Thanks for the update/story. It was tough dealing with: "When we last left our hero, he was sitting all night in the Denver Airport waiting for a flight to . . "
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Someone said "Making good decisions comes from experience, experience comes from bad decisions." I say there are three kinds of people: those who learn from their mistakes, those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who never learn.
The tough thing right now is that the weather absolutely blows...literally! High wind warnings and such. Which means all kinds of crazy cold wind chills, so there's no work that can really be done. So now I have to stare out my living room window and dream...so close, but yet so far. Of course, as soon as the weather breaks and I can work outside, I have some snowbird friends of mine that said I can use their shop (and tools) for the next two months while they're away! So I can't work outside because of the cold, and I can't work inside because my friends' travel trailer is in the way...although it's their space! I'll miss them when they are gone, but having an enclosed area with power to work in will be nice!
The next steps will probably be something like this:
-remove seats!
-remove seats from a donor conversion van
-install new seats
-work on getting some better heat...maybe flush the coolant. The bus just never really seems to want to get very warm. I have no idea why.
-at least for the next couple months I want to put some kind of wall up behind the 5th window. I can't do anything major to the body until my friends come back from Texas and this will give me a real idea of how much space I'll really have when I do the cutting.
-get tunes and video installed. I really want to rip into the floor right away, but making it into a family transporter is the first priority I think. Maybe in late January or early February I can rip into the floor. That'll give me a little time for the ol' Obama $$$ to start rolling in!
The ultimate goal is to make my bus look like a nicer version of this one I had a link out to an eBay listing awhile ago...which I nearly bought. It will look something like this...but pulling a horse trailer!
I'd really like something like this...
But this one's a little rich for my blood...champagne tastes, Boone's Farm budget!
Last night, Lesa and I got 6 of 11 rows of seats pulled. I'll have to post up a pic. Although, you all know what that looks like! We tried the air impact wrench up top and socket down below. It worked well, when it worked. When it didn't, it just didn't. So we took the grinder to the rest...and they were out! We just need to get the seats out of the donor van when we get home. We just made a 400+ mile trip to Christmas at in-laws. The bus ran like a top! vanguy_67's suggestion to put a winterfront on it for better heat was fantastic...thanks again! The wife and kids were very happy with the heat! I was dying it was so hot! Amazing what a little cardboard can do.
Although, it was almost the trip that wasn't. I guess that sometimes the brakes get a little moisture on the drum and the shoes will freeze to it. It's happened on my Suburban because I'm a fan of parking brakes. Usually, just a little gas and they unstick themselves. However, air brakes seem to be different...somehow. I had to call a guy to bring over a blowtorch (should have taken a picture...flames shooting out from under the bus!). But a little heat, and they were unfrozen and away we went...getting 9.8 mpg on one leg of the trip!
I was pretty sure that there was frozen air lines, but it the mechanic said I wouldn't have 125 psi air pressure! I'm not sure what the bill will be. I don't think too much. He was there 20 minutes and they are pretty reasonable. I don't think that I need a blow torch of that magnitude, but I'm going to get one of those mini torches for next time.
Great story, good pictures! I will look forward to more progress reports and pictures as the build progresses. I spent several years in Enterprise, Kansas near Abilene as a kid. As I recall, Goodland is so flat you can play pool pretty much anywhere, fields, roads, yards, etc.
It's pretty flat out here...that's for sure! Although, north of town there are some really nice hills to torchure my Cross Country Team with! They're the only hills in Sherman County I think!
But we have made some progress on the bus. I think I mentioned pulling out 6 rows of seats. If I didn't, we did. That was before our trip back to Eastern Kansas to pick up kids from their stay with the non-custodials. We ended up sleeping in the bus two of the three nights we were gone. The first night was just my wife and myself (and the dog). We had the electric blanket on low and we were all kinds of warm. A little snuggling too. The next night was on the road with the kids. I was just too tired to drive, so we pulled over at the rest area and camped out. It was chillier because when the bus wasn't moving, the heater temps really dropped off. The motor just seems to run incredibly cool. I'll appreciate that in the summer I suppose!
I know that I owe some pictures. I'll get some tonight.
