The Broccoli Bus

[browncrown]

Good looking bus

[aaronsb]

Woo new tires, and bus at the new place. Once we get all these moving boxes dealt with time to keep working on the bus.

It takes the whole road to get into our house, hopefully they don't install a raised median in the road out front in the future if the county expands the road.

Required new tire photo:

[Tango]

Mmmmmm...I love the smell of new rubber!

[browncrown]

New tires are almost better than sex

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by browncrown

New tires are almost better than sex

Now your just being silly

Or gives new meaning to getting new rubber

[gbstewart]

what brand and size of tires did you get?
gbstewart

[aaronsb]

Triangle TR686, load range H. (16 Ply, 143/146 load index)

They are not like physically triangular shaped. ;)

TR686

I'm happy with them, the price was good. They were sitting in a warehouse for about a year already. They track well, are quiet, and balanced well. Time will tell how they last.

The tires are all position.

Originally Posted by gbstewart

what brand and size of tires did you get?
gbstewart

[itscoolbus]

I just binge read this thread over the course of two days and there's so much coolness here. It's been super educational to read all the steps here. I'm brand new and after reading this I feel like I have a much better understanding of how much work conversions are.

It's been so much fun to see the progress unfold and I love your Murphy bed setup. I was thinking something like this:Electric Bed Hoist - stealthsprinter

But the murphy beds seem simpler, more robust, and they take horizontal space rather than vertical (I'm 6'3" so vertical is precious).

Thanks aarsonsb, your bus is awesome!

[LRflip]

Originally Posted by Tango

Did not go back to see what engine you have, but 17-1800 is the "Sweet Spot" for 4 & 6 cylinder Cummins (along with many other diesels). Does not get much better than highway speed in that range.

Yep. 2100 and I was at near full boost in my old 24v common rail...60psi or so and about 1150deg on the pyro.

[aaronsb]

Hey thanks!

Those motorized lift bits for the bed are neat - I can imagine there would be some complexity with using the space effectively under it though.

I'm 6'1 and I can sit upright on the lower bunks without hitting my head. All the vertical dimensions are pretty critical for clearance into the ceiling.

When I reach up to the ceiling in our bus, it's high enough I can't put my palm flat on it when standing flat-footed on the floor. 18" lift is pretty effective - 2.5" of floor insulation, 3" of ceiling for a total height gain of 12.5"

Originally Posted by itscoolbus

I just binge read this thread over the course of two days and there's so much coolness here. It's been super educational to read all the steps here. I'm brand new and after reading this I feel like I have a much better understanding of how much work conversions are.

It's been so much fun to see the progress unfold and I love your Murphy bed setup. I was thinking something like this:Electric Bed Hoist - stealthsprinter

But the murphy beds seem simpler, more robust, and they take horizontal space rather than vertical (I'm 6'3" so vertical is precious).

Thanks aarsonsb, your bus is awesome!

[dan-fox]

I'd like to add my voice to the choir singing the praises of this thread and the education received by following it. You've changed my mind on a roof raise. I'm gonna pull the trigger on a bus purchase next spring and that'll be part of the plan. Thanks!

[less is more]

Can I ask what kind of paint u used.?

[less is more]

What kind of wood did u use to secure the insulation there in ur pic..looks like 1 inch..?

[perryT200]

there was a Mexican magician. He said he would disappear at the count of three.

Uno, dos, and Poof he was gone like aaronsb, without a tres.

[perryT200]

ya, I just read 54 pages of a guys build that ended in zippo, zilch, nadda.

I can be a little bit of prick because of it.

[thjakits]

...relax man,

....we have NO idea what might have happened.

aaronsb doesn't strike me like "disappearing without a reason".

And if so - the 54 pages are FULL of EXCELLENT bus building, you wouldn't lose anything IF it stopped here - not like you bought a 10-part kit and get stranded with 8 parts only!!

I am certain he will be back, .....eventually.

Cheers,

thjakits

[aaronsb]

I'm still here. Bus is too, along with the rest of the family.

We moved recently into a new house at the beginning of October. We had to basically move twice while looking for a house after our last one sold.

I can't help but feel there's a bunch of people out there who have taken a full dive into a lifted roof bus build and are anxiously awaiting the next step to take, like some sort of pottery class or something.

Or maybe...

If you haven't started on your own project, DO IT. Start now. Seriously. There's no reason to wait, and there's no reason you can't build it better, faster, and cheaper than what I've done so far.

It takes a while to get back on your feet with a family of 4 kids. I'm still putting stuff away. There's also a Unimog in the mix that needs some help with rust, the minivan that needed new tires, the motorcycle that needed new tires and some love, the house itself, and of course the kids and job and other things. Somewhere in that mix my wife might want some attention from me as well. There are a lot of items to attend to.

All these things have taken up the available space in my life I use to work on the bus project. I haven't lost interest.

With the weather being wet and cold, and next steps being either painting or exterior fabrication (rebuilding the entrance door) it's difficult to find time and motivation for it.

Another thing I've been working on is possibly writing up a more detailed document regarding what has been done so far. I will not be the one who said I know what I'm doing at all, but it seems to have worked out OK so far.

Sit tight and I'll get back to the bus project. It won't be forever. If you want to lend a hand let me know, I could use the help! More importantly, start your own project.

Stop planning the same things over and over again without laying tools to steel, or paint to something, or stepping on the gas pedal, or whatever other metaphor you're comfortable with. Proceed to the next step so you don't have to wait for the next forum post.

Now that I've finished giving myself a pep talk, it's back to work on things for me, which include my bus project.

Aaron


Here's the bus as it sits (with brand new tires, ready to drive) in the driveway with its friends.

Originally Posted by thjakits

...relax man,

....we have NO idea what might have happened.

aaronsb doesn't strike me like "disappearing without a reason".

And if so - the 54 pages are FULL of EXCELLENT bus building, you wouldn't lose anything IF it stopped here - not like you bought a 10-part kit and get stranded with 8 parts only!!

I am certain he will be back, .....eventually.

Cheers,

thjakits

[thjakits]

SEE?!! What I said!!

The man didn't disappear!!

Just LIVE sneaking time out of the BUS building time!

All cool!

Merry Christmas all!!

thjakits

[The Nebuchadnezzar]

I agree, there are always things requiring attention around here as well but I am fortunate that my girl friend understands my commitment to this project. I wonder how many of thee get started and never finished, its easy to underestimate the time required to finish one of these. Does everyone need a roof raise probably not if I was taller maybe yes but the stock height works for us and I would actually like to finish this beast and use it. Good luck to all tackling a conversion and above all try to have fun, mine has saved my sanity many times

[MuddaEarth]

Heck yeah....Things have definitely interrupted my bus build over the past year. But...I'm back at it now and will continue as the weather allows.

aaronsb......you've definitely made a bunch of progress since I've last visited this site. I'm just about finally ready to get the new sheetmetal skins on my bus. Head on over to my thread if you'd like, I posted the latest youtube video of my progress there. Also you can catch all the videos I've done on my channel when your there if you have the time to goof off!!

Anyhow....it's cool to catch up with your progress.....keep up the good work!