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10-05-2009, 09:38 PM
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#1
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Diesel Dan's Skoolie
Hey everyone, I just put down a deposit on a skoolie which I will be closing on in about 2 weeks! It's a 1996 International Thomas high top with a DT466 and AT545. Hydraulic brakes and wheelchair lift in the back. Most of the seats are already removed, except 4 which is all I would ever consider using. I'm buying it from a dealer in Kansas. I'll be flying out there and driving back home to Austin, TX. My criteria for a bus was very specific, and this one met them all. Mileage is a little higher than I would have liked (165,000), but really not bad for a diesel.
This will be a family travel machine for my 5-person family (3 small kids). The only way I could convince my wife to go along with it was to not get a "full size" bus. With 5 people a true "shortie" would just not have been enough space, so this 3/4 size (8 window) bus was the compromise. I plan to do a WVO conversion and probably solar panels. The back "garage" area will be large enough to accomodate a small dirtbike/motorcycle (to be loaded via the wheelchair lift) and a couple extra barrels of WVO for longer trips. I also plan to build a large deck on top for canoes, bikes, solar panels, enjoying the view, etc.
I have been lurking around this forum for several months now, and have come across so many great ideas! Thanks everyone!
Here are some pics:
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10-05-2009, 09:55 PM
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#2
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Quote:
Originally Posted by mightybus
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Yes, I contacted him and made an offer. He has another similar bus, a 1990 that has been on his lot forever, so I figured he wasn't having luck selling this style bus. Anyway, the plane ticket was $150 with all the taxes, fees, etc. I figure less than $200 in fuel to drive it home. Not too bad considering I'm getting the bus of my dreams!
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10-05-2009, 10:22 PM
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#3
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adirondack Mountains NY
Posts: 1,101
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Nice find! High roof, too. If the 1990 was a twin, and I were ready to buy, I would really think about it. Long shakedown trip to the Northeast, though.
__________________
Someone said "Making good decisions comes from experience, experience comes from bad decisions." I say there are three kinds of people: those who learn from their mistakes, those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who never learn.
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10-06-2009, 11:49 PM
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#4
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Haysville, Ks
Posts: 174
Year: 1969
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: Chevrolet
Engine: 350 Chevrolet
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Congrats on the bus!
When your southbound through Wichita you should stop by and say HI!!
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10-07-2009, 11:47 AM
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#5
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiktorD
One comment and one question...
Comment:
First; there is SOOOO much room under the bus that you will never need to carry fuel (even WVO) inside the bus. You can nab 100+ gallon tanks for around $100 bucks. Or if you're a good welder you can fab up a storage tank underneath and coat the walls to prevent rust. We are doing that for ours since we want a net of 400 gallons of fuel.
Question:
Do you know how much he wants for the 1990? And what are the specs if you can recall?
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The reason I am putting the WVO barrels inside the bus is these will be for collecting raw WVO on the road. I need vertical barrels so the water/sludge will settle to the bottom and stay there, and I will be able to pump the good WVO off the top during filtration, and visually see when I'm getting to the bad stuff towards the bottom, etc. Also they will be open top barrels with lids, so I can clean them out. My actual heated WVO supply tank to directly feed the engine will be underneath the bus just behind the driver. Do you have any ideas for where I can source a used tank? Preferably aluminum?
Regarding the 1990 bus: It's an 8 window International Thomas high top with conventional hood. 7.3 IDI international non-turbo engine. AT545 trans. 165,000 miles. Hydraulic brakes. Luggage racks down both sides of the interior. All seats installed. No rust. Tires less than 50%. Crack in windshield. Best price I negotiated with him was $2,500. His asking price on the website (google: "k-s bus") is considerably higher.
