe to help build it as you go but what a great project this is!!

my older brother years ago did the perimiter of the USA tour similar to the route you are taking.. he did it in the late 80s in Base model Ford escort car he bought new for the trip.. he said if he ever had the time he would do it again in a heartbeat!!! you will have fun!!

-Christopher
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Old 05-05-2016, 09:00 AM   #7
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In my experience Progressive agents turn down buses. An insurance underwriter told me to go to a local independent insurance agent. Progressive doesn't send people to take pics of the bus, but the independent agents will and that's what lets you insure the bus. Commercial policy for private use is the phrase, and even my independent insurance agent wasn't aware of this type of policy. You may have to try more than once to get insurance. Some of us have hunted for insurance for weeks.
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Old 05-05-2016, 09:06 AM   #8
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Privet! --- It appears you found a great bus here in Texas and have a very ambitious journey ahead. Can't help with the California issues but there will very likely be someone here who can chime in with the particulars. Just stay tuned.

Best of luck with your journey and you might want to see the "Skoolie Map" thread on this site that has a map of where the members here are located. Quite a few have offered free places to park & stay.
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Old 05-06-2016, 08:01 PM   #9
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It was snowy today, so work on removing seats delayed till tomorrow... But we had a lot of fun thou))

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Old 05-06-2016, 08:06 PM   #10
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Its been chilly here. Down into the 70's at night! Great pic, you look like nice folks.
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Old 05-10-2016, 10:59 PM   #11
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Ok, now here is an update.

There are no more seats in the bus, the floor painted rust-oleum and the insulation with a plywood delivered...

What i want to say... IT WAS F!@#$KING a lot of SH#TY work!))

I've read here that the seats removing is a pain in the ass, but it is nothing compare to rubber floor removing!!

half of a screws just got broken the moment you start to unscrew them!
So in the end in most cases i just force-pulled them out)

The rubber is sticked with glue to the floor and sometimes it takes a lot of scratch-work to remove it.

Anyway... we did it))) And tomorrow will be maintaining new floor with deadening sound subfloor..


I'll show you what it will be.

P.S. Still looking for insurance that will insure our DreamBus and will be grateful for the help

And some pic



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Old 05-11-2016, 01:47 AM   #12
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Nice job on gutting it. Some of us had plywood under the rubber and it was much easier!

Progressive will cover you with a commercial policy for private use. I talked to them 2 weeks ago as I almost bought another mvp.....

I think it was 600 for 6 months with a $300,000 limit.
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Old 05-11-2016, 10:41 AM   #13
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Look up the company AIS (auto insurance specialists), I was able to get a commercial for private use policy on our bus for around 500 a year. Its with progressive as well. AIS was a super easy company to deal with and we had insurance within about 15 minutes of giving them a call.
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Old 05-11-2016, 05:55 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
Its been chilly here. Down into the 70's at night! Great pic, you look like nice folks.
We had a wind chill of 19º last night!
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Old 05-14-2016, 12:32 AM   #15
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Timelapse

Made a short video of a progress so far

https://youtu.be/S2qQ7cY_S6g
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Old 05-16-2016, 06:04 PM   #16
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Thanks for your help!

So now i'm coming to electricity part...

Does anyone have a wire diagram for an International 3800 1997 DT466E ?

By the way, our bus so far:
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Old 05-16-2016, 06:26 PM   #17
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lookin good! i like what you did with the wheel-wells
-Christopher
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Old 05-16-2016, 09:47 PM   #18
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That is looking good. Love brand new wood.
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