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Old 08-22-2020, 11:00 AM   #1261
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Lexan skylights

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Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07 View Post
Although I will say if anyone else is considering doing this there are some things I would do a lot differently.


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Hi David, I have a leaking hatch and really like this idea for skylights. What would you do differently?? Been some time now, has it held up?
Thanks, Stephanie

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Old 08-22-2020, 11:45 AM   #1262
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Hi David, I have a leaking hatch and really like this idea for skylights. What would you do differently?? Been some time now, has it held up?
Thanks, Stephanie
I installed Lexan in the roof with vent/fan installed in the rear one, still has a ring of ambient light coming through.
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Old 08-25-2020, 11:17 AM   #1263
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Hi David, I have a leaking hatch and really like this idea for skylights. What would you do differently?? Been some time now, has it held up?
Thanks, Stephanie
No leaks. In short I think I would have used self drillers rather than nuts and bolts, and I would have planned ahead to see how the interior trim would interface.

Also, every summer when it gets hot, a little more of the butyl squeezes out into my interior frame. Easy enough to clean up, but not ideal.

They get hazy when you don't wash them for a while, but clean up well.
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Old 08-25-2020, 09:09 PM   #1264
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Thanks I will watch the inside edge and keep a little gap. I did get white butyl that should help. I know right it is always black. But I compared the specs. It is the same just white as far as I could tell. I am putting the same trim back I think. It came off whole. I had decided to use self tapping screws instead of bolts after I saw that two sides of my opening go into a rail and the other two are reinforced. Not like your situation where you cut the holes and had skin. I may do that over the shower later. I have tinted windows so some more natural light will be nice, and I will have insulated inserts for times I would rather not.
Thanks for the great idea. I will send you pictures when I finish.
Stephanie
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Old 12-13-2020, 10:06 AM   #1265
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Work has kept me from making much progress but I have got the the thing water tight finally! Marker lights, roof hatches, removed signs etc. were all letting in lots of water.

Also, got the thing out on the interstate and it drove very nicely! Anyone know what is a healthy RPM range for a CAT 3126b? I'm working with the local Allison rep to unlock 6th gear, but until then I'm wondering what is safe to run the thing at. I can get up to 65, but pushing 2400RPM.
Hello David -

Enjoying reading your thread so far (started from the beginning to eventually get to your details about skylights!).

What sealant did you use for various bus body parts (Marker lights, windows, roof hatches, signs etc) and how has it worked for you?
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Old 12-13-2020, 10:23 AM   #1266
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Thanks for the encouragement! It was nice to go out after the remnants of the hurricane blew through and see that things were dry. Here's a view up towards the sky through one of the skylights.


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Sooo beautiful!

In conclusion, it looks like you pre-screwed slightly larger holes then the bolts you used, then used Butyl tape between plexy and bus, then put in screws with washers (someone suggested turning so curved side up) and then sealed around washers (with what sealent?).

Is that right? How has it worked? What would you do differently? Use nits and bolts instead of screws?

Did you build a wooden frame beneath to screw the screws into?

Thanks David!
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Old 12-13-2020, 10:23 AM   #1267
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Originally Posted by Sevier View Post
Hello David -

Enjoying reading your thread so far (started from the beginning to eventually get to your details about skylights!).

What sealant did you use for various bus body parts (Marker lights, windows, roof hatches, signs etc) and how has it worked for you?
My cousin an RV mechanic sealed the air conditioner into the emergency exit & used a metal platform. I'm sure he used the same sealant they use on RV roofs. I haven't disturbed any other lights or parts of the original bus so nothing was used there. The only real modification has been the roof top air unit. No leaks in a couple years and several hurricanes.

