Getting my coach painted

[Bus'n it]

Sorry Peeps, it's been a while since I posted last. Been busy with life and work. Anyhow I wanted to share this if there was interest with the group....

I was quoted 30-60k to have my coach painted locally. CDI RV painting popped up in my FB feed. My wife and I were talking about getting this thing painted and I believe the google gods heard the conversation and thus put this company in my FB feed. Long story short, I sent them some pics and they quoted me 16k to do a custom design with 4 colors. They included minor body work and took out some dings and deep scratches. Super stoked about it and we are picking it up in two weeks. They have had it since mid October. I can post pics of the finished product if there is interest. The yellow is just stenciling to cover the blue that will remain as the main color. The place is CDI RV painting and they are located in Forest City Iowa. We drove the bus there after a bus gathering in Oklahoma and drove back with the Jeep we were towing.

[nikitis]

Looks professional enough.

[ewo1]

That is one nice looking bus without the paint job!

Gonna look even nicer !!!

[cadillackid]

thats gonna be one bad ass looking coach!!.. of course i thought the bus looked nice with its factory paint!

[Bus'n it]

Thanks guys! I just realized I never did update the paint process. They did a fantastic job at a total cost of 17k. They had it for a month and we picked it up last November. We spent our travel nights at Cracker Barrel and had Thanksgiving dinner at one of them. Over the last few months I have been working underneath the bus replacing air tubing and painting the chassis.

[SilverRosie]

The pics are great! Congrats! Thanks for the referral for paint job!

[Kentucky Dreaming]

I can't even think about that much for a paint job. I still work for a living....

[Brownie44]

Originally Posted by Kentucky Dreaming

I can't even think about that much for a paint job. I still work for a living....

So you're Kentucky Dreaming about a paint job like that?

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by Bus'n it

They did a fantastic job at a total cost of 17k.

Yes they DID!!!

I only hope I can come 5 miles close with a $170 Rustoleum paint job when I do mine!

[cadillackid]

LOVE it!! although I do wonder why EVERY RV has swirlies painted on the sides.. but again it looks fanastic ! love it!

[fo4imtippin]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

LOVE it!! although I do wonder why EVERY RV has swirlies painted on the sides.. but again it looks fanastic ! love it!

There's a video for that.. https://youtu.be/oUF8uYPjyQM?feature=shared


I painted myself with automotive paint. I estimated I spent 5k on paint, caulk, tape ,Bondo, paper etc.


I spent roughly two weeks on paint prep and a few days spraying.



I shopped around for awhile and big rigs, trucks, campers looked between 15-20k for a good paint job. I suppose supply and demand for a spray booth big enough. Those guys have a huge cost in their setups.


I think you got a pretty good deal and it really looks amazing.. thanks for not leaving us for bus conversion forums..we're not worthy of that rig..

[Bus'n it]

I'm not leaving you guys. I am the famous one for swinging a diesel generator into the side of my Skoolie with my bobcat fork lift! I think the price was right for the paint job. It is multi color base/clear. Regarding the swoosh design, honestly I am not a big fan of it either but they wanted another $1500 to do a different design. This was one of 148 available in their books with any color we wanted. My goal was to lighten the colors due to the brutal AZ sun and heat load. 2nd was the clear coat was peeling and there have been previous spot paint repairs which looked cobbled when up close. I sold that famous bobcat with the forks to cover the cost of this. I stopped using the bobcat in my business since I sub earth work out now. Figured it was 5 years old and while values were high, it was time to let it go. Aside from that we want to move to the Southeast sooner than later and it was one more thing I would have to transport. basically the cards aligned and I won a hand at it for the first time. I never did hear back from the people who bought my skoolie. I knew they had some conversion company or private person doing the work for them finishing what I started. My fear is that it never materialized. I do not want to reach out to them. I guess ignorance is bliss. I did sell it for 40k to them.

