The Bromobile Cruiser

[WIbluebird]

After insulation and completing the build I'm sure you will barely hear the engine, fresh oil change or not.

[EastCoastCB]

I've got 7 of those same seats. They're heavy as hell bus so comfy. Going to get mine in the bus in the next month or two.
Thanks again, Kubla!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Picked up some cull lumber from Home Depot, we'll be using this to build cup holders.

I've been meaning to check whether the big box stores ever have "cull" XPS foam board, like pieces that are damaged or broken which I could still make use of.

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I've been meaning to check whether the big box stores ever have "cull" XPS foam board, like pieces that are damaged or broken which I could still make use of.

That would be so nice, I'll ask next time I'm in one.

[Truthseeker4449]

So our original travel plans have fallen through so progress is slowing on the build due to a lack of urgency. I'm eyeing more demolition now, probably starting with the ceiling next. Somewhat more pressing now though is I noticed today the fan wasn't cycling, temp stayed at around 200 degrees most of the day when normally the fan kicks in. I'll have to poke around in the wiring for that, maybe it's just a bad solenoid.

[Native]

Funny how the progress slows when the "deadline" goes away. I've had a number of those so far and expect many more. Keep at it.

[Truthseeker4449]

Before diving into more demolition I've decided we need a solid floor plan. I'm rather poor at planning stuff out in my head and prefer more physical means. I know CAD is an option, but it seems to be rather hard to find a program that's easy to use. So instead we're mocking stuff up with tape.




What we found out is that a pair of normal twin bunk beds leaves a very tiny aisle barely 12 inches wide without really accounting for insulation. So we measured everything presuming 33"x75" beds which gives a bit wider aisle. Factoring in some support structure and 6" thick mattresses only gives us about 20" to maybe 24" of free space above the mattresses. That seems too tight. We could increase it with somehow finding thinner mattresses, or perhaps using memory foam pads, or sleeping bags.

I've begun talking with State Farm and so far it seems like they are plenty willing to work with us. The biggest things they seemed concerned with was if the stop sign and all school bus seats were removed. Also asked was does it have a toilet and beds yet. Well we're falling a little short of that with a current reuse of the seats, however that's nothing another trip to the dump can't solve so we're proceeding with the quote.

[banman]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Before diving into more demolition I've decided we need a solid floor plan. I'm rather poor at planning stuff out in my head and prefer more physical means. I know CAD is an option, but it seems to be rather hard to find a program that's easy to use. So instead we're mocking stuff up with tape.




What we found out is that a pair of normal twin bunk beds leaves a very tiny aisle barely 12 inches wide without really accounting for insulation. So we measured everything presuming 33"x75" beds which gives a bit wider aisle. Factoring in some support structure and 6" thick mattresses only gives us about 20" to maybe 24" of free space above the mattresses. That seems too tight. We could increase it with somehow finding thinner mattresses, or perhaps using memory foam pads, or sleeping bags.

I've begun talking with State Farm and so far it seems like they are plenty willing to work with us. The biggest things they seemed concerned with was if the stop sign and all school bus seats were removed. Also asked was does it have a toilet and beds yet. Well we're falling a little short of that with a current reuse of the seats, however that's nothing another trip to the dump can't solve so we're proceeding with the quote.

From my river rafting daze -- there were deluxe 2" closed cell foam sleeping pads. These will probably be the direction I go with my bus. Very comfy, portable, and moisture or critters are no factor...

[musigenesis]

FYI there is a standard memory foam mattress size available in 30"x74", so you could save a few inches of width that way.

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

FYI there is a standard memory foam mattress size available in 30"x74", so you could save a few inches of width that way.

Yeah we saw those mattresses in quick google search, but feel that 33" would be a better compromise between a regular twin, and tiny bed.

[Truthseeker4449]

Took out the rear bench seat today, damn was it so nasty under and around the seat cushions. And since the loss of the seat means there's nothing keeping all this stuff from shifting forward, I went out and bought a storage bin. Hurray for storage and making stuff neater.


Figured now is as good of a time as any to start rewiring. To my surprise, all I really had to do was unhook the window ajar switch and disconnect the ground on the lock. I verified the engine still started and no alarms were tripping after messing with each component. At a later time I will chase the rest of the harness down and remove it. For now, it's nice not to have a piece of cardboard wedged into the window switch.


Started pealing off the matting and I'm really glad I did because I discovered an even nastier problem. The entire mat was heavily soaked, must have been for a long time.


There was some sort of board underneath meant to be sound deadening and it crumbled with gentle touching. The underside was very moldy. And as luck would have it, it's impossible to get dust masks and respirators right now probably due to panic about the corona virus. Oh well, Safety Third it is.


Underneath the other half of the mat was foam. I've now learned the hard way that a grinder does not like foam. Nor will it remove adhesive. The foam mostly came off with a scraper, but I'm most likely going to need a chemical to remove the adhesive.


Still trying to figure out layout and the biggest problem right now is the toilet. I want to make the black water plumbing as short as possible, which will require having the tank and toilet on the driver side. There is strong arguments to having a sink in the toilet room instead of sharing a kitchen sink. But I don't want to move the heater, if I have to open the cooling system any reason I want it to be the only time I do so, replacing thermostats, compressor, perhaps even the water pump it to be safe. I will also probably go ahead with other major mechanical work that needs to be done at the same time like resealing the oil cooler as preventive maintenance.

