'92 40ft Thomas 8.3 RE Adventure Bus!

[Adventure Bus]

I GOT A BUS!

Been lurking here for a long time gleaning information and inspiration and searching all through craigslist and auctions looking for the right bus for us. Finally found one in Omaha and flew out and drove it home.
I've had some friends ask "why would you get a bus?!"
Well the answer is summed up with an average conversation between me and my beautiful wife (who is always right).
Me: "hey, it's a 3 day weekend lets pack up and go (insert camping, hiking, snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking destination here)!"
Sabine (my wife): "no, we can't, we have 4 dogs to deal with and can't take them all with us and hotels won't accept us... And so on and so on"

Can't remotely afford a half decent rv and I think a bus will be more versatile anyway... So really I should call it the "no excuses" bus. The goal is to be able to load up the kids (2 boys ages 10 and 12) and the dogs (13 yr old aussy, 12 year old English Bulldog, 3 yr old pug/king Charles spaniel, and my pride and joy a 2 year old malamute/ lab mix) and the gear, bikes, ski stuff, kayaks or whatever and hit the trail at little notice and go where adventure takes us.

So what I was looking for in a bus:
40ft, rear engine, bigger engine (don't like driving 60mph), taller ceiling (don't have the fab skills for a roof raise), and farely rust free.

I managed to get all of that except the rust free part [emoji35]

And I'm sure once I yank up the floor boards it will be pretty bad [emoji31]

So the bus is a 1992 Thomas rear engine with a 8.3 liter (Woohoo!), has a 6.5 ft ceiling (I'm 6'4" so it's ok and like I said, not dealing with a roof raise). It has an emergency exit on the road side that I am wanting to turn into a garage for ski gear or in the summer bikes and whatnot, don't want to leave my nice mt bike out.
On the drive home from Omaha it drove great at 70 to 75 [emoji2]

Sorry I took the pics at night got antsy to get it posted.
Now on to the bad; rust

And more rust

There are many spots all around but these are a few of the worst. I bought a welder (don't judge, it's a hf mig170) and will be doing some patches and I'm sure I'll be replacing metal in the floor once I yank up the flooring.
And maybe worse of all as I was walking around I saw this;

Looked up under it and saw:

I have a pretty significant leak somewhere. [emoji35]

So a little about myself and plans for the bus. I am in the Air Force stationed in Wyoming. So we get some brutal winters. Will be traveling to Texas with the bus in summers I'm sure because my parents and sisters live there. So the bus needs to be a true all season, good insulation, good heat and AC.

I do not have the greatest mechanical or fab skills, and will be teaching myself to weld through this as well. But I do have about a decade experience building furniture and doing woodworking. I've since sold all my big shop grade woodworking stuff when we moved but the interior doesn't scare me too much as far as cabinets and furniture. But metal work is new to me and engine fixes never go well for me. So I will need to get someone to look at whatever is leaking. Luckily I work with some vehicle maintenance guys in my squadron who may help out if I buy them beer

We want to do a master bedroom in back, then going forward shower on one side of the hall, composting toilet on the other with sink (I know it would be easier to leave all the wet work on one side of the bus but I really like the idea of my preteens washing hands after toilet), then bunk room in front of that with double bank on one side and on the other side above the exit door another bunk. The exit door would open to the little garage area below the third bunk to store outdoor gear, this is a plan in progress and may change, it would ld be a bunk fairly close to the ceiling but would only be there if the boys have a friend come along with them

That's my two strapping dudes.

And in front of the bunk room would be kitchen, fridge on one side with small counter top, sink and oven on the other. Then somewhere near the kitchen area want a long skinny wood burning (or coal) stove to last through the wyoming winter, I want a skinny one to not take up too much space, the living room/dining area I haven't come close to figuring out yet but some thoughts were maybe:
L or U shaped couch with some sort of foldable or removable table.
I want a copilot chair for the queen somewhere up close to me while driving (who else will criticize my driving). Been kicking ideas of a swivel chair and some sort of quick and easy cover for the stairs, so when underway it would swivel out right over the stairs and have a flat something over the stairs and a way to quickly fold and unfold it, then when parked it could swivel towards the main living area, I also want the drivers seat to swivel as well, so basically 2 comfy chairs up front and a couch, maybe some regular chairs that get put in when the table is used and just up against the wall when it isn't. The front is far from planned so expect lots of changes. Just to the doodling stage now;

I am debating for air conditioning doing mini split unit, or window units tucked in so they aren't noticeable, or rv style roof units.
For electrical I'll be looking for a generator to run ac while on the road, and eventually want to add solar as well so if we are not in a spot we need a/c then we can boon dock. I would love to have a controller that can automatically sence power needs and automatically kick on the geny for a/c or use shore power if available, most of those are just dreams right now and I'll have to save many items for later once funds are available but I want to make whatever I do put in future proof so I don't have to change an entire system when I upgrade it. But time will tell.
I'll do some sort of ventilation from the rear of the bus pushing air out next to the wood stove as I read on this forum that is the easiest way to keep the temp the same through the bus.