One thing I have learned is to go with only the top professional products & original parts like windshield wipers... Light bulbs & anything original I can find Onboard air conditioners... Tires. It will cost more but you won't be replacing them for the life of the bus because most bus pro parts were designed to last 20 years.
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Old 12-13-2020, 02:43 PM   #1268
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One thing I added to your great plan was an aluminum strip under the screws instead of washers. It seemed like there was too much dimpling around the screw. I used Henry's Sealant on top.
Thank you for the original post and the questions!!!
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Old 02-28-2021, 03:43 PM   #1269
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Aluminum strip is a great idea to add rigidity. Did you bend it to reinforce the curve of the roof?
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Old 02-28-2021, 03:58 PM   #1270
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So its a few years later and while we aren't full time, we are still living the skoolie life and have taken numerous trips all over the country.

One of the biggest discomforts we have had was HVAC while driving. Back in 2018 I plumbed back in the dash heat and that solved the problem of cold (which can be really brutal - more than your realize).

Now I am working on adding engine driven AC to make the heat of the summer less brutal for driving. I'm using a donor system that teacher Joe donated to me and figured I would append this project to my build thread.

I am using a 45kbtu/h evaporator - the carrier EM-2. That's a 4 ton unit, meaning that I will have more cooling capability than my house. If I run my mini splits as well, that's about 70kbtu/h (or 6 tons). Hopefully that should make a dent.

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out where to put the evaporator. It is roughly 4' x 2' x 18". We have a built in love seat right behind the driver's seat that by coincidence seems pretty well perfect to hold the evaporator. We lost a little storage, but not really that much - everything is curved so items stored were always falling down in cracks. The love seat was mostly filled with the wheel well, but there was just enough room to sneak in the evap on top of it.

I've already installed the compressor, which took a while but was reasonably straightforward in that the compressor came off of a C7 and I have a 3126. I just removed an idler pully/bracket, and the compressor bolted in in the exact same place so the serpentine belt went right back in to the same path.
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Old 03-02-2021, 06:11 PM   #1271
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Fabricated some mounts for the condenser today. Normally it would bolt right to the bottom of the floor, but some additional equipment made that complicated, so I made up some drop brackets. 1.5” box tube and 3x1.5” box tube. Some cutting, drilling, welding and painting and just about ready to install!
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Old 03-02-2021, 06:42 PM   #1272
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havent heard from you in awhile.
glad yall are doing good.
saying finished and on the road in my mind never happens but you are getting some good shakedown trips.
if you dont mind.
how is your pioneer mini doing?
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Old 03-02-2021, 07:43 PM   #1273
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Wrong thread. Don't know how to delete the post.
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Old 03-02-2021, 07:50 PM   #1274
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My post keeps jumping from one thread to another???
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Old 03-02-2021, 08:47 PM   #1275
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havent heard from you in awhile.
glad yall are doing good.
saying finished and on the road in my mind never happens but you are getting some good shakedown trips.
if you dont mind.
how is your pioneer mini doing?
I have 2x Pioneers and they are both working fine. Only problem I ever had was that both had faulty Schrader valves at the charge ports roughly a year after I started using them. I have no idea why, as it is protected under a brass cap. I was able to buy a special tool that allows you to replace the valve without evacuating the charge and haven't had any problems since.

We've put 20k miles or so on it and have had a great time! I just had the injectors rebuilt and it's got way more power than it has had since I owned it.
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Old 03-02-2021, 08:51 PM   #1276
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Just a few photos.

The unit will not hang below the skirt at all - I'm just holding it there to pre-vis the clearances and placement.

Brackets in various phases of completion as well.
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Old 09-28-2021, 03:39 PM   #1277
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Wasn't there a guy on here in the flagstaff AZ neighborhood, that had a hook up for unlocking 6th gear for a 3060 alison? I just picked up a thomas in Brgas and am about to drive it to NY. Would like to stop and get 6th for this trip. Thanks.
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Old 09-28-2021, 03:55 PM   #1278
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I used W.W.Williams Detroit / Allison Service center in Las Vegas to get 6th gear.
Phone # 702-399-1890. It was about $300 but well worth it, the Cat really likes low RPM cruising and 6th helps with that. If you can see a hill, drop it into 5th.
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