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Old 05-04-2018, 11:46 AM   #1
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Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Palmer, AK
Posts: 279
Year: 2004
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Saf T Liner MVP 11 window 32’
Engine: CAT 3126E
Rated Cap: 72
Wilderland Bus AK _ '04 Thomas 32' FE

I think it's time to start documenting our conversion now that we have all our seats stacked in piles along the bus bulkheads & windows, ready for a trip to the dump!

Just a quick run down on us before I get started. We're a family of 7...one mom, one dad, two 16yo boys, one 9yo boy, one boy dog, one girl dog. Home is Palmer, AK. Like many, we have an itch for adventure, but sometimes have a hard time pulling the trigger. It sure is easy to stuck in life's daily routines. For years. We've managed to pull ourselves out of that routine a few times...the latest attempt as the purchase of our bus, which happened one week ago.

I hopped right into the forums not long ago, mentioning my planned route home after purchasing our bus just outside of Spokane. It seems like the whole “CDL, air brake endorsement (our bus has them), weigh station & traveling through Canada” thing is a hot topic on here. I get why it is, most of us like to operate within the law & really don't know DMV details because it was a long time ago that we actually studied those laws. Staying out of the pokie is good & so is not paying the government anymore dollars than already requested.

Here’s my interpretation of our experience, from purchase in WA to our driveway in AK. About 2640 miles over 4 days...actually 3.

After (not before) Kelly & I committed to the purchase of our bus, we thought it might be good to study up on licensing & registration. I’m glad we became emotionally locked in prior to doing our homework...I think we may have backed out after listening to all the noise on this forum. It didn't hurt that we also sent a cash deposit, sight unseen. I’ve been around enough half converted buses at bluegrass festivals & GD shows to know it couldn’t be that difficult to get it home. I did some solid research of state & federal code, the results confirmed thoughts of a few skoolie members that sound much more experienced than I. My interpretation was that I was legal to drive it home (sort of...maybe). In the end, we were comfortable with pretty much any worst case scenario, up to & including having to ditch the bus somewhere in Canada. I would have been OK knowing I provided shelter for someone, even if it was for a washed up homeless curling Olympian.

After handing over a cashier’s check & shaking the owner’s hand, we went into town to transfer title, bill of sale, & purchase trip permits. I left the licensing office with a bill of sale, a title for the bus classed as a motorhome & a couple three day trip permits. Piece of cake. I had a hammock, bucket & single burner stove with me, which was permanent enough for me to feel good about this school bus disguised as an RV. I was convinced that the WA trip permits had that potential hiccup covered anyway. In addition, I had pages of Alaska & Federal code with me, which talked about personal use exemptions. Anyway...after returning to the bus, I packed up my stuff, fired the purring 3126 off & headed for my driving partner’s house. Wayne, who is my boss’ father, lives a couple miles south of the Porthill border crossing in Idaho. The plan was to get a good night’s sleep and head out to cross the border when it opened at 7AM.

After coffee, we headed out & got to the border at 6:59, just in time to watch the US border patrol guy walk out & unlock the "wall"...a rickety, squeaky, red metal gate. We drove through and pulled over at the Canadian border. We probably could have slipped into either of the lanes under the roof, but I was still a little uncomfortable with the buss’ girth, so I pulled way over to the right, way out of the way. We were the first and only people at the crossing, and the bus was about 100’ from the building. Wayne and I grabbed out passports & headed in. The patrol guys greeted us with a smile and asked the typical questions about firearms, drugs & destination. I anticipated the question about the bus registration & told him about our trip permits. I showed him a photo of the permit from my phone, taped to the back window of the bus, taken as I walked into the building. He asked me about a couple “young man lapses of judgement” that appeared on his screen as well. No real issues there. He peered at the bus from his chair, over the top of his computer screen and asked what we were doing with it. I told him I needed a winter project because my life as a tugboater kept me busy all summer & jobless all winter. “Safe travels, you’re good to go.” as he handed back our paperwork. Whaaat? Yeah, he never left the building. I was disappointed actually. At least come out and admire my beautiful new vehicle! Maybe I look less like a drug smuggling weapons dealer than I think. I’m certain that bus has more places to hide illegal stuff than the last 100 rigs to move through that little border. Off we went!

Other than the unrivalled scenery, that came in the form of mountains, buffalo, moose, elk, deer, rivers, frozen lakes and much more, the trip was entirely uneventful. We drove 18 hours a day for the first two, slept in a Grand Prairie truck stop the first night, the Whitehorse Walmart parking lot the second, and was in my driveway in Palmer by 7PM on the third day of travel.

I’ll back up a bit...we did pass a dozen or so weigh stations. Only two were open, one in BC & one in YT. The BC stations have signs that say ALL vehicles over 4500kg must stop. I made the decision way before seeing the green “OPEN” sign to fly on through, so that’s what we did. I eyed my rearview mirror for a few miles but soon forgot we even drove through it. The YT stations have signs that only require commercial vehicles over 5000kg to stop, so I didn’t feel like an outlaw there.

