Our New Skoolie (Yet to be named.)

[RavensOracle]

Just went and picked up our bus today. Drove it the 90 miles home through the South Eastern Kansas Flint Hills with no problems. It does have some minor issues but I think it is going to be a good bus for us.

The bus is a 1977 International Harvester with a Carpenter body. It's got a gas engine w/ automatic transmission. We only got it up to a max of 55mph but it never really dogged except for the few steeper grades we had to climb and even then it only dropped to about 45-50mph. I think after I get it a tune up we might be able to get a little more speed out of the old girl.

One of the things I am going to do some research into is the fact that they changed out the original 4-barrel carb for a 2-barrel. I am wondering if that may be affecting things. I got the 4-barrel carb with the bus but was told it needed a rebuilt. That will be something I look into.

One of the little tricks the original owner did to the bus that I like is they put heavy duty trailer tongue jacks on the bumpers. According to the guy I bought the bus from this make tweaking the bus level extremely easy. You should be able to see the jacks in the pictures.

I have health issues converting a bus from scratch was too much for me right now, but I will be making some changes to this one to make it fit our needs a little better.

So far the TODO list on the bus is:

1) Tuneup on the bus, possibly getting the 4 barrel carb rebuilt and put back on. The battery may need to be replaced. I had to jump it to get it started at first but It worked everytime after. I will pull it and get it checked this week.

2) Fuel Gage needs to be fixed.

3) Looking to add better and more mirrors. The driver side mirror is cracked and only having the two really limits visibility. My wife drove School Bus for a couple of years and is already missing all the extra mirros.

4) Replace the forward air conditioner. I am thinking I am also going to wire in a inverter for it so I can run it while going down the road. Right now it has to be connected to a generator or shore power.

5) Rewire the power on the bus to something a little more up to date and allow me to run some things while driving. It has a couple Marine Batteries but they will need to be replaced.

[Stuff]

very nice! looks like it needs some updating but i find that is easier then going from scratch lol

[Tango]

Welcome and nice find. Definitely have a big head start there!

[Diesel Dan]

Hello and welcome to the fun!

Originally Posted by RavensOracle

...
4) Replace the forward air conditioner. I am thinking I am also going to wire in a inverter for it so I can run it while going down the road. Right now it has to be connected to a generator or shore power.
5) Rewire the power on the bus to something a little more up to date and allow me to run some things while driving. It has a couple Marine Batteries but they will need to be replaced. ...

I don't think you will be able to run an air conditioner off inverter/battery power. It demands too much power for a couple batteries to handle for long.

[RavensOracle]

Actually I was thinking of wiring the inverter to run off the power of the alternator. Making it completely independent of the AC Shore power hookup. Which would mean switching from an shore power outlet to the inverter before I started driving.

I'll have to check everything but the window unit is just a small 110AC unit. I don't think it should be any more of a draw than a rooftop unit or the massive rear electric AC unit that came with an old conversion van I used to have. I need to check the output of the alternator but the thing is massive so for now I am assuming it should handle the load. I'll run the numbers to verify before I do anything. It'd be a temp fix until I can get the bus rewired. Everything works on shore power but I am not happy with the "Modifications" one of the previous owners made from what was originally installed when it was converted. To many jury rigs and patches for my taste. I have yet to find any real hazards with the power. I just want to update it to make it more efficient.

I've read about adding a second alternator to use to charge the battery bank while driving. That'd be nice for my weekend fishing trips I do in the fall & spring when the weather is perfect enough I don't need a AC or heater. Basically just using the lights at night and maybe the water pump so I can do dishes a little easier.

[Diesel Dan]

Run the air conditioner off the alternator through an inverter! I can't believe I've not thought of that! Or that nobody else on this site (that I've seen) has mentioned it! I wonder why it is that RVs run generators to operate their AC units when they could just tap into the alternator? Hopefully someone with more electrical knowledge than me will chime in on this thread, and if not perhaps I'll start another thread in the "conversion discussion" forum. Sounds like a great idea! Although you'd probably have to spring for a pure sine wave inverter rather than the more affordable modified sine wave inverters.

