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12-22-2009, 08:50 PM
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#1
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Errabundus Bus
Hello.....
I've been lurking here for some time now. Thought'd be time to share our experience of the last two years of building and owning a skoolie. You can check out my wife's blog at http://errabundusbus.blogspot.com/ There is a lot of non-skoolie info there also, so if you just want to see entries about the conversion, there is a way to do that on the right hand side of the blog.
We are a homeschooling family of 7 who love to camp. Our skoolie is setup more for weekend getaways and family vacations rather than permanent dwelling. The thought of living off the grid and being self sustainable is very appealing however.
My latest project for the bus is a homemade hydronic heating system for the bus. So far all I have is a 40 gallon gas water heater cut down to about 5 gallons and a head full of ideas. I am planning on mounting the water heater under the chassis and running hot water lines to baseboard heaters. At this point it'll run off of propane or an electrical element if we have shore power.
Matt
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01-04-2010, 10:27 PM
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#2
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Skoolie
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Portland OR area
Posts: 180
Year: 1983
Coachwork: International
Chassis: Carpenter
Engine: 8.3
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Welcome, you have been lurking. Love your website by the way. Were in the same boat we love to camp and were home schooling. Our kids are a bit younger but were off to a good start. Our site is www.sethandhannah.com see you around either here or on your blog. Pictures are always liked and appreciated look foreard to seeing your skoolie.
__________________
seth
"grease buddy" and all around nice guy
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01-06-2010, 03:09 PM
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#3
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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: Time to Say Hello!
Hey Matt, thanks for posting! I really enjoyed reading your wife's bus blog, and forwarded a link to my wife in hopes that she will get inspired by it.
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01-17-2010, 08:09 PM
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#4
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
A couple of pictures of the doghouse cover I fabricated. I'm trying to cut down as much engine noise as possible. I have foam padding stapled onto the back of the cover as well as underneath the dash. I went so far as to relocate the gas + brake pedals over to the left a couple of inches.
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01-17-2010, 08:55 PM
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#5
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
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01-17-2010, 09:40 PM
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#6
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: California, Just NorthEast of San Fransisco
Posts: 539
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
I'm curious on the Antenna. Is there info on it?
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01-18-2010, 08:26 AM
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#7
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adirondack Mountains NY
Posts: 1,101
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Very nice! And I love homemade antennas, especially ones that are well done!
__________________
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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01-18-2010, 09:14 PM
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#8
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Smitty, the door isn't there anymore. It replaced the 4th window down on the passenger side. I don't know how much the cover will cut down on engine noise since I only got it installed this weekend. Any reduction will be good. The antenna is rather simple in design and works well. I will try to get a diagram posted this week sometime
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01-20-2010, 01:29 PM
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#9
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Roswell, NM
Posts: 3,588
Year: 1986
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: 40 ft All American FE
Engine: 8.2LTA Fuel Pincher DD V8
Rated Cap: 89
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ErrabundusBus
Hello.....
...My latest project for the bus is a homemade hydronic heating system for the bus. So far all I have is a 40 gallon gas water heater cut down to about 5 gallons and a head full of ideas. I am planning on mounting the water heater under the chassis and running hot water lines to baseboard heaters. At this point it'll run off of propane or an electrical element if we have shore power.
Matt
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I found this article to be very interesting. It is similar to what I want to do (except use the existing rear heat exchanger in place of the auto radiator).
Here's a question for you... Do people who homeschool their kids think different and do different because they homeschool OR do they end up homeschooling because they think & do different? I homeschooled my twins 4th grade to 12th grade and camped the whole time. We "unschooled". Everything was a field trip.
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01-24-2010, 07:31 AM
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#10
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
The reasons we started to homeschool are not the same reasons now, if that makes any sense. Our oldest was going to start 7th grade when we finally took the plunge and only regret not starting sooner. We had to de-school.
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01-24-2010, 07:58 AM
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#11
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel Dan
Hey Matt, thanks for posting! I really enjoyed reading your wife's bus blog, and forwarded a link to my wife in hopes that she will get inspired by it.
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Thanks Dan, my wife actually encouraged me with the idea of this project. I have always been into car projects whether it was to make them look good or to go fast. She would reluctantly tolerate the other "woman". But now, she enjoys planning and helping. It has been a family project from the start and I wouldnt have it any other way. I believe it has brought us closer together.
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01-24-2010, 08:21 AM
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#12
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redbear
Very nice! And I love homemade antennas, especially ones that are well done!
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Can't say I'm an antenna guru but this one works for our needs. It is omnidirectional.
http://flakey.info/antenna/omni/quarter/omni_tech.jpg
I just housed it in pvc plumbing parts from Home Depot. It helps to pick up the WIFI signals from the truck stops and restaurants.
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01-24-2010, 08:59 AM
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#13
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 136
Year: 1994
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: International
Engine: DT360
Rated Cap: 54
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Kudo's on your bus and double kudo's for keeping your tribe tight, that's a rare thing these days. I raised a daughter and two sons and we were very tight. Two are on their own now (kids and married) and one has a leg out the door and I miss them terribly.
I like what you did in the drivers/co-pilot area with the carpet and transmission cover, I've been looking at that area awhile now wondering how I was going to finish it out. Now I know!
Did you glue the carpet right to the cabinetry? I was thinking of gluing it to 3/8" plywood, wrapping it around the edges, and then screwing the carpeted panels to the cabinetry with washered screws so it's removable, the tops and rim of the side councils will be stain grade. I'm going to do the same thing to the drivers side "council" that covers the heater, with cut out's for a register and the anti-freeze control valve. I built the passenger side council to match, excepting the control panel for what switches remain. I should also have enough room in the new panel for my Ranger ham/cb rig and relater com gear.
There isn't a bus on this forum I haven't carped idea's from!
Take care,
Den
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01-25-2010, 09:03 PM
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#14
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adirondack Mountains NY
Posts: 1,101
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ErrabundusBus
Can't say I'm an antenna guru but this one works for our needs. It is omnidirectional.
http://flakey.info/antenna/omni/quarter/omni_tech.jpg
I just housed it in pvc plumbing parts from Home Depot. It helps to pick up the WIFI signals from the truck stops and restaurants.
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Ah, a dirt-simple 1/4-wave vertical polarization ground plane antenna in a protective housing! Thanks!
(I used a similar device in the past, built on a BNC connector with wires twice the length, in order to feed a dish on 1.296 GHz.)
__________________
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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04-28-2010, 08:14 PM
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#15
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: NorthEastern Wisconsin
Posts: 34
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: International DTA 360
Rated Cap: 65
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Re: Time to Say Hello!
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