New Skoolie here... 1995 Thomas 12row rear Engine

[usmcbay]

Hello... well myself and my Folks have been looking into this and finally decided this is the route to go. We bought one and will look into buying another this summer. Here is the specs...
1995 Thomas MVP EF
Saf-T-Liner
5.9 Cummins w/Allison Auto Trans
72-78 passenger
168k miles

My son and I cleaned up and removed the Wall Bolts for the seats last night so we are just getting started. Hope to have it ready for flooring this weekend but we'll see how it goes!

[Stuff]

congrats on the bus!

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Welcome!

[chev49]

for some reason it looks just like mine...

[usmcbay]

Originally Posted by chev49

for some reason it looks just like mine...

Good thing mine has a Number~! Ha ha... not for long though. Hope to get some paint on it ASAP! School bus yellow is just School bus yellow!!! ha

[syke]

Welcome!

Good looking platform you have there.

What kinda plans do you have for it?

[browncrown]

Nice looking bus...welcome!

[gbstewart]

nice ride welcome onboard

good see some new projects get started

[usmcbay]

Thanks again for the Welcome... as for the Plans I was thinking about smugglling Illegals but that seems to be a dead end road~! Ha ha..

Okay seriously - RV w/ Rear Bed, Bunks for the Kids, Kitchen, living area and this will be my main residence come June 1st for irreconcilable reasons! We have RV hookups at our offices (electrical) and I will be close to my kids. So - not the best of circumstances but I'm more than willing to live this way and be happy about it. More money in the Bank and I'll be off the Grid for a while. Plus, it's WAY cheaper than building a Bridge to live under~!!!! Ha...

I'm pretty handy at doing things to precision when it comes to fixing up... plus with the help of my folks they know RV's in and out. They've gutted and redone many a RV over the years. So that will be a huge advantage. They are considering putting their place up for sale after they have really made it up nice and doing the RV thing again so that they can sock money away as well. Just not that interested in living the way "Your Supposed To" anymore. Way overrated in my opinion.

So there's the nuts and bolts of my plans... This site has really encouraged me / us that this can be done.

I really like the look of the photo somewhere out there of the Bus that has Wood Slats on the Ceiling and the Wood Burning Stove... I won't need a Stove but an Electric Fireplace may be in order~! (Good idea from my Folks...)

Anyway this should move along pretty fast and I'll post photos and lessons learned along the way!

Our kids aren't normally this filthy... but it's a work day!

[usmcbay]

Wow... looking for a place to buy headlights and saw this...

Sad indeed - but are these things tough or what~!!! Notice that there's a Car or SUV in there too!

I heard these things were way tougher than RV construction. That's good to know. Sorry it was at the expense of someone else!

[syke]

Originally Posted by usmcbay

Wow...
I heard these things were way tougher than RV construction....

You heard correct. Besides maybe the motor and trans, the rest of an RV is not really even in the same ballpark as a school bus. In my opinion.

[usmcbay]

Well - I was hoping to get the seats out this weekend... but instead I got them out today. We took a Torch and a Water Sprayer and just burned the heads off the bolts. Took every bit of 10min... if that long~! Whew... I was sure regretting holding a grinder for so long. Glad to have this part of it behind me. I left two in for this weekend for the kids to ride on but will get some over sized Bean Bags for them after the new Floor is in. That's what we use when going offshore 60+ miles and it's the smoothest ride you'll ever experience!

I've got a guy with a Motorhome over in our Equipment Division (Our Division does Refinery/Chemical Plant Demolition) that keeps hassling me that I could have gotten a nice Motorhome for $20-$30k... so I've REALLY got to make this thing nice just to make him scratch his chin and reconsider his investment! Ha ha...

So... looks like the Project ("The Texas Express"Maybe???) Has breathed another breath of life. It's kinda personal with the thing now knowing that it has been saved from a life of doom and deterioration. Yep... I'm starting to have feelings for the ole gal~!!!! Ha ha...

