Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 02-04-2015, 08:39 AM   #21
Bus Geek
 
EastCoastCB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Yeah people insulate under their floors.
I'm cleaning, painting, and undercoating the chassis of mine then i may try some foam insulation under there.

EastCoastCB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 08:40 AM   #22
Mini-Skoolie
 
Kylebetaclark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Vermont
Posts: 49
Year: 2003
Engine: DT466E
Quote:
Originally Posted by HolyBus View Post
I say it looks like serious ringworm.
Not quite what I was thinking... but the angle might be wrong ;)
Kylebetaclark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 08:46 AM   #23
Mini-Skoolie
 
Kylebetaclark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Vermont
Posts: 49
Year: 2003
Engine: DT466E
Ok... new question.
If I put in a 93 Gal fresh water tank (this one).

And a 60 gal grey water... what should I put in for a black water tank?

(six people on the bus, one outside shower, one inside + small washing machine).

The wife has kaboshed my plan for a composting toilet and I think I can fit the waste tanks just behind the wheels
Kylebetaclark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 08:55 AM   #24
Mini-Skoolie
 
Kylebetaclark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Vermont
Posts: 49
Year: 2003
Engine: DT466E
Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
Yeah people insulate under their floors.
I'm cleaning, painting, and undercoating the chassis of mine then i may try some foam insulation under there.
Cool. Makes sense.

I was thinking...
1. work the bus back and forth until its propped up on 2ft of stacked timbers... (get it off the ground a ways)
2. pressure wash everything on the underside. (do you use a inhibitor in the spray?)
3. don a mask and glasses and commit myself to two days of wire brushing
4. What type of undercoating? That stuff seems to be super $$ and all spray on?

is there an easier way?

Thanks!
Kylebetaclark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 08:57 AM   #25
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 546
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kylebetaclark View Post
Ok... new question.
If I put in a 93 Gal fresh water tank (this one).

And a 60 gal grey water... what should I put in for a black water tank?

(six people on the bus, one outside shower, one inside + small washing machine).

The wife has kaboshed my plan for a composting toilet and I think I can fit the waste tanks just behind the wheels
Black=40-45.
dond is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 01:10 PM   #26
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 262
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: Amtran
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 71
Re post #25, have your wife watch this video, could change her mind regarding the composting toilet:
Good Luck
__________________
"This is my ship...the Nebuchadnezzar, it's a hovercraft."
~Morpheus
The Nebuchadnezzar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 02:36 PM   #27
Bus Geek
 
EastCoastCB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kylebetaclark View Post
Cool. Makes sense.

I was thinking...
1. work the bus back and forth until its propped up on 2ft of stacked timbers... (get it off the ground a ways)
2. pressure wash everything on the underside. (do you use a inhibitor in the spray?)
3. don a mask and glasses and commit myself to two days of wire brushing
4. What type of undercoating? That stuff seems to be super $$ and all spray on?

is there an easier way?

Thanks!
I pressure washed mine without jacking it up any. I don't know about any inhibitors, I just pressure washed it, with some steam carefully.
At LEAST two days of wire brushing.
I got a bunch of Rustoleum undercoating on mega sale a while back so that's what i'm going with. Its pretty good stuff too, I've done the wheel wells with it.
I don't know about easy and buses going together in the same sentence!
EastCoastCB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2015, 09:19 PM   #28
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 584
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: I.H.
Engine: DT360
You could go with truck bed liner. It doesn't have to be LineX or the other high price brand. It is available in can and can be thinned and rolled or brushed on. Another option is Por-15. I used it on several old cars. A little pricey but it can be thinned and goes on easy.
HolyBus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2015, 05:41 AM   #29
Bus Crazy
 
M1031A1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Dowdy Lakes, Colorado
Posts: 1,444
Year: 1989
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf-T-Liner ER
Engine: 3208 CAT/MT643 tranny
Rated Cap: 87
Talking

Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
I don't know about easy and buses going together in the same sentence!
Congrats ECCB!!! YOU did it!!!!!!;)
M1031A1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2015, 05:00 PM   #30
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Southern Ohio
Posts: 51
I have lots of real world experience with a composting toilet. I will not be putting one on my bus. They are very expensive and high maintenance. I might go that route with 2 adults, but with 2 adults and 4 or 5 children on board I will not recommend it. Others may argue that it will work but I have one and 5 kids ;)
Your wife will be much happier with a black water tank. Pay a little extra for the sea/land porcelain toilet and install a sprayer. It makes cleaning easier. Also when you buy the toilet all the working parts are plastic. They sell a kit to upgrade everything to brass...before it fails.
Also I think sinking the showers into the floor is a great idea, but you better do it now!
sweetfarm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-05-2015, 06:57 PM   #31
Bus Nut
 
PDBreske's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 635
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Bookmobile body by Farber
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Navistar DT466/Alison MT643
Rated Cap: 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kylebetaclark View Post
As I was hacking around under the bus I was thinking of putting 3" of board insulation under the floor... then putting a thin sheet of Al attached to the bottom of the flanges. Is that done often? Insulating under the metal floor?
Insulating under the floor seems to be the best way to go if you want to preserve the limited headroom in a school bus, but it's also the hardest and probably messiest. I sprayed insulating foam onto my ceiling and walls and can attest to the mess it makes (still worth it, though) and I can imagine it would be a lot worse when working under the floor. If you could tilt the bus onto its side the job would be easy and relatively clean.

