I bought a Shortie!!

[Robin97396]

Bring a bus load of your cans to a state that has a profitable bottle/can return program.

I'm sure you'll need some help drinking all those beers so you have enough cans to make a profit.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Bring a bus load of your cans to a state that has a profitable bottle/can return program.

I'm sure you'll need some help drinking all those beers so you have enough cans to make a profit.

[PigPen]

Exactly what I was thinking of. Great episode.

We kept our lift posted for nearly 6 months before selling it. Tons of hits, but everyone wanted to put it in a regular sized van. Had it not been winter, we would have scrapped/curbed it too.

We got lucky. A flipper bought it off us thinking he could sell it for a few grand. We didn't know at the time, he lied about what he wanted it for.

[cadillackid]

here is the issue with those lifts. you cant sell them used because most often when a bus is ordered, the lift is just but part of a package that includes the wiring, the door, maybe even tire and suspension height, interior modifications such as wheelchar tiedowns etc.. shools dont go buy used lifts.. busses that didnt have lifts usually didnt have the door or the floorplan for wheelchairs.. so the law of averages says that lift is worthless..

like anything there is exception to the rule - ie a skoolie here that might want a lift.. and if so, id hope they would post on anyone's thread who just bought a bus and ask if they can have it..

now lets say you did find someone who wants that lift... if the yare from here, they gotta be within driving distance because shipping it is gonna cost a ton...

I asked for a month about the lift in DEV, craigslist, posts on here, etc and the most I got was someone willing to scrap it.. so i had it yanked a fewdays before i picked up that bus..
-Christopher

[Robin97396]

I want to be Cramer. Remember, your bus is bigger than Neuman's mail truck.

I'd like to make my lift into a stabilizer under the rear of the bus that I could raise and lower from inside the bus. I'm going to need stabilizers if I ever get my mobile satellite antenna. I'd like one dish that could give me TV and internet.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I've also been wanting to take out my lift, but motorcycles and wood stoves are heavy to get in and out.

I get the bike and the lifting IN of the stove but why does the stove ever need to come back out?

[Robin97396]

The wood stove comes out because I don't want to give up that much space year around. Actually the wood stove only made it past the first winter. This year I didn't install the wood stove at all because I attempted to go all electric. I did use 15 gallons of propane as a backup heat source to bring things up to temperature during the coldest month.

I tried using the wood stove like a cabinet for a while but they don't hold that much.

The plain truth is that if the wood stove isn't being currently used for heat, it's an air leak in the bus. Beyond that, as I've mentioned several times, wood heat is dirty. Also lots of bugs live in the bark. I'm happier with electric heat, without the extra dirt and bugs. Cutting firewood has become basically impossible with a few old age ailments anyway. Got the insulation in just in time.

[oricha1984]

cool looking bus. gratz

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

The wood stove comes out because I don't want to give up that much space year around. Actually the wood stove only made it past the first winter. This year I didn't install the wood stove at all because I attempted to go all electric. I did use 15 gallons of propane as a backup heat source to bring things up to temperature during the coldest month.

I tried using the wood stove like a cabinet for a while but they don't hold that much.

The plain truth is that if the wood stove isn't being currently used for heat, it's an air leak in the bus. Beyond that, as I've mentioned several times, wood heat is dirty. Also lots of bugs live in the bark. I'm happier with electric heat, without the extra dirt and bugs. Cutting firewood has become basically impossible with a few old age ailments anyway. Got the insulation in just in time.

Mkay, good point. So, assuming you would stick with wood (which it does NOT sound like the case) what goes in the spot once occupied by the wood stove? Whatever it is also has to be removable and not permanently affixed.

[Robin97396]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Mkay, good point. So, assuming you would stick with wood (which it does NOT sound like the case) what goes in the spot once occupied by the wood stove? Whatever it is also has to be removable and not permanently affixed.

Wood heat works if I'm here at home with a dry wood supply. Wood is not practical for traveling, however boondocking sometimes presents opportunities to collect and use wood. Without wood I don't have to carry my chainsaw while traveling.

I have a propane heater that takes the place of the wood stove, heat wise. I don't like to use propane but there are times I need additional heat. Most heat sources are expensive either in monetary cost, inconvenience or both.

I've got plans to make an ammo can wood stove that can be wall mounted to provide heat when there actually is wood available.

I'm not focusing on heat for this bus in the future because I intend to go where it's much warmer. Lots of unexpected things can happen so I figure a small, lightweight wood stove could be practical for burning trash as well as heat when needed. A quite small wood stove could easily equal or exceed the heat from my electric/ceramic heater.

