Arctic Family Bus

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

I set aside my vehicle registration card and accidentally had the movers pack it! I called the Vermont DMV and the lady I spoke with is going to send me another over priority mail. I bought the shipping label and emailed it to her, and she'll send it out today. It cost me $7 and about 20 minutes to fix the problem.

I've had nothing but great experiences with the Vermont DMV.

I would have saved the $7 and rolled the dice.

Still waiting on mine to come back in the mail. Hmm, note to self... which account did I write the check from and is there still money in it? Mild panic.

[Brewerbob]

Point Breeze $175, current balance $225 something or other. Panic canceled tho it has been since Jan 3rd and still haven't heard anything and the money hasn't come out of the account yet. Hmm.

[banman]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

I would have saved the $7 and rolled the dice.

Still waiting on mine to come back in the mail. Hmm, note to self... which account did I write the check from and is there still money in it? Mild panic.

Crossing into Canada and then back into the USA...

What's a couple daze of your life worth to you waiting at the US border while "they" sort out your lack of paperwork...

There's NO dice-roll here...
The only variable would be the amt of a$$pain...

x2 on Vt. !
My bus would be scrap metal and a great eng/tranny for a pickup truck project without Vermont!!!

[Biscuitsjam]

The Army will pay me a couple thousand in mileage, per diem, etc., plus they will reimburse hotels at up to $96/night.

However, I will also get reimbursed about $1.70 for every pound of household goods I transport myself, up to my weight allowance. Good thing a school bus can carry so much weight... After the movers take most of my stuff, I will have 4000-5000 lbs of weight allowance left. I set aside a bunch of stuff (gym equipment, a large library of books, various valuables) and hopefully I hit it about right. I won't know for another week. Worst case, I set aside too much and it won't all fit. In that case, I'd have to get rid of some of my belongings.

I had to get my orders amended today - they put me as "without dependents" which gave me 1500 lbs less weight allowance. Should be fixed by the end of the day.

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Point Breeze $175, current balance $225 something or other. Panic canceled tho it has been since Jan 3rd and still haven't heard anything and the money hasn't come out of the account yet. Hmm.

I think they do it once a month. I took 40 days I think before they cashed the check. Only a few days after that and I got the plates.

[matthews2001]

Really doing the alcan next week? This is gonna be more exciting then a Jack London book, for us hearing about your travels!!

Ever think of a go-pro mounted on the dash for your trip? I'd pay $25 bucks to see that video stream live! Feel like offering you a hand and flying up for the ride but I'm a single dad (plus I could go check my bus in Anchorage where it's hibernating for the winter).

Re: Vt DMV: they sometimes have prisoners answering their phones (I assume the good ones), I thought that was funny when I was talking to one of them!

Good Luck stay calm (you sound it with all the details of your move/bus work etc...)

[Biscuitsjam]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Biscuit,
Was thinking of you this morning. It was a 'cold" +20° this morning here. My problem was the frost on the windshield. And the washer fluid being frozen. I use the blue stuff since the orange RainX supposedly kills the float sensor in VWs. Got me to wondering what the hell you and the peeps of Fairbanks use. -70° is a hell of a lot colder.

They sell special wiper fluid. I have MotoTech Windshield Washer All Season Freeze Protection. It works down to -25 degrees and says "for use in Alaska only" on the bottle. At -40, it freezes up, same as everything else. It cost me $2.99 for a gallon.

I left my wiper reservoir on the bus full of regular wiper fluid. It froze and cracked the reservoir, so I can't use any right now.

[Biscuitsjam]

Day 16:

-10 today with light snow and scattered patches of freezing fog, though I spent little time outside.

The movers finished this afternoon. Golden North Van Lines was very conscientious and very careful with my stuff.

I'll find out the weight they packed this afternoon. I have an authorized weight of 14,500 pounds that the Army will pay to move, either via movers or on the school bus. The movers estimated everything they packed at 9500 pounds, but they'll give me a firm number tomorrow after they weigh all the containers.

