The 'Happy Campers' Bus

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 08:46 PM

Hello everyone! My name is Roger and I have been reading the crap out of these forums for 2 months. The wealth of information on this site is amazing and much appreciated. Some aawesome Skoolies on here for sure!

On July 26, 2016, I traded my 2000 Ford F150 in for a 40 Foot 1999 Thomas Built RE MVP 84 Passenger School Bus! Mow we are down to one Nisan Xterra and a bus.The Plan is to convert it into an RV. Why? I am glad you asked.. Because rent is too damn high! After the conversion, it will be time to hunt down some property to put it on! Will be keeping a blog on the progression as we convert this into our home.

The bus wasn't in our yard for 12 hours before I received a visit from the county. It is against code to have a commercial vehicle in a residential neighborhood. I was given a warning and 5 days the get it converted from BUS to RV (at least on the title ). All that needed to be done was to have the seats removed and water hooked up to a functioning sink. Long story short, I got it done in time but now I needed insurance before I could register the bus at the DMV. We really didn't have the money (still don't) to be doing all this legal work yet but I got lucky and found insurance for $15 / month. I went to DMV, Signed an affidavit saying that I added a sink and removed the seats and boom! The Bus was now a Motorhome.

Just to get everyone caught up, I will post everything I have done up until yesterday. I will post what I did today in a little while.

The bus:

Almost half the seats out:

Almost done with seat removal:

Putting down temporary sub-floor for the sink to sit on. I hated starting in the middle but I needed to get it registered:

Installed Sink with running water (temporary).

Next post will show what I got done today.

T-Bolt · 08-13-2016, 08:51 PM

Welcome to skoolie.net. I hope to start next month and I think that you just bought the bus I'm looking for. What engine/transmission does it have?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 08:53 PM

All I know is that it is V6 Caterpillar

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 09:40 PM

Today was all about getting Air Conditioning going in the bus. Up until now, any work has been done while enduring the Florida high temps of 90F -95F (outside the bus). We ellected to go with a window mount AC Unit as It was the cheapest solution we could manage for now. It is supposed to cool 350 SQ Ft. The foam you see around the wall will be cleaned up later. Right now, I just wanted that AC wall UP!

It starts:

Framing the wall to hold the AC and separate the bedroom from the "garage" (shelf, which is only accessible from the outside):

Eagerly installing the AC (usually something that is done after the wall is up):

My 8 year old princess, Natalie, helping me verify that the AC is working properly:

AC wall is done... It was a real pain trying to get this done without cutting the plywood in half; I really didn't want a seam. Not shown here is the 2 cans worth of spray foam the I used all around the wall edges, it is quite ugly for now but it did its job and sealed the gaps. The temp in the bus is noticeably cooler. Once I get the sub floor and the side walls insulated I think it will be perfect. Tomorrow (now that it will be cooler to work in) I will be re-doing and completing the subfloor properly, now that I am not in a rush.

Will give a progress update on this thread tomorrow night.

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 09:53 PM

Today was all about getting Air Conditioning going in the bus. Up until now, any work has been done while enduring the Florida high temps of 90F -95F (outside the bus). We ellected to go with a window mount AC Unit as It was the cheapest solution we could manage for now. It is supposed to cool 350 SQ Ft. The foam you see around the wall will be cleaned up later. Right now, I just wanted that AC wall UP!

It starts:

Framing the wall to hold the AC and separate the bedroom from the "garage" (shelf, which is only accessible from the outside):

Eagerly installing the AC (usually something that is done after the wall is up):

My 8 year old princess, Natalie, helping me verify that the AC is working properly:

AC wall is done... It was a real pain trying to get this done without cutting the plywood in half; I really didn't want a seam. Not shown here is the 2 cans worth of spray foam the I used all around the wall edges, it is quite ugly for now but it did its job and sealed the gaps. The temp in the bus is noticeably cooler. Once I get the sub floor and the side walls insulated I think it will be perfect. Tomorrow (now that it will be cooler to work in) I will be re-doing and completing the subfloor properly, now that I am not in a rush.

Will give a progress update on this thread tomorrow night.

EastCoastCB · 08-13-2016, 10:14 PM

what part of FL?

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 10:20 PM

Venice... Just south of Sarasota.

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 10:22 PM

Rough layout plan... some things have changed already and we are just getting started!

EastCoastCB · 08-13-2016, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorcalSurvival

Venice... Just south of Sarasota.

Oh its nice down there. I bought a scooter down in Venice this year.
I'm up north of Orlando in rural Apopka.
Welcome aboard

NorcalSurvival · 08-13-2016, 10:33 PM

Thank you!

