"623" - Freightliner 6 window

[jroy139]

Countertop is in! Eventually it will get some kind of shelving/storage space underneath.

[gizmoq]

Originally Posted by mangus580

Curious what this seat is out of....

That seat is damn close to the stairs... are you planning to build a footrest? I ask because my navigator seat is the same way and I'm trying to figure out how to engineer her a footrest that can be placed and removed easily and safely from that seat. And then create a storage solution that us secure, out of the way, and not an eyesore.

[Alan N]

Originally Posted by gizmoq

That seat is damn close to the stairs... are you planning to build a footrest? I ask because my navigator seat is the same way and I'm trying to figure out how to engineer her a footrest that can be placed and removed easily and safely from that seat. And then create a storage solution that us secure, out of the way, and not an eyesore.

My question and dilemma, also.
Whats your plan?
Where are you in Mn?

[Pshots]

Wow! Awesome bus so far! first off. Love the paint job! secondly love the wood for the walls! was that just from recycled pallets? or how did you get the stressed wood look? I've been thinking about doing this wood and metal combo but you sir just solidified my decision with that bathroom door!!

[Underground_Bear]

I like it.

[superdave]

looking at my home recliner the foot rest mechanism is self contained , look at 2nd hand stores for a love seat with recliners on both sides. good luck

[gizmoq]

Originally Posted by Alan N

My question and dilemma, also.
Whats your plan?
Where are you in Mn?

Right now I have cut a board 1/2" thick plywood that fits level at the top of the stairwell, but it's large, heavy, and awkward to install and remove.

I am still deciding what kind of handle to use and where to put it. The finished piece will have non-slip vinyl same as garage.

[Tango]

What if you cut it down the middle, left to right, use a piano hinge on the underside, then another hinge to attach it along the front edge? It could then fold away from the seat when not in use leaving the steps clear. One question is what else it might block when folded back. Looks like you might have a heater there.

Just a thought. And not necessarily one well thought out.

[gesteele]

How does it ride down the road. I have a 2002 Freightliner and trying to figure out how to get a smoother ride out of it. I haven't started the conversion to an rv.

[jroy139]

Originally Posted by gizmoq

That seat is damn close to the stairs... are you planning to build a footrest? I ask because my navigator seat is the same way and I'm trying to figure out how to engineer her a footrest that can be placed and removed easily and safely from that seat. And then create a storage solution that us secure, out of the way, and not an eyesore.

gizmoq - We all sat in the seat and decided that we were comfortable with the way our feet rest on the edge of the stairs, for now we will roll with it and see how we like it. I like your plywood setup though, it would be nice to seal up that stairwell area. It's a bit drafty!

Originally Posted by Alan N

My question and dilemma, also.Whats your plan?Where are you in Mn?

Alan N - A fellow Minnesotan! We are just south of the twin cities metro area.

Originally Posted by Pshots

Wow! Awesome bus so far! first off. Love the paint job! secondly love the wood for the walls! was that just from recycled pallets? or how did you get the stressed wood look? I've been thinking about doing this wood and metal combo but you sir just solidified my decision with that bathroom door!!

Pshots - Thanks, we really like the way it's turning out! The wood for the walls of the futon/bathroom wall are from recycled pallets. The sides of the bus, behind everything are cedar planks from home depot.

Originally Posted by gesteele

How does it ride down the road. I have a 2002 Freightliner and trying to figure out how to get a smoother ride out of it. I haven't started the conversion to an rv.

gesteele - We previously had a 2000 chevy short bus, so this one definitely seems like it rides a bit rougher. But its about what I would expect with the overall size and all. We have a slight front end shake around 45-50mph that would be nice to figure out, hopefully it's just a wheel balance issue.

Thanks for the love everyone!

[gesteele]

Love what you have done. You gave me some good ideas. My 2002 liner is in excellent shape. 28 feet long. Diesel 6 with overdrive. Just started the conversion. Plan to take out all the seats. Want to see more of the conversion.

[jroy139]

Originally Posted by gesteele

Love what you have done. You gave me some good ideas. My 2002 liner is in excellent shape. 28 feet long. Diesel 6 with overdrive. Just started the conversion. Plan to take out all the seats. Want to see more of the conversion.

