2011 Girardin G5 HC Bus Build - Page 2

cadillackid · 09-25-2020, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

There are quite a few aftermarket options, though most are Chinese, and in light of the current pandemic being possibly intentional, I'm not keen on buying Chinese goods at the moment. However, there are many other options. There's a nice one on Amazon that gives a 10-inch screen, and some others give as large as 13". Just my opinion, leasing is a rip-off, I drive too much for it to be worth it for me. But I certainly wouldn't write off a good car just because of a crappy stereo that can be upgraded for less than $300.

not just the stereo... the connected-car options.. telematics, GPS tracking, remote start, remote diagnostics, adding dual zone climate isnt an option and without it theres sure to be thermostat wars.. as few like it as warm as i do in winter and as cold as i do in summer..

when I looked at the toyota tundra it was boring.. no remote start by cell phone, no heated steering wheel, no park-sense, bleh!! thats so 1999...

my malibu practically drove itself... now THAT was cool.. let go of the steering wheel and the car kept itself in the lanes and maintaned distance from the cars in front of me.. bad ass.. I suppose the newest Camry does that now but it sure didnt when i had the malibu..

I do most of my high miles driving in my busses..

I do like the aftermarket android radios but they dont integrate with the vehicle systems so you lose the steering wheel buttons, often the reminder chimes..

ill gladly take my brand new every 2

Vineyardseashell · 09-26-2020, 03:00 PM

Hi Everyone,

Had a slow morning and got here shortly before 1pm and am making progress.

The wire chase had rivets which came out a little slowing, but they are out. The wiring is very tidy.

I also pulled back the insulation under the windows and again it looks fresh and brand new with no damage.

I also ripped out one rear window trim piece to see how much space was there. Darn sucker was glued on there so tight I was not sure if I could pry it off. But partial success appeared and there is lots of space . Should make a great shelf area.

Still working away at it.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 09-27-2020, 03:33 PM

Hi Everyone,

I am back at the bus lot this afternoon looking the bus interior over, contemplating my next move.

The interior walls are mostly painted white aluminum as is the roof- which I really like as it is very easy to clean and has a modern look to it.

Looking at the structure behind these walls shows that the bus has somewhat of a different form compared to most buses.

At the back and handicap doors, the behind the wall structure has a triangular brace, that is narrower at the door top and wider at the base. To his triangular piece is secured between the steel crossmembers and the exterior fibreglass wall...which tells me this is a necessary structural piece.

The aluminum wall skin is one piece that goes from the edge of the bus and wraps around this triangular piece and under the door seal. My question is... When I remove that piece of lower wall skin, do I remove the entire piece, or do I cut the wall skin across the bottom of the window and along the vertical cross member retaining the wall skin on the outer edge of the triangular piece and under the door seal?

If what I said doesn't make sense to anyone, maybe the attached images will make my question clearer.

Thanks!

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 09-29-2020, 07:16 PM

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all had an awesome weekend!

I plugged away at the bus, popping rivets off with a wood chisel and hammer.

Today, I popped more rivets and pulled some remaining rubber matting of a coup!e of walls behind the lift that I did not get to previously. While I was pulling the caulking off those rubber pieces next to the back door and behind the lift, I spotted the edges of the plywood underneath.

Curiosity got the better of me and I had to have a sneak peek at that plywood. So out came the razor knife and the pry bar. I cut out a section of rubber flooring by the lift, loved what I saw and then removed another sample from the center isle by the back door. If the rest of my floor looks as good as these sample spots, I will be golden!

It is time for me to go cook some supper.

Have a great evening!

Clyn

ol trunt · 09-29-2020, 07:32 PM

That's as clean as I've ever seen!
Jack

Vineyardseashell · 09-29-2020, 08:04 PM

Hi Jack,

To be perfectly honest, our SPED buses do not see much abuse- depending on the route a bus might have anywhere from 2 to 8 kids. Of all the routes over the years, I think only one had a full bus.

Our winters are fairly moderate, and because of the coastal environment don't use salt on the roads.

I am pretty impressed with the way Girardin builds their buses and I love driving one everyday.

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 09-30-2020, 10:14 AM

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update...

After running a few errands after my morning bus run, I decided to rip out the rubber flooring in the center isle. The plywood beneath looks pretty darn good. I did find a few moist spots and a touch of mold on the surface...but all in all the plywood does not appear to be punky or heavily damaged anywhere.

I am thinking some bleach will clean up the small amount of mold that I found.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Clyn

CHEESE_WAGON · 09-30-2020, 11:46 AM

Research the bleach thing. It works on some, but not all situations. Porous materials, for example, can actually inhibit the process to the point it can actually promote mold growth. There are other remedies available that aren't near as potentially dangerous.

Vineyardseashell · 09-30-2020, 01:40 PM

Hi Cheese Wagon,

Lol, bleach was the first thing to come into my head when I think of mold. Yes, I will see what will work on the wood before attempting.

Thanks for the kind reminder

Clyn

JackE · 09-30-2020, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vineyardseashell

Hi Cheese Wagon,

Lol, bleach was the first thing to come into my head when I think of mold. Yes, I will see what will work on the wood before attempting.

Thanks for the kind reminder

Clyn

For the small amount of mold it looks like you will have, Kilz in a spray can will do the trick. I have used it many times and mold has never returned.

Vineyardseashell · 09-30-2020, 02:32 PM

Hi again,

Here are more thoughts on my bus floor and possible leaks...

