Just got our bus!

[SeattleMagicGuy]

Hello. Me and my wife just bought a bus. We purchased an 1990 32 foot bus from a church and before that it was used by the military. It looks like a school bus but does not have the eight way signs. It does have a stop paddle. Me and my wife spent tonight removing 2 bus seats. It only took us about 2 hours till we figured out a rhythm to it. We tried the grinder method...that was too slow. Then we tried hand tools and that did not work. The bolts kept spinning. So I climbed under the bus to hold the nuts with a wrench while my wife operated the power drill to remove the bolts. That worked! Dam there sure is a lot of rust on those bolts! We are from Lacey, WA and this is our first bus. The goal is to try and get the seats out and then we are debating if we should redo the floor. Any ideas or thoughts? Also I am not sure how people build the frame work. Do you screw into the metal of the bus? Some told me you can use glue to secure paneling or plywood to the sides and ceilings of the bus and then nail your frame work into that. If we re did the floor we could screw into the floor with the frame work but we are not sure on the sides or ceilings of the bus. We were going to use 2x2s instead of 2x4s for the frame work. Good idea or not? Any thoughts are welcome. Hope to get to know some people on this board. Jay

[PigPen]

Wow, tons of people getting their buses in the last few days, we'll be following close behind. There are tons of knowledgeable people on here, so you'll probably get some good answers soon.

Post a few pictures and you'll have this thread full of people and suggestions in no time!

[cowlitzcoach]

Most school buses came from the factory with plywood under the vinyl flooring.

However, some schools opted not to spend the extra $$$ and just have vinyl over the metal floor that is attached to the floor stringers. I have seen some military buses that were ordered without the plywood as well.

As old as your bus is and the service it has had lends me to think if you do have plywood under your flooring you will most likely find it will be soft in places. The wet side of the mountains of WA tend to exacerbate moisture problems in vehicles that are not operated on a daily basis.

Taking up the floor will also allow you to put some insulation down under your floor to keep your feet warm when it gets cold outside.

In fact, I would suggest it would be a good idea to take down all of the ceiling panels and side panels to expose what is under the skin. I think you will find a lot of damp and mold that should be eliminated before you start your build out.

As far as attaching is concerned, adhesives are great but I would follow up with an occasional screw to double down on the attachment. The last thing you want is something coming adrift while going down the road.