Gillig Advantage Low Floor bus 669 build.

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by BaconFarms

Not sure the brand name, but will get it for you. I am removing it, and have pulled the cables already. Not sure if the keyboard (computer) is password protected or not, but there is a list of what is already programmed. Can't imagine they would leave it open for drivers to disparage there ex-wife's as they traveled the city.

Just sayin,

BaconFarms

Haha yeah they usually require special software to reprogram. We have a Luminator headunit that we can reprogram and the buses at my work have Luminators so push come to shove I can load some presets that way.

What may be more of an issue is if that sign does require 24v. Luminator literature suggests that it will run on 12v and 24v.

[BaconFarms]

Got most of the seats unbolted and one of the soffit/heating ducts. Glad I decided not to use the ducts as there was a quarter inch of dust/dirt/nasty on the bottom that would have been impossible to clean. Just imagine how much corona virus can live in those tunnels....

Anyway, the pics are a little dark, not sure why, had my flash on.

The roof and walls are a little under an eight of an inch aluminum sheet with 1-1/2 white Styrofoam between that and the plastic/fiberglass exterior. Nothing to rot there, I'm happy.

Had to cut the bottom of the soffit as they glued it to the wall with some nasty stuff. Have to get some respirators (if I can find any) for the other side. 1/8" fiberglass make for some unhealthy dust pretty quick with the cutoff wheel.

Anyway, fun with buses,

BaconFarms

[Truthseeker4449]

I can't get respirators or masks right now if I tried. The panic has set in hard after they've closed schools for the next month. Even before the school closure I couldn't get anyway and I ran into soggy mold.

[BaconFarms]

Went to town, of course all sold out of the paper rubber band type. So I had to splurge. I will use it for paint too in the future so not all bad.

Took the other soffit out today, and cleaned up some more wiring.

Dun for the day.

BaconFarms

[joeblack5]

We have a slf bus for similar reasons. My mom in a wheel chair used to live with us. The hydraulic ramp was a blessing. We made several trips with her and had a great time.. Mom had to return to the Netherlands because of immigration issues and last year we took Dory across the country... Great time as well.
Our is a different brand and less wide as yours. The floor is also wood with a coating on the bottom. It is in real good shape. Since it has so much head room we put floor heat into Dory.
Good luck with your project. Be careful with all the lockouts since all this stuff is multiplexed and not so easy to understand or modify.

Johan

[BaconFarms]

"Be careful with all the lockouts since all this stuff is multiplexed and not so easy to understand or modify."

Yep, yep. I have pulled out about a 55 gallon drum of wiring that was for non essential stuff not used. Somewhere during the process I dislodged a connection somewhere and lost the shifter, heat fan, interior lights and high idle. Got everything back except high idle. Still tracking that down. LOL.

I want to eliminated the passenger door in the back and it off course has a module mounted right above it. So I have some work there.

My bus has the Multiplex system with 6 modules placed all over the bus. I believe it is a loop system so as a safety if a connection breaks, etc.

I did get the wiring schematic for this bus so there is that.

Thanks for the reply,

BaconFarms

[joeblack5]

What brand of multiplex do you have? If I remove a multiplex box then I get a system error. I had a multiplex box talk with the security video system that I removed and I had to leave the multiplex box connected to prevent a warning light coming on... I was able to disconnect the wires from the multiplex box.


We removed the rear doors and all was OK as long as we bypassed the four limit switches in the door. I removed all cylinders, pressure regulators, pneumatic valve block ..bearings.. etc.




Good luck,
Johan

[BaconFarms]

It looks to be DINEX. Not sure if that's what you mean.

I understand fuses, circuit breakers and solenoids, etc., but I do not know the functions of the "modules" though. My bus has one by driver, two in bulkhead, one on pass door and three in back on engine firewall. I don't understand why not one computer, etc.

I do know they are in a loop. I think that is for redundancy, but again, not sure. They also have fuses in them too.

The good news is that a bunch of these buses are coming on the civilian market now and then there should be some geeks breaking this down for people like me. LOL.

Anyway, fun with buses,

BaconFarms

[Truthseeker4449]

That looks like it's nicer to mess with than coach multiplexing. In a Vanhool there's 6 modules (nodes) that are interchangeable with each other, 3 in the front of the bus and 3 in the rear. The inputs and outputs help the cluster (DMUX, the supreme computer on a Vanhool) figure out who is who. They don't have any LEDs on them what so ever. They don't seem to have problems very often, but still are wired up in strange ways.

For example, a node in the front of the bus puts out 12v (which is a weird Vanhool thing by itself) on the sense wires for each alternator. Another node in the rear of the bus is spliced into the same wires and is looking for 24v to come from the alternators to show they are charging.

And a node in the back of the coach controls the "Watch your step" sign at the very front of the bus.

I've only been trained on Vanhool systems so far.

[BaconFarms]

Bought some wire hangers and rehung the wiring harnesses both sides.. Removed a bunch more wire.

BaconFarms

[BaconFarms]

Did a little work on the ceiling of the bus. It has a fiberglass exterior, fiberglass or stainless interior, sandwiching a white foam.

The foam just floats and comes down when the fiberglass panels are removed.

All supported by a extruded aluminum framework. Pretty neat construction.

BaconFarms

[BaconFarms]

Took out all the loose items from the bus today. Removed some more wiring and gave is a quick sweeping with a broom.

BaconFarms

[Truthseeker4449]

Oh there's still snow on the ground! This should be a nice treat, we've barely had any snow this year.

[ExitSuburbia]

Looking forward to some progress! I just bought a 03 high floor 30 foot Phantom a month ago. About where you are, seats and ceiling out.. Not removing any wiring besides the unused camrra wires they left in.

[BaconFarms]

Just got 10 inches of snow yesterday. That and the virus thingy, not much more on the bus right now. Truthseeker4449 stopped out and nabbed all the electric signage from the Gillig, and I have two friends grabbing most of the seats I took out. So there is that.

I am re-thinking my plan and may go with floor tanks in the front half to make the floor level, and make a 16" lift for the wife. It makes the floor plan so much easier when most of the floor is one level, instead of half and half. And it makes a nice place for the tanks, etc..

More to come.

[nelmstr]

Hello, and thanks for the great write-up. I'm curious about what you're planning on doing for your fresh and grey tanks? Is there room underneath? Will you be raising the floor for part of the build?

Thanks!

[BaconFarms]

Well, I sold the bus in the fall. My wives health situation changed and we are going a different direction.

Our plan was to use the rear of the bus for all the different systems and use the lower front part for living. We were not looking to live in, just to have more creature comforts while traveling.

I will add, the bus drove another 300 miles without issue and was a dream to drive around and down the interstate highway. I wouldn't hesitate to get another one if the need arose.

Thanks

[KFrey]

Fantastic, good luck with the build. I just bought a 2011 gillig low floor trolley with 214,000 original miles in mint condition. It was retired from Manatee County Transit two months ago.

[Bert06840]

Cool, I got a 2009. You gonna have a lot of fun!