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Old 04-26-2005, 08:54 AM   #1
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First bus 1969 International comes home thursday! What now?

Found a 1969 International, seems to run fine, just a bit of tree-related damage (as in giant dent across top, sealed with spray foam for drippy melting effect). This is the first vehicle I've ever bought!
Still has Air Force tags inside the engine. It was once purple and white, but now has a peeling layer of flat grey latex paint on it. First order of business is moving the seat down so that the steering wheel's not in my lap. Second, tearing out the musty carpet. Throwing my futon frame in the back. Is wired (as in has industrial extension cord).
Need to make it minimally livable in 2 weeks. Any suggestions?

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Old 04-26-2005, 10:12 AM   #2
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If it was Air Force its probably been well maintained mechanically, most of them were. As far as the driver's seat if your bus has air brakes go to a big truck junkyard and get an air ride seat out of a semi, will be alot more comfortable. As far as being liveable you can do as little or as much as you want, that is the great thing about a skoolie if you can imagine it you can do it.
Best of luck, keep us updated on progress!
~B~
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Old 04-26-2005, 01:18 PM   #3
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IF you need to live in your bus, here are a few things i would bring along. You weren't real specific about what your needs are, that really depends on what you put in the bus.

First...spend the 100 dollars or so and paint the bus.

buy an inverter! for 50 bucks you can get 800 watts continous, unless you're staying somewhere that has shore power.

buy a deep cycle battery from sams club..(unless you have access to shore power) now you need to charge this battery. I've had very poor luck with just connecting the house battery to the starting battery while the vehicle is running. This never seems to charge the house batteries properly...and i don't know why. 2 options...buy a cheap 3 stage microprosser charger from wal-mart ~30 bucks.....and/or buy a battery isolator. They're about 50 bucks from jcwhitney, but this will do an excellent job charging the house battery(s) and the starting battery at the same time. When you turn off the bus, it only allows power to be taken from the house batteries. ie: you can completely drain the house battery, and the bus will still start.

A bed would be a great addition, and they can be had cheap

How bout a camp stove? they're cheap. You'll need to use it outside, or make some form of ventilation so you dont' kill yourself.

don't forget tools! if you have a bus, you should have tools, including five gallons of fuel, flashlight, jumper cables, extention cords, ect

porta potties are under 50 bucks, but soda bottles are free, and can be disposed of easily. You can use a real bathroom if you need to take care of other business.

A cooler is a good idea

an old couch or two will provide cheap easy seating.

if you had a generator, that would be a wonderful addition. It's great way to charge a dead starting battery in the middle of nowhere.

wal-mart sells pre filled 2.5 gallon water containers that have a little valve, they're cheap.

curtains wouldn't be such a bad thing

you'll go mental without a stereo! (at least i would)

a digital voltmeter is a definate added bunus

read the poop sheets by pred
http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html

for 100 dollars per year, you can have roadside assistance from good sam club. They'll tow you unlimited mileage to the nearest appropriate facility to fix your vehicle. They will also provide jump starts, and bring emergency fuel, and change tires. This is a good deal!

you'll need a few hundred bucks to get started with the above items...

but you can exclude any or all of the above items.

you could sleep on the floor inside an empty yello bus with just a sleeping bag.
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Old 04-27-2005, 10:17 PM   #4
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Soda bottles?? what about when you eat some of that bad take out? You would need a big bucket. LOL
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Old 04-28-2005, 01:19 AM   #5
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you said:

"for 100 dollars per year, you can have roadside assistance from good sam club. They'll tow you unlimited mileage to the nearest appropriate facility to fix your vehicle. They will also provide jump starts, and bring emergency fuel, and change tires. This is a good deal! "

Is this national? Is there anywhere I could get more details about this? Will they really tow you from anywhere? That's an extremely good deal! What's the name of this program? I only live a couple miles from a sams club.
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Old 04-28-2005, 07:52 PM   #6
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here's the link to the good sam club. They're not related to Wal-mart's sams club.

http://www.goodsamclub.com/index.cfm
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Old 04-28-2005, 11:29 PM   #7
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oh thanks. I was a bit confused.

Thanks for the info, I'll look into it!
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