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Old 01-21-2015, 09:08 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
We call her Kraken - Ford e450 2000 7.3L Diesel

And it begins!

Unlike most of you who have planned your conversion and laid a vision, our experience is different. We never imagined we would be immersed in this project.

Our eldest daughter declared in November she wanted a bus for Christmas. After we stopped laughing, we realized...our teenager just asked for more family time, to fuel her sense of adventure. We bought the bus.

We've chimed in here for the past few weeks getting things in order, but here is our official forum launch.

We are in Canada, and have learned the trials of these bus conversions from the legislation angle. It's not so simple up here for us. After sorting out just getting it home (thank you fellow Canandian Skoolie-ers!), and the insurance fiascos, we finally have it home and ready to begin.

We will be using the bus more like a living room on wheels to encourage adventure in our kids. The aim will be more boondocking and less parks.

To start we met some basic requirements to get it titled to an RV, but now we move on to more of the polished touches.

For now, I introduce, The Kraken.
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Old 01-21-2015, 09:11 PM   #2
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: So Cal
Posts: 3,227
Year: 1935
Coachwork: Superior
Chassis: Chevy
Engine: 317 ci/tid / Isuzu
Good start and with a good reason, welcome! Jack
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Old 01-21-2015, 09:52 PM   #3
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time to rock and roll!!
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my bus build viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5931
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Old 01-21-2015, 09:55 PM   #4
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L


Stripped and ready. (use your imagination to rotate this 1/4 turn clockwise) She's empty and ready to rebuild.
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Old 01-21-2015, 09:57 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
Here's the Before:

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Old 01-22-2015, 10:30 AM   #6
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Farmington Hills, Mi (Detroit area)
Posts: 1,968
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Eldorado Aerotech 24'
Chassis: Ford E-450 Cutaway Bus
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 19
Cool graphics! I also have a 2000 E-450 but with an Eldorado body. You're just across the river from us.
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Old 01-23-2015, 11:16 AM   #7
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
Great to connect, Roach. Don't be surprised when we come looking for solutions from someone who's been there, done that.
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Old 01-23-2015, 11:51 AM   #8
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Farmington Hills, Mi (Detroit area)
Posts: 1,968
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Eldorado Aerotech 24'
Chassis: Ford E-450 Cutaway Bus
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 19
Ask away! I' learned most of what I know about bus conversions here on Skoolie and am happy to pass along what I can.
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Old 02-05-2015, 08:41 PM   #9
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whats the mpg on a bus like this im looking at 1 now
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Old 02-05-2015, 09:42 PM   #10
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Farmington Hills, Mi (Detroit area)
Posts: 1,968
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Eldorado Aerotech 24'
Chassis: Ford E-450 Cutaway Bus
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 19
Ours gets 11 to 13 mpg at 65 mph depending on the wind.
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Old 02-06-2015, 01:57 AM   #11
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NICE BUS...I'm in BC...just bought a 2007 e450 Handy Dart 20 pass. the nice lady at the licence bureau said I could drive a full size city bus with my existing licence...The transfer from provincial government to me took 5minutes...no safety check required!!
The insurance is way less than my car...Born in Ontario...so pleased at easy transfer and a bit concerned at their lack of same...Living Room...great minds hey? My local ReStore...sold me a very modern kitchen plus sink...gonna mount them on stainless steel feet...Trundle bed and one murphy bed...Garmin 2798 gps and yahoo!!
Ain't it fun,
Cheers from Victoria
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Old 02-08-2015, 11:22 PM   #12
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Looks like what Im doing to my bus, how did you remove the flooring?
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Old 02-09-2015, 12:23 AM   #13
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e450 Bus

