winter bus!

[captainkf]

I thought I would post a few pictures of my bus. We have alot of snow here this time of year! We have a younger couple who aproached us about renting our bus for the winter. We live in a ski town and there are very few rentals. So after a few frank disscusions, we agreed. It has been a learning experience for us as we have only camped in the bus once since the conversion was done. A few things needed to happen (plumbing the waste into the city system, 30 amp experior outlet, winterizing exterior water outlet so it would not freeze between fillings, and after a couple of gross waste system problems; insulating and heat taping the drains). They have now been in there for 3 months and are as happy as can be. It's nice to see it being used instead of sitting in storage, and the extra $$ is nice too














What does your winter bus look like?


-Richard

[captainkf]

Hey Shortbus, I looked at your picture but got a popup trying to install widows premium 2000. When cancelled, it kept going then shut down windows explorer. I lost all the research I was doing, grrrrrr. Not your fault, just thought I'd let others know.

-R

[Steve]

Here is my bus in the winter!

[frank-id]

Yep we have some snow..... Frank

[reprobate]

I guess I shouldn't show a picture of our bus in Feb. with temps in th mid 70's and tne sun shining.

[timbuk]

theres reprobate rubbing it in again what a guy! what a life! sighned timbuk from the land of the wind and rain and wind and rai........ busses look nice in the snow

[captainkf]

Originally Posted by Steve

Here is my bus in the winter!

Wow, that's some great Ice! Do you use your bus in the winter at all?

Does anyone in northern climates use there bus? Just curious if there are any good tips for winter living with snow and ice.

Busnutz, that bus looks familiar. Did you have another name on this board, live in alaska and are currently working on a 5th wheel conversion? I have misplaced my link to your site, if of course you are whom I think you may be. Or, you could be another owner of that particular bus.

-R

[lapeer20m]

i have always driven my bus' in the winter, but not as often as in the summer. Maybe just a few times per year....like santarchy, new years etc. I've found that conventional 71 passenger buses tend to do really great in the snow. 10r22.5's are like 39 inches high. Those would be monster truck tires if they were on a pickup. Hydraulic brakes are nicer than air for snow driving in my opinion. Not only do air brakes have more freezing problems, but there is a bit of a delay from the time you push/release the pedal until the brakes react...not so good when pumping the brakes while trying to stop on slippery roads. However, air brakes certainly do work in the winter. One more thing about air brakes in the snow......when you park, try to use wheel chocks instead of your parking brake. or else the shoes have a tendency to freeze to the drum. Sometimes only 1 side will break free when you put it in gear which makes your wheels on that side spin, and the wheels on the other side are froze solid.

With my diesel engines, i also like to cover most of the radiator with plastic or cardboard to help her heat up a bit. You can cover a lot, perhaps 90 percent and usually be ok.....but we don't have any big hill climbs around here. It takes so much heat out of the engine just trying to keep the inside of the bus warm that overheating isn't really much of an issue.

plugging in the 110v block heater for an hour or so before trying to start the engine is quite useful. A small propane heater under the oil pan or a torpedo heater pointed at the engine with the hood tilted forward also work for engine pre-heating.

i'm not a big fan of starting fluid...and stay away from it if you have glow plugs or a grid heater....but a single squirt of about half a second is enough to get things going, especially if you are in the middle of nowhere and dont' have access to electricity or another way to start your bus should your batt's get low.

if using the jacuzzi in the winter, i also need a full time squeegy guy to keep the condensation off of my windows.

I'd love to have a heated floor in a bus...like in floor radiant heating, along with the standard heating system....someday i think i'll tackle that one.

[Steve]

I drove my bus exclusively today. We are projected to have a blizzard tomorrow so I got it backed into my drive to make it easier to get out tomorrow. I plan to drive it instead of my 4x4 in the snow we get tomorrow, conventional buses are amazing in snow.

[reprobate]

You know, I really have to admit I'm jealous. I would at least like to experience at least one snowy winter. Who has space in their driveway for an extra busand occupants? Hey and not to mention all the extra driving experience you people have. Hell ,I at times find driving on a sunny day a challenge or for that matter just being the wheel.

[captainkf]

I moved here because of the snow, and the world class skiing 5 min's from my doorstep (to the base of the hill)

-Richard

[reprobate]

While eating my breakfast, I took a look at your gallery pics, Richard. Man you have done a LOT of work and it looks great! I think I'm going to have to glom onto a few of your ideas (with your permission, of course). Your bus looks very roomy. I bet your renters love it. Nice bus.

[captainkf]

Well thank you. Basically I just recylce ideas, as many of them came from here. Take a look at Jake talking about his bus here:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid= ... &plindex=0

If you have any questions about my bus just pm me.

-Richard

[timbuk]

reprobate im sorry about your tough winter with no snow but captainf has enough for all of us 5 minutes from your doorstep.....id say 5 feet! timbuk

[captainkf]

!

http://www.redresort.com/

-Richard

[Demonknight]

after last years stupid ass snow in Co., it snowed every weekend for two months....I'm glad to have moved back to washington state..we now live on an island that seldom gets snow..and when we do its gone within three days...the bad side?... lots of rain.

[captainkf]

Congrats on the move! I have been following your saga for a couple years now. it's great to hear you happier.

-Richard

[KevinCoughlin]

Living outside Spokane, we got some snow this year as well (more than many earlier years according to the locals). I have since changed my "what kind of sissy spends so much work to insulate a bus.... it is already insulated, right?" attitude.

We ended up hanging sleeping bags over the windows in the back bedroom area, using 1 inch styrofoam board to cover them over as well in spots, and even placed it on the floor under the throw rugs to keep from freezing our toes. The bus was NOT planned out well for winter - a thing we will be remedying. I really wish I also had a 40 foot pusher or any kind of Crown - then I would build the home for the NEXT 12 months into that chassis. But lacking money to spend that way - I'll insulate better and re-modify the Bluebird I have.

One tip for cold weather - don't cut corners and be fast. I put salvaged kitchen counters in on one side - and on the other side put the 12 inch deep wall mounted counters (from the floor to the ceiling). THEN as the weather turned we realized we needed more insulation, and placed styrofoam on many wall surfaces. So - what is wrong? When you open the cupboard to get a can of soup.... there is no insulation on the wall that touches the back of the cabinet, and the air coming out of the cupboard is about the same temp as the open refridgerator door!

Still - it IS home for now....

Kevin

p.s. This is when the snow was NOT that thick.... the next week we had over a foot on the roof but I did not want to put on snowshoes and trek up the hill for another picture!