I also made progress getting the seats out of the donor van. My neighbor owns a salvage yard and had a full size Chevy conversion van laying around. He said I could have the seats and whatever I wanted from it for $75 if I pulled it myself. So I spent the better part of yesterday pulling the 4 captains chairs and electric sofa out. I'll have to go back for the seat bases, seat belts, and some lights and switches for the couch. The seats are in fair shape. I'm hoping with a good shampoo and some seat covers, no one will know the difference.
The next project will be finishing the seat tear out, and installing the new seats! I'm hoping to have a new driver & navigator seat lined up too!
The motor just seems to run incredibly cool. I'll appreciate that in the summer I suppose!
I've been wondering for a while if a previous owner pulled the thermostat and left it out. Back when I was a kid, some cars had winter 'stats and summer 'stats, and sometimes owners just left the winter 'stat out in the summer.
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Someone said "Making good decisions comes from experience, experience comes from bad decisions." I say there are three kinds of people: those who learn from their mistakes, those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who never learn.
Sum total on the kids is 7...2 for me...5 from here. We have custody of 5 of them (4 hers and 1 mine). The oldest is 15, then two 13 year old (that's tons of fun), then an 11 year and a 10 year old. We don't quite need all the room, but man it was great to not have people pretty much sitting on top of each other last trip. There was a distinct lack of crying and fighting on the last trip.
Here are some pics of the "progress" we've made. I didn't take a full on pic of all the seats. Nor did I take a good pic after we removed the last six rows of seats. I just have some pics of the "new" seats that we plan to integrate. I think the pictures make them out of be better than they are. They're not bad, but need some shampoo and whatnot.
Other than being at the back half of the bus, this is the relative position that we want the seats in. The two seats nearest the isle are "quick release" (with a sledge hammer, at least that's how I removed them from the donor van! There is a section of the couch that is on top and I intend to reattach it and "quick release" the chairs for a bigger bed when camping. Otherwise, there's enough room as it is to unfold the couch and leave the chairs as they are. No one should be "touching" each other!
It's going to be about two months down the road, but I hope to relocate the door similar to how you did, Den (and SportyRick). I'm hoping to alter my factory stairs though to slide in a generator and/or battery bank. I'm going to put the door just ahead of the duals, as others have done. We'll see how it all works out. I'll have Spring Break during March and my welding-metal guru friend will be home from snow-birding. Then the real fun can begin!
RedBear...you bring up a good point. I bought a 78 Chevy Malibu that someone had swapped in a blow racing motor that I limped along with for awhile (I bought it for the body). When winter came it never warmed up. I ended up "replacing" the nonexistent thermostat. I'll have to look into that with my bus. I don't think she's been out racing, but it could have a really low temp thermostat. But now with the cardboard, it does great. Maybe I'll just leave it and be happy with a lower thermostat come summer.
NewSkewlHauler congrats on the bus purchase, you got a hell of a deal on a great bus and you got home with no problems, great. I am sorry I haven't been here at skooklie.net to catch up on my reading because I live just 7 minutes off I70 at the Kingdom city exit. You could have crashed here and seen my bus too! As far as the heat thing that is normal for a diesel, no heat in the winter vs my gas motor that runs you out because of all the heat produced. If you were having lots of heat from a diesel in the winter then you would be putting head gaskets on it this summer. Are you sure you don't have louvers in front of your radiator that aren't functioning correctly? I did but I pitched them because I figured I wouldn't be driving it in the winter, that was a dream, I drive it every winter now to Salina. We must have just missed each other, I drove to Salina on the 26th and back on the 27th. Don't be in too much of a hurry putting those seats down, make sure you understand your needs presently and in the future, you don't need to put any extra holes in the floor that are not needed. You may want to put some flooring down before you attach seats. If you are going to cut the rear of the bus off then use both your front and rear underseat heaters to heat the passenger quarters as well as your dash heater for defrost. Other input would be invited but I think you can leave the floor in the rear in place for a deck (it is well supported with crossmembers) and put a goose neck ball supported properly under the floor welded or bolted to the frame rails. Are you going to move the rear cap up to where you cut the walls off? That will give you a rear door and look good too. I haven't done it but have seen it done many times so I assume it's do-able for you too. What about camping in the bus at rest stops to and fro? Have you thought about that? Storage? Potti? A toilet doesn't take up much room and is a very welcome addition, then no stops except for fuel. Even one with a tank built in would be better than nothing. Kitchen counter to fix lunch on? Den showed you how to put in a mid door, it's great! It goes on and on and I am sure I am preaching to the choir but thought I would put in my 2 cents. You will use your bus more than you think. Tailgating, I tailgated for homecoming at MU this year, spent the night on the grounds 2 nights in a row, you wouldn't believe the goings on in the middle of the night. We spent labor day weekend at Clinton Lake by Lawrence Ks for a family campout. We love our bus and you will too! sportyrick ps you want that generator as far away from your living quarters as possible and it will hang down a little too so stay near a wheel so it won't drag on the ground.