Cheers mate...My bus was equipped with an 800 lbs. chair lift at rear double doors...and seating for 20 that fold and flip up to clear the aisle for wheel chairs. So stripped space is 15' by 8'...There is a slight change in incline about half way back so....For flooring I've found a very modern strip floor that is multi coloured vinyl. It is edged in overlapping glue strips a lot like laminate...and so will mold to hug that incline.
Home Depot sells the flooring but I lucked out at the ReStore and bought it at their 50% off price ...
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Old 02-10-2015, 06:19 PM   #14
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
Hi Tudy! Great to connect here. Share pictures when you can!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tudy View Post
NICE BUS...I'm in BC...just bought a 2007 e450 Handy Dart 20 pass. the nice lady at the licence bureau said I could drive a full size city bus with my existing licence...The transfer from provincial government to me took 5minutes...no safety check required!!
The insurance is way less than my car...Born in Ontario...so pleased at easy transfer and a bit concerned at their lack of same...Living Room...great minds hey? My local ReStore...sold me a very modern kitchen plus sink...gonna mount them on stainless steel feet...Trundle bed and one murphy bed...Garmin 2798 gps and yahoo!!
Ain't it fun,
Cheers from Victoria
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Old 02-10-2015, 07:42 PM   #15
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
The progress continues!

Today we managed to get the emission testing done. With the size of the vehicle we were unable to take it in to a shop and had to have a remote service come out to the house to test. The Kraken managed a spotless report, and we can now get the sticker for the plates to make it all official.

We also found a new insurance policy, and are making progress with something more reasonable.

As for the physical bus:

SEATS - we are working on custom slip covers to hide the rainbows on the upholstery. I managed to find fabric on clearance at Joann's Fabric and bought all greys that were available, plus 2 bolts of retro yellow/grey. We are going for the "retro living room on wheels" look. The covers for the seat backs are done, and the bases are cut out, waiting by the serger. There is some difficulty in getting rid of the seats that we removed, since it seems that nobody wants them. How do you get rid of your seats???

FLOORING - after considering a few options, we went with retro checkered kitchen sheet vinyl, and carpet. One that I would love for others to check out, are Gym flooring companies that sell off the remnants. With 4' widths, that stuff would be awesome. However, mostly only a US option. There were some decent prices at checkeredflooring.com that we eventually found someone local to compete with. I also found a matching remnant of a damask patterned carpet in grey and black. We found an installer on Kijiji (Craig's list) and got the flooring all installed. We had considered taking out the existing floor, however wondered about opening up a proverbial can of worms, so we floored over it. The rear of the bus, where the kids beds/couches will be is carpet, while the front is the vinyl.

HEATERS, SEAT BASES and RAIL - these were all spray painted black. It seems the paint is somewhat tacky, and with the bits we can remove, they are baking on a warming setting in the oven. Hoping that helps.

EXTERIOR DECALS - with the help of some blow dryers and eager kids, the decals were removed from the prior owner (a political campaign bus). We were concerned they would have left an imprint, but it rubs off easily.

HEADLINER - we intend to replace the headliner, as it's the same rainbow fabric from the seat upholstery. We removed the rubber gaskets and metal strips holding it on, and peeled the fabric off the ceiling. Of course this extended into the front and back panels of the bus, and so those were also removed. I brought the old fabric inside to use as a pattern and cut out the yellow/grey retro fabric. With this unrolled in the hallway, I found some quilt batting left over from another project to line the back side of the plain cotton retro fabric. I have been reminded of a quilted roof I saw on another bus and what to work to make a Puffy ceiling look. Off to Pinterest to check out options.

PANELS - After removing the front panel to get the headliner down, we found a vast and EMPTY bulkhead. Along with the bulkhead is the box that housed the original Tube TV, and VCR. We have a new TV bracket and won't need the box but are thinking through things before we just gut out the box. With the bulkhead open, and the extra box space, there is an opportunity to do something cool with that space...we just need ideas. Anyone?? Sure it could be more storage, but...surely there is another idea.

OTHER PANELS - And as we started removing panels we found one after another after another that could use some new upholstery. SOOO, they are now piled in the basement waiting to be redone. In some cases, the masonite? material making up the panel had been previously waterlogged and needs to be replaced. When I am back in the shop at work tomorrow, I'll cut new ones, then can reupholster. When entering the bus, there is a mounted panel that the arm rail is attached to, separating the bus from the stairwell. With a staple gun on the air compressor, and my serger, we have a new yellow/grey panel. Can't wait to install it. I am considering running some sticky paper through my Silhouette to create a stencil of a Kraken and paint onto the fabric. Not a priority but just a fun thought.

