wow, so a couple I helped pick out a bus.....

[cammer]

anybody live in ky or am i the only one who builds buses. 2 so far 66 ford 750 with tamden motor home up front race car in back rear section lifts hyd. out comes car Jon

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by cammer

anybody live in ky or am i the only one who builds buses. 2 so far 66 ford 750 with tamden motor home up front race car in back rear section lifts hyd. out comes car Jon

Yup, you're the only one.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by cheryl_ann44

I would be interested in hearing about your ac plans

right now for A/C, my plan is to install a Thermoking 45,000 btu ceiling mount evaporator and a skirt mounted condenser..

I'll run a single 10cid compressor from my DT360 engine.. the evaporator location will likely be side mount just behind the driver area.. this "should" keep the bus and me cool while driving.. my only concern with this is my work area is going to be right across the aisle.. and im not sure I want A/C blowing directly on my while I work...

so my second idea is to mount the evaporator scross the back of the bus above the rear door.. this will cool the bus but not blow directly on me while im parked and in my work area or sleeping.

I will then need to handle cooling me while im driving..

in my previous bus I constructed and added cooling evaporators to the Defrosters..(based on honda civic stock coils and drain pans..

the late 80s bluebirds had 3 round outlets that could be spun around easily on the driver side and there were 2 on the right side.. when I wanted to A/C I spun the vents around and they were perfect dash vents.. since no cold air went on the windshield I didnt fog it on sultry nights.

I have a bit of a challenge on my new bus as the defrost vents are simply slots going all across the windshield. . so there are no vents to spin around.. the older carpenter busses used to have the sound vents but switched to the slots as the older busses had terrible winter de-icing performance..

I could create a device to block off the slots when I wanted cooling.. then put closeable dash vents into the defrost ducting and then add coils like i did before.. (notice the thomas defrost dash vents).. but since the whole defrost duct on the bus is metal.. im going to have a wet mess on hot humid days...

so my next thought is I'll use a jeep YJ style under-dash evaporator and see if I can get enough cold air directed at me... along those same lines rear limo units are made ductable.. where I could run ducts up to dash vents closer to me...

I'll know much more once I get the bus and can dismantle the heating systems to see what kind of room is available inside them if I want to go that route.. and also measure my underdash area for an evaporator box for that route..

now looking at numerical capacities.. this should be pretty easy..

I'll run a TM-21 compressor which gives me better idle cooling performance.. the maxx RPM of the TM-21 is 4000.. which is perfect in a diesel.. in fact i could overdrive it slightly if I need to with my max engine RPM well below 4000 (DT-360)
the condenser can handle up to 50,000 btuh at high ambient conditions.. I will be able to use the single condensor and compressor for both indoor coil sets..

the average BTU of an underdash unit is about 9000..

I will run TxV on both evaporators in parallel.. .. I'll build out a controller such that the compressor will only cycle if the suction temperatures go below freezing.. otherwise it will use its own internal relief valves to limit flow...

a TxV run with a pressure regulator on the evaporator output almost 100% ensures you wont freeze one up even if you shut the fans off on both... in very low flow conditions the condenser will simply fill with liquid reducing the head pressure (and energy usage).. of course i'll set it up that if neither fan is turned on then the compressor wont run...

my first step will be when I get the bus up here and the Thermoking SA-400 system parts , to measure and see where i want to mount the evaporator.. and then install that system first and drive the bus in some good hot weather.. (i'll likely drive it to florida or texas) and see how well i stay cool in the driver seat...

when I ran it on the test drive (no A/C) it was about 77 outside and not sunny.. a bit humid and it was pretty warm in the driver seat.. BUT I only had the driver window open and all of the Heater valves were still open so i expected to get a little warm...

my pland for A/C all involve running the main engine.. simply because I dont plan to shore-up or stay for days in my bus.. the nly time I will sleep in it is for rest on long marathon drives.. and I'll simply stop at idling-allowed locations.. (which most are right now)... the DT360 isnt bad at slow idle.. which is all I will need with the TM-21 compressor.. I wont need to run it at fast idle...

im building an engine monitoring and warning controller that can wake me up if somethign goes wrong.. ie coolant loss, oil-pressure loss, over temp, low fuel pressure, etc.. its a mechanical engine so I cant shut it down but I can have it warn me (both locally in the bus and via mobile app on my cell.. the bus will be internet connected 24/7/365)...