Also, most spray foams are sensitive to UV damage, so the surface of the foam needs to be covered (inside a wall, for example) to protect it long term. You'd have to do the same if you sprayed it under the floor where you also have road debris/rocks/etc.
PDBreske is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2015, 06:41 AM   #32
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 584
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: I.H.
Engine: DT360
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDBreske View Post
If you could tilt the bus onto its side the job would be easy and relatively clean.


Yeah, there must be a way but this aint it.
Maybe this way:
HolyBus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2015, 08:28 AM   #33
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 337
It seems that people in NH wanted to undercoat as well. Maybe you can get your bus to sit up like this.



Malkieri is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-06-2015, 08:47 AM   #34
Bus Nut
 
PDBreske's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 635
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Bookmobile body by Farber
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Navistar DT466/Alison MT643
Rated Cap: 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malkieri View Post
It seems that people in NH wanted to undercoat as well. Maybe you can get your bus to sit up like this.

I don't know. I wouldn't want to work from a ladder tall enough to spray a bus like this. Maybe from a rappelling rig secured to the top bumper or nearby high-rise building?
PDBreske is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-08-2015, 06:49 AM   #35
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Florida
Posts: 584
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: I.H.
Engine: DT360
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDBreske View Post
I don't know. I wouldn't want to work from a ladder tall enough to spray a bus like this. Maybe from a rappelling rig secured to the top bumper or nearby high-rise building?
A bus up like that on end might make a great rock climbing wall inside and out.


HolyBus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2015, 12:20 PM   #36
Mini-Skoolie
 
Kylebetaclark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Vermont
Posts: 49
Year: 2003
Engine: DT466E
Overdue Update

The bus has been coming along... a lot of electrical, batteries and plumbing recently.

Yesterday it went for inspection and they tagged me on the stupidest things... like how close the outlets were to the bed... the red lights over the exits had to come out... the hot water heater vent too close to a window... (there are windows everywhere)... red exit handles had to go... ugh! 1AM last night and back to the shop this morning to try for an inspection sticker...

The coolest thing is running off of batteries! I separated the main battery from a new set of batteries by a contractor and put in an inverter. It doesn't even hum. Tonight I might test to see how long the fridge runs on batteries alone with a power meter on it... and determine the kwh.
Attached Thumbnails
bunks.jpg   Painting.jpg   harry.jpg   IMG_1180.JPG  
Kylebetaclark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2015, 12:35 PM   #37
Mini-Skoolie
 
Kylebetaclark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Vermont
Posts: 49
Year: 2003
Engine: DT466E
Oh photos here
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clark...=photos_stream
Kylebetaclark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2015, 12:48 PM   #38
Bus Geek
 
bansil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
wow what standard did they go by?
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
bansil is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2015, 04:23 PM   #39
Mini-Skoolie
 
Kylebetaclark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Vermont
Posts: 49
Year: 2003
Engine: DT466E
Quote:
Originally Posted by bansil View Post
wow what standard did they go by?
I think they made one up... a hybrid of a school-bus and Vermont state camper inspection...
Kylebetaclark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2015, 01:01 AM   #40
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Currently in Appalachia.
Posts: 148
Sweet bus!

I'm a wee bit late to this party, but if you haven't found the toilet yet, you might consider checking out FamilyBus' posts, if you havn't already. He has 6 kids too and uses a composting toilet- i believe he just uses the sawdust bucket. He's quite knowledgeable about electric and power options too.

For some really good ideas on the propaneless set-up, I think you may like wmkbaily's build thread "The Journey Visni" (sp?). After his roof raise, he rigged up his Webasto for heat that would run with a marine heating system, plus LOTS of good pics, sources and details about how he set up the AC/DC wiring and battery banks, isolation switches etc etc

You mentioned different metals for different projects. Don't forget about galvanic corrosion. Here's a good info sheet. http://www.engineersedge.com/galvanic_capatability.htm (even though the address is spelled wrong. Oy)

Nimbus 2000- Great name!!! You should edit the name of this build thread!
Love your bus-bucks idea! Brilliant.
__________________
~Pamela
SassyLass is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
2003, dt466e, international

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.