Anyway, this bus has been my obsession for the last 3 years. Working on a 48v a/c system to replace the defunct front driver a/c. I do enjoy this thing. it's enjoyable as a mancave at the side of my house or on the road for the month out of the year we take it out.

[cadillackid]

keep the road A/C... electric A/C just dpesnt have the BTU right now to do ir right.. spinning compressors with DC motors and such is just not there for continuous duty yet.. it will be i just dont thinl its there for anything above 12,000 BTU.. anbd the front of a coach needs 24k minimum driving into the sun..



i think you did fine on your paint.. I had 3500 in my red bus in 2016 thats only a single color and a 6 window short school bus.. I might need to look at these guys to do a bus if I need one.. yours came out great

[Bus'n it]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

keep the road A/C... electric A/C just dpesnt have the BTU right now to do ir right.. spinning compressors with DC motors and such is just not there for continuous duty yet.. it will be i just dont thinl its there for anything above 12,000 BTU.. anbd the front of a coach needs 24k minimum driving into the sun..



i think you did fine on your paint.. I had 3500 in my red bus in 2016 thats only a single color and a 6 window short school bus.. I might need to look at these guys to do a bus if I need one.. yours came out great

The dash air was R12 and it was not like the super duper 2.0 liter Prevost type compressors. This was a 1985 Ford style auto compressor. It was dead and previous owner spent hundreds over his ownership patching leaks. I found this company online that looks promising although expensive at $4100. undermountac.com I ran #6 welding cable to the Victron Lynx from the front compartment where the old 120v a/c's used to be. I put in one roof air reluctantly since the Dometic splits were also kaput. Two are doing a halfway decent job until it gets to 95º out. I need a third at that point. This 48v a/c can produce 16-20k but they say 16k btu is its sweet spot at 54v. This is a cheaper alternative to Cruisincomfortusa.com offerings at $5700 for 12kbtu. I can't fit a mini split inside. The ductless air handler has no where to go without cutting up the nice cabinetry which I won't do. They do not make a 120v ducted mini split and if they did, that one could work. I have a space behind the front axle with one air tank relocated. Ducted unit would go in front storage bay. I spent hours researching a 120v ducted unit of which there are none made.

Regarding the paint, I was quoted 10k for a single stage tape and paint truck shop deal. Their examples looked really good until you opened the bay doors. They do not do the bottoms of the doors or any jambs. They told me those paint jobs last 3-5 years in the AZ sun.

[DeMac]

Originally Posted by Bus'n it

I'm not leaving you guys. I am the famous one for swinging a diesel generator into the side of my Skoolie with my bobcat fork lift!













(......)

Anyway, this bus has been my obsession for the last 3 years. Working on a 48v a/c system to replace the defunct front driver a/c. I do enjoy this thing. it's enjoyable as a mancave at the side of my house or on the road for the month out of the year we take it out.

------------------

Skoolie.net/Mesa-AZ-Build/Gene-Offer-Up-Post#181

📸⤴Since there are currently
a couple other threads regarding generator mounting.

The entire thread is well worth the read, for those who would witness a converter exercising perfectionism.

[Bus'n it]

Nice! I have since added another 30' of 6" concrete pad and a pit. Wish I had done it sooner when I was building that one. So many days crawling in the dirt and welding burns to prove it! I really hope the buyers have completed it. last communication was over 2 years ago with their builder having painted the floor and framed out one wall.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Bus'n it

The dash air was R12 and it was not like the super duper 2.0 liter Prevost type compressors. This was a 1985 Ford style auto compressor. It was dead and previous owner spent hundreds over his ownership patching leaks. I found this company online that looks promising although expensive at $4100. undermountac.com I ran #6 welding cable to the Victron Lynx from the front compartment where the old 120v a/c's used to be. I put in one roof air reluctantly since the Dometic splits were also kaput. Two are doing a halfway decent job until it gets to 95º out. I need a third at that point. This 48v a/c can produce 16-20k but they say 16k btu is its sweet spot at 54v. This is a cheaper alternative to Cruisincomfortusa.com offerings at $5700 for 12kbtu. I can't fit a mini split inside. The ductless air handler has no where to go without cutting up the nice cabinetry which I won't do. They do not make a 120v ducted mini split and if they did, that one could work. I have a space behind the front axle with one air tank relocated. Ducted unit would go in front storage bay. I spent hours researching a 120v ducted unit of which there are none made.