Carytowncat · 08-13-2016, 11:05 PM

Way to bend and make it happen on tye fly like that, good job!

milkmania · 08-14-2016, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorcalSurvival

Today was all about getting Air Conditioning going in the bus. Up until now, any work has been done while enduring the Florida high temps of 90F -95F (outside the bus). We ellected to go with a window mount AC Unit as It was the cheapest solution we could manage for now. It is supposed to cool 350 SQ Ft. The foam you see around the wall will be cleaned up later. Right now, I just wanted that AC wall UP!

It starts:

Framing the wall to hold the AC and separate the bedroom from the "garage" (shelf, which is only accessible from the outside):

Eagerly installing the AC (usually something that is done after the wall is up):

My 8 year old princess, Natalie, helping me verify that the AC is working properly:

AC wall is done... It was a real pain trying to get this done without cutting the plywood in half; I really didn't want a seam. Not shown here is the 2 cans worth of spray foam the I used all around the wall edges, it is quite ugly for now but it did its job and sealed the gaps. The temp in the bus is noticeably cooler. Once I get the sub floor and the side walls insulated I think it will be perfect. Tomorrow (now that it will be cooler to work in) I will be re-doing and completing the subfloor properly, now that I am not in a rush.

Will give a progress update on this thread tomorrow night.

How are you expelling the condensation that forms in the bottom of the AC?
I've got a small 5000btu in cabin window and it drips pretty regularly.

I had actually resolved to the fact I'm going with same setup as you're doing... At about 6:00 tonight.
Then open your thread, and there it is!
I'll be putting a wall behind the bed for laundry room and storage. Double door entry from back of bus.

NorcalSurvival · 08-14-2016, 01:14 AM

I still need to add a drain tube (hose) to the bottom of the AC unit and run it into the engine compartment - to the ground. That is my project first thing in morning.

Eventually, before it is road worthy, I will need to add ventilation louvers back there. Curently I have to leave the back window open so that the AC can breathe.

joeblack5 · 08-14-2016, 08:17 AM

Great job getting it re-titled that quick. Ha, it really made a difference. It is yellow and big and illegal with this title or it is yellow and big but legal with that title. LOL Bureaucracy.

How are you getting rid of the heat, are you leaving your escape door open?
The airco works more efficient when the ambient temperature is lower.
Ditto the condensation but in some of these units you can hook a hose up to the frame pan. May be not so good during driving.

Later J

joeblack5 · 08-14-2016, 08:21 AM

Sorry, somehow did not see your last post. Good to see you have it under control.

Later J

milkmania · 08-14-2016, 01:58 PM

Getting title switched for my bus was held up because the seller didn't get me the title until August 7th.
I bought the bus July 4th.

He lives in Tulsa and the bus was titled in Arkansas... I had to wait till he made another trip to the area to visit family.

Something for others to note...
Arkansas DOES NOT use a Notary Public to witness signatures on titles.

He signed the BUS title on Sunday evening, I had title switched to RV title by 8:30 Monday

Princess · 08-14-2016, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkmania

Getting title switched for my bus was held up because the seller didn't get me the title until August 7th.
I bought the bus July 4th.

He lives in Tulsa and the bus was titled in Arkansas... I had to wait till he made another trip to the area to visit family.

Something for others to note...
Arkansas DOES NOT use a Notary Public to witness signatures on titles.

He signed the BUS title on Sunday evening, I had title switched to RV title by 8:30 Monday

Did you buy from a private seller? Trying to look at busses close to OK. Did you call any of the local school districts to bus from them?

milkmania · 08-14-2016, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princess

Did you buy from a private seller? Trying to look at busses close to OK. Did you call any of the local school districts to bus from them?

I searched CL for a while last year, till mine came up... Followed it for a year, seller sweetened the deal and I jumped on it.

After I started watching my bus, I didn't really look around anymore.
Before I bought the bus
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/im...ong-11259.html

After I bought the bus
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/im...now-14306.html

Princess · 08-14-2016, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkmania

I searched CL for a while last year, till mine came up... Followed it for a year, seller sweetened the deal and I jumped on it.

After I started watching my bus, I didn't really look around anymore.
Before I bought the bus
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/im...ong-11259.html

After I bought the bus
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/im...now-14306.html

Well hell yeah! That's awesome! Thank you!

NorcalSurvival · 08-14-2016, 07:54 PM

Well I didn't get all of the Sub-Floor completed like I had hoped. Lots of pre-drilling the runners ate up a lot of time and drill bits. Tomorrow after work, I should be able to finish the sub-floor, then it is on to removing all the windows, scraping off all the old window sealant, replacing with new sealant and putting them back in.

Still struggling with our layout idea, I really want Natalie to have her own room...

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