Need advice please!

[WinnVT]

We are considering purchasing a Ford e350 shuttle bus - 149k miles, was used in a nursing home, has the wheelchair door and lift. We want to use the bus for our “base camp” for skiing this winter. We are a family of 4 - ideally looking to make sure we can get warm, have lunch and put our 3 year old down for a nap. Couple of quick questions we have...price is $4500 that seem decent? Do we have to rip up the floors and put all new flooring down? Seems like all the videos show ripping out the floors. What about the walls? Do we need to take down all the “Louon” or can we attach right to it? Do the walls need to be taken apart for more insulation? If there is a beginners guide please point us to it! Thanks so much!

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by WinnVT

If there is a beginners guide please point us to it! Thanks so much!

Unofficially, the one that I've compiled. Check your PM's.

[peteg59]

/\...Cheese Wagon's guide should be mandatory reading for any one who is thinking of doing a conversion for the first time.

Depending on your geological location, (VT?), if you plan on using it this coming ski season you'd better get to it quickly!

You don't need to rip up flooring and/or walls to get a quick base camp operational, however you will be spending more to maintain heat if you don't insulate.

The problem with foregoing the full on teardown to include insulating floors, walls, and ceiling, is that you'll likely wish you had done it after you renovate the bus to your liking inside. This may not be as relevant if you won't be overnighting in the bus?

If you are in a hurry to get something for the upcoming ski season, for $4,500 you can find an older RV that is ready to go.

Not to discourage you on your idea however, there are very few folks that can get a bus that needs a full interior and/or mechanical conversion up and running in the timeframe they allot to do it in. Especially if its their first attempt at such a project.

If you are in the northeast, AKA the "Rust Belt", and are looking local to buy your bus, a thorough inspection of the undercarriage structural condition is mandatory unless you have lots of extra time and $$ to waste on rust remediation.

Remember it is 100% buyer beware, no matter how much any seller tries to tell you their offering is in "mint" condition.

Good luck, and post pics if you get the shuttle bus you have your eye on...

[magnakansas]

This built so that there is a outer skin of fiberglass about 1/8 to 3/16 inch thick, then a honeycomb of cardboard then another layer of fiberglass about 1/8 inch thick. Total thickness about 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick. In places where screws go into the body, there is wood instead of cardboard. So, what I would say is you can screw into areas that already have screws. You can't see any of this wood unless you take out the inside panels.

The floor of the one I am working is visible from under the shuttle. Plywood screwed to a grid of steel that makes up the floor structure. Looks to me like after they install the floor and stuff, they spay undercoating of some sort, attempt to seal the under side from water. If you unscrewed, and removed the i plywood you see the ground.

They way this one is built, I dont see a really big reason take out the floor... If You wanted to add more insulation to the floor, 2 inch foam then plywood on top of that. You are going to loose more through the glass windows than any other part.

Hope this helps

william

[BeNimble]

You don't need to remove the floor or walls to add insulation if they are in good shape.
$4500 seems ok at todays prices.

[WinnVT]

Thanks for all the feedback! If we stick with the conversion route we;ll be sure to post some pictures of progress.

[~GntlStone~]

Can I get a copy of the Chees Wagon Beginner Guide to Busses as well, please?

[adamhh]

Can I have a copy of your unofficial guide as well?

[TJones]

What engine does the bus have? If its the 6.0 I'd pass. The 7.3 is ok but does not like starting in the cold without having the block heater plugged in.

Ted

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Delete - double post (thanks, slow, crappy Internet!)

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by TJones

What engine does the bus have? If its the 6.0 I'd pass. The 7.3 is ok but does not like starting in the cold without having the block heater plugged in.

Ted

I outlined the VT365 / 6.0h-no PowerJoke's woes in the primer I sent.

[nicodemusIII]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

Unofficially, the one that I've compiled. Check your PM's.

hello! I have also just started a shuttle bus conversion, could I maybe get a copy of your guide too?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

With it becoming so popular, I have made this beginner's / buyer's guide into its own thread, referenced and linked below in my sig... With a few other goodies for perusal. A few tips that the more seasoned could find useful as well...