Regarding the paint, I was quoted 10k for a single stage tape and paint truck shop deal. Their examples looked really good until you opened the bay doors. They do not do the bottoms of the doors or any jambs. They told me those paint jobs last 3-5 years in the AZ sun.

I asked about 120 volt ducted units, I use ducted minisplits in my house.. in 2008 when I first got the idea of truly zoning my Cooling in my house without freezing the coil up in the R22 Trame that the house came with 4 years prior.. I got the idea of a single unit per zone.. I needed 2 12's and an 18 to give me good quick cooling but with variable speed compressors I wouldnt worry of oversize..



ducted minisplits of any type then were hard to come by.. 120 volt units were a big nope.. so I embarked on a 5 year project.. anb experiment that I could Build my own ducted minisplit and if it lasted 5 years, the industry would have something new by then and id swap them out.. I kept the original computer controls and simply made a new box for the coils, hacked the comms protocols, made temp sensor "calibrators".. and I basement molunted my first unit.. it worked incredibly well. so i did the next two.. I used all cheap chinesium minisplits... well 5 years turned into 10 years and 10 years turned into 14 before I started to have my first issues.. so i went looking for proper diucted splits.. still no 120 volt units.. so I ended up making the necessary wiring changes in ,y house and installed 240 volt units.. brand new Fujitsu proper ducted units..



when I asked about 120 volt versions, they stated that the vast majority of ducted minisplits are sold for commercial or multi-tenant use, so they are made in 208 and 240 volt versions... fujitsu does not support DIYer's.. so I became a fujitsu Partner to get my warranties and blessings to order parts from fujitsu..



back to the dash A/C.. when i was involved in helping my 2 friends buy their million dollar camper back in 2002.. of course they chose custom coach here in columbus being they lived 30 minutes away.. they wanted a Prevost.. when we got into then buts N bolts, dash air was a standard offering, however it sucked.. the driver area of a Prevost coach features a monster windshield since you take a step down to get in the seat..



other owners mentioned that you could spec true prevost coach A/C on a conversion.. however custom coach said it couldnt be done if you wanted slides.. (apparently slides on a prevost were fairly new at that time)...



the second and mosrt popular option was the standard dash air and then 3 or 4 cruise-air basement units which gave a little more interior headroom, were quieter, and could be run with the generator on the highway... the issue with these is they sucked the intake air off. the road and exhausted out air down low.. so if you liked to sit outside your bus on both sides (vs just the door side).. you got blasted with hot air when parked.. on the road a couple other owners said dont drive in texas in summjer or your A/C will overheat..



so they chose 4 roof airs that were ducted and a huge onan generator...


we test-drove a couple year old coach that had been parked outside in the sun.. I literally almost passed out driving it.. the main coach cooled down pretty fast with its roof airs.. but the driver area it was all i could do to lean my face into the 4 little round vents on the driver dash to try and breathe... that was the "prevost dash air"...


me being the A/C geek and hot-rodder that I was at the time, went to the folks at CC and said lets do a mini bus setup but make it ducted.. I surmised we could use a larger compressor (Like I had seen on bluebird school busses), and run bigger units up front.. of course CC and prevost came up with a better solution than my custom idea.. which was to install a Frigiking 36,000 BTU heat / cool evaporator unit and duct it much better than the prevost A/C.. a TM21 style compressor was spec'd which offered extra capacity despite the long lineset lengths from the back to the front of the bus.. the condenser was tucked up neatly under the front clip.. it was a bit oversized so despite the fact it sucked its air from the front somewhat near the road, it could handle extreme road heat... that 36k BTU unit did the trick.. if the coach was parked and got hot inside it would take a little while to get cool but having vents all across the full width of the front.. an extra one even near the driver window, 4 i could blow right in my face.. even a footwell vent.. ..


