Hi There!

[TheLovelyBus]

We've lurked around this site a while for research as our interest in building a skoolie turned to passion and we finally created an account yesterday! We waited to see if we would win the second bus we had hoped to get at auction and since we became the proud new owners this afternoon, we felt it was time to make it official! Hi there, We're the Lovelys! This is our Bus!
A 1993 International Blue Bird 38 foot Dog nose DT466 5 Speed manual.

We plan to begin its conversion into an off grid capable RV as soon as we pick it up from its current home on the Southern Oregon Coast. Since we live in the Great Pacific Northwest, (on the Peninsula across from Seattle) we're making it a three day trip with our two small kiddos to check out Northern California, the Redwood forests and several great state parks between there and home. We look forward to all the trips we'll be taking in our bus and all we have yet to learn from this wonderful group!

[crazycal]

Welcome aboard. A 5 speed stick, nice.

[TheLovelyBus]

Photos!

[Tango]

Nice engine/tranny combination in a solid looking bus! Congrats. Check out Nat's build thread if you want the scoop on insulating for the "Northern Climes". Good info there.

And...Welcome!

[Dragonpop]

Hope you are able to get around Washingtons sales tax on your vehicle. Ticks me off
how a vehicle can incur a sales tax each time it is sold.

[nat_ster]

Welcome.

That's great you got a standard transmission. A bit better fuel economy, and the ability to turn the pump up for more power. Most entry level automatic transmissions can only handle around 210hp and down. This causes the manufacture to detune, or dial back the power output of the engine for the survival of the automatic transmission.

Here is the thread Tango mentioned. It's being built for full time living in cold northern climates.
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/th...ime-10138.html

Nat

[c_hasbeen]

nice bus, that is what I was looking for originally when I came across my bus.

sure looks like a good one to me

[TheLovelyBus]

Thank you for the warm welcome, everyone!
We knew of the advantages to a manual transmission and mechanical controlled DT466 thanks to this forum and doing our research! Our vehicles are a 6 speed Jeep and a 5 speed Toyota so the transition will hopefully be smooth! We look forward to the drive up the coast in our new Birdie and sharing the journey ahead with you knowledgeable folks!

[Redbear]

Welcome. I'm a little bit jealous, too.