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Old 05-29-2018, 04:53 PM   #1141
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Join Date: May 2017
Location: Chattanooga, TN
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Year: 2001
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Thomas
Engine: CAT 3126
We have liability with Good Sam but are hoping to get comprehensive.

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Old 05-29-2018, 04:54 PM   #1142
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Originally Posted by eyedeal.ink View Post
Good luck on the insurance, who are you going through?


State Farm in TN.
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Old 05-29-2018, 04:55 PM   #1143
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For those of you who were worried that my mini splits would be vulnerable to road debris I have finally put my solution in place. It is quarter inch grid galvanized hardware cloth. Amazingly it comes in a roll that is 5‘ x 2‘ and that size fits perfectly without any trimming.
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Old 05-29-2018, 05:53 PM   #1144
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that mesh should be perfect for those A/C units. wont block the airflow too much and still gives good protection against larger items.
-Christopher
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Old 05-29-2018, 08:11 PM   #1145
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Year: 1999
Chassis: MVP RE
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you should not be using an SCA filter though if you are using an ELC coolant.. the later versions of most of these engines werre built to handle ELC coolants.. Nasvistar for sure posted a set serial number break for the use of an ELC coolant in the 444E, ford did similar (7.3) based on the recommendation of navistar..

not all ELC coolants are alike!. generally synthetic coolans like the AMSoil stuff is designed to work across the board..

its not only wet sleeve engines.. cavitation issues plagued the 6.9 and 7.3 IDI engines early on.

-Christopher
What is a SCA filter and what is that ELC coolant? I have a THOMAS RE, 5.9. I didn't know there was a such thing as coolant filters. Do you know if my bus will have one?
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Old 05-29-2018, 08:48 PM   #1146
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What is a SCA filter and what is that ELC coolant? I have a THOMAS RE, 5.9. I didn't know there was a such thing as coolant filters. Do you know if my bus will have one?


ELC = extended life coolant. SCA is a filter that slowly adds additives to the coolant. If you have an ELC you don’t need an SCA filter.
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Old 05-29-2018, 08:56 PM   #1147
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My tail lights have been just sort of a mess ever since I bought the bus. I believe they were damaged before I bought it and somebody hastily replaced them to get it drivable.

As a result the turn signals had clear lenses so they looked white and the brake lights were Amber so they looked like turn signals. Also I was having intermittent failures of my running lights in the back.

To solve all of these problems I decided to buy a pair of Jeep Wrangler style LED combination signals. I’m using the Jeep signals for brake lights running lights and license plate lights. I’m going to wire up the back up lights in them as well.

That leaves the clear turn signals and Amber brake lights. I have re-wired them to both act as turn signals and replaced the clear bulb in the clear lensed fixture with an Amber bulb so everything is color coordinated and legal now.

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Old 05-30-2018, 10:38 AM   #1148
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Got the rear split protected now also!
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Old 05-30-2018, 03:44 PM   #1149
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I am really enjoying your conversion. I like seeing you build the different systems in your bus. I also enjoy the thought process behind what you do (BTW thanks for sharing your thought process in each project). I am sure some people would do things differently but it is really helpful to know why you do what you do.
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Old 05-30-2018, 08:15 PM   #1150
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I am really enjoying your conversion. I like seeing you build the different systems in your bus. I also enjoy the thought process behind what you do (BTW thanks for sharing your thought process in each project). I am sure some people would do things differently but it is really helpful to know why you do what you do.


Thanks! If we’re being honest, even I would not do some of the things the same way again!

As far as my expressing my thinking, I guess you’re seeing the teacher in me come out. It’s the one thing I said I never would be as a kid since it runs in the family, and here I am 18 years into it.
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Old 05-30-2018, 08:44 PM   #1151
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Well friends it’s been a good ride. 14 months ago one of my daughters suggested the idea of doing a Skoolie conversion and I was immediately won over. Before too long the whole family gave in.