FUTONS - We went over so many bed options to sleep 6 and clearly the bunk bed option is best. HOWEVER, then we went to the RV show and were terribly discouraged. Although flashy, (and decidedly not for us), there were no RVs that had lots of windows. I found them very claustrophobic and became determined to keep our windows unobstructed. With that, we scrapped the idea of bunk beds, and found Klik Klak futons. With 2 futons facing each other at the back, these will click down and make a complete 4 section bed across the entire back of the bus. Ours will be a further futon at the front. We kept these with a retro look.

DRIVE SHAFT - the first of our surprises was the drive shaft. Although it somehow passed the safety, there was a vibration when driving that was pretty noticeable. With a look at the drive shaft it was bend. It needed to be removed, rebuilt and balanced. That will likely be the first of many unexpected costs.

SURPRISES - with the panels out, we found some spots where there had been leaks. These appear to have been fixed (gobs of black tar looking goop on the rivet holes), however there are still some wet bits. The roof appears to be the culprit and we hope to soon get the bus into a heated shop for a bit so we can caulk the roof seams and fix that.

LED STRIPS - We have been working to figure out lighting zones in the bus, so that we can have lights turned on in different sections. It's occurred to us that we can use addressable LED strip lights in the tracks of the headliner and program them in different zones. Sound greek to you? Yes, it's greek to one of us here too ;), however it really is a simple project to learn Arduino and programming.

We are hoping not to uncover many more surprises. At this point, we seem to have it ripped back as far as we are going to go, and now it's just putting it all back together.
Attached Thumbnails
floor.jpg   Interior in progress.jpg   Wasted space.jpg   futon.jpg   headlinerbefore.jpg  

IMG_7658.jpg  
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Old 02-10-2015, 07:43 PM   #16
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
Has anyone ever put a headliner on in a bus? We are working through the logistics of spraying UP with the glue. Hmmmm.
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Old 02-11-2015, 06:29 AM   #17
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Cuyahoga Falls Ohio
Posts: 592
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Startrans
Chassis: Ford e-350 single wheel
Engine: 5.4 litre
Rated Cap: 12
My shuttle has gray cloth glued onto the ceiling for a headliner. I didn't do it so I can't give you any pointers.
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Old 02-11-2015, 12:01 PM   #18
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: So Cal
Posts: 3,227
Year: 1935
Coachwork: Superior
Chassis: Chevy
Engine: 317 ci/tid / Isuzu
My skoolie has light weight carpet on the ceiling. It works as a noise reducer and seems to cut down on condensation. A word of warning. Use sprayed on contact cement--the old school kind that smells so strong. None of the bug bomb glues or water based contact cements are satisfactory for this use. will stay stuck for long. Once they get warm they begin to let go and allow the fabric to sag. Also, the roof surface needs to be clean and tight. loose or dirty paint will be pulled off by the weight of the material. Jack
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Old 02-11-2015, 03:20 PM   #19
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Farmington Hills, Mi (Detroit area)
Posts: 1,968
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Eldorado Aerotech 24'
Chassis: Ford E-450 Cutaway Bus
Engine: 7.3L Powerstroke
Rated Cap: 19
I used carpet adhesive to glue lightweight outdoor carpeting to my walls and ceiling. The stuff holds like grim death but can be a sticky adventure to apply overhead.

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Old 02-11-2015, 07:15 PM   #20
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 48
Year: 2000
Chassis: Ford F450
Engine: 7.3 L
Hmmm, I have 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Spray Adhesive. I'm trying to quilt the headliner to make it puffy...will look better, but lots of chances for things to go wrong! Will update.

Tonight we got the seat brackets in. Freshly painted brackets and a new floor sure beats the rust covered grime from before. Ahhh!
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