so their bus was born.. and alas my learning of frigiking.. (which sadly died in 2022 as ProAir went under...).. frigiking made all kinds of open-frame evaporator or evapoirator / heater units... easily designed to integrate into your own housings.. I have 2 in my DEV bus since 2016 and they have been fantastic.. there are probably still a few around to be had..


Sanden makes a line of compressors called the SD7 Enhanced which offer nearly the same capacity as a larger TM21 style but they fit into the form factor of the very common ear mount of a standard SD7, ive been using them for years and they live up to their enhanced spec.. they can pump! so you can install higher capacity dash air without having to find a new engine bracket set from where the original SD7 ear mount fit..

[Bus'n it]

Wow, true experience there! My coach has dual pane windows except the windshield. It is all spray foam insulated so it can keep the temperature regulated. I am very familiar with Prevost and their tall windshields. We have cabinets up front with roller shades that help immensely. My plans are to install the evaporator in the left upper cabinet and duct vents on the bottom length of the cabinet run. This would provide on the road air and up front cooling. We've been traveling end of September where temps were still in the low 100's with two airs running. It was doable but the sun beating on you through the large glass feels uncomfortable. Marie rolls her side of the shades down and is fine with her feet up reading a book. I figured if one 48v unit doesn't quite cut it, I will throw in another. The mid to the back stays cold as an icebox.

Yeah, I was bummed out about the lack of 120v ducted units. My next house will have mini splits with ducted units. I will never go back to the standard American style split a/c system. Just power hogs. Our electric bill varies between $630-$870 from April-October. The winter months see an average of $300. We are all electric. The bus has solar but I keep it plugged in as a supplement since it is always climate controlled.


So the pics show the up front cabinets. I thought I could squeeze in the evap on the far left but that space is too small. The electric meters and generator control wiring fills that space and it is finished off nicely. The middle is the subwoofer for the TV and the far right is the DVD. To the far left and beneath the driver seat is where two Dometic split systems resided. They long failed so I put one roof air in the center and kept the working Dometic for the rear which is in another compartment. The rear is incredibly cold. Roof air is acceptable. I had to cut the hole and run the wiring for that which I reluctantly did. (Prefer basement air) I am very familiar with the Cruise air units since Newell used to use them. They now strictly do roof air but like all new buses they have extended the sides upwards to hide all the mechanical crap. Anyway on mine there is a console that has a ton of space. Still I haven't measured it yet and it may not fit. My final go to is under the couch.

You can see outside of the bus my two of three mini splits. We also have a 5ton Bosch roof air. The larger mini is a 3 ton that does the garage. I use that when I am working in there in the summer. Cools down the space in 20 min.

There are other pics which show two of the three Dometic central splits that failed and used to reside in the compartment under the driver seat. I am working on refurbishing that compartment with Por-15 today. They cut a huge hole which I will install aluminum expanded mesh to keep road debris and critters out. This space will be used for the condenser fans on the new A/C system. I do have another space behind the front axle under the bus as a backup.

The final two pics are of another storage compartment that I restored. I use that for small tools and supplies kept in sealed plastic boxes

[cadillackid]

the newell coach has the advantage that the driver area can be incorporated into the living space.. having A/C you can still use when parked is prob a good idea.. a prevost is well a bus first and foremost.. so no one ever really relocates the entry door and copilot seats are hacks at best.. I like the newell design better because you can use that space.. (it wasnt my million dollars being spent on that coach 20 years ago.. though I did end up being the only one to drive it for many of the years they had it)...