I'm hoping to get the seats ripped out this weekend unless its negative temps... Then nope. Then after seats are gone we will do a better layout and see which windows to eliminate then its on to the rust fix and metal work.

Updates will be slow as its winter and dark early and ill really only be able to work on the weekends some so bare with me. Probably really won't get much even started until after the holidays. But figured I'd get it on here to start the discussion and do some digital dreaming.

I've rambled enough, thanks for reading and please go easy on me, I'm a noob, but please let me know if there are better ways of doing things.

/Joel

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[AlleyCat67]

If your Thomas is like mine (I have a 2005 so significantly newer), the seat bottoms will have underneath them a latch that you have to twist, then the seat cushions will rotate up so you can remove them, and this also gives you access to the second bolt on the outboard side.

An angle grinder is also your friend to cut the bolt heads securing the seat to the floor, if you can't get them out with a socket and wrench (and a second pair of hands underneath to hold the wrench). If all else fails, just use it to cut the legs as close to floor level as you can and deal with the mounting plates later.

 

[TimeTraveler-SKO]

Welcome!!:biggrin:

crongrats on the purchase, how much did you get your bus for if you dont mind me asking?? i should have thought to hit up the omaha school districts for a bus before i got mine, im originally from omaha area and just moved to NW iowa a couple years ago.. glad you made it back in one piece!

theres 3D designs from SKETCHUP (now has a web browser platform so no installs needed) plenty of people who have designed buses that you can get from the 3D warehouse and start building your bus to figure out exact measurments and fittings before buying all your supplies. just a thought because i saw your rough sketch on graph paper.

 

[Adventure Bus]

If your Thomas is like mine (I have a 2005 so significantly newer), the seat bottoms will have underneath them a latch that you have to twist, then the seat cushions will rotate up so you can remove them, and this also gives you access to the second bolt on the outboard side.

An angle grinder is also your friend to cut the bolt heads securing the seat to the floor, if you can't get them out with a socket and wrench (and a second pair of hands underneath to hold the wrench). If all else fails, just use it to cut the legs as close to floor level as you can and deal with the mounting plates later.

Ya.. I went out a few days ago with the impact driver, hit about 6 bolts with it and only one came up and it was a rusted shell of its former self so I have the angle grinder ready to go when I have some time to put in. Been sick with the flu the past 18 hours so just doing tons more research from my warm couch.

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[Adventure Bus]

Welcome!![emoji3]

crongrats on the purchase, how much did you get your bus for if you dont mind me asking?? i should have thought to hit up the omaha school districts for a bus before i got mine, im originally from omaha area and just moved to NW iowa a couple years ago.. glad you made it back in one piece!

theres 3D designs from SKETCHUP (now has a web browser platform so no installs needed) plenty of people who have designed buses that you can get from the 3D warehouse and start building your bus to figure out exact measurments and fittings before buying all your supplies. just a thought because i saw your rough sketch on graph paper.

I practically stole it... Paid $2200 for it. Far worth it for the larger engine as I plan on towing a vehicle some day (even if that engine is currently leaking) It was from a stage company that bought it from Lincoln school district. It was about a 7 hour drive back, quite loud but I think once I insulate properly that will be much better.

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[TimeTraveler-SKO]

very nice, good deal!!

ive got a mini bird blue bird. shortie bus, 6.2 motor should do alright with the weight were adding, and hopefully OTIS does alright in the mountains.. *cross fingers*

i had about a 3 hours drive home from where i picked up the bus, yes their loud(er) than what we typically drive, but dampening with insulation, wood, carpet or whatever will help tremendously.. alsoo exhaust leaks are probably a thing seeing how much rust is on there..

imagine this, i picked up the bus rusted out exhaust was the worst rust the bus had, the system was still intact but i could see some holes.. three hours later i got home and had to ratchet strap the dual exhaust underneath the bus, found out both flanges broke from headers. talk about loud AF

 

[Adventure Bus]

Welcome!![emoji3]

theres 3D designs from SKETCHUP (now has a web browser platform so no installs needed) plenty of people who have designed buses that you can get from the 3D warehouse and start building your bus to figure out exact measurments and fittings before buying all your supplies. just a thought because i saw your rough sketch on graph paper.