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10-07-2009, 01:18 PM
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#6
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
My original plan was to use steel 50 gallon barrels for all fuel/WVO applications, and plastic 50 gal drums for fresh and waste water tanks. But they do hang down fairly low when mounted underneath. I'll have to check and see if I have any RV junkyards in town and price some real water tanks. I think I'll take your advice and stick with a steel fuel tank. The only problem with steel is that I think the WVO is more prone to congeal (turn into that rubbery gunk) on steel as opposed to aluminum. Plus, it rusts.
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10-07-2009, 01:26 PM
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#7
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiktorD
He is definately asking too much for that bus.
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His asking price is a little high, but I think the $2,500 bottom line price is fair for that bus, especially considering he is a dealer. You've got to expect to pay more from a dealer than a private individual. They've got to cover their overhead and make some profit or they won't be in business long. I've seen some crazy prices at other dealers - a bus like this one could easily list for $5,000.
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10-07-2009, 02:21 PM
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#8
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Goodland, KS
Posts: 233
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: GMC
Engine: 8.2L Detroit N/A, Allison
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Our school district out here in Goodland, KS has an identical bus to yours, but on a Ford chassis. It is a Thomas high top with the narrow seats on a track, so you can adjust the spacing of the seats, as well as the seat belt positions. One thing I noticed about ours is that although it's a high top, the floor inside was raised to allow for a 15' or so wheelchair escape ramp. In reality, the ceiling height was no higher on that bus than on a "standard" Thomas because of the wheelchair ramp. You had to open the back emergency door to even know the ramp was there. It would be way cool for loading bikes or 4-wheelers! Ours also came with AC from the factory...pretty cool bus. I can't wait until the district sells it. I think we'll hang on to it for two more years, then we have to sell it. It has 40K or something like that on it. Good luck with your new bus, Dan!
Ben.
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10-19-2009, 12:34 AM
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#9
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
So I just got home from picking up my new bus near Kansas City. The drive back to Austin was uneventful, thankfully, and took me about a day and a half. A big THANKS goes out to COOLR for letting me camp out in his back yard and plug in to his shore power to keep warm on the first night of the journey. I got lots of great ideas from checking out his bus.
The bus started up instantly every time, and ran smoothly. There were a couple things that concerned me though. Firstly, it would start to make a sort of droning/howling noise every once in a while. It sounded like tires humming along on the pavement, except exaggerated. I'm pretty sure it was not the tires or hubs but rather the drivetrain. Not the engine, but perhaps the transmission or driveshaft or differential. It sounded like it was coming from right under the driver's area. It was sporadic, and only happened over 50mph and usually when going uphill. If I let off the accelerator the noise diminished, although sometimes it also did it when I completely let off the pedal to come to a stop from highway speed, like when taking an exit ramp. Is this normal? It wasn't a horrible noise, but it did cause me some concern.
The other thing that bothered me is the bus was running a bit hot. When I wasn't putting any load on it, it would run at 180 degrees, but once I'd been on the highway for a while it typically ran at 200, and when it got warmer outside and I was going up some big hills it crept up to 210. When it got up to 210 I stopped and turned on the rear heater and opened some windows so I wouldn't get too hot inside, and I kept my speed down to 55. That kept it at 200. The bus is running about 2500 rpms at 60 mph on a flat road. It's got a DT466 which I've heard has problems with overheating. I talked to some truckers at a rest stop who said 210 is fine for a diesel, but when I see my temp gauge at the 3/4 position, I don't like it. Oh, BTW, I was getting about 8mpg. I was hoping for 10. I'll have to check on my differential gear ratio, and see if perhaps I could improve that.
So basically, my questions are: What's up with that droning noise, and what's the deal with the hot engine?
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10-19-2009, 07:53 PM
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#10
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
I started doing a deeper assessment of the condition of the bus today and tomorrow will start in the driver's area tearing out all the consoles, heaters, driver's seat, etc. There is some bad rust in this area due to a leak I believe to be in the windshield and driver's window. Or perhaps the heaters were leaking coolant at one time. Anyway, I think by the time I get the the bottom of this I will find a hole clear through to the pavement. Hopefully tomorrow I will have time to tear up the flooring and see what is going on down there.