51 weeks ago we purchased the Thomas, and I’ve spent most of my free moments working on it since then.

I’ve worked in heat, rain, snow and dark. I have done jobs and had to do them over again because I didn’t know what I was doing.

I’ve spent more than a few minutes just staring trying to figure out what needed to happen next and how it would get done. I’ve ached. I’ve bled. I’ve lain in the mud looking up with metal shavings falling in my eyes.

Not only did I dedicate time, talent, and treasure to the project, I gave more than I thought I possibly could.

I second guessed the skoolie decision so many times that I eventually just had to put it out of my mind.

Tonight I spent the evening cleaning up the byproducts of the project. Burning scraps of lumber, loading my trailer, moving things, cutting grass where it had grown tall around various pieces of building project debris.

Tomorrow I will try to turn my garage back into a garage. Details remain to be completed but in 3.5 days my family and I will leave on a two month journey heading west. Someone else will live in our house and I will no longer be building every night.

The bus is at the shop tonight waiting to have its valves timed tomorrow, and there is an empty place next to the house.

I feel a little like Inigo Montoya at the end of The Princess Bride. The last year of my life has had a singular focus and now it is coming to completion.

I feel a little lost.

By far this has been the most difficult thing I have ever done, and I’ve longed for this day more times than I can count, but now that it is here it seems strangely over too soon.

I hope you have learned something from my build thread, even if only what not to do! And I wish you all the best as you all forge ahead. I’ll continue to post here when I have new things, most notably I’ll try to give a final tour, but for the most part I’m done.

Best wishes and take care!

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Old 05-30-2018, 09:37 PM   #1152
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Congratulations on an amazing build, I know I will be reading back over sections of it again as I embark on the conversion of my own bus here soon.
If you ever do a video tour please share a link on here as it would be fun to show my family exactly what is possible.

Happy travels and hope to see you on the road.

P.S. If your travels take you through eastern Washington you have a place to park (in exchange for a tour)
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Old 05-31-2018, 05:03 AM   #1153
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You and your bus are pure CLASS, mate. Cheers to a job well done.

Enjoy that bus, as we've enjoyed watching you build it.
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Old 05-31-2018, 06:27 AM   #1154
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Best luck in your travels. Great build!
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Old 05-31-2018, 07:00 AM   #1155
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I LOVE this build.. so is this going to be your RV after your 2 month trip? or is your house sold and you are off on a full time bus life for long term?


cant wait to see the pics of the roads and trees and cool mountains and places you drive to!!!
-Christopher
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Old 05-31-2018, 09:22 PM   #1156
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Congratulations on an amazing build, I know I will be reading back over sections of it again as I embark on the conversion of my own bus here soon.
If you ever do a video tour please share a link on here as it would be fun to show my family exactly what is possible.

Happy travels and hope to see you on the road.

P.S. If your travels take you through eastern Washington you have a place to park (in exchange for a tour)


Thanks! Let me know if you have questions! Not sure if we’ll make it that far north, but plans are loose! It would be great to meet up!
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Old 05-31-2018, 09:24 PM   #1157
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You and your bus are pure CLASS, mate. Cheers to a job well done.



Enjoy that bus, as we've enjoyed watching you build it.


Thanks! Hopefully will keep that way! I think things look better in pictures, but I did what I could!
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Old 05-31-2018, 09:24 PM   #1158
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Best luck in your travels. Great build!


Thanks! I feel like this whole thing requires some luck! Hopefully mine hasn’t run out yet!
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Old 05-31-2018, 09:26 PM   #1159
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I LOVE this build.. so is this going to be your RV after your 2 month trip? or is your house sold and you are off on a full time bus life for long term?


cant wait to see the pics of the roads and trees and cool mountains and places you drive to!!!
-Christopher


It will be an RV, maybe an editing/color studio for film. It will stay busy and probably have more than one life I hope!
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Old 05-31-2018, 09:26 PM   #1160
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I’m packing tools for the road. Any suggestions on what the most important things to bring would be?
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