Little Bus Tow Rig 2001 E-450

[Don Lobo]

Foam not farmer!!!

[petieboy]

It is a little bit quieter, but I think more from enclosing the wheels than from the foam. There was a layer of painted spray foam about 1-1/2" thick on the tire side of the original wheel "bump". There was no liner until I installed the drum which helps contain a little bit of the road spray.

[peakbus]

Are your floors steel or aluminum? I believe mine are all aluminum. Obviously the structural stuff is steel.

[petieboy]

Since it is a shuttle style body and not a school bus style body, the floors are 3/4" plywood on 2" x 4" formed steel "U" channels that sit cross-wise on the vehicle frame. The body itself is made from 1-1/2 square steel tubing skinned with sheet metal.

[besterfe]

Originally Posted by petieboy

Since it is a shuttle style body and not a school bus style body, the floors are 3/4" plywood on 2" x 4" formed steel "U" channels that sit cross-wise on the vehicle frame. The body itself is made from 1-1/2 square steel tubing skinned with sheet metal.

good info. I have a e450 turning into food truck. I need to secure equipment to the floor. was planing on using the feet the "stripper" poles. I feel comfortable about that now. what about the celling? I am planning on using the same feet for that.

thanks

[mc11237]

Wasn’t going to take the air conditioner down. But once I got started on the electrical so in depth I knew it had to come down. I’m really glad I did. No surprise, I found more leaks and rust to address behind it. Now I think I’m going to swing it 45 degrees so it’s above my couch and not where you would be standing. Also got ALOT of wires ripped out. Mostly for dome type lights and buzzers. I now have a really good handle on how and why and where most of the wires are. So all is well. Dropped the old girl off at the Shop for a compete fluid change and inspection. It was weird driving with no floor. Lol. Next up is a trip to the welder for some major adjustments!!!

[petieboy]

@ Besterfe:


Behind the ceiling panels where the poles "feet" were anchored, there were plates welded to the frames tubing to screw the fasteners into. There were plates in several locations even where there were no poles. You may have to locate those plates and if they are not where you need them then you may need to remove the ceiling panels and weld some in.

[mc11237]

So as it turns out the old waves on each side are a massive "sticker" So went the route of eraser wheel like so many before. And holy crap those things rock. Already burned up 1.5 and I'm only about half way done. Another couple on order. While I was doing that I had some help from some really talented welder/ fabricator friends. Finished the driver floor and ripped out the sagging rear body mount rail. Floor was a little wonky where the plates all met so instead of dropping the tank we just cut 6 inch on each side of it. Also having the ceiling plated for reinforcements for a roof platform some day down the road. They are finishing the custom wheel wells and plating one wall for a outside hinged table for me. Also cut out the AC condenser bolts that went through the floor. Patched the floor holes and built a new mounting system. Going to move the AC one day this week. BUT BEST of all we moved the seat back to a new location for my long legs. HAHA Yes!!!!!! Some pics attached more to come.

[EastCoastCB]

I've found the $7 eraser wheels from ebay/amazon work just about as well as the $40 3m branded ones.

[besterfe]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I've found the $7 eraser wheels from ebay/amazon .

can you send me link for amazon $7 ones?

do you guys use the ones that look like a gear or the solid ones?

I got a lot of decals to remove.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by besterfe

can you send me link for amazon $7 ones?

do you guys use the ones that look like a gear or the solid ones?

I got a lot of decals to remove.

The gear looking ones are alright but I've gotten the best results from the solid type.
https://www.ebay.com/i/353023831632?chn=ps

[mc11237]

Originally Posted by besterfe

can you send me link for amazon $7 ones?

do you guys use the ones that look like a gear or the solid ones?

I got a lot of decals to remove.