Thanks! Sounds like you have a pretty similar rig to ours. Looking forward to seeing your conversion.

We installed the LED strip lighting that we picked up from amazon, it was only a few bucks more for the color changing option so we figured why not. We hooked it up temporarily to check it out. Hopefully we can get the wiring finished up this week if it warms up a bit. (Currently -6 degrees with -25 windchill)

We went with two 16.5ft strips that hook to a dual output IR controller for the remote. Much better than the rope light we had in our old bus

[gbstewart]

Looking good. keep up the good work,
check out my build and you will see how I did my stair well cover for my passenger seat, it works good and also keeps noise and cold out
gbstewart

[gesteele]

Will keep posting as I go. Will Start taking out the seats soon. I bought a 20 foot container of rv furniture and accessories if you know anyone looking for these items. Stove Top with ovens, 6 gal water heaters, toilets, dinette tables and cushions. Much more.

[jroy139]

Over the past few weeks we wired up our power inverter and auxiliary battery. We have it wired to the other batteries with an battery isolator. The isolator will allow the bus to charge the aux. battery but will not allow the aux. battery to discharge our main batteries if we run it dead.

When it warms up this summer our plan is to re-wire everything so that we can plug into electric sites when camping, this setup will have to do for now as we will be taking it on a trip to Colorado at the end of the month.

Yesterday we mounted our furnace. It's a vented propane furnace out of an older RV that was given to us. We still need to get it wired and plumbed.

Next up will be putting the self contained camping toilet in bathroom and the propane cook top n our counter.

We also received a letter from the DMV saying that our title could not be processed because of the class change to RV. They are asking for a letter stating that we have met all of the requirements to be registered as a "RV" in Minnesota. (We were already issued RV plates and tabs at our local office) Anyone have any experience with titling issues like this?

Pics of the furnace, vent and bathroom below.

[treenail]

Hi,

This morning I found your 623 thread. You're on the same track as I am.

I live in Minneapolis.

Right now I'm gathering info about various short bus configurations.

Would it be possible to meet you to look at your two buses? It seems like the smaller one would be big enough for me. Besides space I'd like to have the opportunity to look things over, top to bottom, bumper to bumper.

Here's a link to my ToyBox build:

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • Information

Have you sold the black bus yet?

Let me know if we could get together,

Tom

[jroy139]

Originally Posted by treenail

Hi,

This morning I found your 623 thread. You're on the same track as I am.

I live in Minneapolis.

Right now I'm gathering info about various short bus configurations.

Would it be possible to meet you to look at your two buses? It seems like the smaller one would be big enough for me. Besides space I'd like to have the opportunity to look things over, top to bottom, bumper to bumper.

Here's a link to my ToyBox build:

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • Information

Have you sold the black bus yet?

Let me know if we could get together,

Tom

We sold the black bus about a month ago, it was sad to see her go but it was time. It served us well for the 5 years we had it, took us across the country multiple times. Only left us stranded once. When the idler pulley seized outside Jamestown North Dakota.

With the new bus going between a few of our houses (group of 5) and everything else going on before we hit the road for Colorado it might be a bit tough to meetup. I can try and snap some pics of things in the next few weeks before we head out though.

To give you a little better idea of the dimensions of the freightliner, it measures 16.5 feet from the edge of the steps to the rear of the bus and 7.5 feet across if I remember correctly. In the center of the bus I can stand up with a few inches to spare (I'm probably 5'11") We have a ton of room in ours, enough to load up the mountain bikes and tons of cargo in the area behind our booth. From bumper to bumper it is 26 feet long. We have the capacity to have 6 belted passengers + the driver (4 in the booth and 2 in the passenger seat).

[jroy139]

few more pics of what we worked on the past few weekends. Cut the hole for furnace vent (Propane RV furnace) and added a few small touches. Chalkboard paint in the bathroom, TP holder, coat hangers and cup holders mounted in our table.

[jazty]

I'll be stealing the toilet paper holder idea! Thanks ☺

[jroy139]

Originally Posted by jazty

I'll be stealing the toilet paper holder idea! Thanks ☺

It's cool, we definitely saw it online and stole it ourselves! Probably going to end up making a paper towel holder for the counter like that as well.