Now for a small disclaimer...
(Safety First Guys... Full Ventilation and we had one on the Torch, One on a Water Sprayer, both with Respirators on, and one outside the bus watching for smoke or sparks with a Class B Extinguisher. Then we stood by it for an additional 30min to assure nothing was going to smolder! Safety First. If you try this method I would certainly follow these steps. We're demo people and are used to this type of environment. Burning a Torch on a Rubber Floor is NOT recommended. Rubber, Fuel, and Oil is not an ideal torch environment and I'd hate to know someone got hurt, burned, or killed not knowing the full risks. Also we intentionally parked it on a windy corner of our Fab Shop to help eliminate any trapped fuel fumes if present. We cut up Storage Tanks and when cutting the floor out many times you find trapped fumes that ignite and get your attention quick. We didn't want that to happen with Sparks going through the bolt holes!
So please... if you try this be aware of the Fire Extinguisher requirements and the risks. Putting this out there I want to also include this information for my own peace of mind for those who may try this in the future:

Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics.
Class B extinguishers are for flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil.
Class C extinguishers are for electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires.
Class D fire extinguishers are commonly found in a chemical laboratory.
Class K fire extinguishers are for fires that involve cooking oils, trans-fats, or fats in cooking appliances.)

[usmcbay]

Originally Posted by Moshart

Congrats on your new bus! Just FYI, we use an electric fireplace for heat as well and it does a good job.

Thanks for the information... I bet it looks good. Do you have any photos?

[usmcbay]

Well just took the ole Submarine out to Lunch and to pick up some John Deere Low Viscosity Hy-Gard Transmission Fluid and then on to O'Reily's for 3gal of Primer. It was fun...

I got it up to 60mph and hear'd a thump thump thump along my Roof... and just like that - I now need an Emergency Hatch! Grrrrrr... I lost the Front Port Hole! Darn it! Guess I should have taken it down as it was in bad health anyway but kept the ill weather at Bay! Thank you Jesus for a Sunny Day today, plastic, and duct tape!

Here's a photo of the swept out floor! Everybody at work is liking the idea and liking the Bus. It's all smiles when they get permission to come aboard! From the Toolroom guy to our Div VP. Our Sr VP is yet to be so inclined... but he'll come around I'm shore! (sure)

[dirtygoat]

If you plan on picking up a roof a/c unit, I would hold off on buying a replacement vent... You might want to put an a/c unit in that hole...

[Diesel Dan]

And you might also want to look into one of these fantastic fans: http://www.adventurerv.net/fantastic-fa ... -5256.html

I'm thinking about using my emergency hatch holes to mount a couple of these in addition the AC I already mounted in the middle of the bus.

[usmcbay]

Moving along...

P.S. - Without removing the Rubber you could never get the smell out in my opinion... When it's gone the bus has NO smell~! Just a the simple country breeze and some sweaty labor~!

[usmcbay]

I have to say... I have one hard working family. It was so nice to be able to just sit and take photos~!!!!

Haaaaaaaaaaaa... Not! What a day... plenty of water and not a lot of peeing~!!!!! Sweat is a sure sign your getting things done!

[usmcbay]

Here's a thread from our Rubber Floor Discussion... thought it was worth a mention.

"Stuff wrote:looks good but no sealer/paint job first?"

Yea... we talked about that... The floor was in such "Good Shape" and the Foam board has the Vapor Sheathing. If I would have had it I would have done it but I didn't so I didn't. Just one of those things in hind sight I suppose. I am going to Caulk all of the edges and spaces... I spaced all the Plywood 1/8" gap from each other so that it would'nt start to rub and squeak later on while walking on or traveling down the road. Also a 1/4" gap along the edge against the wall. All of this will be caulked and a Sealer put on top of the Plywood then additional vapor barrier above that - which will be below the Laminate Wood flooring. I want to know that if something leaks or spills it is not getting to the Foam Board~!!! Also we caulked the floor holes and put down Aluminum Tape. All an effort to block any potential moisture. Also I sprayed Rust Inhibitor around the Wheel wells where the worst rust was noticed... and that was AFTER hitting it with a grinder to knock any scale off. So... no we didn't seal the floor however every attempt was made other than that to eliminate the potential.

But again... it would be and is a great suggestion to do it!

[usmcbay]

Got the Lights pulled this morning... Looking less and less like a Route Bus!