Oh and thank you so much for the congrats.
Ya I've used sketch up before with my woodworking, when designing larger more intricate work but honestly it was a frustration and high learning curve. I'm sure it's gotten better but I sit most days at work on a computer and really don't want to do the same off work. But I may give it another chance on a snowy day where I can't get out and actually work.

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[cowlitzcoach]

It would appear as if you have found the holy grail activity bus.

While I usually say no to rust, if that is the worst that is there I wouldn't worry about it.

The leak looks a lot worse than it probably is. If you clean everything up it will give you a better idea as to what is leaking from where. A lot of times it is just a matter of installing some new 'O'-rings, gaskets, or tightening up what is there. I wouldn't get excited until you determine what is leaking and why.

Your floor plan looks very doable.

One thing I might suggest as you build the bunks for your boys, make the bunks extra twin length. As tall as you are I doubt your boys will fit into a regular twin for very many more years.

Good luck and happy trails to you!

 

[Adventure Bus]

It would appear as if you have found the holy grail activity bus.

While I usually say no to rust, if that is the worst that is there I wouldn't worry about it.

The leak looks a lot worse than it probably is. If you clean everything up it will give you a better idea as to what is leaking from where. A lot of times it is just a matter of installing some new 'O'-rings, gaskets, or tightening up what is there. I wouldn't get excited until you determine what is leaking and why.

Your floor plan looks very doable.

One thing I might suggest as you build the bunks for your boys, make the bunks extra twin length. As tall as you are I doubt your boys will fit into a regular twin for very many more years.

Good luck and happy trails to you!

Thanks, hopefully it is an easy fix to deal with what's leaking. And hey, the rust will give me a new skill in metal work.
That's not a bad idea about a longer twin beds... My 12 year old is already 5'7.5" and growing like a weed.

And ya... I kind of feel it is the holy grail, I also forgot to mention it has huge belly boxes for storage that go underneath. That will be perfect for storing outdoor furniture and batteries, propain and all that.

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[Brewerbob]

So the bus is a 1992 Thomas rear engine with a 8.3 liter (Woohoo!), has a 6.5 ft ceiling (I'm 6'4" so it's ok and like I said, not dealing with a roof raise). It has an emergency exit on the road side that I am wanting to turn into a garage for ski gear or in the summer bikes and whatnot, don't want to leave my nice mt bike out.Yep, gotta add you to the hit list. On the drive home from Omaha it drove great at 70 to 75 [emoji2]

I'm only 6'2" and haven't been on a tall bus but would probably raise the roof anyway. More cabinet space = more storage ... since mine will be full time I hope.

So a little about myself and plans for the bus. I am in the Air Force stationed in Wyoming.

Any chance your base or one nearby has an auto hobby shop on base? There's a tiny one where I work. They have a plasma and small welder but that's about it for metal working. Full assortment of tools tho.

I don't know if they have a pressure washer or not. Get under that puppy with some degreaser and give it a good bath. Finding that leak will be much easier whether it's you looking for it or someone else.

I do not have the greatest mechanical or fab skills, and will be teaching myself to weld through this as well. But I do have about a decade experience building furniture and doing woodworking. I've since sold all my big shop grade woodworking stuff when we moved but the interior doesn't scare me too much as far as cabinets and furniture. But metal work is new to me and engine fixes never go well for me. So I will need to get someone to look at whatever is leaking. Luckily I work with some vehicle maintenance guys in my squadron who may help out if I buy them beer

Brother from another mother!! Same boat here. I've got car buddies that can help with design and metal fab ideas. Just bought my Hobart 110v welder less than a month ago.

composting toilet on the other with sink (I know it would be easier to leave all the wet work on one side of the bus but I really like the idea of my preteens washing hands after toilet),

What did I miss here? How is having the shower and toilet back to back (on the same side) going to slow down hand washing? Swap your closet and fridge with the bunk and move sink/toilet to the other side.

Been kicking ideas of a swivel chair and some sort of quick and easy cover for the stairs, so when underway it would swivel out right over the stairs and have a flat something over the stairs and a way to quickly fold and unfold it, then when parked it could swivel towards the main living area, I also want the drivers seat to swivel as well,

Someone had a chair on rails that cantilevered over the open stairs. I WILL NOT DO THAT. The chair is 50 lbs, passenger 200 lbs, ...side impact and that thing is going to twist like a pretzel no matter how it's bolted to the floor. Has one of the car buddies mentioned above that is an M.E. for NASA pull some numbers out of his a$s; 300lb combined chair is 4,000 lbs in a wreck. He was lowballing the G forces too.

Note to self; copy paste the math for OP of said chair.

