Hello from OKC

RoaminRandy · 08-03-2019, 01:17 PM

I lucked into a great bus, just the kind I wanted,,, a 98 bluebird 84 passenger front engine Cummins, storage boxes all around the outside, and it only has 127k miles on it. It cranks right up and runs great. I got it for ONE THOUSAND dollars! All I had to do to get it home was put a fifty dollar battery in it. It even had a full tank of diesel! I drove it a hundred miles home and it took 9 gallons to top it off and I was running down the turnpike at 75mph. I am just starting on my RV conversion, but I have got alot of great ideas from this site. This site is great! I am planning on floor heating with tubing and plates since the pump is there and works. I saw a YouTube video and a guy did that,,, I am going to see if I can use engine coolant so everything will stay toasty while I am running down the road. I am currently ripping seats out. Thanks everyone...

o1marc · 08-03-2019, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoaminRandy

I lucked into a great bus, just the kind I wanted,,, a 98 bluebird 84 passenger front engine Cummins, storage boxes all around the outside, and it only has 127k miles on it. It cranks right up and runs great. I got it for ONE THOUSAND dollars! All I had to do to get it home was put a fifty dollar battery in it. It even had a full tank of diesel! I drove it a hundred miles home and it took 9 gallons to top it off and I was running down the turnpike at 75mph. I am just starting on my RV conversion, but I have got alot of great ideas from this site. This site is great! I am planning on floor heating with tubing and plates since the pump is there and works. I saw a YouTube video and a guy did that,,, I am going to see if I can use engine coolant so everything will stay toasty while I am running down the road. I am currently ripping seats out. Thanks everyone...

Normally you want the floors heated when walking on them. This is usually when parked/camped. You would need to run the engine the whole time you want the floors warm.

SparrowMICT · 08-05-2019, 02:20 PM

Congratulations. I just joined today and first post i see is another OKC person. What are the odds. I am still in the convincing myself this isn’t the dumbest idea i have ever had stage. Can’t wait to see the results of your build.

RoaminRandy · 09-02-2019, 08:47 PM

I have just started ripping the seats out and I crawled around all under the bus on a creeper today. I think my plywood floor will be ok, I have not found any rot and the metal underneath appears to have been undercoated, so it's all good. I found where the coolant lines go up into the passenger compartment and back to the heat exchanger under one of the seats. I will be relocating the lines to the outside by the chassis and moving the heater to a better location. Mine is a 98 bluebird 83 passenger, and I got it tagged and titled but here in Oklahoma I have to get the conversion done and have it "Livable", and do a few affidavits of conversion work performed before I can register it as an RV as opposed to a bus. So I am still legally a school bus.

RoaminRandy · 09-02-2019, 09:12 PM

I am planning/hoping to put a tiny multi fuel stove with a heat exchanger on the flue with a circulating pump, and I want to use that to maintain the heat of the floor pex when parked and engine off,,, but the main heat to get it up to 'comfortable' will be the engine. I know I will have to have some valves and switches here and there, but I think I should be able to make my system work. Between the pex in the floor and a little stove, I am hoping to keep it warm inside. And if I have to crank up the old 12 valve Cummins and let it idle for a little while, that just keeps the engine batteries up. I got it all worked out in my head, and halfway drawn out in my notebook, but I am a one man operation and the heating is a little bit farther down the punch list... I have a roof raise to do before I get near the floor radiant heat and the stove with the copper coil... I do want to make my stove look like a portable "Still" like I'm cooking up a batch of moonshine right there! Lol

o1marc · 09-03-2019, 10:00 AM

While your plywood floor may look good and there is undercoating hiding any tales of rusty floor, it would be wise to pull the ply wood and address the rust on the floor that will surely be there. Some have had great plywood and 2' holes in the sheet metal under it.

PNW_Steve · 09-03-2019, 10:20 AM

I am with Marc. My bluebird had great looking plywood. I considered keeping it and asked for advice here.

Other members cautioned me against keeping the plywood. So I decided to take a hole saw and take some samples from various spots. Clean and dry in the front 2/3 of the bus. The back 1/3 was a different story. It wasn't terrible. I did not have to patch any big holes. I t was rusty enough that there was no question that I needed to pull the plywood and treat and paint the floor.

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