If they packed 9500 pounds, that means that I get reimbursed for carrying up to 5000 pounds of cargo in the bus. If the movers's weight is actually 12000 pounds, then I'd only get reimbursed for up to 2500 pounds of bus cargo. I think I'll have 3000-4000 pounds of cargo on the bus, but at $1.70 per pound, the answer makes a big difference to me - it's how I'm paying for all this work and the trip!



About the same time the movers finished, the service center finished with the bus. I picked it up and moved it to the tire shop. They didn't work on it tonight, but they parked it inside to keep it warm.

I went home and installed the breather heater kit on my second generator. Without the breather heater kit, the generator will ice up and quit working in the cold. I noticed this in the instructions:

"If the generator is operated with a light load for a prolonged period, it will cause incomplete combustion. This unburned fuel can dilute the oil in the crankcase causing engine seizure. Check the oil level before each use and every 10 hours of operation. Change the oil if it flows out from the filler neck when opening the filler/dipstick. This type of damage is not covered by the Distributor's Limited warranty."


Disassembled during install


Job complete

[Biscuitsjam]

Bus name? We still haven't named it: we just call it "the bus." I'm going to ask friends and family to suggest names. Any suggestions?

[Ronnie]

We still call our bus "the bus" , names just have not stuck yet. Good luck on your adventure we are all rooting for you.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by banman

Crossing into Canada and then back into the USA...

What's a couple daze of your life worth to you waiting at the US border while "they" sort out your lack of paperwork...

There's NO dice-roll here...
The only variable would be the amt of a$$pain...

x2 on Vt. !
My bus would be scrap metal and a great eng/tranny for a pickup truck project without Vermont!!!

Good point. I didn't cross any international borders getting my bus home. I knew it was there but totally forgot about Canada being in the way.

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

The Army will pay me a couple thousand in mileage, per diem, etc., plus they will reimburse hotels at up to $96/night.

However, I will also get reimbursed about $1.70 for every pound of household goods I transport myself, up to my weight allowance. Good thing a school bus can carry so much weight... After the movers take most of my stuff, I will have 4000-5000 lbs of weight allowance left. I set aside a bunch of stuff (gym equipment, a large library of books, various valuables) and hopefully I hit it about right. I won't know for another week. Worst case, I set aside too much and it won't all fit. In that case, I'd have to get rid of some of my belongings.

Nice!! I'll take all the cast iron, cinderblocks, etc. Let's get to 36,000!!

I had to get my orders amended today - they put me as "without dependents" which gave me 1500 lbs less weight allowance. Should be fixed by the end of the day.

:Rolleyes: The military/government is so good at paperwork. I got advanced pay once. It looked too much so I went to the Yeoman. He swore up and down it was right. A couple month's later I have a deduction for the next 6 months to cover the overpay. Bastards.

Originally Posted by JDSquared

I think they do it once a month. I took 40 days I think before they cashed the check. Only a few days after that and I got the plates.

Dude or dudette said 3 or 4 weeks so I'm not too worried (yet).

Originally Posted by matthews2001

Re: Vt DMV: they sometimes have prisoners answering their phones (I assume the good ones), I thought that was funny when I was talking to one of them!

No shitt? Just watched some Disney animated movie that had DMV in it. All of the workers at DMV were Sloths and all of them in slow motion. Too true to be funny.

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

They sell special wiper fluid. I have MotoTech Windshield Washer All Season Freeze Protection. It works down to -25 degrees and says "for use in Alaska only" on the bottle. At -40, it freezes up, same as everything else. It cost me $2.99 for a gallon.

I left my wiper reservoir on the bus full of regular wiper fluid. It froze and cracked the reservoir, so I can't use any right now.

Bring some with you!!

So there's not a -70°F variant? I guess you don't need to wash teh windshield at that temp. They aren't going to salt the road so there won't be any spray. I doubt frost is an issue at that temp either.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

If they packed 9500 pounds, that means that I get reimbursed for carrying up to 5000 pounds of cargo in the bus. If the movers's weight is actually 12000 pounds, then I'd only get reimbursed for up to 2500 pounds of bus cargo. I think I'll have 3000-4000 pounds of cargo on the bus, but at $1.70 per pound, the answer makes a big difference to me - it's how I'm paying for all this work and the trip!

