The Moldy Twinkie

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Cut the cab off, cap the bare end, and cover the front corner with a piece of trim......it's wood, not brain surgery

Smitty

I agree. Screw the end on with some wood glue and add a few metal angle brackets inside and I think that thing will be fine. If the end will be exposed and you want it to be pretty, use dowels or biscuits instead of screws. Or easier still, counter sink the screws and plug with cut off wood dowels glued in. But you may take my advice with a grain of salt because my skoolie has a sort of "rustic/funky/homemade" theme, so I'm not so concerned about having perfect looking furniture.

[Seeria]

Tell me that's not real marble tiles

[Diesel Dan]

Did you bring the engine to normal operating temperature? I wonder if it is designed to only open based on temperature. I'd try that first, but if that doesn't work, I would be tempted to just get it open manually and keep it open permanently, unless you think you can get it working properly or want to pay a mechanic to do so. Worst that can happen with it open all the time I would think is that the engine will take longer to warm up. Better that than overheating.

[yankeflyer]

save those seats - the steel will come in handy later

[newtoskool]

Originally Posted by Leonidas

My first thoughts were that it would open once the bus got running but I'm not sure if I want to take that chance, I'm not so sure if my temp gauge works b/c its never left cold, but I have never taken the bus out on the roads...so if it was reliant upon a broken gauge I would be in trouble, also 8.2 DDs have a tendency to overheat as I have read, however I cant just force it open because it is built into the air system...Help?

I got no clue but thoughts that come to mind. If your temp gauge is broke maybe thats why its not opening. its not reading hot so no reason for it to open? also if its ran by air cut and pump air into the system to get it to open.

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by Leonidas

My first thoughts were that it would open once the bus got running but I'm not sure if I want to take that chance, I'm not so sure if my temp gauge works b/c its never left cold, but I have never taken the bus out on the roads...so if it was reliant upon a broken gauge I would be in trouble, also 8.2 DDs have a tendency to overheat as I have read, however I cant just force it open because it is built into the air system...Help?

To troubleshoot temp problems it's handy to have one of those laser thermometers like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive ... 96451.html

I would think you could safely run the engine for at least 5 or 10 minutes before it would even think about overheating. That would give you a chance to see if those louvers respond to the temperature if they were going to. You could monitor the hose that goes to the top of the radiator to see when your engine thermostat opens. Once that happens you are at or close to normal operating temperature. Unless the thermostat is malfunctioning. Anyway, the thermometer would give you a way to monitor the engine temp and give you a measure of assurance that you are not overheating.

[browncrown]

The air louvers should open when the engine warms up. They act as a thermostat. On my bus, they default to open, in other words, when the air supply drains off, the open up because they are spring loaded. When the bus is fired up and they get air, they will close until operating temp is reached. There is a quick connect/disconect on my system so they can be disconected and locked in the open position if needed. Not sure how your system is set-up, but I think you would be ok to run from a cold engine for a few min to check if they work without doing damage. DD has a good idea about the thermometer.

[Chadluc]

Originally Posted by Leonidas

I got half the seats out today! With a friend on the inside with a ratchet and me on the bottom holding the other ends tight, I got half of the seats (9/1 done today! Everything went well and there was no rust on any of the bolts!

Now, how/with what do I patch up 72 small holes with?

When I did the seats on my bus 84 passanger tc2000. I just unbolted the seat from where they sit on the lat piece of metal strip that runs down the length of the bus and and lifted and the bolts that where on ther legs snapped right off. I did all the seats in my 40' bus in about 3 hours

[newtoskool]

Nothin to serious about it. get some puddy or tape and tighten the connections as tight as you can get it with some pipe wrenches. You might be able to get a home inspector to come over and get his leak detector out and go over the connections for a couple bucks.

[dirtygoat]

I like the color...

Looks like you got the same deal I did on the CL stuff...

[putterspitt]

we always squirt soapy water to detect leaks

[RevBill]

http://www.sturdycorp.com

Sturdy Corporation
1822 Carolina Beach Rd.
Wilmington, NC 28401

Toll Free: (800) 721.3282
Phone: (910) 763.2500

[Diesel Dan]

One thing you might consider when building the seats is that a 90 degree angle isn't particularly comfortable in a seat. I've seen where some people will add angled shims to frames like you've built in order to give a more comfortable slant to the seat back.

[Diesel Dan]

The pillar is hollow, but the metal is fairly thick since there are 2 layers there. A rivet should be long enough to protrude beyond the back side of whatever you are riveting so the end will mushroom out and sandwich the metal. 1/4" rivets should be long enough. You should get about two full squeezes of the rivet gun before the rivet pops. If not, then maybe you need longer rivets. Are you going to remove the screws, or just avoid them? If you look at my thread you can see how I did it. I removed the screws and then used the same screw holes to attach my sheet metal, then added rivets for extra attachment.

[yankeflyer]

yes, rivits are always good

[Diesel Dan]

I used self-tapping screws and a drill to drive them in. You're right, the rivets would look cleaner. Mine looks a little clunky with those hex heads sticking up, although it's not very noticeable since I painted it unless you are looking for it. I went to a sheet metal shop to get my metal - it still wasn't cheap. I would advise against getting galvanized. It's a hassle to paint. Just get regular sheet metal and primer it right away so it doesn't rust. To remove tough screws, I take a hammer and chisel and whack it several times from all sides to loosen it up, then use a drill with a phillips head bit with some good torque and apply a lot of pressure to prevent spinning the bit in the head of the screw. Works 95% of the time. For the rest I keep banging with the chisel until I get the head to where I can grab it with vice grips. Last resort is to cut off the head with an angle grinder cut-off wheel or drill it out if you are concerned about damaging surrounding metal.

[Diesel Dan]

There is an outer piece of metal on the window pillars that is only held on by the screws and some caulk. That may come off, but no big deal. The windows are secured by clips on the inside, as you can see, and caulk. They come out from the inside of the bus. You have to take a razor knife to the surrounding caulk inside and out then pry it out carefully with large screwdrivers or something like that. It took me a long time for the first one, but it got easier after that once I developed the technique of applying steady pressure by prying then work my way further down the window. I removed 6 of mine. BTW, I edited my last post for better clarity.

[CAMO-MONSTER]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

One thing you might consider when building the seats is that a 90 degree angle isn't particularly comfortable in a seat. I've seen where some people will add angled shims to frames like you've built in order to give a more comfortable slant to the seat back.

no it is not trust me i know that is how my seats are!

[Diesel Dan]

I've also been thinking about water pumps. I think it depends on your application. If power conservation is not a big issue for you, then perhaps the electric pump is the way to go. Just mount it in such a way that it is easily replaced if it craps out. I will be plugged in to shore power frequently so will be able to recharge my batteries. I will also have a sink, shower, and outdoor spigot, so for me a central pump is pretty important and power usage is not a huge issue. But if I were boondocking exclusively and full-timing I would reconsider a more manual pumping method.

[CAMO-MONSTER]

well for water i can bypass the holding tank and pump and just be hooked up to a fosset for water. but the pump i have is a 2.8 gpm and all the hoses i'm changing to pex tubing, and not the crimp fittings so if i need to it can be fixed easy.