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 11-21-2006, 11:06 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
JoeA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Wyoming & Indiana
Posts: 37
1996 INT DT466 Airbrakes fully converted.

UPDATES: There are a few changes marked in Bold. basically the CB has a nice antenna. The crack in the fiberglass hood cover has been repaired to new, and I made a stainless dust cover for the stovetop. Also, I measured between the driver's seat and beginning of the counter top and a couch or couch/foldout bed from a company called "Flex-Steel" can be installed nicely

OK I realize I have put several adds up but I finally got around to listing some of the details I included on my ebay add. THIS BUS IS NICE and I am not excited about selling it, but it is the best thing for me to do. I am having back injury problems(without insurance) and wanting to go to school for some different things and the bus is the first place to get some cash back. Anyway here are some details and check out photos and these details in the gallery @

http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Skooli ... sPursuits/
About the bus
-1996 International Thomas 3600 Vista ADA

-171,000 verifible original miles

-DT-466 with Allison AT 545 4spd Automatic transmission

_Airbrakes

-160amp alternator

-65 gal fuel tank

-GVWF 8000lbs. GVWR 17,500 GVWTotal 25,200 lbs.

-Tire size 245/75R22.5

-VIN# 1HVBDAAL2TH308346

-The Bus was part of a fleet of vehicles that were bought new and maintained
and used by Clemson Area Transit and the University in Clemson,SC (catbus.com)
The fleet was auctioned off. Another ebay member and bus dealer bought
the other 6 and I bought this one for this project. At the time of auction
the bus had 168,200 miles. It was driven through eastern mountains back to IN where I am from and completed the conversion. I changed the oil and filter and transmission filter,greased fittings completed the conversion
and drove it to Jackson,WY and have been living in it since. I have since driven back to Indiana for the holidays and am still living in it.
It has 173,xxx mi. and is mechanically sound. Rubber is in great shape
and tire tread are @ about 70-80%. They are all regrooveable street/steering tread.

* I had a small crack in the fiberglass hood where I hit a deer in Nebraska. It is no fixed with fiberglass reinforced corvette body joiner and filler. Picture should be updated soon

*I replaced a busted heater fan switch.

* the body is made of Galvanized Steel (no rusting)

*the paint is good and in good condition(looks nice and still no rusting)
[b] I gave it a good wash and waxing to shine it up and preserve its condition[b]

*has a 120V plug-in block heater

*gearing is 4:78... An inexpensive modification 4:10 gears give the following rpms
65-68 mph@2500rpm,
60 mph@2375rpm,
55 mph@2100rpm
there is plenty of engine for this gear change and I drive it at a maximum
of 2400-2500 rpms across the country.

-Currently RPM's are approx. 2400-2500 @ 55mph. Max engine rpms~ 2700-2800.

Approx 10mpg fuel economy with current gear ratio.

-This thing handles mountain passes up and down without a problem.
Brakes are excellent. Steering radius is great and it is easy to handle around town.

-30' long (after I extended the rear deck)

-INSIDE behind the driver seat to the rear of bus is ~19'

-CD player AM/FM and CB radio

-MANUALS! I have brand new Manuals from International for:

-truck chassis and all its running gear
-drive train, brakes etc.
-wiring diagram
-Engine Manual
-wheelchair lift manual from Ricon
-GREAT for troubleshooting if you ever have a problem or want to consider modifications.

-wheel chair lift is about 1000lb rating and works great.

THE CONVERSION: Was completed with knowledge and troubleshooting of electrical,
mechanical professionals with RV standards in mind.

-There are prices listed after each piece of equipment in the conversion.
These are not necessarily what I payed for them, although in some cases it is. They are full retail or what you would expect to pay without lots of time and research and good deals etc. In some cases, the prices are likely to have gone up already.

I have about $16,000 in this not including the labor and some of the metal costs. Also some of the items like the water filter canisters were not purchased and don't figure into this figure as well. But that is everything, all RV accessories needed,which is all included. Whether or not you want this fine machine is another question, but you cannot build it for less than this $ amount.

Fair enough, WHy am I selling it. I had fun building it and learned lots.
I have already made up some of my losses in selling price by not paying rent or utilities. I paid for my education in 12voltDC and 120VAC electricity, more metal experience, Ebay exp.
plumbing and general mechanics and physics, Solar energy, Air conditioning, Big truck gears, rims, ratios etc. its a nice bus and if I can get near my price $13,000 and someone else who wants to use it is happy, then I am happy.


*The entire interior was stripped down, galvanized floor joices were added
and then 2" of spray foam insulation($600) was added to the whole thing(except floor
of the rear utility room and just above the stone pad where I designed for the possibility
of a wood stove to be added. The floor then has an orginal 3/4" plywood layer, 2" foam,
3/4 plywood, then the snap together finish flooring(made in Austria from regrown forests).
That is 3.5" of sound and temp insulation in the floor!

* walls around the bed are paneling with a quality paint finish

* lower wall areas are original galvanized panels with a white appliance epoxy paint applied
to them. Durable and washable.

*fold out stainless steel panels are also insulated and tilt out fully for ventilation.

* all windows are emergency exits also great for ventilation.

* all tanks and appliances(heater, fridge, inverter, solar panel, charge control)
dump valves, freshwater hose, dump hose etc are new.


*55Gal fresh water tank under counter, well insulated from the wall
and on top: designed to gather heat from interior but not get any cold from
creeping outside temps(by the wall beneath the countertop)

* full propane heat in well below freezing, there is NO sweating anywhere except
on the windows, which is with any camper and has never gotten heavy enough to run or drip.