I've no idea what all my junk weighs. Probably not that much. I understand having a limit... sort of. If they are paying you, there needs to be a limit so you don't claim sand bags but still. They need to move ALL of my stuff regardless of the weight. That should also include shipping my bus, 17 cars (hypothetical) and all my solid wood furniture.

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

Bus name? We still haven't named it: we just call it "the bus." I'm going to ask friends and family to suggest names. Any suggestions?

A play on biscuits? I don't know the origin of your user name but it would make remembering it easy.

Originally Posted by Ronnie

We still call our bus "the bus" , names just have not stuck yet. Good luck on your adventure we are all rooting for you.

Named mine The Pickle after I painted it green to get thru MD inspection but it didnt' stick but then I don't normally name vehicles so :shrug:

[Frochevy]

I called our Bus "The BOAT" for awhile and still have a floaty key chain for the keys!! I've had several boats in the past and BOAT to me stands for Bust Out Another Thousand so I thought it fit for our bus name... It didn't stick though. At the last tailgate of the year we had a name the bus contest with friends and family and offered a "semi-fabulous prize" for the winner ($20 Gift Card) We had quite a few ideas. We went with DeCoDo as the name of our bus. It is the first two letters of our childrens names from oldest to youngest!!

[plfking]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

Bus name? Any suggestions?

O
Ph.D
MBA
DDS

[Biscuitsjam]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Nice!! I'll take all the cast iron, cinderblocks, etc. Let's get to 36,000!!

It's an "on your honor" thing to only bring household goods and not cheat on the weigh tickets. Vehicle weight is with no passengers or water, but with a full tank of gas. You aren't allowed to get reimbursed for construction materials, and it is also considered fraud to buy stuff just to get your weight up.

So there's not a -70°F variant? I guess you don't need to wash teh windshield at that temp. They aren't going to salt the road so there won't be any spray. I doubt frost is an issue at that temp either.

There are some in the store that claim -40, -50, etc. but when you look on the bottle, there is a giant warning saying to dilute with water and that it will only actually work at -26 or so after dilution.

Frost is awful at -40, but it's on the inside of the windshield, not the outside. You need a good defroster.

[Biscuitsjam]

Day 18:
I got the rear four tires replaced today. They were retreads, and the two on the left side were completely worn out. The two on the right still had half their tread left, so I mounted them on rims as spares. The steer tires are fairly new.

I also went by the welding shop and they'll do my hitch but I have to wait until Monday/Tuesday.

After that, I got the bus in the auto skills center. I installed two fuel fan holders on the back first. I have four metal fuel cans, but I'll have to figure something out for the other two later.

I also replaced the propane regulator with one that can handle the cold better, but I still can't figure out how to attach my 100 lb propane tank... The manufacturer claims it is a POL fitting, but there are about 4 ports without clear labels on it, and the POL adapter doesn't fit any of them.

I got the trailer wiring mostly installed before ai ran out of time.

Finally, what got me really excited is I got the propane furnace working. All it needed was the exhaust/intake vents, but that was a beast of a project. It works now and blows hot air. However, the furnace is in the back of the bus and I only have ducts going to the middle of the bus so far. Still, I consider this a big win.


Propane vent. It looks deceptively simple.

[Biscuitsjam]

I kept the original defroster when I installed my auxiliary coolant heaters... it is somehow blocked and wont let any coolant through.

[Biscuitsjam]

I think it's vapor lock in the defroster. Can't seem to get it working.

[matthews2001]

wonder if old coolant/water ice clogged it while you were monkeying about with your new coolant heaters? Or if you teed off and coolant is taking the path of least resistance in new heaters?

[TJones]

Originally Posted by Biscuitsjam

I kept the original defroster when I installed my auxiliary coolant heaters... it is somehow blocked and wont let any coolant through.

Biscuitsjam,

I am impressed by your determination in working in such miserable conditions. For your heater problem is there a valve in the front heater defroster stuck closed? The other suggestion that the coolant in the heater core froze is possible as well.

Thank you for your service.

Ted