The US border crossing was easy as expected, we didn’t even have to get out of the bus for that one. We handed the patrol guy our DL, Passports, insurance card & answered a few boilerplate questions & off we went.

The trip couldn't have turned out any better. The bus ran like a top, got better MPG than I anticipated & my driving buddy got to check off the ALCAN from his bucket list!

I apologize in advance for the photo duplicates, some of them are on a previous post or two...just wanted to get this diary started of right!
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Old 05-04-2018, 09:36 PM   #2
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Nice
Pretty cool trip
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Old 05-06-2018, 06:42 AM   #3
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Great story! What mpg did you actually get? And what transmission do you have?
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Old 05-06-2018, 10:06 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07 View Post
Great story! What mpg did you actually get? And what transmission do you have?
We got 10.5 mpg. My guess is it'll get better from now on, we weren't shy on the throttle for most of the trip. I won't ever be that aggressive in the future. I had a few reasons to get home sooner than later. After the initial couple hundred miles I knew we had a good runner so I figured what the hell...lets try to beat out any deep seeded gremlins. I feel pretty dang good about what we have. The transmission is an Allison 2000. On the grades less than 4-5% she would motor over in the highest gear at about 55-60. Anything steeper would kick it down one less than that overdrive gear, at about 52. Only the 7% or steepers would slow us down less than 50.
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Old 05-06-2018, 10:48 AM   #5
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As I work on my second cup of coffee this morning, thinking about removing our heaters & 60' of coolant line, I figured I'd share a few photos from yesterday's work. Kelly and Alex probably slept well last night, as they both labored much more than I. All I did was sneak around and take photos.

Anyone have problems closing their windows all the way into their final position? Many of ours wont latch all the way up unless I remove the gasket that sits up top in the frame. There are a couple pics below of what I'm referring to. The tracks are free of dirt and grime, so that's not the problem. I think the gasket is too old & dry and doesn't compress enough. I need to dig around on the forums & online to see if there is a vendor that sells the stuff. I'm sure the gasket not only keeps water out, but also helps reduce the school bus rattle we all have known since grade school.
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Old 05-07-2018, 11:08 PM   #6
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Ran to the dump today....scales say the bus is 600 lbs lighter. Mostly seat skins, foam & a bit of metal coolant hose coverings. I kept the seat frames because they stack nice in the shed. A good(ish) source for bracket material & small sheet metal. If I don't use any of it for the bus, which is likely, I'll bring it to the scrap pile.
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Old 05-09-2018, 12:14 PM   #7
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Rubber Floor Removal / rubber over metal, no plywood

Seems to be quite a bit of conversation about "best practices" for rubber floor removal on here. So much good info. I think the best methods vary depending on the materials you're dealing with. Here's a video showing the process we used...may work for some, may not. A little patience & heat was the trick for us.

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Old 05-09-2018, 09:29 PM   #8
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Good solid start, very nice that there wasn't any ply (and all the associated nails). 5/7 of you in 32' is going to be interesting, any thoughts on layout?
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Old 05-10-2018, 09:54 AM   #9
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Good solid start, very nice that there wasn't any ply (and all the associated nails). 5/7 of you in 32' is going to be interesting, any thoughts on layout?
Thanks & agreed, 5 humans and 2 dogs will be tight for sure. However, the shorter length was a conscious decision, it fits in our driveway & it'll benefit us in all these remote campgrounds up here. It doesn't hurt that this bus is a gem... a great runner & zero rust or dings. We'll likely use it as a weekend warrior type motorhome prior to the 16yo twins moving on in life. After they are gone we'll actually explore more permanent residence. We'll improvise the sleeping quarter situation if they're still around when when it's finished. We are definitely kicking around layout ideas. My wife has had scaled graph paper out on the table for weeks now.
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Old 05-18-2018, 11:03 PM   #10
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Coolant heaters removed with a question or two...

One last task before I abandon the bus for a few months. We're off to pursue an adventure of a different sort. I'm a bit bummed I won't be tinkering for a while. My wife promises to send photos of anything she decides to do while I'm on the boat.

I removed the heaters today, following the advice of folks that shared their experiences on here. Sure is nice to learn from others, I'm quite the hack on my own. Just looped the hoses back together using a plastic 90 that was used in line as part of the system I removed. I'm expecting a gold star from the EPA, not a drop of coolant spilled...on the ground.

I'm going to read up a bit more on the booster pump (is that what it's called?) & decide whether or not to remove it at a later date. It is still in the system. Is there a benefit to keeping it other than as a backup method to cool the engine? As it is now, I doubt it'll even do that. It needed the heater & 50' of hose for that. I'll probably keep it in place until I've run it up a mountain or two & am OK with engine temps. Seems like a bunch of extra hoses hanging down there for nothing. Less is better eh?

