The Zippy Bus: 1997 Genesis Amtran 34' 4 season living in White Mountains NH!

[ntrain6942]

Our new project for us(Squash and Zippy). A 1997 Genesis Amtran, 34' bus. Living space about 29'x7', for year round living in the White Mountain National forest of NH. Its an FE flat nosed unit with a DT466/AT545 combo, air brakes and a spicer rear end. 150k on odometer. BOdy overall solid, but a lot of dents and couple rust holes here and there..........

Some pics to start!

[EastCoastCB]

Very similar to my bus. The genesis buses were great!

[Timelord]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

The genesis buses were great!

Agreed!

[ntrain6942]

Anyhoo, here are a few pics........body overall is solid inside and out, but there are still quite a few dents and areas which need rust repair.

[ntrain6942]

DT466 190hp/485tq mechanical version w/AT545



Dent needs repair......



Some rust repair to battery box........she came with 3 new batts and terminals.........no complaints there.



Side view........how you supposed to close the air door fully from outside? No handle........



Passenger side view mirror rusting through at the mounts.......needs repair......



Needs to be pulled out a bit.........



Structural to the entrance stairway needs attention......



Other sideview mirror partially torn off......



How do you close this door from outside?



All the wheel wells will need repair.....rotting out all around em.........



Rear door dented to "sheet" and rotting out......mismatched hinges in back too.........anyone know good places to get used or new parts for these things?



Rust at rear license plate area



Some denting here.......top side, some rust inside above door too.......



But the body overall is really good............



More dents in roof........



Another dent.......



All the tires and retreads are in either near new condition or with low miles overall......



Rims gonna be cleaned up and painted grey...........



This mess getting cleaned up and properly loomed and labeled........

[ntrain6942]

This access door won't fully close.........



Ripped off the junk rear bumper and drip plates/splash guards.......



Pile begins........thankfully seats were already out............



Rubber and plywood flooring already removed.........lots of rust on the metal floor........











Seats in rough shape but still comfy surprisingly, lol



Crack in gauge cluster........where to get parts cheap?



No idea what was here.....any ideas?



What the knob do under the yellow parking brake button?

[cadillackid]

wonder why so many dents? cowboy of a route driver?

it looks like a lot of the rust is related to the dents as opposed to true rot.. seems like you should be solid assuming the floors and ribs are good.. the tires do look good which is a plus!

-Christopher

[ntrain6942]

Removing windows............keeping the good framed windows, tossing the ones in rough shape and replacing with sheet metal.........



This is the worst wheel well behind driver seat..........



Starting to rip out the ceiling metal now.............and yes Ive only had this bus a few days.........like to be living in it WARMLY by winter.......lol..........been living in a tent all spring and summer.









The frame rear axle, exhaust and air cans are surprisingly clean, plus the previous owner did a fresh oil change, tranny fluid change and full filter change.........unfortunately the previous owner never touched the anti freeze, so time for a flush............



New shocks all around are in order...........



Fuel tank and safety brackets need to be cleaned up.......same with driveshaft......











Nice beefy international frame.........and to think, I was thinking about spending $double the money for a flimsy "tiny home" 28' bare framed trailer.............and still would have needed to buy a truck capable of towing it............



Cross members in overall good shape..........not too much repair needed here at least.........

[ntrain6942]

There will be 4 rooms in the RV conversion, in the rear the bedroom(full sized bed w 40" 2160p LED tv w UHD BR player and full surround system), followed by the bathroom(composting toilet, sink, 2 person whirlpool bath, washer/dryer combo unit), followed by the living room(couple couches, small lcd tv, shelving etc), and in the front the kitchen(fridge, 3-4 burner stove/oven, microwave, sink, counter), and then the cockpit will get an upgraded seat, or old one reupholstered, cd player/sound system, and lcd monitor for backup camera. Hoping to finish this project by this time next year.........

[cadillackid]

the knob under the yellow brake handle is your hand-throttle.. you cam use it to set your idle speed up and down.. its a cable that loops around inside to your throttle pedal.. its often that the knob pulls off.. mine did... its just a standard round blank knob or you could use a T-handle.