I'm guessing by the time I've traveled for several months I'll have my heating issues all worked out. I've also been trying to reduce my dependence on electric blankets, which would be my number one choice for staying warm at night. Without actually unplugging from the grid, I am slowly reducing my dependence on items I won't be able to use while boondocking.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Wood heat works if I'm here at home with a dry wood supply. Wood is not practical for traveling, however boondocking sometimes presents opportunities to collect and use wood. Without wood I don't have to carry my chainsaw while traveling.

I have a propane heater that takes the place of the wood stove, heat wise. I don't like to use propane but there are times I need additional heat. Most heat sources are expensive either in monetary cost, inconvenience or both.

I've got plans to make an ammo can wood stove that can be wall mounted to provide heat when there actually is wood available.

I'm not focusing on heat for this bus in the future because I intend to go where it's much warmer. Lots of unexpected things can happen so I figure a small, lightweight wood stove could be practical for burning trash as well as heat when needed. A quite small wood stove could easily equal or exceed the heat from my electric/ceramic heater.

I'm guessing by the time I've traveled for several months I'll have my heating issues all worked out. I've also been trying to reduce my dependence on electric blankets, which would be my number one choice for staying warm at night. Without actually unplugging from the grid, I am slowly reducing my dependence on items I won't be able to use while boondocking.

I get that you aren't planning on relying on wood heat but since the stove went in in the first place, it was the plan even if briefly. Was the wood stove always planned as "portable"? If so, what took its place in the summer months? <-- That was the original question.

Ammo box wood stove??? Ammo box size or actual ammo box? The walls aren't very thick on an ammo box. I'm interested in the concept tho. Now if you are getting some 3/8ths" or 1/2" plate steel and building an "ammo box stove" out of it, I'm definitely listening. A cast iron wood stove just isn't worth $900+ to me. Yeah, there's design work for the flue, mark up for the retailer, etc. but it's a cast iron box!! At 4 cents a pound for scrap, that's a whole lotta metal for $900.

[Robin97396]

I did plan on heating with wood heat initially. Wood is to bulky to travel with and without fuel the wood stove just takes up space. So wood is not reliable enough, and can't be used in the occasional real campgrounds anyway.

I did buy a particular model of wood stove which I intended to take with me during my travels. It's an airtight stove that has a pedestal that can easily fastened to the floor. I bought it on Craigslist for $200. Now it's sitting on the back porch.

I had that stove in here months ago, but kept unloading and loading it during the build so I just left it out. Now I've developed a floorplan, based on use and need. If I chose to put the stove back inside the bus I'd replace one of the seats in the passenger area.

Yeah wood stoves are overpriced, but most of them are designed for the aesthetic benefits. The best heating stoves are barrel stoves. If I can make the ammo box stove work decent, that would save a lot of space. With good insulation, burning some trash should help heat a bus up in the mornings.

I do miss the wood stove for burning paper garbage, so a small wall mounted actual ammo box made into a wood stove is what I'm planning to make. Of course you can see variations on youtube. Propane bottles made into wood stoves would also work size wise. I'm planning on using metal plumbing for the exhaust instead of stove pipe.

[TobinHagler]

Super score at the scrap yard! I got a 4 foot long 18" x 18" waterproof steel under truck box, with heavy duty welded mounting brackets attached, for 50 bucks

Also a medium sized waterproof brand-new electrical box I can put shore power, inverter, that sort of thing inside of and still bolt underneath the bus !

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by TobinHagler

Super score at the scrap yard! I got a 4 foot long 18" x 18" waterproof steel under truck box, with heavy duty welded mounting brackets attached, for 50 bucks

Also a medium sized waterproof brand-new electrical box I can put shore power, inverter, that sort of thing inside of and still bolt underneath the bus !

Maybe I need to go to the recycler's. I don't know if we have a proper scrap yard or not. Hell, I'd settle for a truck junk yard.

[Phatman]

Originally Posted by TobinHagler

Super score at the scrap yard! I got a 4 foot long 18" x 18" waterproof steel under truck box, with heavy duty welded mounting brackets attached, for 50 bucks

Also a medium sized waterproof brand-new electrical box I can put shore power, inverter, that sort of thing inside of and still bolt underneath the bus !

TobinHagler, that electrical box I believe is called a Hoffman box. In case you wanted to know.

[Robin97396]

Now it's a Hagler box.

[slaughridge85]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Now it's a Hagler box.

HIYOOOOO! - paging Ed McMahon - paging Mr. Ed McMahon

[TobinHagler]

Today I finished installing the wood interior. Tomorrow I'm going to seal it 😍😍😍

[Brewerbob]

Nice; what's the darker stuff?

[TobinHagler]

It's looking good! Of course, it rained hard last night and a small leak in the roof mounted AC means I'll have a small repair on the poly but that's no worries