At first I was relieved that the bus was mainly devoid of seats since it was a handicap bus. But now I realize that this is actually more work. The metal slotted plates that were used to tie down the wheelchairs have 16 bolts each, and there are 8 of them I will have to remove. Man, that's a lot of holes in floor. And you know each hole will have a ring of rust around it. I can grind that off on the inside, but the underside will be harder to get at.
I'll get some pictures up once I make some more progress.
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10-19-2009, 09:17 PM
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#11
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Bus Nut
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 784
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Genesis
Engine: Detroit
Rated Cap: 14
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
For those hard to reach places, a squirt bottle full of Ospho (rust inhibitor) is your friend! Just wire brush as much of the loose stuff off first, squirt the heck outta those pesky spots, then spray shoot some Rust-O-Leum rusty metal primer over the inhibitor. Should help tremendously!
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10-21-2009, 12:38 PM
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#12
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Haysville, Ks
Posts: 174
Year: 1969
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: Chevrolet
Engine: 350 Chevrolet
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
WOW Looks like The internet worms ate my message. Its not even there.
Glad to hear you made it home ok. And I severely apologise because after you left I realized I didnt even hook you up with breakfast or even a hot cup of coffee or even offer the use of my bathroom! I am such a terrible host.
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10-21-2009, 01:09 PM
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#13
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Quote:
Originally Posted by C00LR
...And I severely apologise because after you left I realized I didnt even hook you up with breakfast or even a hot cup of coffee or even offer the use of my bathroom! I am such a terrible host.
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Well, I did wake you up from your slumber first thing in the morning and then dragged you out of your warm abode to show me your bus in the early morning chill. You really couldn't have been expected to have your wits about you!
I actually did get a free cup of fresh-brewed coffee in Gainsville, TX from a nice lady who was a convenient store clerk by night, but school bus driver by day! She was really tickled by my plans to build a skoolie. I also found on my trip that I was getting respect from the truck drivers at the diesel pumps. I suppose they consider us to be somewhat "related".
I had all good intentions of taking pictures during my trip, but was too distracted, and I guess, just not in the habit of taking pictures. I just got a couple road shots from the driver's seat. I'll have to get better about taking pics.
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10-24-2009, 10:55 PM
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#14
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Demolition begins
So I finally downloaded the photos from my camera.
My bus was a handicap bus, so it only has a few seats, but it has these tiedown plates for the wheelchairs. Each one has (and I kid you not) 16 bolts holding it to the floor. Multiply that by 10 of these plates, and you have... a lot of bolts to remove. I just found out that my air compressor is not able to keep up with the angle grinder I got. Stupid. Here's what they look like:
I've got a leak somewhere in the front of the bus that has been rotting out the floor. Here is what I found:
And under the front defroster/heater (after I pulled out the rotted plywood and the ant colony living in it):
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10-24-2009, 11:01 PM
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#15
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
The weather stripping on the driver's sliding window is coming off, but this is also probably part of the reason for the floor getting wet:
I removed the driver's seat and engine cover, and am currently working on removing the electrical console and heater unit. Man that thing is just not budging! I've pretty much run out of screws to remove and still it holds tight. Obviously something I'm not seeing...
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10-24-2009, 11:22 PM
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#16
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
One cool thing about this bus is that the door already has a built in locking mechanism:
It's got a cabinet lock built in, which although not the best security device, will keep the "honest" criminals out. Or at least the lazy ones.
The back door has a deadbolt on the inside. The wheelchair lift door has no lock as of yet, but the lift itself blocks anyone from entering through that door, and I can shut off power to the lift from the front console. I'll probably add a deadbolt there as well.
There doesn't appear to be much rust on the outside of the floor, I think it all came from the plywood getting wet from water coming inside the bus, and then the rubber holding the moisture in. So there's no question the whole floor will have to come out. I'm still not sure about whether or not I will keep the lift. It could be real handy, but it takes up some valuable space and it rattles around on the road. I'm not sure if I will use it enough to offset the disadvantages of having it, not to mention the cash I could get from selling it...
