1977 4WD SOLAR RV SCHOOL BUS CONVERSION
Vehicle Description
You are bidding on a retrofitted 1977 four wheel drive bus conversion. Its main attractions are:
Solid engine & 4wd capacity
Beautiful custom crafted interior
Superior insulation
Self sufficient renewable energy system
The platform is a Wayne body on an International truck chassis. As a rare extra the vehicle had four wheel drive with a 4 inch lift installed at the factory for a Colorado school district. The current owner purchased the bus directly from the school district with a blown engine. The engine, an International 304 was rebuilt by a machine shop and has less than 1000 miles since the rebuild. The transmission is a 5-speed manual. The bus runs well, but likes a little warm-up before hitting the road. Between the included chains, short wheel base, mud tires and the 4wd, this amazing vehicle will go almost anywhere. It does well on the highway with a reasonable top speed of 60 mph.
The interior of this bus is a craftsman's dream. Walls and ceilings are clad in wide-plank southern yellow pine tongue and groove. The floor is narrow board antique, verticle grain fir tongue and groove. The bed area accommodates a Queen futon (not included). There is an open area where a small couch or table could go. A small galley includes a sink and a four burner propane stove with oven. Lighting is provided by 5 high efficiency, Xenon, recessed fixtures. These provide a warm pleasing light. Water is pumped by a Sureflow 12v DC pump. All plumbing is freeze resistant plastic pipe. Water storage is a 45 gallon poly tank. The gas tank holds 50 gallons.
Under all wood is a combination of 1.5 inch Dow "blueboard" and a " Reflectix" radiant barrier. This combination provides a warm look and feel with a "better than factory RV" thermal performance. Economical winter heat is provided by a small, air-tight, double burning wood stove. The stove is securely bolted top and bottom, and is fully heat-shielded from walls and ceiling. It is vented with stainless steel triple wall chimney pipe. The chimney extension is removable for travel. A single log of apple wood kept this bus warm all night on many a cold Colorado night!
Another key feature of this bus is its hybrid renewable energy power system. If you want to be environmentally correct, but still live in style, you will love this feature. The first source of generation is a Southwest Windpower Air 403 self regulating wind turbine. This turbine is mounted on a tilt-up mast and has approximately 400 watts maximum output. The second power source is a Uni-Solar 65 watt amorphous (not-glass) rugged photovoltaic (solar electric) panel. The panel is mounted on a frame that allows it to be tilted both forward and back. It is regulated by a state of the art pulse width modulated (PWM) charge controller from Morningstar. The PWM insures the most efficient transfer of energy to the batteries. The battery pack is six Trojan T-105 golf cart batteries. If had to guess I would say it's about half way through its six year life span. All loads are fused. The bus is fully wired for AC. Currently, 200 watts or so of AC is provided by a small inverter, but the system could support a much larger inverter. The hybrid design works out well: If its not sunny out, it's usually windy!