[lornaschinske]

I don't think that would work with the rooftop A/C units. Possibly with the smaller window units. You had better check your numbers because I'm not sure that a typical alternator would do it. Under powered and you will just burn up the air unit. Our bus alternator is 160AMP or so... I think. Nowhere near the Eagle's 350 amp AC/DC alternator that powered it's on board Air Conditioner. David forgot to load it in the back of the skoolie before we left NC. didn't realize it until we unloaded the bus out here. Such is life.

[opus]

4 BBL is a better choice than the 2 BBL.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by opus

4 BBL is a better choice than the 2 BBL.

Now that just depends on how much of a hurry you're in...

[sdwarf36]

Re: the interior. Need a name? "That 70's bus"!

[opus]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Now that just depends on how much of a hurry you're in...

Yeah, that too. Fuel economy will be better with a 4 BBL, so long as you behave yourself.

[Stuff]

Originally Posted by sdwarf36

Re: the interior. Need a name? "That 70's bus"!

i like it. has a nice ring to it!


and yes 4bbl is good! that big of vehicle you will need the additional power for quick going and for the hills. might hurt the wallet better but its a better ride!

[Motobus]

I saw that on craigslist, looks real good to me. I would of course rebuild the carb and tune it up, but the speed sounds about normal. Is there a reason you don't want to run the gen. going down the road?

[RavensOracle]

Not really any reason I don't want to run the genny going down the road except that I'd have to drill a hole for the extension cord or pinch it in the back door. The way it is wired right now the shore power plug is under the body right behind the rear passenger tires. So either way it means unplugging the AC and plugging it into something besides the outlet. If I hook a trailer up to it, which is very likely, I will have to run an extension cord from the bus to the trailer since the generator is hauled on the hitch rack.

I am going to have to rewire the bus anyway. They pulled the breaker box and converter unit out of whatever donor camper the other parts were taken from. I think the reason the air conditioner plugged in on the side behind the driver is bad is because the main line into the bus is just a 20Amp 110V line. Definitely not meant to be running 2 AC's, a microwave, or a toaster oven plus whatever tv or entertainment they had. Until I get the bus rewired I am going to have to plug the AC's into extension cords anyway.

The rewiring is going to take until after the new year before I can get it started anyway simply because of budget. I want to get the tuneup and carb dealt with before that. I am also talking to a mechanic's shop that work's on some of the area's school buses and a lot of the local farmer's machinery. Their paint bay can handle some of the big monster tractors. He may be able to give me a great deal on painting the bus as long as I am willing to work with him on what colors he already has on hand as leftovers and can bring it in when he is slow. That's normally when the farmer's are all busy with the planting or harvest.

I'm not going to be able to spend to much time this weekend on it since the In-laws are visiting. Next weekend I'll let you know how everything works when really putting it to use. I'm heading to a friend's farm near KC for a big party and then we'll spend that Sunday in KC at a 9/11 event. I just got to get everything moved from out 18ft camper into the bus.

[Stuff]

dont forget harvesting season also means break downs for the farmers and i bet they will get service first lol

still good idea to do the re-wire. then you KNOW its right!

[RavensOracle]

Took it out for a drive this weekend. Figured out that they used the wrong sized terminal on the negative battery post. A few passes with a metal file fixed that and got a much better connection Now there are no dead batteries. I'll keep an eye on the one that is in it but it tested just fine on the meter at the shop. Next is to look at the carb again. I think there's a vacuum leak on the two barrel that's on it. I talked to a buddy of mine that works at a shop with one of the few mechanics in the area that rebuilds carburetor's. I got to call him after this holiday weekend to get the low down on getting the carb dealt with.

