Rutgers tailgating bus

[RUskoolietailgater]

Haha Smitty you're doubting my painting skills? Nah, you're right. Everyone I've talked to told me it's a good deal, and I know it is too. GOBucks, I emailed them and the response I got was basically one that they didn't give a darn what I thought. For what it's worth, the body shop told me that there is a warranty on it that's at least good for a year. I think we'll do it. I was going to work on building the benches tonight but buddy on the bus bailed on me last minute for softball (weak). We'll have to work on it next week. I think we will go about removing the top warning lights, bondo what we have to, remove the stickers and lettering with Citristrip Stripping Gel and give it to them like that. I have to talk to the shop about what they'll do with the mirrors. I also have to call up the NJ DMV and see how I go about getting temporary tags to drive it to the 3rd world country...I mean Newark, NJ.

[Stuff]

sorry but i lol'ed at the sink cupboard. I lol'ed cause i know it would be the same way if i made it lol!

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by GoBucks614

One of the MANY positives of having a short-bus, is that fact that it can be registered as a truck. I have my bus registered as a chevy P30 truck, which means that tags and registraion go VERY fast. No RV inspection, no huge price of registration, just like a pick-up, or cargovan!

Not in CA. Commercial registration is way more expensive. In CA, a truck has to be registered as a truck. A van doesn't if it has seats as long as it's not being used commercially. Cargo go commercial.

[Locutus]

Originally Posted by Smitty

You'll never get that from a bodyshop.....unless they already have the plan to go out of business.

RU- Under $700 for a paintjob.....I'd take it in a heartbeat. You'll have the majority of that in materials, plus the mess & hassle, plus I promise their job will look better than one from someone with no automotive painting experience. Pay the fee......you won't regret it

Smitty

The price looks good, but I wouldn't want a paint job that later flakes and peels, at any price. When I had some minor body work done on my car recently I took it to a local body shop that has just such a guarantee, in writing, on all their paint work. Of course in that case price wasn't so much at issue, since I only paid the deductible. But it wasn't outrageous either.

[Locutus]

Originally Posted by RUskoolietailgater

For what it's worth, the body shop told me that there is a warranty on it that's at least good for a year.

That's probably about how long a bad paint job will last before it starts peeling.

[RUskoolietailgater]

GoBucks, I am in the process of getting it registered as an RV. I have to show tons of pictures. NJ is strict with their DMV stuff since it is privatized in this state. How on earth did you get your shorty registered as a truck? I told the Insurance Companies mine is a Chevy Bluebird Motorhome because it will be registered as one, so that's what I call it.

[RUskoolietailgater]

Whew! So It's been a busy month of doing little odds and ends on the bus. To let you guys know, this is on my to do list for the month:

-Build big couch
-Build little couch
-Make sure sink works
-Build support for sink containers
-Paint couch
-Paint cushions for couch
-Finish covering walls with beer case posters
-Install mirror
-Fix roof with paint touchups
-Paint vent hatches
-Fix floor with a few more screws
-Strips stickers/lights
-Bondo/Metal seal holes
-Sand fixes on outside of bus
-DMV temp tags
-Get bus painted

So...A LOT of stuff, but who cares. On to pictures!

[RUskoolietailgater]

Okay so I need some advice boys. I am planning ahead as usual, and debating on my electical setup. Basically I will just have a TV/PS3/microwave in the bus. That's it. I have a battery that is 650 amps - originally I was thinking of buying an inverter and hooking it up to the battery and re-charging the battery before every tailgate and that would power my appliances (minus the microwave). I talked to a guy who is good with this stuff, and he has given me the idea to just buy a small generator that's quiet (I love the Honda's) and power my stuff through that. I suppose on gamedays I could just have the genny outside and a few wires going inside the bus to power my TV/PS3 and even the microwave. What's everyone's opinion on this? I either pay for an inverter and installation, or just pay for a small and quiet generator.

[putterspitt]

small honda 2000 is about 1100 bucks, I am trying to figure out which way I am going at this time also
need to decide for wiring purposes
good luck which ever way you go

[RUskoolietailgater]

Yeah, I want the Honda EU1000I, it retails for about $700 but I've seen them on sale periodically for $400ish. If I could get it for that I'd probably do it. I was suprised at how they purr when I saw one this past weekend. If I can't find one for around $400 then I'll probably hookup the inverter and battery and just re-charge the battery every game. Ideally I think I'd want the genny. A little frustrating right now.