I live in ohio and hate being cold.. so all electric heat = non starter for me.. so I incorporated my modulating gas furnace into the mix of the 3 ducted splits.. lots of software and a bit of hardware and I have one central furnace, 3 ducted splits and hybrid heating...



being all electric in the bus makes sense if you plan to chase the sun in winter where you could run with rooftop heatpumps ... (and want to put roofspace to use)..



the mentioned prevost had a propane furnace but also a webasto.. (big coach diesels really Didnt like to start in cold weather)..



basement air is a much cleaner solution... does also eat up your storage bins though... with inverter-type A/C's coming on the market more and more even beginning to see RV rooftop units that are inverters I think that changes the game from the old noisy clunky on-off roof airs to something much closer in comfort and noise level to that of basement air.. it remains to be seen what the market will produce..



thus far inverter type split units havent been the failures many legacy manufacturers predicted when they came on the market in force around 07/08.. most chinese mini split failures revolve around shoddy installation / maintenance.. even my gen 1 cheap units gave me 15 years and I def wasnt using them in a manner consistent with what they were intended..



Daikin pioneered the first real world testing into big-building inverter systems with the VRV in the mid 00's.. I worked on some of those.. it wasnt uncommon to have 20 or 30 indoor units connected to one outdoor system.. and they could heat / cool at the same time... noe the likes of Bosch (IDS 2.0) and daikin are putting out smaller units which are akin to standard central air for those that dont want individual units.. the Bosch systems are in my opinion the best on the market now for the 2-10 ton size ranges..

[Bus'n it]

I'll say that the two propane furnaces do a great job of heating this thing even when driving. Dash heat is dismal but to be expected with coolant hoses traveling some 44'. Heating hoses travel through conditioned space but there is always that loss. Unrelated but I had a contractor come out to quote me a Daikin split for the office addition we did. I think he was at 24k! (Maybe the garage was included, I can't remember) I ordered the LG units and installed them myself. I have all the refrigeration tools and I do mean all. I am a tool whore, a tool mongrel, a tool fetish guy.... I like to have even obscure one time use tools just because. I toy around with refrigeration and have always had success with no leaks. I tried a new stay brite #8 solder as a goof and had great success with it. (on a R22 system) My only holdback was silver solder sticks and getting them to work. I never tried that. I did install a Midea on the other side of the house for office #1 10 years ago. It works flawlessly still. The LG units are 7 years old. All mini splits have ceiling cassettes. Wasn't there a guy in California (BeNimble) that used to be on here who dabbled in refrigeration? The last thing he was posting was cutting up a fridge to make it fit his camper? Been a while. I think he used to tell people that skoolies were a waste of money building. Anyway I digress. When Demac posted the thread of my build I felt like I let many people down. I didn't see it that way until yesterday as I read the whole thread of mine. I can see how I would have done that. It was not my intention. We didn't want to sell the skoolie project but a lady had to have it and paid for every cent I had in it. We are in our mid 50's now and want to travel sooner than later which is why I went with this coach. I fell in love with the 1/4" thick steel frame and monocoque aluminum skinned body. The square tubing used is 1/8" thick. Crazy quality. It was $478,000 new in 1993. I bought it third owner from the guy who paid $318,000 for it in 2004. I paid 51k. It may have been dated but the foundation was never compromised and it had low miles. That's my story! (We've already done about 12,000 miles in two years. When we go on a trip it is for 3-5 weeks at a time plus some use in between. Much like you hate the cold Chris, I hate the heat. Who am I kidding. I hate any weather below 70º or above 84º!! We looked into Dayton OH as a possible relocation area due to expansive space and affordability but I do read your comments on how gray and rainy it can get. We looked into TN but the Californians have raised the prices there. KY is beautiful and the SW part of MO is affordable where we can build a huge bus barn. Still undecided where to go where it is not 110º in the summer where I can't drive this thing in such heat. No fun in that. (Sorry for the long rant!)