Adventures with Thomas the Bus

[1olfart]

The best knee pads I have found are Ergo Kneel, out of Gresham, Oregon. They come in several sizes, and have worked wonders for me.

[Ninjakitty]

Cut the bolts horizontally, aiming for the bottom of the head so you can cut the shaft if possible. I didn't have a helper and had to cut out about 75% of the seats with my 7" harbor freight grinder.

Just keep a mindful eye on where the heads shoot off to. I didn't pay attention and I now have a nice bolt head burn in my calf.

Sent from my Vivo 5R using Tapatalk

[Dizzyman]

Originally Posted by 1olfart

The best knee pads I have found are Ergo Kneel, out of Gresham, Oregon. They come in several sizes, and have worked wonders for me.

Good info, I'll look them up.

[Dizzyman]

Originally Posted by Ninjakitty

Cut the bolts horizontally, aiming for the bottom of the head so you can cut the shaft if possible. I didn't have a helper and had to cut out about 75% of the seats with my 7" harbor freight grinder.

Just keep a mindful eye on where the heads shoot off to. I didn't pay attention and I now have a nice bolt head burn in my calf.

Sent from my Vivo 5R using Tapatalk

Good idea, keeping an eye on flying hot stuff! Thomas Built has the aisle bolts sunk down in the steel base of the seat leg so it is impossible to cut the head off horizontally. The only way I have found is to slash the bolt heads vertically several times then whack it hard in the center with a punch. Time consuming as you well know!

[Thomas1985]

Originally Posted by Dizzyman

None of our bolts have been rusty or weakened so trying to twist them off with the impact wrench didn't work. Tomorrow I may try putting upward pressure on the seat frame while zapping the bolts with the impact wrench. Worth a try, my knees aren't going to handle all that kneeling while grinding well in spite of nice knee pads.

Here is today's cleared spot.

Use one of the seat bases as a knee pad.

[Dizzyman]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

Use one of the seat bases as a knee pad.

Excellent idea! Thanks!

[Dizzyman]

My bride and I had two hours today t work on; the bus before we had to start getting ready to work for a living again for the next 10 days. We did get 3 more seats out, only had to grind one bolt. 11 seats left but Thursday we will have a few hours again and the kiddo's will be back in town to help.

Doesn't look like much progress made, but we are proud of it!

Am I looking at the tire manufacture ate (yellow arrow) or something else?

[superdave]

Originally Posted by Dizzyman

This bus came with a serious amount of air conditioning. 3 large units, front, middle and rear with brand new compressors in the engine compartment. I presume that is why the roof is not painted white like almost every bus in Texas, perhaps Plano ISD felt they had the heat issue covered! As you can see from the attached photos they are large units and take up quite a bit of space. They do cool very well though.

Here is my dilemma, do I keep two of them (the middle unit is going, I've hit my head on it too may times!) for climate control while on the road as opposed to running a generator for the two roof units we will be installing later? Two units will cool the bus just fine.

the lines going up to them ac units are flexible, i set mine on the floor. one i putting a couch over and the other will be under the sink in the kitchen. keep them

[Dizzyman]

Originally Posted by superdave

the lines going up to them ac units are flexible, i set mine on the floor. one i putting a couch over and the other will be under the sink in the kitchen. keep them

I never considered that, great food for thought and plannng. It would be much easier to relocate than remove em!

[Asetechrail]

Originally Posted by Dizzyman

Am I looking at the tire manufacture ate (yellow arrow) or something else?

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that is the tire date code. 4012 refers to the tire being made in the fortieth week of 2012.

[Dizzyman]

Today was day of seat removal and with the help of a couple of the kiddo's we got the last 11 seats out. All in all we only had to grind 2 bolts, the nuts on the rest all spun right right off with an impact wrench. It took some time to find and reach all of the nuts from underneath - at least for us two old farts.
We couldn't resist an American Gothic - Skoolie style pose.

Now I need to read up on rear heater removal in a rear engine bus.

[superdave]

looking good looks like your having fun.

[Dizzyman]

Today I had a couple of hours so I decided to explore removing the rear heater in the bus. I removed all of the metal covering the heater hoses and unbolted it from the floor. I had no idea how it was plumbed in so I went exploring. I found the door labeled heater shut off which revealed the two lines from the engine entering the passenger compartment, one with a shut off valve as you can see from the pics. At the heater they simply had T fittings that connected to the heater. There was also a flat wire cable from the front that obviously was the switched power for the two fans. There was also a single wire running the full length that I presume is for the booster pump for the coolant. The hoses continue along the drivers side of the bus and disappear into the dash area by the base of the drivers seat. By opening the drivers side exterior front compartment that has the windshield wiper attached you can see where the hoses attached into the front heater/defrost unit.

[Twigg]

You have the wiring correct.

There will also be two more wires screwed to the frame of the bus. They are the grounds for the fans.

[Dizzyman]

My plan is to disconnect the electrical then hoses from the heater, catching whatever coolant there may be. The hoses look good but they are most likely 19 years old so I will buy new and reroute them underneath the bus.

I am torn regarding whether to relocate the heater toward the middle of the bus or remove it altogether and depend on the front unit. We do plan on installing a propane furnace. Are they made to be used while in motion?
Pro's and con's of relocating vs removing?

For those of you who have a RE bus and have moved your coolant lines underneath - did you insulate or protect them from damage from road debris or heat loss during the long run?

Also, in the last pic of the previous post, what is that "valve" or whatever that is on the one coolant line? That is behind the dashboard right in front of the driver.

Thanks all!

[Dizzyman]

Originally Posted by Twigg

You have the wiring correct.

There will also be two more wires screwed to the frame of the bus. They are the grounds for the fans.

Yep, saw those - once I cleared away several inches of paper, gum, zipper pulls, broken pencils and accumulated dirt!

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Dizzyman

My plan is to disconnect the electrical then hoses from the heater, catching whatever coolant there may be. The hoses look good but they are most likely 19 years old so I will buy new and reroute them underneath the bus.

I am torn regarding whether to relocate the heater toward the middle of the bus or remove it altogether and depend on the front unit. We do plan on installing a propane furnace. Are they made to be used while in motion?
Pro's and con's of relocating vs removing?

For those of you who have a RE bus and have moved your coolant lines underneath - did you insulate or protect them from damage from road debris or heat loss during the long run?

Also, in the last pic of the previous post, what is that "valve" or whatever that is on the one coolant line? That is behind the dashboard right in front of the driver.

Thanks all!

I've done this.

I removed all four passenger heaters but kept the front heater/defroster. That meant re-routing the pipes under the bus. You can see the pics in my build thread (it's in my sig, last page or page before)

I haven't insulated them yet, but I plan to for the reasons you suggest.

The valve at the front is to bleed air when re-filling, and it is on the return pipe.

Also ... I re-used the old pipes. I bought some new connectors and worm-drive clamps.

They were in great condition and at $6 per foot I wasn't buying 70 foot of new pipe.

[Dizzyman]

$6.00/foot?! I'm rethinking that idea already!

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Dizzyman

$6.00/foot?! I'm rethinking that idea already!

You might find it cheaper, but even at half that price it's expensive.

My pipes had no signs of deterioration, and were clean inside.

[PNW_Steve]

I am facing the same question. I pulled the two rear heaters but will be keeping the front heater/defroster.

Given that I am removing approximately 2/3 of the heating capacity could I get away with using 3/4" heater hose? It is significantly cheaper.