Removed the wires all the way to the switches. Is it a bad idea to leave the power to each switch? Work for now? I’ll remove them completely...another days project. I feel like what I did is cleaner than just terminating them with tape or caps. Better read up on that too.
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Old 10-14-2018, 11:20 PM   #11
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Back at it! Interior side panel & ceiling panel removal.

Feels good to be home, grounded for the first time in many months. Time to get busy on the bus!

For the sake of personal documentation, here are a few photos of our progress since yesterday. I know the tear down is the easy part, but it sure feels good to see things change so fast. We hope to get the interior painted & insulated before it gets too cold so we can work on it throughout the winter.

We went through 3 ea. 4 1/2" cutting discs to remove all the side panels (as described by several members on the forum). The ceiling panels dropped quickly because Kelly removed 99% of the screws last spring before we left for the summer. I was super happy to see nearly no rust behind the panels. I was a little worried because there were a few rows of ceiling screws that showed signs of corrosion.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to weld the seat holes in the floor or cover with epoxy & little squares of sheet metal. Thinking sheet metal will do the trick just fine & take much less time. One benefit to the later is that I can take advantage of willing (most of the time) child labor.
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Old 03-22-2019, 05:32 PM   #12
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Spring start up

Well, the bus is no longer an ice cube...time to get back at it. Started right up after sitting silent through winter...and after gutting many wires. I know I'm the only one excited about it...had to share anyway.
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Old 03-22-2019, 06:27 PM   #13
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Nice work! I remember that phase well!
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Old 03-22-2019, 06:59 PM   #14
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...and after gutting many wires. I know I'm the only one excited about it...
You should be.....lots of folks on here have glitches once they grease up those wire cutters. I'm just as happy when I don't f*** something up that's operable as I am when I try something new and it works.
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Old 03-22-2019, 08:39 PM   #15
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You should be.....lots of folks on here have glitches once they grease up those wire cutters. I'm just as happy when I don't f*** something up that's operable as I am when I try something new and it works.
My worries exactly Don. I ripped the harnesses apart and out cautiously...tracing them all, but not like I knew what I was doing. It was a warmer day sometime around Christmas...I purposefully avoided a test fire up because I didn't want to have to deal with it when it got cold again.
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Old 03-26-2019, 01:55 AM   #16
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I was going to give the floor a good scrub & call it good before painting it. Got a wild/semi rational hair & 8 hours later I'm about half way done "really" cleaning the floor. I was surprised at how how many piles of glue I've been sweeping up after shaving it off with a razor blade. After the glue is gone it sure buffs up nice with a wire wheel. Before taking the glue off all the wheel did was gum up and smear that nasty stuff all over. I learned to stay away from the black butyl goo that lines where the floor meets the wall...it smears even worse than the glue. Anyway, it's slow going but the sections I've finished look real nice now. Happy I'm taking the time. [ATTACH]Click image for larger version

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Old 03-26-2019, 05:40 AM   #17
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Looking good!
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Old 03-31-2019, 01:52 AM   #18
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Windows Out!

We're gonna do a full skin & install of RV windows, so I removed all the rattlers today. I pulled them out, cleaned the frames a bit & will pop them back in until we do the skinning...just to keep everything relatively dry. To pull 21 windows & scrape out the old sealant from the frames took about 3ish hours. I took my time on the first one & after figuring out the process, the rest came out quick. Searching window removal on the forum definitely helped. Thanks everyone!
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Windows OUT!

Here's the down and dirty on how it worked for me.

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Remove the two clips that straddle the vertical frame between the windows.

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At this point there is only sealant (and a snug fit between the frames) that holds the window in place. Use a utility knife to break the seal along the top & down both sides of the window.

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Do this on the inside & the outside of the window. The sealant on the inside of my bus was gummy & gray. The sealant on the outside was hard & yellow.

Once you've broken the seal, grab the window with two hands on the horizontal, close to each vertical frame and give the whole window (with the top slid down to the open position) a pull to see how loose it is. A little finesse should get it a wigglin'. Oh....the windows come out from the inside if you haven't already read or noticed that on your own. Use a five in one tool (google "five in one tool") to pry it out slowly. Pull it down from the top & sides & then out of the "track" on the bottom.

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Once you get the first one or two the rest will fly out!

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Old 03-31-2019, 11:37 AM   #19
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great write up and detailed pics on window removal. That will be helpful to several members. nice progress on everything!
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Old 04-01-2019, 01:24 AM   #20
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Answers to my questions about rivet removal.

I heeded the advice of all the experienced folks that answered my questions about Thomas rivet removal. Ignoring a knuckleheaded hunch of my own surely saved a little cash & definitely a bunch of time & frustration. 300 rivets down, I'll kill the second half tomorrow.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f10/th...ons-26416.html


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The tool flavor for this job

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