Out of the two I tried

I like https://www.homedepot.com/p/Astro-Pn...ord=W857625584

Better than
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[mc11237]

Some mo' pics. Roof done. Wheel wells done. Roof hatch cut for fan. Walls done. Driver floor almost done. Seat moved back about 8 inches lol

[leadsled01]

Nice to see someone actually fixing rust rather than running away screaming like it was covid. lol

[besterfe]

thanks, for help on decal removal. has anyone tried these two things

solvent https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00PG8JG..._zThSEbNG96C1C


plastic scrapers
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B076BBW1..._MSiSEbYSZE2BD


was thinking of putting solvent on then power wash.. got a lot of decals

[roach711]

Originally Posted by besterfe

thanks, for help on decal removal. has anyone tried these two things

solvent https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00PG8JG..._zThSEbNG96C1C


plastic scrapers
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B076BBW1..._MSiSEbYSZE2BD


was thinking of putting solvent on then power wash.. got a lot of decals

I removed my stickers by heating the sticker with a hair dryer then peeling them off. I slathered the adhesive with gasoline to soften it then scraped it off with one of those plastic scrapers.

[mc11237]

Originally Posted by roach711

I removed my stickers by heating the sticker with a hair dryer then peeling them off. I slathered the adhesive with gasoline to soften it then scraped it off with one of those plastic scrapers.

I tried the heat gun scraper technique. It worked. But left a little glue. The wheels take awhile but take it all off and leaves no marks. Glad your gas trick worked for you though!

[mc11237]

Originally Posted by besterfe

thanks, for help on decal removal. has anyone tried these two things

solvent https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00PG8JG..._zThSEbNG96C1C


plastic scrapers
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B076BBW1..._MSiSEbYSZE2BD


was thinking of putting solvent on then power wash.. got a lot of decals

I hadn’t seen those plastic scrapers. Very cool. Good find. I don’t know about the solvent. In my view. It’s only worth it if it cuts the removal time in half. Because the wheels are so effective. But not efficient. I have a 3’~ wide by 12’~ long wavy decal on each side. It’s extremely tough although faded to no end. Lol. It probably took 2.5 hours with many breaks. Tiny, thin strip decals are extremely quick, takes minutes. The wheel is not great on glass leaves a little glue residue which will come off quickly with goo gone.

[mc11237]

Well after starting with a bang, summer took a hold and rock crawling became the weekend activity of choice! After not doing much on the bus for a while, I'm back on it! Got the passenger windows out and back in again. Haven't water tested them but they seem thoroughly sealed now. Have the driver side windows all out. The windows are scraped and painted and ready to go back in. Just have to clean up the bus side frame sections then glue them back in. Found a wire wheel and grinder was my best friend at removing the very sticky yet not water proof adhesive on the windows and bus side frames. To get them out I used a linoleum knife to start then a long pry bar and worked parallel to window casing while hammering vertically to pop the window in and out. Did bend the aluminum window case quite a bit before getting really good on the last one. Got the mirror brackets all taken down. Sand blasted and painted. Started on the bus body lighting. The blinkers and clearance lights are old. Replacing all of them with button LEDs. Then it'll be time to start tackling the waterproofing of the roof. Goal now is to have it waterproofed, painted and ready to tow for May 1st. Even if the inside is still just exposed ribs.

[mc11237]

Few updates. Got the emergency roof hatch built. I went the Argo bus style. My roof was pretty curved and it was my first time doing custom wood stuff. But I cobbed it together. I might be ok. But if not I think I can remove the hatch and fix it. I went wide on the hatch door but I should have kept it sucked tight to the frame...o well......Got the driver side windows back in. But I think the front most and rear most didn't sit all the way down. I may have to take them out again...or just add caulk, but that seems like the lazy route. Got the max fan in that was a sinch obviously. Cut the holes for water fill and Electric. And built a custom tool box for where the ac compressor was. That was really a lot of fun to build and I learned a lot about welding. I think I am going to keep a boat gas can in there. Since it's only 12" tall had to find something flat not tall. And I have almost like a pancake style air compressor with a 3g tank I think will fit in there. I may run air bags, train horn and power tools and air up tires with it. Got the led clearance lights in now working on cleaning up the never ending glue to do some fiber glass on roof. I think that brings us up to date