I've rambled enough, thanks for reading and please go easy on me, I'm a noob, but please let me know if there are better ways of doing things.

/Joel

Be sure to post your screw ups so I don't repeat them!!

 

[Brewerbob]

theres 3D designs from SKETCHUP (now has a web browser platform so no installs needed) plenty of people who have designed buses that you can get from the 3D warehouse and start building your bus to figure out exact measurments and fittings before buying all your supplies. just a thought because i saw your rough sketch on graph paper.

I must be doing something wrong. I've only played with it twice but it's a PITA!!!

 

[Brewerbob]

Oh and thank you so much for the congrats.
Ya I've used sketch up before with my woodworking, when designing larger more intricate work but honestly it was a frustration and high learning curve. I'm sure it's gotten better but I sit most days at work on a computer and really don't want to do the same off work. But I may give it another chance on a snowy day where I can't get out and actually work.

Shhhhhh ....

Do it AT work.

 

[Adventure Bus]

I must be doing something wrong. I've only played with it twice but it's a PITA!!!

Agreed. Last I messed with it there was all sorts of short keys to remember and it kept snapping a line where I didn't want it. I may do a little foam model or something. Haha that would be fun

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[Brewerbob]

Agreed. Last I messed with it there was all sorts of short keys to remember and it kept snapping a line where I didn't want it. I may do a little foam model or something. Haha that would be fun

Changing the dimensions of a line. Drag a line. STOP. Then edit the length. Don't draw the line and then change it after the fact using the dimensions window.

Are you f'ing kidding me? Was this thing slapped together by some liberal arts major?!!? Sooooo not an engineering tool.

 

[Adventure Bus]

I'm only 6'2" and haven't been on a tall bus but would probably raise the roof anyway. More cabinet space = more storage ... since mine will be full time I hope.

Ya more cabinet space and all would be great but I don't want to push it with this project I have a tendency to go overboard with things so my mantra is going to be keep it simple... Even though I know I totally won't. But definitely no roof raise. We will only be in it for weeks at a time ever. So it's not worth it for me.

Any chance your base or one nearby has an auto hobby shop on base? There's a tiny one where I work. They have a plasma and small welder but that's about it for metal working. Full assortment of tools tho.

Na. They don't have much. And I don't want to drag the bus back n forth. It's in my driveway (thank God for no HOA)

What did I miss here? How is having the shower and toilet back to back (on the same side) going to slow down hand washing?

As of now I'm planning on having the toilet on one side and shower on the other side of the hall, makes it fit nicely in between the bunk room, bunk room location is driven by where the emergency exit is because of the garage I want under one of the banks accessed through the emergency exit.

Someone had a chair on rails that cantilevered over the open stairs. I WILL NOT DO THAT. The chair is 50 lbs, passenger 200 lbs, ...side impact and that thing is going to twist like a pretzel no matter how it's bolted to the floor. Has one of the car buddies mentioned above that is an M.E. for NASA pull some numbers out of his a$s; 300lb combined chair is 4,000 lbs in a wreck. He was lowballing the G forces too.


Be sure to post your screw ups so I don't repeat them!!

If my passenger weighs 200 pounds I'm not spending my money on a bus but a divorce lawyer or Jenny Craig [emoji38] . Just kidding. But ya I think in the distant past I remember one that was electronically actuated and would slide out over the stairs after the stairs were covered or something. Not looking to go that fancy. Just some nice conversion van seats on swivels and get it as close forward as I can and have some sort of cover for the stair hole.


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[Adventure Bus]

Changing the dimensions of a line. Drag a line. STOP. Then edit the length. Don't draw the line and then change it after the fact using the dimensions window.

Are you f'ing kidding me? Was this thing slapped together by some liberal arts major?!!? Sooooo not an engineering tool.

It's not a bad program, just a learning curve. I used to watch one youtuber woodworker who was really really good and fast with it, he could have an entire project made in 10 min on sketch up but he knew all the tricks and fast keys. For me personally it's just not worth the 10 hour learning curve for this one project. If I had a ton of future projects that would be dependant on it then sure.
I've used it before but mostely when I did my woodworking business and had to look professional for a potential client I'd do it up in sketch up to get the bid, then almost always go back to making changes on pencil and paper to actually build the thing.

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[Adventure Bus]

Ok some questions... Since I'm home with the flu and can't work on the bus I'll research (not that I would work on it anyway, it's 8 degrees and snowing)

What are thoughts on composting toilets? And I'm not talking about a 5 gallon bucket with a seat, I want this thing to look good so it would be a sizeable investment for a good one with circulator fan and auto stir and all that.
And urine seperation... Necessary or no?

