Skoolie for our "Freedom 35" semi-retirement plan

[Mr. Goodkat]

We're three weeks into a build that we've chosen to call Freedom 35. Freedom 35 is a semi-retirement plan for some characters in one our favorite shows, Trailer Park Boys. I also turn 35 in a few days so it seems right. We plan on living full time in our bus for at least a couple years while we move out west, but we do intend to chase nice weather all over the country.

A few weeks ago we flew down to pick up our 2005 International CE300 71 passenger bus. I chose this bus because judging from the pictures it had minimal rust and it had the drivetrain I was looking for. There's around 153K which is reasonable mileage for a 15 year old vehicle; it didn't sit too long or rack up too many miles. We had new Hankook tires installed before we even picked it up. We went with some Hankook DL12 rears and AH37 fronts which were available in the 16 ply rating. The bus ran great the whole way home although the check engine would cycle on and off. I wasn't too concerned since all the gauges were fine and I believe it is something minor. Part of the deal was them changing the coolant and the fuel filter. I'll change the oil myself.

We got it home without issue other than the starter interlock setting us back an hour and a half at a Shell station. We got that figured out and tore into it right away once we were home. We're happy with our three week progress which includes travel time to get the bus.

We've order many of the major appliances and have received most of them.

Build List:
-Suburban range
-Brisk Air II 15K BTU A/C with Micro-Air SoftStart installed
-One Honda EU2200W inverter generator
-MaxxFan Deluxe roof vent 4 speeds, one for each roof emergency hatch
-GE 9.9 cu/ft 12v ONLY refrigerator (still waiting to recieve it, it was $500)
-Suburban on-demand water heater
-Suburban 40k BTU furnace that will be ducted to three vents
-Dometic 310 18" toilet
-24"x32" bath tub
-4 LED off-road light bars (2 7.5" and 2 13"), one on all sides wired to a remote "Squatch/security lights"
-Two 98 gal fresh water tanks under bed, 53 gal grey tank, 53 gal black tank
-Flame King 29.3 gal propane tank
-Kuppet compact washer to be placed in bathroom

1240 watt Solar System spec:
-4 Peimar 310W MONO 60C panels
-Victron Multiplus 3000W 24v inverter charger
-Victron Smartsolar MPPT charge controller
-Victron battery monitor
-4 KiloVault 2.1kWh 12v batteries wired for a 24v bank
-GoPower pass-through on the roof

We plan on towing a 12ft v-nose enclosed trailer hauling my Suzuki DR650 and her Royal Enfield Himalayan. I'll also use the v-nose as a garage and to house my tools.

I'm going to document our build on YouTube if anyone wants to follow along. I'm not begging for subscribers nor do I beg you to "SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON!!!" as some say. I'm not looking to make a living from YT.

We're super excited and the plan just feels right. We are both enjoying ourselves and can't wait to see what we learn and experience along the way!

[Mr. Goodkat]

Our roof was screwed in which made it quick and easy to remove it. The seats also weren't an issue. The hardest thing about the interior was removing the rubber floor. It took a constant 6 hours with a tile remover to get it all removed. It was a huge PITA but we're glad we did it. We discovered some rotten wood and replaced all questionable subflooring. There was no rotted metal and the little rust there was we coated with Rustoleum Reformer and then a coat of primer.

[Mr. Goodkat]

Replacement sub-floor, primed and topped with 1x3" boards, 3/4" foam, 1/2" OSB, and more primer.

*Sorry for the vertical pictures not being orientated correctly

[Mr. Goodkat]

My air chisel was more helpful than I had imagined it would be for this project. While removing the screws that held the ceiling and wall tin on some were difficult. The adhesive/sealant they put at the joints acted like thread locker. For all the stuck screws I just gave them a quick rap with the air chisel and it broke them free. It was 100% successful on all screws that were stuck. The air chisel was also crucial for removing the wall tin. I ripped right through making removal much faster. I was able to separate all the tin just below the windows in about 15 minutes.

[Mr. Goodkat]

For anyone interested this is the first video of our build.

https://youtu.be/_np5_9x5wIU

[Mr. Goodkat]

We've made a lot of progress the past month. The wife has the bus sanded down, holes filled, I removed the rear flashers, I have the solar racks on, Maxxair fans installed, the AC installed with the MicroAir, the propane tank installed, roof deck brackets installed, the water and holding tanks arrived, and we just started blanking off the windows we aren't going to use.

[Mr. Goodkat]

We're not too much farther from getting the outside finished. The roof coating is ordered and next week we're off to the local paint shop to pick out a color. I'm fond of the Honda "Pearl Stallion Brown" found on the new Goldwings but we'll see what we come up with.

Once the roof coating is on we're anxious to get the deck made! It could will be a good place to sit and relax with a few drinks to dream up the rest of the bus build 🙌

[Lubbock Jason]

Look forward to watching the progress

[tlzimmerman]

looking good. Did you weld the brackets for the propane tank? Im liking how that looks under there.

[Mr. Goodkat]

Originally Posted by tlzimmerman

looking good. Did you weld the brackets for the propane tank? Im liking how that looks under there.

Thanks, and sorry for the late response. We've been extremely busy working on the motorhome!

