New Toy. 2008 Aerotech E450.

[Sander]

Just got it this morning, and will be starting on it soon.
It has some water leaks in the cabin that we need to trace and fix.
The rear bumper needs to be removed, and one of the braces be straitened.

Driver had to jump start it and add air to 2 tires.


We weren't sure when we'll be able to get it insured, so we had it shipped. It took us 3 days to get insurance from National General.

[Sander]

This is the floor plan as of now.

Will need to remove the AC condenser below the cabin for the placement of the bathroom as detailed. The 2 beds can be placed together across aisle to form a Queen size bed.

Passenger seat can be placed as detailed (on the edge of steps) with the fold out foot rest, or we might be able to engineer some kind of a 'Sliding Base' to position seat over the steps when driving.

[rossvtaylor]

That's a nice sized bathroom. There are two skools (haha!) of thought in smaller rigs...bathrooms are either wasted space that can be better utilized for other things, or they are a necessity. We fall in the "a nice bathroom is a bonus" camp. It makes road living much more civilized. I like your layout.

[cadillackid]

neat bus!.. taking out the A/C would be a deal killer for me.. go wit ha self contained toilet and keep the A/C

[Sander]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

.. taking out the A/C would be a deal killer for me..

It looks like we have another condenser coil at the radiator. that with a curtain behind the seats should keep it cool while driving. Will install a window unit AC that is ducted through the floor for use when parked. We built a trailer with such design before, it worked flawlessly.

[Sander]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

We fall in the "a nice bathroom is a bonus" camp. It makes road living much more civilized. I like your layout.

We have a 6 x 14 trailer where we built the same Bathroom setup, and would not change a thing.

[Sander]

Been thinking about 3 -4 windows that will be behind walls and wondering about the possibility of unseen leaks and condensation. We are planing on removing all windows and reseal with 'Vulkem 116 Polyurethane Sealant'.
The other thing that we are thinking is using 'Flex Seal' on the inside.


Any thoughts, do's or don'ts on the 2 ideas?


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Tremco-1...ord=WG26608214


https://www.homedepot.com/p/FLEX-SEA...TR32/301711550

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

research your polyurethane?
dont know about the latest and greatest stuff out there but poly doent like being outside?
mostly sun exposure but needs to be replaced every couple of years.
pro's it accepts paint.
i used a sikaflex brand of NP-1 that i knew would hold anything and everything and if it had to come apart then it was destroyed.
and i have recommended it here but after my caulking and painting it the caulking is showing its age with cracking. not peeling. but it didnt hold the paint.
my second bus i pulled all the windows,cleaned and painted the framing with good body paint.
reinstalled windows with butyle tape where they had flanges inside?
then caulked outside with clear silicone.
silicone is happy outside but doesnt hold paint.
good luck

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

sorry just saw your profile?
where in north east tejas?
my dads family is from atlanta and moms family is ore city and daingerfield.
i grew up in kilgore but did a load of work in the oilfield in a wide margine around texarkana. before i joined the military.
welcome

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

also up now on new post is a post new toy aerotech discussing sealant options.
you can read.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

sorry i mucked that one up royaly?
the thread is best sealants for roof hatches.
sorry

[Sander]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

research your polyurethane?
dont know about the latest and greatest stuff out there but poly doent like being outside?

I ordered that after reading a recommendation by the bus manufacturer (ElDorado).

I will do more research and also hope someone would share their experience with different sealants.

Cass County.

[Sander]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

i used a sikaflex brand of NP-1 that i knew would hold anything and everything and if it had to come apart then it was destroyed. and i have recommended it here but after my caulking and painting it the caulking is showing its age with cracking. not peeling. but it didnt hold the paint.

Is this the one you mentioned above?
I noticed that is made by MasterSeal not Sikaflex. It sounds like a good sealant for a different usage.


https://www.master-builders-solution...asterseal-np-1

[Sander]

Originally Posted by Sander

I ordered that after reading a recommendation by the bus manufacturer (ElDorado).