I have 27" from the side door to the heater, the heater is 12" wide, and 88" from the heater to the back of our seats. I would prefer the kitchen to be on the driver side and the dinette on the passenger side.

[Truthseeker4449]

The last of the school bus seats are gone, bringing our weight to 20,000 lbs. I've bought an osculating multitool and so far it seems to be working much better on the engine hump, though it still won't take off the adhesive. It's looking like that will be a multiweekend affair cleaning that up. At least it's not rusty despite how saturated it was.

Should start pulling ceiling panels either this weekend or next.

[Truthseeker4449]

So insurance with State Farm fell through at the last minute. My accident history report was not good enough for "commercial for personal use" and after talking with LexisNexis it turns out there are some errors on that report. I've lodged a dispute but that will take a while to sort out.

On a brighter, more exciting note, I won another bus at auction.

It's another rear engined Thomas, but this one is a 250HP 3126 and overall the bus seems very well spec'd and in good condition for a South Carolina bus. Seems to have highway miles too as the hours are much lower than mine for very similar mileage. I'm very eager to see how this bus performs. I'm hopeful to flip the bus to raise money for the project or I may strip the engine of "speed parts." As this bus also has an MD3060, we're going to experiment with cloning #422's TCM and uploading that file into #19's TCM.

[Native]

You got a really good bus in that auction! The hours and miles seem about that of our bus. It should have a lot of life left in it. You should get a decent price on the resale.


In your picture of the interior of your bus, you have a Predator generator workig away.


How do you like it?


Do you have it vented to the outside? (or just keeping the door open all the time)

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by Native

You got a really good bus in that auction! The hours and miles seem about that of our bus. It should have a lot of life left in it. You should get a decent price on the resale.

Thank you, I hope so!

In your picture of the interior of your bus, you have a Predator generator workig away.


How do you like it?


Do you have it vented to the outside? (or just keeping the door open all the time)

I think it's a nice unit. Granted I haven't really loaded it up on anything yet but it's not much louder than a loud conversation. Not so bad if you put it at one end of the bus and work on the other end. A really strong person can probably carry it by themselves and I certainly can if I have to, but I really, really rather have another set of hands to help lift it. The wheel brake will not keep it from moving while driving, or if running the generator while parked on a hill.

I want to build a slide out compartment to house it and get a second one hooked up parallel. But until that time comes I just open all the windows in the bus and keep a Carbon Monoxide detector nearby and below the window line. Depending on how windy it is, it's a reasonably safe operation as long as you have a fair bit of distance between you and the generator. Definitely don't work right next to it tho.

[Native]

Thank you for your "so far" review of the Predator. We've been leaning towards one for our build ... when we get to that point. I like that they can be strapped together to provide more power.

[Meathead]

Well I see you bought an air conditioned 2nd bus so you prob don’t need this now. But I drew it up so I’ll throw it out there in case anybody needs it.

Ok man, here goes.
A/C bracket for my 2001 3126B 210hp

All 3/8” plate.





Ok so plate #4 actually looks like this, but the rectangle that I drew should be OK.

One more bracket that I couldn’t accurately draw.


Good luck, Dave

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by Meathead

Well I see you bought an air conditioned 2nd bus so you prob don’t need this now. But I drew it up so I’ll throw it out there in case anybody needs it.

Actually I still do need this, iirc #19 has the compressors mounted down low on either side of the block and they are driven the same pulley that drives our fans. I've found this arrangement on several 3126s with hydraulic fan drives. Thank you for this! I see now this is a much larger and complex bracket than I originally thought. It should be an interesting build provided I can find someone with 3/8ths plate around here.

In any event, I currently intend to offer #19 complete but with optional demolition services. Going to go pick it up today!

[Native]

Safe travels.

[Truthseeker4449]

This an interesting bus with lots of surprises so far. Front AC works, Passthrough underbody bays, acoustic ceiling, rear air suspension, and spare tire!



Yes, spare tire mounted under the front. There's a hole in the front above the bumper to put a crank on it. It's not tight up against the body and so makes a bit of noise going down the highway. The crank seems to be missing. But otherwise this bus is very quiet, much quieter than #422 before strip down.

Issues so far, the driver side lower mirror is broken on it's mount, keeps drifting down while driving.


Solution was found for that. Maybe we should've gotten black than red


Half the clearance lights, including all the rear ones, are not working. After staying late last night trying to trouble shoot the problem we realized the sockets are all bad. They are pointed upwards inside the lights and are just full of crud and corrosion. We've got power and ground going into the light assembly. Means no driving at night until the new lights arrive.



Cloning #422's TCM onto #19's TCM was successful. She shifts pretty smooth out of the gate, though the transmission dipstick is missing so we'll have to change the fluid when we get home to make sure it stays that way.

Scan Data also suggests the engine has 650 hrs instead of 7,000. The paint job on the engine does seem pretty scratch free. The bus is already setup to run 70 though I'm reluctant to do so for as the tires are not in very good shape.

The 100 mile trip down from Columbia was smooth as can be, now hopefully the 500 mile trek back home goes just as well.