The little bit of mold I found in the mid-center isle area is just at the front edge of the roof hatch. I know for a fact the hatch does not leak. But, as I was looking things over, I did member that when the bus was parked in one of the school parking lots, I did release the hatch so it fully opened. When I did that all the water that had collected inside the hatch spilled out and down onto the floor. Since I had nothing to wipe the water up with me, it sat there. This event could be the cause of the mold.

After removing even more of the rubber flooring today, I did find the plywood moist on the passenger side. It looks to be coming from the the front side of the lift. So there may be water wicking in somewhere in that area.

This morning's weather left a lot to be desired...50mph winds from the SW and heavy rain till almost lunchtime.

After the rain stopped, I checked all the windows, the insulation in the walls under the windows and all was dry as a bone.

That is all I have for ideas today.

Have a great afternoon!

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 09-30-2020, 02:34 PM

Thanks Cheese Wagon! I will.go to the hardware store tomorrow to see if they have any. I am.sure they wiil.

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 10-01-2020, 02:26 PM

What did I do today...?

I finished pulling the rubber flooring out. Just three small sections left- under the lift, the rear heater and the QStraint floor rails. I am hoping to get the lift and floor rails out this weekend.

I also removed the rubber trim around the second floor. For now I am going to leave the rubber flooring in the entryway.

Another thing I started is removing the glue from the metal under the windows. Not sure if other buses have glue in the same areas, but it is fairly thick and once removed I have no doubts that my foam bard insulation will stick better.

That is all I have for today.

Thanks for reading/listening, and have a great evening!I

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 10-02-2020, 11:45 AM

Hi Everyone,

I spent this morning unhooking and removing the mechanisms for the child check lock, and the rear door lock and buzzer. I photographed the wires so after I was finished my morning chore, I could reattach the wires and mechanisms correctly and not affect the ignition and starting the bus.

My morning chore today was to remove the lower portion of the rear wall on the drivers side. That little wall was a challenge to remove...never underestimate a stubborn woman

The wall is out.

I cannot say that I enjoyed working with the thin metal, but that is only because I like my fingers. I think the most challenging part was removing the rivet behind the heater and slightly below the plywood. The heater does not have much play for movement...I took the cover off to see if any screws were holding it to the floor...nope, no screws holding it down. But in the end I got that elusive rivet out.

The cavity behind the wall has some rust on the floor, which I will have to clean up and fix...

Forward in the process will continue later today after my bus runs.

Have a great day!

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 10-03-2020, 01:03 PM

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, I learned that the rear wall in the bus has 10 sections that need to be removed, and for the most part are glued and riveted to each other.

So, the interior roof edged has been bent and tabbed, which is glued and riveted to the upper interior wall portion which spans the entire width of the bus and comes down under the upper portion of the window trim...the trim is also glued and riveted to that upper wall panel, an angled wall piece that supports the wire chase, AND another piece of tabbed wire edging that wraps around the lower wall section, the nearby windows sthe corner....

To make a long story short, let's just say...The hip bone is connected to the leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the foot bone....you get the picture. Needless to say, it will be slowing to remove these pieces with a bum wrist.

I attached a couple of images. Not the greatest photos but something is better than nothing.

Today I am going to see if I can finish removing that upper wall portion.I

Have a great day!

Clyn

Vineyardseashell · 10-03-2020, 05:01 PM

Thank goodness!!! The upper portion of the back wall is down and with only a couple of scratches from the metal. I thought I would never get it down.

I managed to get the large window trim off in one piece, and using tin snips to cut the upper wall around the wiring/hoses so not to knock them, I cut the upper wall panel into 3 sections which made it easier to access the tabs with a chisel to separate the pieces....Hope that all made sense.

I am packing up and going home to.cook supper. I will come back tomorrow and do the lower half of the wall and hopefully the edge along the lift door.

Have a great Saturday night!

Vineyardseashell · 10-06-2020, 06:44 AM

Thought I would give a quick update...

On Sunday, I removed the passenger lower rear wall and the little side wall by the lift door. Now that I understand how all the wall pieces are put togther, the removal process went fairly smoothly on the passenger side. The toughest part was breaking the glue seal along the bottom steel rail as I had to squeeze between the wall and the lift.

The metal wall next to the lift pretty much came off without a hitch.

I did not do much on Monday, deciding instead to give my wrist a bit of a break and just chipped off a few more of the leftover glue along the rails, and attached my VT plates.

Have a great day!

Clyn

musigenesis · 10-06-2020, 08:43 AM

Nice work! And here I thought the back end of my bus was complicated.

Vineyardseashell · 10-06-2020, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Nice work! And here I thought the back end of my bus was complicated.

Thanks for the words of encouragement musigenesis. I have never attempted anything like this before and only have rudimentary skills but it is a starting point and will be learning process as I move forward. I am rather enjoying myself and am looking forward to each task I need to accomplish before moving into the next step.

Thanks again, and have a great day!

Clyn

peakbus · 10-10-2020, 11:39 PM

Thanks for your detailed info. Looking good. This is truly the hard part of the build process. I have an '03 Girardin and while some of the details are different, some are similar. I Haven't removed my rear wall or ceiling as I chose to put in some furniture for summer trips. I plan to dig back in now that camping season is ending here in the North.

Looks like you have a super clean platform to start with. My plywood floor was saturated. Keep up the good work!

You may also like: