Hello,
*I recently bought a 1993 Bluebird 40ft Activity Bus with a Cummins CTA 8.3 & Allison MD3060. Just drove all the way across the country, with no major issues, other than a slight misfire at idle on startup, goes away if I give it a tiny bit of throttle, which I suspect is a sticky injector Cummins in Louisville seconded this theory. Was also having low power output so we replaced all the fuel lines and the lift pump, which helped considerably. I have ordered a pop tester for the injectors and a compression test kit & adapter for the CTA8.3L, if it's not the injectors and compression/leakdown test out OK, going to send the p-pump off for a rebuild ($2500-$3500). Hopefully all goes well with the compression, leakdown, and blowby tests. I have high hopes as this bus is showing 340k on the odometer*and the engine is a rebuilt*from Cummins in 2006, so I suspect the engine may have as little as 100k on it, or perhaps the chassis has 1.3million miles, but I find that unlikely. With any luck it's just fuel system related as the bus was sitting for a while prior to my owner, worst case I get to learn how to do an in-frame rebuild
As far as the bus goes, basically turning it into a rolling man cave/workshop, hoping to buy some unrestricted property out in the country somewhere to perhaps build a container house/bigger shop at some point, but the more I look the more difficult it appears.
Currently we are in the Virginia Beach area and looking for someplace to park where we can continue to finish the bus. Here are all the projects I intend to complete over the next 6mo-1yr as finances allow.
1) Pull everything out (racks are ratchet strapped in) and pull the ceiling and spray foam to insulate it.
2) Pull the carpet and replace the subfloor with proper insulation and reinstall carpet
3) Paint the exterior this Fall when the humidity is better for painting
4) Install the 18x 150w (2700w) of solar panels (already purchased) & 2x Victron 250/100A solar charge controllers (already purchased)
5) Install the2x Victron Multi-plus 120/3000 charger/inverters (already purchased) for a system capable of 220VAC split phase 25amp service
6) Order and install 48x 280ah EVE LiFePo4 cells in 4x 3p4s or 4s3p (not sure what the proper formatting is) packs for a total of 4x 840ah @ 12v or 3360ah @ 12v (40,320Kw) as this should be enough to install 2 15k BTU and run them all day without sunlight.
7) Install 2x additional diesel heaters and plumb the existing one to the main fuel tank as I fully intend to spend some time in places with cold winters at some point.
Install fresh water tank, pressure pump, grey tank and shower.**About a million other small things to make the space more livable/functional**
*I would like to find a decent size garage space w/ parking on the side where we can have a 30 amp service. I once rented a 20x40ft garage with a shower and toilet where I used to flip appliances and work on cars ect*for additional*income. Looking for something similar, just this time I would like to park a bus next to it. I am hoping to pay somewhere between $500-$1000/mo but am open to options depending on the arrangement/setup.*
* I have full time employment, and can provide references. If you know anyone in the area who may be interested in something like this, please let me know. I can put down a deposit and have a history of paying my rent a month or so in advance.
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