* 'Ventless' wall hang blue flame propane heater($150 from Rural King)

*40,000 BTU AC unit runs off engine only.

*new aquamagic V toilet $150

* 29 gal Grey and 29gal black water holding tanks from plasticmart.com.
($500+ including the freshwater)


* Aquajet ES($125): 60 psi water pump. energy efficient 6 amp max. Electronic demand control
makes it very quiet. Higher quality than any shur flo or other. MADE IN U.S.A.

*Norcold DC only refridgerator.($1000) An adapter can be bought to run this thing off AC
if you so desired. This thing pulls less than 3amps and usually less than 2. No RV leveling or dangerous gases in an accident from propane refrigeration. Besides, the water pressure, lighting and refer are all run off the battery bank and their usage is easily maintained by the solar panel. It is a high quality refer designed for boats, RVs,
remote cabins etc for running off 12 volt power supply. Works excellently.
I leave it running continuously.

* Bosch/Aquastar 38 on Demand heat.($400) (water pressure from this thing isn't tremendous but is sufficient and the temp is easily controllable, and the showers are nice and the water and propane use is minimal)

*3 burner Magic Chef propane stove top with oven. ($500)

*Xantrex PRO Sine 2.0 True sine wave Inverter/Charger( $1899)

* 4-Trojan T105 6volt deep cyle batteries($85 a piece) make up the 450 amp hour, 12 volt battery bank. A battery maintenance book and hydrometer are included. I have rarely had to add water to these batteries. ~ every two months. Life expectancy of these batteries
is 5-7 yrs.(longer if properly cared for)

* 12 water saver battery caps.($72)

* Blue Sky Solar Boost 2000E 2 stage PV charge controller. MADE IN U.S.A.($250)

*Evergreen's E115 PV module(solar panel) puts out about 7-8 amps in charge in full sun.
($700)

* the bed is made of 2x12's which can be moved or removed for other arrangements.$(50)

* the water system works with the pump or from a hookup. Water can be pumped to outside spicket from the pump or while hooked up. The system has a two stage filtering process. One canister has a 3-5gal/min 5 micron filter for all water entering the sytem.
There is a Stainless Steel screen filter before the pump to protect the pump and there is another standard 10" canister which feeds the drinking water spout @ the sink. It can befitted with many different varieties of filters for drinking water. All this can be drained quickly and is inside. I built this to be used easily in cold weather with minimal risk. With lines partly drained, water heater fully drained, and tank less than full
enough for expansion, you can leave this thing unattended with no heat going assured there will be no problems.

* 40lb propane tank($90) with setup for another to be added.

* exhaust fan 1.5 amps($30)

*low voltage flourescent "Thin-lite" fixtures MADE IN USA liftime guarantee,less than 2amps.
($100+)

* back-up standard automotive lighting fixtures, which could also easily be strategically replaced with reading lamps or other LED fixtures etc.

* there are lighting circuits on the house battery as well as the starting battery.
Starting battery Lighting circuits can be turned on in the back and front from the drivers' seat.

*There is plenty of room on the house DC panel for expansion of equipment like a DC TV or house security or back-up camera etc. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO Carbon monoxide or Propane detector. A 9volt version can be bought at a hardware store or a permenant DC powered version can be found on the internet and hooked up to the house battery.

*House and starting batteries are NOT interconnected. They ARE seperate systems.
Radio and CB are currently on starting battery only. Easy switch to be made.

*Shore power can be accessed from a 50amp range plug, a 30amp RV park outlet or
standard 15-20 house outlet. ($100+)

*Shore power can be pumped through directly to circuits and/or through the inv/ charger
using its relay while it charges and maintains the batteries

*Cables, fuses, fuse panels, housings, breakers, panels, outlets, adapters etc... ($1000+)

*Flooring, Ventilation supplies, Plumbing parts, filter canisters, battery box,
aluminum rack, paint, plywood, stone & grout, Stainless etc ($1500 +)

* there are other backup accessories included, more stainless steel screws, fuses, a window,
wire etc

*Fasteners etc...($100)

Any questions call 307 699 0408

I will consider delivery for cost of fuel and some other possible trades.

THE PHOTOS ON THE WALLS AND WINDOW BLANKETS DO NOT GO WITH THE BUS.

Websites you might be interested in:


http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/Pumps.htm
http://www.Plastic-Mart.com/
http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/
http://www.xantrex.com/
http://www.evergreensolar.com/
http://www.backwoodssolar.com/
http://www.rvsolar.com/
http://www.rvsolarelectric.com/
http://www.catbus.com/
http://www.aquatec.com/
http://www.realgoods.com/
http://www.novakool.com/
http://www.solar-electric.com/
http://www.orrorr.com/default.asp

updates: Interior height where floor is raised is 75" or 6'3".
Front and in the back are about 6'5". I am 6' and it is comfortable for me.

JoeA is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

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


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
1970 International Loadstar 1700 Fully Converted britnich84 Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 25 09-03-2015 07:58 PM
1990 Ford B700 Fully Converted $6500! MikeyBskunk Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 7 09-03-2015 12:22 PM
1985 Blue Bird For Sale Fully Converted oneyearroadtrip Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 3 08-06-2014 02:09 PM
$3400 Great Buy Fully Converted britnich84 Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 3 02-26-2014 06:46 PM
1984 International s1700 Fully Converted britnich84 Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 6 12-08-2013 01:05 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:04 AM.


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