One last thing for now... I removed the stop sign and slapped a piece of metal from an old appliance of some sort over the hole. I figure the bus will have all sorts of utility service ports and such sticking out of it's sides, so this will just look like another similar thing, especially after it gets painted, it'll just blend in. I always save little objects like that, and love it when I find a use for one of these things.
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10-25-2009, 01:16 AM
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#17
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: California, Just NorthEast of San Fransisco
Posts: 539
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Silly thought, but have you thought of building a cabinet around the lift? If you but some insulation inside it, it should quiet the lifts rattle noises a bit, and then it would look better with whatever you plan to put in there.
Just use two doors, or maybe folding doors so they arn't in the way as much.
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10-25-2009, 11:07 PM
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#18
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty
DD- you'll probably need to remove the switch panel, the top panel of the heater box, and get to the inside of the heater box....it's likely got some screws inside holding it to the wall & maybe the floor. At least mine did. Smitty
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Yeah, I had tried that but still no go. There is a front panel that is hanging on by one invisible screw. If I could get that off I might be able to see better what's going on in there. I don't want to start breaking things, but that day may be coming soon...
But for now I'm taking a break from that and focusing on some exterior prep work. Scraping stickers, loose paint/fiberglass stuff that is peeling on the hood, and next will be some rust grinding/bondo/etc. I'm also working on removing the wheelchair tiedown brackets.
Also pondering floor plan options in the back of my mind. Lately I'm thinking of not having a shower. I think we will be in state parks most of the time and will have access to their shower facilities. I might actually have an external shower just to hose down after a muddy mountain bike ride, or day at the beach. I have limited space inside, and giving up the shower would give us some storage space.
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10-26-2009, 01:53 PM
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#19
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Re: New skoolie for Diesel Dan
My latest floorplan:
I'm still not sure if I will use the window A/C in a cabinet idea, or go with the rooftop A/C. I aready have a window unit, so cost-wise this option appeals to me. I may use a propane camp stove for cooking that will just sit on the counter next to the sink when in use. Either that or get an RV stove with the fold-up counter top. I'm not completely decided on whether to have a shower or use that space as storage. I will definitely have a toilet though.
The beds are not accurately described in the diagram. Basically the shorter bed will be a little shorter than a standard twin, and the bottom will double as a couch that folds out to a bed. The longer bed will fold out to be a full length double or queen size bed, and will also be a couch during the day. The top bunks will either fold or raise out of the way when not in use, allowing more headroom for the couches.
The back section of the bus is separated by a wall with a door for access. This should quiet down the clanking of the lift, and keep the bathroom out of the immediate living space. The grey squares represent tanks and/or barrels (mostly standard 55 gal barrels) to be mounted underneath the bus along the sides of the frame rails. Plastic for water, steel for fuel/WVO. The two WVO barrels in the back storage area of the bus are upright WVO storage and processing containers.
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10-27-2009, 09:28 AM
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#20
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,489
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/AT545
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Thoughts about painting
Last night I spent another couple hours scraping stickers. Next step for the exterior is to clean up the left over sticky goop with acetone, and then go after the rust spots. A little bondo, sanding, primer, a good pressure washing, and I'll be thinking about paint. Since I live in a hot climate, I'm thinking of going with white as the base color, and then maybe I'll paint the rub rails with a forest green. I'll use the silver hammered enamel on the wheels, mirrors and bumpers. I haven't decided whether or not to keep the fisheye mirrors on the front bumpers. They are the large panorama type, and seem pretty intrusive to me. I still have the convex round mirrors attached to the main mirrors. The main advantage in the bumper mirrors for me is that it gives you a reference for where your front corner is when navigating parking lots, etc. Decisions, decisions... hmmmmm...
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