[RUskoolietailgater]

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a used generator that's either Honda, Honeywell or Yamaha. They're all relatively quiet and small and basically what I need. In the mean time, onto bigger things. Do you guys think I should spray my old bus seats with rustoleum to make a color change? I'm worried about the paint cracking though. I used 2 cans of the dupli-color vinyl paint from Advanced Auto Parts and I think I'll need another 4 cans. Then stuff just wasn't thick enough when I put it on. (Although I was spraying red over brown so maybe that's why?) I used red rustoleum to paint my overhead vents and it looked great, so I figured it might work on the seats. What do ya'll think?

[jkindt]

It is far better to just recover the seats with new vinyl instead of painting the old stuff. In the end you will find that anything you paint them with will come off (hopefully not on some chicks expensive clothes) and you will end up recovering them anyways. Besides, vinyl is not that expensive, probably cheaper than buying enough vinyl paint to change the color.

[RUskoolietailgater]

Quick update and then pictures tonight: I got my bus insured!! I think it's harder to get RV insurance from a bus conversion in NJ then any other state.

We unscrewed the top warning lights, snipped the wires, and capped them. Then we sealed the holes with metal and caulked them slightly. Used bondo on a few holes from removing the stop sign. Removed all the stickers (it sucked!) with a putty knife. Then sanded down where the stickers were. We couldn't get the gunk off of the stickers so we said the hell with it and used a wire brush. It brushed down to the bare metal in some spots but it did a good enough job. We worked so darn fast last night. Tomorrow I am going to get the bus registered and then drop it off to get painted for 2 weeks I'd imagine.

[RUskoolietailgater]

Man...I'm a little bummed out right now. I have been waiting 10 days to get my bus painted. It originally couldn't fit in a paintbooth but the guy said he would do it anyway inside his place, just outside of the booth. I was ready to pick it up today and he told me it's a no go because the EPA Nazi's came down on him for not having it in the booth. So I quickly started talking to the guys who worked their and I basically sub contracted them out to paint it for me. I just have to find a warehouse to get it painted over the weekend. I already bought the paint (3 gallons of candy red) from paintforcars.com. I see they deliver by truck . Thankfully I live 30 minutes away, so I better get this darn paint by the weekend. I want this bus painted so badly and a lot of little things are still left to be done. We have 60+ days left to get it ready. Not a ton of time. I am really hoping and praying I can get this painted through them by next week...otherwise I might just say F it and paint it myself after all....Freaking EPA.

[RUskoolietailgater]

Do you guys know if I can legally remove the mirrors that stick out on the front engine? I feel like they are not helping my MPGs by sticking out like that.Also I installed a metal duct to cover our heater and yesterday it was hot. Is that just because it's hot inside?

[RUskoolietailgater]

Do you guys know if I can legally remove the mirrors that stick out on the front engine? I feel like they are not helping my MPGs by sticking out like that.Also I installed a metal duct to cover our heater and yesterday it was hot. Is that just because it's hot inside?

[RUskoolietailgater]

I have driven it on the road a little bit and you can just hear the wind resistance from those things lol. I'm worried I would fail an inspection though if I took them off. They are helpful seeing things though, it's a catch 22 for me. Smitty excuse my ignorance, but where are these valves under the hood usually? Also, the metal duct covering the heater is hot and the heat surely isn't on. So I don't know what turning the coolant valves off would do.

[wmah]

I do see a problem with your metal duct work over the rear heater. I only see one vent on it. so the air inside the box is most likly going to just keep circulating around inside the metal box and that won't help the blower motor in there as it too will run hot and may not hold up long. Or did I just miss your air intake vent?

[RUskoolietailgater]

Hmm I think you have a point their. We just put a metal duct box around the heater and put a vent on the outside for air to escape. Should I cut another hole on the side of the vent for air to escape? That would kind of defeat the purpose though. I think there has to be a reason why the metal duct is so hot. Maybe because the metal draws in heat from the heater and holds it, making the metal warm? Whatever it is I have to find a solution because it is worrisome and on a day like today (101 degrees out) I don't want something melting lol.

[RUskoolietailgater]

Actually, rather than rip this duct out, I guess the best solution is to just shut off the valves that run the coolant. I just need to find where they are. When I want to turn the heat on, I can just turn the valves on, right? Guys? lol