I checked the manual again and it seems that I confused the info with another source.


The 'ElDorado' manual states:

"If leaks occur, apply Sikaflex ®, window weld, or a silicone-based sealant around window frames and/or glass. For best results, clean surfaces thoroughly before application." Page 16

----

"Sikaflex®#221 is used to seal the exterior seams between body panels and to seal exterior skirt and flare seams. Repairs to windows that have been removed from the bus body may also be sealed on the exterior by applying a bead of Sikaflex® to the seam. This material forms a flexible, water-resistant barrier to eliminate leakage between seams." Page 26

[Sander]

This is an idea for a slide-out deck for our 2008 Aerotech bus. The idea is to have the folded deck stowed under the beds located in the back of the bus. Having 2 single beds with space in between and fold a down table, will require raising the floor in the back of the bus (a queen or full-size bed would not require raising of the floor).
The usable door opening is 40" wide.

Keeping a manageable weight will be the challenge in this design. To achieve a manageable weight a smaller size will be required, or deck boards will need to be stored separately from the frame of the deck.

The design will require further adjustments.

[Rucker]

Every time I read a post about window leaks by a school bus owner I shudder.

Shuttle Bus windows are different than school bus windows in that they are sealed to the weather with a gasketed flange. Do yourself a favor and take one of these windows out and check the flange gasket. In my experience NOTHING will correct a leak caused by a defective gasket except a new gasket. Try searching Amazon for Yotache brand foam strips, 1/2" x 1/4" thick high density neoprene weatherstripping. Their gasket was an exact duplicate of my original Thor body gaskets and it has an adhesive side which makes installation easy. My cost was about seven bucks a window.

My bus is 20+ years old and the only point of leakage was the flange gasket. I pulled out each window, stripped out the old gasket, cleaned the flange with Acetone, and installed the new strip flashing. Takes about a half hour a window and I have ZERO leaks even with direct hard spray on the window from a garden hose.

When I removed the windows, many of them had not been perfectly positioned in the opening, so some of the upper corners barely had contact with the gasket. So even though the windows are light and you can do this yourself have a friend hold the window on the outside so you can do a thorough check around the perimeter of the window before securing that sucker down with twenty screws.

Another point: the window flanges clearly vibrated against the fiberglass body leaving gouges (read: gasket had degraded and window was loose), so I fear no amount of caulking around that flange will make a difference if your windows are of similar age.

I went the extra step and replaced all the rusty screws that secured the window with stainless steel screws. Some of the original screws were difficult to remove, so use care to avoid snapping the head off. And because the new screws had a slightly thicker shank, I drilled the original holes out to the appropriate diameter for the new SS screws to bite but not snap off.

This doubled the cost of materials-now I was into each window for about fourteen bucks. But the interior looks better without the rust. And because I relocated some of the emergency exit windows due to the interior design, I can easily swap two of them back because I hadn't thought it through the first time around.

In my experience the window sashes (the part that hold the glass) are designed so there are very few points of water entry, so even if the rubber pieces in direct contact with the glass have shrunk a bit they should not give a problem. I took one apart completely to determine this, and noted that the only caulking the manufacturer used was a little dab behind the glass in the upper corners where the glass contacts the aluminum frame. Everything else is designed to shed like shingles.

Hope this helps.

[Sander]

Originally Posted by Rucker

Hope this helps.

Wow! Awesome yet simple explanation of what, where, why and how.

Thank you so very much! You have no idea how helpful this will be for us.

[Sander]

Finally had a chance to take Tortuga to the shop to remove rear AC and condenser unit below. our concern was that we end up with no AC in the front if I was to remove it on my own. Mechanic charged me $60 for the removal and capping all the lines. $ well spent.

Space where condenser was was will be utilized for Black & Gray tanks.

crawled under and was pleasantly surprised by how very little rust was there. 1 crossmember where condenser unit was, had some surface rust, and steel floor plate by rear door also had some. I'll post some pix later.

[Sander]

[Sander]