Thanks for the advise, sportyrick! It's too bad I missed you on the way home. I think I stopped for fuel near there. I would love to see your bus. I'll have to make a trip next Christmas through Salina to see you there! I'm sure sometime during Christmas I'll be on my way to Kansas City. I hope to end up at Clinton Lake to ride the horses again. I've been on those trails several times and they are fantastic. Maybe we'll see you there sometime too!
Originally I wasn't going to use the rear cap. But I'm leaning more and more towards it. Another set of seats that I'm hoping to latch on to would create a really nice storage area with the rear cap that a flat-wall just wouldn't have. I'm hoping to get the rear seat out of an Impala that were set up to fold flat for trunk access. I think that with the BB slope in the rear cap, I could gain a goodly amount of really cool storage space.
I've got a fiberglass surround with a toilet and sink that has the shower drain in it that I pillaged from a stick and staple unit. I'm not 100% sure how to incorporate it, but I think I have a good idea. I'm almost thinking of trying a pocket door since the door will run the length of the bus, not across.
I, personally, don't have the skills to do the mid-door, so I'll have to wait a few months until my friend with the skills gets back from Texas. Then the mid door is certainly going to happen! I've gotta have my baby beside me! The one trip we've made together was good, but not great because she had to ride behind me. She did get a lot of good face time with the kids though!
I guess the best part about the unit that I have is that it only goes 32 or 36 inches high. So I guess it's really a two-piece! I'm not sure what I'll use on the top part...there's a discussion somewhere about FRP or something. I see it in bathrooms all the time. I think the stick and staple I pulled it from just relied on a curtain to be pulled all the way around when you shower. Somehow I don't think it worked too well, otherwise I wouldn't have been dismantling it! I'll have to post a pic sometime so ya know what I mean...and so I know what I'm talkin' 'bout! But I think the FRP and several pounds of caulk "should" work. I do like the idea of sinking the pan between the frame rails for a taller shower. I might have to kick that idea around and past the wife...
One thing we don't have is roof hatches. I really wish we did have them. I think the "next bus" will have them...but that won't be for another 5-6 years! The next bus will have a different purpose, so we'll be looking for different things next time. The bus I used for my Cross Country team had them and they were awesome for ventilation cruising down the road.
I got the permanent plates on the Silver Snail Friday. I couldn't register it as an RV yet, but the registration as a bus wasn't all that expensive. Granted, there was only "some" sales tax, personal property tax (stupid Kansas), and whatnot. The total bill was only $51.50...good Van Halen album too! I'll have to renew the plates in May, but I was really surprised at how little it cost. Our Suburban is at least 3 or 4 times that amount!
I got a few more things out of the donor van. Here is/was the van...it was a nice unit at one point.
That's all for now anyway...oh yeah...I scored more seats! I was cruising FeeBay and came across a set of leather seats out of a 2001 Chevy Impala. I might have mentioned it before...I don't know. But the auction was for the heated front leather seats (driver and passenger) and the rear seats. The rear seat is supposed to fold flat for trunk access. I'm looking forward to integrating that into a storage design! I figure when I move the rear cap forward, with the BlueBird slope in the rear, I should have some nice storage with easy access!
We tried the air impact wrench up top and socket down below. It worked well, when it worked. When it didn't, it just didn't. 
So we took the grinder to the rest...and 
they were out! We just need to get the seats out of the donor van when we get home. We just made a 400+ mile trip to Christmas at in-laws. The bus ran like a top! vanguy_67's suggestion to put a winterfront on it for better heat was fantastic...thanks again! The wife and kids were very happy with the heat! I was dying it was so hot! Amazing what a little cardboard can do. 
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