2012 Chevy G4500 Shuttle Bus Build Thread

[TripleBeamDream]

Hey all,
Big fan of this site and wanted to share my journey and progress. I have a 2012 Shuttle Bus with a 6.6l Duramax Diesel. Bought off of craigslist with 190k miles on it

Wanted to share first my intended layout and wondering if any has any suggestions or tips with how I'm doing it.

Key Points.
- I'm re purposing the coolant lines that went to the heater in the back to act as a water heater. I'm using a heat exchanger designed for just this task
- I intend on having a 30 gal fresh water, 10 gal hot, 20 gal gray
- For insulating the windows (my biggest loss of energy) I will tint each one with mirror tint, Install reflectix (with 1 inch gap between the pane)
- I have two max fans deluxe that will be placed in the front and back of the bus for optimal airflow
- I'm looking to add 1 inch XPS to windows/walls/ceiling. followed by 1/2 inch subfloor (plywood) and LVP on the floor.
- Not looking to do solar at the moment but definitely will have an option for shore power, battery isolator, and generator to recharge the batteries

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by TripleBeamDream

I'm re purposing the coolant lines that went to the heater in the back to act as a water heater. I'm using a heat exchanger designed for just this task.

For radiant heat only, I hope. You wouldn't want to risk contaminating your water supply with antifreeze. Just a thought.

Layout looks neat. You seem to have put a bit of thought into it. I presume the shower is intended to be a sit-down doubling as the toilet?

[TripleBeamDream]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

For radiant heat only, I hope. You wouldn't want to risk contaminating your water supply with antifreeze. Just a thought.

Layout looks neat. You seem to have put a bit of thought into it. I presume the shower is intended to be a sit-down doubling as the toilet?

Thanks for the sound advice. I’ve steered away from the coolant heat exchanger and my water. I’m thinking about a dc immersion heater to screw into a 10g water tank. I hope to connect to a temperature switch for automatic shut off.

I hope the shower will be a place to hold a thetford curve that we can remove before starting the shower

[TripleBeamDream]

Some progress. I’ve framed, insulated and added vinyl plank to the floors. Beginning the framing and insulation for the rest of the floor. Hoping to add 1/2 inch plywood and more LVP in the main

[ttee]

Any thoughts on the CP4 fuel pump failure on the 2011-2016 duramax?

[Samoose]

Hello,
My wife and I just bought a similar shuttle bus. How did you go about removing the passenger area heater? Also have you removed the large AC in the rear of the bus?

[Framus]

Originally Posted by Samoose

Hello,
My wife and I just bought a similar shuttle bus. How did you go about removing the passenger area heater? Also have you removed the large AC in the rear of the bus?

Samoose,

I myself have a very similar shuttle that we recently purchased (2012 Chevy 4500 Duramax 6.6) and one of the first things I did was remove the passenger area heater. There is 1 line that goes into the heater and 1 that goes out, so in theory, connecting the lines together to keep the flow and is the easy way to remove it. However I took it one step further and I cut the 2 coolant lines, followed the hose under the bus and ALLLL the way towards the front of the bus, just behind the driver seat. At that point, I cut the 2 lines again and connected them together up there. This enabled me to remove all that unnecessary hose, which was just more places to have a future issue.

[TripleBeamDream]

Yes this is sound advice about closing the loop between the two lines. I was fortunate that there was two shut off valves, one for each hose, beneath the drivers seat attached to the frame. I just closed those two valves and haven’t had a problem yet. I kept the rear AC unit since it’s still working and driving in the summer it is critical to have

[Framus]

Originally Posted by TripleBeamDream

Yes this is sound advice about closing the loop between the two lines. I was fortunate that there was two shut off valves, one for each hose, beneath the drivers seat attached to the frame. I just closed those two valves and haven’t had a problem yet. I kept the rear AC unit since it’s still working and driving in the summer it is critical to have

Hey TBD, that is true about the shut off valves, I had those too. However, taking by the looks of how clean your engine is, I'm sure you're valves were in pretty good shape as well! Mine were pretty worn, so rather than risk them failing in the future, I just eliminated them by connecting the hose before them. Something to keep in mind if a future issue should ever arise. ::knock on wood::