Deleting passenger side vent??? International RE 3000

[closequarters]

Is the vent on the passenger side of the bus necessary?

I have attached some images. One is of our engine housing at the back of our bus, the next three are of the passenger side air vent. The next three are of the driver's side air intake.

Can we just delete the pass side? We are already planning on making the housing of the driver's side air intake narrower.

Ultimately, we'd like to put our bed all the way to the back of the bus, but we need the extra space on the left to do so.

What is this vent's purpose? Just more air for cooling the engine? Would it be dangerous for the engine to delete it?

Apologizes if this question has been answered somewhere else. I cannot find anything on Skoolie.net

Thanks in advance!

[Booyah45828]

It's asked somewhat frequently, this below was the 3rd hit on a search.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f37/2...ing-32672.html

It's there so that the engine has access to clean/dry/cool air while going down the road.

I wouldn't recommend removing it altogether, unless this will primarily be parked, and never driven highway speeds. You can try and mimimize it, or reshape it, or put a large enough snorkel out and up the back of the bus like the road trains in Australia. But the correct repair doesn't involve eliminating it, because it does in fact serve a purpose.

[Booyah45828]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that it's up high because of all the crap kicked up by the tires. Drive behind a semi in a slight rain and you'll see what I mean. So I wouldn't lower it either. Keep it up high, and keep it in fresh air.

[HamSkoolie]

My bus has that exact same layout.

As already said, the INTAKES are up high to keep dirt, dust, and crud kicked up by the tires out of the engine bay.
That said, a lot of buses have intakes that are lower on the side.
We are considering removing our high vents completely in order to gain room on that back deck (which will be our garage). We would then install vents on the side engine bay access doors (the entire door area inside the tube frame excluding the latching mechanism).
This however is less area than the existing intakes and so we would also be opening up the area inside the bay from the frame rail down to the fold down/up platform just inside the door that allows you to step into the bay.
It's not optimal but it would work. We are also considering an auxilliary cooling system that coolant can be run through to increase cooling capacity.


It can be done, but it does have compromises. If you're a flatlander, it shouldn't be too bad but if you're wanting to hit dirt roads and the like or climb big hills think hard about it before you decide.


BEST is to leave them intact but they do take up a lot of interior space.

[closequarters]

Thanks so much for the link. That is so helpful to know. I felt deep down that they didn’t just put it in for sh*t and giggles, so I’m glad I asked.

After reading all of your replies, we are now considering putting the kids in the back of our bus. One upper bunk above each of the air intakes and play space in between bunks. Maybe even a slide down off the engine housing (husband thinks this is a terrible idea saying they’ll never go to sleep.

We would then do a Jack and Jill bathroom, using the entire width of the bus for the bathroom and then house our bed on the other side of the bathroom (sandwiched with the kitchen)… Murphy the bed and make a space for working out/build some fold out desks for work.

Thoughts on that design? Any potential downsides?

I like this idea because it doesn’t involve changing the intakes AND we won’t lose any square footage but rather gain it with the Murphying bed.

[Ronnie]

I made that area into a closet.

[DeMac]

I've seen several conversions where this has been done.


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The air intakes leak water into the interior, on that model RE. IC redesigned them around 2007.

Ewo1 documented his discovery of the leaky vents in posts #78 & #79 of his build thread.

Please see the photos in the link above. Water will penetrate through to the interior, but it can be corrected & sealed.

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Melwade deleted their factory intakes & fabricated new ones into the lower access doors. (IG acct: instagram.com/Mel&Lois)

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Our RE300 came from the factory with only one intake cowl, on the driver's side. No vent to the pax side mounted radiator.


Some REs are factory built without any deck cowls.

[Booyah45828]

Your mid 80's all american re's were like that. But I think they had a pipe that went to the roof on the passenger side for intake air.

I wonder where that last picture with the 3208T sources air from?

I guess I should clarify my remarks. You can change it, but make sure the air comes from another source that's good. Don't just sawzall the pipe, skin over the vent and call it a day.

[Clouse House]

If you are unsure of the new location as far as dust is concerned, look into pre-cleaners. Deleting that intake box was the difference between a queen size bed and a king size bed for us. And we want the bigger bed. Right now it's looking like I'll have to relocate the intake like this:



I'll build another metal box on the inside to shield from engine heat and to make sure it's getting fresh air, but because it's right behind the rear wheel I was worried about dust and water. I was looking for some kind of prefilter and I ended up finding these "pre-cleaners":

https://www.completetractor.com

https://servicesupplyamerica.com


And they look like they'll do the job. Designed to remove dust dirt and water from the intake. I figure if I add emptying it out to my pre-drive list then I should be okay.

If there's a will, there's a way.

[Booyah45828]

All depends on how much you're going to drive and the surface of the road. If your travels are minimal and you won't be going fast near gravel/dirt you have a chance.

Even so, another worry is rain. Wet paper filters don't flow. Traps and baffles for water would be a must IMO.

Also, an air filter indicator is never a bad idea. Worth installing even if you leave everything as is IMO.

[cruizinbiker]

We have the same bus. Attached are pictures of what I've done. The intake area on each side is 50% more than factory. The angled scoops are twice as wide to pull more air in. The only downside of doing this is that the intake is lower and could pull in more dust (I'll keep an eye on the filter), but it's a lot higher than even my lifted pickup truck.

The green T-handle for the latch just slides out of the door. I'm showing that off also!

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by cruizinbiker

We have the same bus. Attached are pictures of what I've done. The intake area on each side is 50% more than factory. The angled scoops are twice as wide to pull more air in. The only downside of doing this is that the intake is lower and could pull in more dust (I'll keep an eye on the filter), but it's a lot higher than even my lifted pickup truck.

The green T-handle for the latch just slides out of the door. I'm showing that off also!

I'm looking at doing the same basic reconfiguration but I have to ask:



On my 300 RE the available door area is smaller than the factory higher intake screens. Did you re use original material or find a different source and larger holes?



If you didn't re use the punch plate, where did you source the replacement and how bad did it ding the budget?

[cruizinbiker]

Originally Posted by HamSkoolie

I'm looking at doing the same basic reconfiguration but I have to ask:

On my 300 RE the available door area is smaller than the factory higher intake screens. Did you re use original material or find a different source and larger holes?

If you didn't re use the punch plate, where did you source the replacement and how bad did it ding the budget?

I used new perforated steel. I wanted to re-use the factory screen, but the dimensions just didn't work out. I bought a 4x10 sheet of perforated steel. It cost me $127.62. I'll use the rest of of the sheet for the floor in the propane locker (propane is heavier than air and will settle out of the holes in the case of a leak) as well as intake grills for both diesel heaters. The new screened intake area is 50% more than factory. PLUS, I made new scoops that are twice as tall as factory (as well as being 50% longer).

See attached pic showing factory intake vs. my fab job.