I did not weld the bracket in place. Under my bus there are two different types of floor supports. One of the supports comes down from the floor and is shaped like an upside down T. One end of the tank is bolted to that "T" but the other end of the tank (the end you see) did not conveniently line up with another T support. So I had to bolt a piece of 1.5"x1.5"X1/8" angle iron up to the other type of floor support. That created a flange for me to bolt the other end of the tank. All bolts are 1/2" and have blue loctite with lock washers. It's very secure and it tucks the tank up nicely.

[Mr. Goodkat]

We made a lot of progress the past week! Hopefully next week we'll be building the rooftop deck and be painting within the next few weeks.

We got the roof coated, 7 windows blanked off and sealed from inside, the two rear windows blanked off, the front/upper indicator lights blocked off, the 32" door installed (304 stainless NRP hinges on the way), created access to propane tank, and I cut the body away for access to the storage area I'm building.

[Mr. Goodkat]

Got the deck on a couple weeks ago and it turned out great! It's nice to have a fun project done that we can use now. That first night we spent there hours up there enjoying some drinks and listening to music in the breeze.

[Mr. Goodkat]

We got our bus painted last weekend and spray foamed inside. We weren't with patina green which in the sun is like an Irish/shamrock green which is great because we love Ireland. It took 18.5 hours for us to mask it, one coat of self etching epoxy primer, and two coats of an industrial paint. It was cheaper than automotive paint, doesn't require a clear coat, it covered well, and it's tough.

The bus is much quieter going down the road with the spray foam and the house door. The spray foam really seemed to the everything together too. My 2x2 framing feels even stiffer and more rigid.

We're happy with the outcome. It was a loooooong day, 6am-12:30am but it was nice to get it done before the cold weather.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodkat

!

I did not weld the bracket in place. Under my bus there are two different types of floor supports. One of the supports comes down from the floor and is shaped like an upside down T. One end of the tank is bolted to that "T" but the other end of the tank (the end you see) did not conveniently line up with another T support. So I had to bolt a piece of 1.5"x1.5"X1/8" angle iron up to the other type of floor support. That created a flange for me to bolt the other end of the tank. All bolts are 1/2" and have blue loctite with lock washers. It's very secure and it tucks the tank up nicely.

I had the same issue but found that if I used the flange on one end the other end would line up with one of the reverse floor supports. I drilled 1" holes on the floor, 1/2" hole through the support and fished bolts with JB Weld in the back of the head to secure them. Patch the floor holes later.

Go to the UserCP and fill out your profile with your location and bus info. Makes it a bunch easier to address any questions.
FYI, your insurance company may have an issue with a roof deck, most won't insure them due to the obvious hazard.

[Mr. Goodkat]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I had the same issue but found that if I used the flange on one end the other end would line up with one of the reverse floor supports. I drilled 1" holes on the floor, 1/2" hole through the support and fished bolts with JB Weld in the back of the head to secure them. Patch the floor holes later.

Go to the UserCP and fill out your profile with your location and bus info. Makes it a bunch easier to address any questions.
FYI, your insurance company may have an issue with a roof deck, most won't insure them due to the obvious hazard.

There's a way to do everything on these buses! Just need to think and experiment 👍

We went back and forth so much on the deck because of that reason. It sounds like a number of people with decks still got insurance with State Farm. With so many people with decks on YouTube, Instagram, businesses now converting buses with decks and wood fire places, we figured someone has to be insuring them. Again it sounds like people have better luck with State Farm. I know it's not a guarantee or that it doesn't mean we won't have an issue but we'll see 🤞

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodkat

We got our bus painted last weekend and spray foamed inside. We weren't with patina green which in the sun is like an Irish/shamrock green which is great because we love Ireland. It took 18.5 hours for us to mask it, one coat of self etching epoxy primer, and two coats of an industrial paint. It was cheaper than automotive paint, doesn't require a clear coat, it covered well, and it's tough.

The bus is much quieter going down the road with the spray foam and the house door. The spray foam really seemed to the everything together too. My 2x2 framing feels even stiffer and more rigid.

We're happy with the outcome. It was a loooooong day, 6am-12:30am but it was nice to get it done before the cold weather.

I love it! We're doing ours in a green and white Irish theme as well.

[Mr. Goodkat]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I love it! We're doing ours in a green and white Irish theme as well.

Sweet! My wife loves green and honestly it was the best choice in some ways. Grays, blacks and some blues look like penitentiary buses, we didn't want yellow or orange, tans and forest greens look like military colors (which I like but not for our bus), and reds would look best with metallic. Metallic requires clear coat to last and it would require more coats of paint.

[BarnYardCamp]

Are you sure that's a roof "deck" and not roof top "storage" for your kayaks?
Just curious...

[BarnYardCamp]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodkat

Sweet! My wife loves green and honestly it was the best choice in some ways. Grays, blacks and some blues look like penitentiary buses, we didn't want yellow or orange, tans and forest greens look like military colors (which I like but not for our bus), and reds would look best with metallic. Metallic requires clear coat to last and it would require more coats of paint.

first thing my wife said when she saw the new paint color scheme on our bus. "Looks like a prison bus"...oh well...I'll be sure to get her opinion on the interior design.

[Mr. Goodkat]

Originally Posted by BarnYardCamp

Are you sure that's a roof "deck" and not roof top "storage" for your kayaks?
Just curious...

Honestly I was thinking along the same lines as you. This stuff can be a war of words more than

What if I don't put a permanent ladder on it and mount our Yakima car topper on it along with our two day bikes? It's not a deck, it's a "storage platform".