Other than that it ran pretty well. I am going to have to fix one latch on the hood. The spring broke in the latch and now it has no tension in it. I have it soaking in some WD-40 right no so I can unscrew it and get to the guts.

I hope the weather stays like today for the rest of the fall. 80 degree high and a nice sunny day. Had just enough rain last night to soak into the ground and keep the dust down. I didn't even have to worry about the AC in the bus. Just dropped the few windows in it part way and enjoyed the scenery.

[RavensOracle]

Looking at the bus today, I found another issue I am going to want to remedy quickly. The mount for the propane tanks under the bus is less than desirable and the line is leaking that goes through the floor. So I am just going to scrap that whole design. If I wanted to pull the 20lb tank to refill it I'd have to undo the bolts that mounts the entire rack to underside of the bus. With my bad back I just don't want the fight to lift the rack back up. Plus I don't like that the rack had no real protection for the tank from road debris.

The appliances that use propane are only going to be used when I am parked anyway and 95% of the time I'll either have a trailer or be pulling the toys with a pickup to the lake. I don't need a built in tank.The idea right now is to run a line to the side or back of the bus where I can have a quick-connect setup for hooking up an extend-a-stay type setup. I have a couple of 20lb tanks and if I am staying anywhere for a while I want to be able to switch to my 100lb tanks I normally use for heating my garage when I have to work on something in the cold.

The only thing I can't find or don't already have is the connector and cover for it through the wall of the bus. I'd like to have some kind of cover or door over the connection to protect it when I am not using it. I am thinking something like the cover for power or water connections. Anyone have any good sources?

[wtd]

I'd like to have some kind of cover or door over the connection to protect it when I am not using it. I am thinking something like the cover for power or water connections. Anyone have any good sources?

I've gotten some baggage doors, small hinged hatch covers, door hardware and stuff from these guys - prices reasonable, no complaints.
http://www.rvsurplus.net/

Your bathroom looks like a direct transplant from a '72 Openroad I used to have, exact same color too

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by RavensOracle

... The idea right now is to run a line to the side or back of the bus where I can have a quick-connect setup for hooking up an extend-a-stay type setup... The only thing I can't find or don't already have is the connector and cover for it through the wall of the bus. I'd like to have some kind of cover or door over the connection to protect it when I am not using it. I am thinking something like the cover for power or water connections. Anyone have any good sources?

Any bin /access door will work. the LP quick connect is small. It's the brass stuff on this side of the shut off valve (red handle part)...

[RavensOracle]

Took it out last weekend for a weekend trip to a friends farm for a huge 9-11 gathering of friends. Not a bad turn out, about 300 people all camping. Maybe 20 or so RV's and a lot of tents. Brought it back and dropped it off at my parents farm since they live just down the road from the mechanic. A cousin of mine that runs a shop and a wrecker service that can handle semi's. He works on a lot of heavy equipment for the area so a bus is no problem. He picked it up yesterday and is taking the next couple of days to give it a thorough going over.

What's been found so far:

He's already found that the 2-bbl carb on it wasn't adjusted properly- that's been fixed and the engine purrs. It now cold starts with no effort and according to the mechanic has gained more power in the hills.

There was a bad cable going to the starter. I had trouble getting it going to leave from the farm this weekend. I thought it was a bad battery. Battery's fine the cable was just partially shorting.

Found a spot on the muffler that had been poorly patched. The welds were already breaking. That will be fixed and should quiet the exhaust noise a little. I didn't have a problem with the noise of it but the mechanic pointed it out. He said it should make the bus pretty quiet. The neighbors in the parks may like that when I pull in.

With my health issues, painting the bus myself is out. He just repainted his entire fleet of wreckers at the sherriff's request to make them stand out better on the road. They were all a basic white. Now they are bright purple and yellow. The colors aren't exactly what I would pick but they definitely stand out. But the paint jobs looked pretty good and he did them pretty cheep so I am talking to him about painting the bus.

Overall not bad for a 77 bus I only paid $1500 for.