-Christopher

[cammer]

i have two 5.000 units on the roof. friend of mine has a international school bus with eveyrthing mounted on roof at the back from the factory seperet gas motor runs it Jon in ky

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by cammer

i have two 5.000 units on the roof. friend of mine has a international school bus with eveyrthing mounted on roof at the back from the factory seperet gas motor runs it Jon in ky

I looked into a TriPac system but I didnt like what I found .. I found only systems designed for smaller spaces like Semi truck sleepers...

the idea of a generator crossed my mind but finding a nice slide-mount for under the bus seems impossible... and then i'd have to cut holes in the roof for A/C units that seem to leak after a couple years... I would also have to carry 2 kinds of fuel then.. diesel in the bus and gasoline for the generator.. im not keen on gas cans in the bus ..so then id have to build under-belly storage...

for what I plan to do with my bus an engine-driven system works best.. most of my time in it will be driving or parked for a few hours while in transit.. I have no real need for A/C in long-time parked situations..

the fact there will be wild temperature swings in the bus from when its parked at a hotel overnight or in my storage spot is perfect for a mobile dev lab as it stress tests the Dev-Gear in real world style environments...

-Christopher

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

I'll buy you a sippy cup!

Thanks for the offer but I just ordered these from Amazon for my coffee cups.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Avent-...=nipple+bottle

[Robin97396]

That's good, but I hope it doesn't block your vision while you're driving.

You probably needed to clean your screen and keyboard anyway. Most of us do. I coffee antistatic?

[ElleTrain]

Originally Posted by charles_m

Well, I guess I am part of the problem. There was a cable TV show about my bus that is about Tiny Homes. Over the course of a year, I spent $30k on my bus, all told and did all the work myself except the custom sheetmetal on my roof raise and the fine-cabinetry. That's a lot, but I'd need 3x that for a downpayment on a home in the denver area, plus the monthly payments.....I can't do it.

I saved my money, worked full-time while I built it, lived rent-free for 6 months, and took out a smaller loan for $10k to cover the rest. A lot of sacrifice, but it all worked. This was my one shot to go big and make it how I'd always wanted to in my previous buses.

I am a busman, however. Not a tiny home person. Ive been living in buses (3 total) on and off for about 10 years. I chose to live a bus, because I love them and I live them and they have been very good to me. I liked sharing my bus as a viable alternative to a tiny home for less money. I'd never spend $50k on a bus. I mean, I would, if it wasn't my money... but I got all the bus I wanted for far less $$$. I still dont like a lot about tiny houses, but I do like some of the things we've been raggin on.

I like living with less ****, I like being mobile, I like having a steering wheel and gas pedals in my living space, I like a nicely finished interior. I dont like modern, I like nice with clever woodwork and I do like steel and copper, too. I guess the inside of my bus might be a little 'hipster' but whatever. Ive been into this for long before tiny house stuff ever hit me. I was inspired by the house trucks of the 60s and the gypsy wagons before them.

That said, school buses are a great platform. For a few grand, you get a lot of equipment that is very solidly built. I use a composting toilet for a lot of reasons--main one being that I am not on hookups, and dont want hookups inorder to drain my pooptank. That's a choice, that's what I chose.

I use a big solar system (not 20 batteries! lol) because I dont want hookups.

and I really dont need more than 200sqft to live comfortably. I dont work out of my bus--I have a shop and studio for that, so its plenty of room to sleep, ****, eat, screw, and have a few few guests and it never feels cramped. I also think that's a testament to good design, but I'll save the pats on the back for other people

I help other people build their own skoolies, too. I like that the DIY spirit is coming back and I think it is in a different style than what some of us are used to. I appreciate the creativity people have in their finish choices and I appreciate the idiots who dont know what they are doing but still want to try.

People are tired of being in debt for a home that's too big on land they dont love thats full of crap they dont need. I support anyone who decides to refine their living and get on with less of the excess. I bet most of us here feel the same. This is one awesome way that my generation is doing that and yes, it's encroaching on our turf, which I love and I have been a member of for many years before I joined this site, but I am glad that other people, even those in the mainstream are rethinking how they live.

The unexamined life is not worth living!

Most people dont know enough about buses to be good owners, but that is their expensive loss. I love knowing how to operate my machinery to its fullest.

I'm a lifer, and anyone who choses to take this journey can't be too different

I frankly would still be planning a box on wheels for 40k if it wasn't for your episode. Totally changed any concept we had of alternative housing and found my way here!

[dgorila1]

Originally Posted by charles_m

I definitely hear you and I have mixed feelings about all of it. It makes me feel less special thats for sure which is a bruise to my ego, but what isn't?!

I think I spent more than I would have liked to on my bus. And I do feel silly for how much it was, but I'd feel a lot dumber if I was someone who was proud of myself for building a tiny house that only cost me $30,000 but then I spend another $20,000 on a new truck to tow it! That's a whole 'nother part of the crazy

Charles,
Where do you park your skoolie? RV park, boondock, private land? Just trying to find out how to live cheaper when I go mobile and how others do it. I realize it differs depending on what part of the country you're in, due to zoning, attitudes, availability of places to hook up, etc.