Gypsy, AKA Al Green

[Green Gypsy]

This is the journey of our bus, Al Green. My husband and I had originally named her Gypsy but it didn't stick because we felt it wasn't original and just didn't work. Our song is "Lets Stay Together" by Al Green, so naturally we renamed our bus Al Green, since our bus is in fact green. So now she is a he!

Anyway, we did the demo on said bus and it went really well and only took 2 days. There was only a couple of bunk beds and a few odds and ends we needed to get rid of since all of the seats were already removed. There is only a heater left that needs to be removed which may cause some problem since it is hooked up with wires and tubes that we are not sure on how to remove. I have some pics, once I figure out how to post them, I will. I would love to get some feedback if possible.

[thrifty1]

Looking forward to the build!

[CaptSquid]

The wires on the heater are for the blower motor. As for the tubes, you can disconnect them and cap them off.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

The wires on the heater are for the blower motor. As for the tubes, you can disconnect them and cap them off.

The wires are for the blower motors. The tubes? If they're the heater hoses, you may not want to simply cap them off. We had someone remove the heaters and he capped off the hoses and it left us without cockpit heat or defrost. I connected the hoses together with a U-shaped pipe and now we've got cockpit heat again. Maybe there are a couple different types of systems, but for ours.....one seems to be a supply hose, and one a return hose.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

The wires are for the blower motors. The tubes? If they're the heater hoses, you may not want to simply cap them off. We had someone remove the heaters and he capped off the hoses and it left us without cockpit heat or defrost. I connected the hoses together with a U-shaped pipe and now we've got cockpit heat again. Maybe there are a couple different types of systems, but for ours.....one seems to be a supply hose, and one a return hose.

I have 2 under seat heaters. One hose runs all the way to the back heater and exits it and heads to the midship heater and then back to the front. I don't see how looping the 2 together will effect the front heater at all.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I have 2 under seat heaters. One hose runs all the way to the back heater and exits it and heads to the midship heater and then back to the front. I don't see how looping the 2 together will effect the front heater at all.

Insteresting. I guess there are a couple different types of systems.....our cockpit heat didn't work until I looped the lines back together. I assumed they were all like that, as I had read similar posts a few years ago when we were first digging into school bus conversions.

[somewhereinusa]

The heaters are in series (one big loop) You can take out as many as you wish but, if you want the front heater/defroster to work you must keep it in the loop. There are two heater hoses attached to the engine one is quite near the water pump that one is hot water out. The other one probably is near the rear of the engine that is the return line. Each one probably has a valve. The front heater is probably the first in line. If you want to keep it for driver heat/defrost you can cut/disconnect the "out" of that heater, then hook it up to the "return"

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

Insteresting. I guess there are a couple different types of systems.....our cockpit heat didn't work until I looped the lines back together. I assumed they were all like that, as I had read similar posts a few years ago when we were first digging into school bus conversions.

I missed where you said you originally capped them off, this would keep coolant from entering the front heater, as you found. looping them opens up the front. If you can get access you should be able to route the feed line to the front heater and eliminate the loop.

[CaptSquid]

I would get rid of the rear under seat heaters and replace them with either baseboard heaters or a low-profile wall-mounted radiator.

[Green Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

The wires are for the blower motors. The tubes? If they're the heater hoses, you may not want to simply cap them off. We had someone remove the heaters and he capped off the hoses and it left us without cockpit heat or defrost. I connected the hoses together with a U-shaped pipe and now we've got cockpit heat again. Maybe there are a couple different types of systems, but for ours.....one seems to be a supply hose, and one a return hose.

My husband figured it out, and did use a u-shaped copper pipe to cap it so that the anti-freeze could recirculate through. It was quite a little project, took a while to figure out. We had to have a bucket handy to have something for the anti freeze to go into. I didn't think about having issues with not being able to defrost the windshield. Hopefully we don't run into that problem.

I'm glad that is done and now we can start on the walls and flooring. We are re-purposing pallet boards to cover the insides of the bus in. I like that rustic look. I started laying them out and really like the way they look, I may sand them down a bit but I don't want to do anything else to them. I'm really beginning to see just how large of a project this is going to be. There are so many materials needed and as we go along, more and more seems necessary. I love seeing things come together though, with each goal reached, it feels closer and closer to being home. It is also a bit daunting though, it is sometimes hard to see the overall vision I have for the bus. Just gotta take it one step at a time.

[Green Gypsy]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

I would get rid of the rear under seat heaters and replace them with either baseboard heaters or a low-profile wall-mounted radiator.

I like those ideas, might be something we install later in the future. For now we just have a couple of electric space heaters we will use if it gets chilly.

[Green Gypsy]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

The heaters are in series (one big loop) You can take out as many as you wish but, if you want the front heater/defroster to work you must keep it in the loop. There are two heater hoses attached to the engine one is quite near the water pump that one is hot water out. The other one probably is near the rear of the engine that is the return line. Each one probably has a valve. The front heater is probably the first in line. If you want to keep it for driver heat/defrost you can cut/disconnect the "out" of that heater, then hook it up to the "return"

Thank you, this makes sense to me. Since I know nothing about heating systems, I was worried that if we took the rear out, it would effect the rest of the heating system. I see now that as long as there is a loop still going, it should circulate through the rest of the systems.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by Green Gypsy

I'm glad that is done and now we can start on the walls and flooring. We are re-purposing pallet boards to cover the insides of the bus in. I like that rustic look. I started laying them out and really like the way they look, I may sand them down a bit but I don't want to do anything else to them. I'm really beginning to see just how large of a project this is going to be. There are so many materials needed and as we go along, more and more seems necessary. I love seeing things come together though, with each goal reached, it feels closer and closer to being home. It is also a bit daunting though, it is sometimes hard to see the overall vision I have for the bus. Just gotta take it one step at a time.

Yes yes yes to this whole paragraph! It wrings so true. You'll be buying SO many packages of self-tapping screws (of various sizes), weird sized L brackets that you never knew existed, and electrical components that you've walked by a million times at the hardware store. Every step of it is both rewarding and frustrating. Sometimes we drag our asses out to the bus to try to get over some hurdle or another and we have an amazingly productive day. Some days we think we're going to quickly whip out some project and we end up so dispirited we want to throw in the towel .
Seeing it come together is magic though, as daunting as it can be. You'll see it come together organically and clever solutions to problems you hadn't anticipated will present themselves out of the blue. It's a tremendous learning experience!

[Green Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

Yes yes yes to this whole paragraph! It wrings so true. You'll be buying SO many packages of self-tapping screws (of various sizes), weird sized L brackets that you never knew existed, and electrical components that you've walked by a million times at the hardware store. Every step of it is both rewarding and frustrating. Sometimes we drag our asses out to the bus to try to get over some hurdle or another and we have an amazingly productive day. Some days we think we're going to quickly whip out some project and we end up so dispirited we want to throw in the towel .
Seeing it come together is magic though, as daunting as it can be. You'll see it come together organically and clever solutions to problems you hadn't anticipated will present themselves out of the blue. It's a tremendous learning experience!

Drew Bru, I love that thought! It is just like any other creative process it seems to me. The thought that ideas come together organically is a great feeling, it is awesome knowing that your ideas and thoughts can come to fruition is a natural way. I have always loved to create whether it be through art, gardening, writing or cooking. It is like nurturing a baby and see it grow. The bus so far has given me a sense of fulfillment unlike any other thing I have created, even though still in its infancy. Of course, being a mother of 4 is quite fulfilling as well, lol. I guess I can't deny that. ;)