I use mine to up the idle speed when im resting at a rest area on a really hot day to spin the A/C compressor faster and get cooler air...i'll probably do the same in winter so the engine makes better heat..

remember when you do the coolant to check and add the SCA as needed to the coolant for the wet sleeve engine if required...
-Christopher

[Carytowncat]

Ha! that box next to the shifter is a "supra" key box. It is often used in rea estate where a common key can open the box and access the house keys. In this case the bus keys could he stored in the bus, and the common key would open the box.

Beautifuo Bus!

Me thinks rust and dents add beautiful character

[ntrain6942]

Not the supra box. .. ..the hole to right of it........

[superduty_59]

Good start on your bus!

[ntrain6942]

Decided I'm going to do it right..........old metal floor getting ripped out, new one put in, in sections...............the rear of the bus up and around the rear wheel wells first...........

[ntrain6942]

Anyone happen to know the original gauge used originally by Amtran on the metal floor?

[ntrain6942]

OK, so the game plan: Repair and replace any cross members and the metal flooring(still don't know the exack thickness, 16th or 8th inch sheet steel), then after metal floor is fully repaired, I'm going to lay down a layer of rust inhibitor/paint to keep rust from reforming, then I'm going to lay down a layer of GRACE ice and water shield over the flooring, then a 1" layer of XPS foam(PL premium glued), and then 3/4" Advantec TnG.

I would love some feedback on this idea, specifically the GRACE ice n water shield that's normally used for roofing. Its basically like dynamat, so I was planning on doing the floor with it(possibly walls and ceiling too) for a bit extra sound insulation, and it may just add a bit extra R value too.

[ntrain6942]

Ok......so got a gauge checker.......the bus has 14 gauge floors........a 4x10 sheet of 14 gauge is $88 bucks........so picking up 7 of those.......and 24' lengths of 2.5" square stock 1/8 inch thick is 96 bucks a stick.........the square stock will be a big upgrade over the current hat channel cross members.........

[ntrain6942]

These are some of the items I picked out to install into the Bus conversion:

Washer/dryer combo: Splendide 7100 XC Washer/Dryer - Platinum - Westland WDC7100XC - Washer & Dryer Combos - Camping World

Wood stove (Dwarf) 5kw/20k Btu version with the wood storage stand, direct air option and bakers oven.

https://www.tinywoodstove.com/produc...the-dwarf-5kw/

Norcold 6.3cf fridge/freezer

Norcold Refrigerator without Ice Maker 6.3 cu.ft. capacity Right hand door swing, 3 way Power - 120V AC / LP Gas / 12V - Norcold NXA641.3R - Top-Freezer Refrigerators - Camping World

3 burner range/oven

Sealed Burner Gas Range - Piezo Lite, 22" - Suburban SRSA3LBBEZ - Counter & Stove Tops - Camping World

2 person whirlpool tub w/shower head fixture

Shop Laurel Mountain Seneca Ii 71.75-in L x 41.75-in W x 23-in H 2-Person White Acrylic Hourglass Whirlpool Tub and Air Bath at Lowes.com

And of course the 2 boob tubes, going with a pair of these plus surround systems built into the walls:

LG OLED55B6P: E6 OLED 4K Smart TV w/ webOS 3.0 | LG USB

Thinking bout trying to cram a dishwasher in there too.........I will have a minimum 130 gallons worth of potable water on hand............(the 2 person Jacuzzi takes about 55 gallons to fill assuming 2 ppl soaking in it), but the big question is the power needed. I will have a 600-720 watt solar system feeding a large battery bank..........just not sure how large the battery bank needs to be to be able to run the tub in the evening for a few hours say and then run one of the theater systems after or a few appliances........

There will also be a separate 5 channel audio system up front for the driver(me), with 3 wireless cameras mounted to the bus(rear, and both sides)utilizing 3 different monitors.

[Night Roller]

How much did u pay for the bus?
Have a '95 40' with air brakes & air ride.
Looks like they don't have very good drivers out there...lol.

[ntrain6942]

Bout $2k for mine.