Seems like no mater which way you go it's a crappy deal (pun intented) either dump a giant poo water tank occasionally or dump a container of poo dirt occasionally.
One main reason I'm thinking composting is to make it winter proof. If I hung a black water tank below the bus when we go out in winter I would literally have to find a way to heat my own excrement to keep the tank from freezing and bursting.

Also, I want to do my fresh water inside, maybe under the bed in back. Or under couch up front. Just so it won't freeze. Thoughts?

So the only tank I'll have to contend with freezing is gray water. I'm thinking some sort of ceramic heat element, low power on a float that automatically starts when it gets up to a certain level of waste, but haven't looked too much into it.

Also I have a huge question on timing of running water and electric. Ive watched so many videos and read so many forums but it doesn't seem like anyone really addresses when to run this stuff. My thought was after everything is cleared out, metal work is done and before insulation so I could run wires and stuff down the walls before I insulate... But then if you needed to access the wires or pex your screwed. The electric I'm fine with running it down under the bus and coming up where needed, but not water (may freeze) only plumbing I want out of the insulated envelope is grey water... Thoughts?
I guess I only need plumbing in 3 areas (shower, bathroom sink, kitchen sink) so this isn't too big of a deal. But should I run all my plugs before or after insulation?

Also, being from Texas and currently living in a Wyoming house with all gas heat, I know little about wood or coal stoves, many have mentioned that you have to remove the chimney pipe from the roof to avoid stuff blowing in the bus while underway. Is there a way to avoid this? I want this thing to be easy as can be to operate. My thoughts were: make the fire box as airtight as possible, use a marine grade chimney stack (figure if it's good for sailboats then it's probably more wind resistant) and close the flu down each time and ensure door is closed good. Thoughts?

Also, I've heard it mentioned in others that you want an air intake that comes from the outside for your wood stove. Is this something that any stove can be modified for or do I need to shop for one specifically? There are a bunch of affordable used stoves in my area so I'd rather get a used one and refurbish it myself to save money but haven't seen too many that have an intake.

I know some of these may be common sense but it's things I've been scratching my head over for a while and searching to no avail.
Thanks

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[Adventure Bus]

Oh and also... Has anyone lowered their floor to get more shower height? I'm thinking just like a 4 inch deep pan sunk into the floor then insulated on the outside so my 6'4" self can actually stand in the shower. This will of course depend on where I can locate the gray water tank to ensure its still lower than the bottom of the shower. Would this be worth the extra work? Seems to be getting into the more experienced fab work which I am not... But if it's fairly easy then it may be worth it.

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[Brewerbob]

Na. They don't have much. And I don't want to drag the bus back n forth. It's in my driveway (thank God for no HOA)

My house has no room. It would have to stay tagged and insured to sit on the street in front of the house. HOA or not, someone would be calling the cops for sure.

If my passenger weighs 200 pounds I'm not spending my money on a bus but a divorce lawyer or Jenny Craig [emoji38] . Just kidding. But ya I think in the distant past I remember one that was electronically actuated and would slide out over the stairs after the stairs were covered or something. Not looking to go that fancy. Just some nice conversion van seats on swivels and get it as close forward as I can and have some sort of cover for the stair hole.

Your beer buddy, brother-in-law, cousin or whatever could every well be 250lbs. I've no idea what a standard issue even cheapo econobox car seat is rated for but it's gotta be at least 250.

Wasn't that one. This was a home made job and looked like a normal conversion van seat. It swiveled and the guy had it on slide rails. Fully extended, the seat was hanging over the empty stair well. He didn't even have a cover for the stairs yet. The seat was cantilevered out over empty space. Fairly sure your 250 lb beer buddy could have twisted it just by hand. Never mind surviving a crash.

 

[Adventure Bus]

My house has no room. It would have to stay tagged and insured to sit on the street in front of the house. HOA or not, someone would be calling the cops for sure.

Your beer buddy, brother-in-law, cousin or whatever could every well be 250lbs. I've no idea what a standard issue even cheapo econobox car seat is rated for but it's gotta be at least 250.

Wasn't that one. This was a home made job and looked like a normal conversion van seat. It swiveled and the guy had it on slide rails. Fully extended, the seat was hanging over the empty stair well. He didn't even have a cover for the stairs yet. The seat was cantilevered out over empty space. Fairly sure your 250 lb beer buddy could have twisted it just by hand. Never mind surviving a crash.

Ya. That's no good. Although... What if you had basically rails that went all the way to the other side of the stairs and latched on there when slid forward... Then it would be anchored at 4 points. Probably not going to happen because I am trying to keep it relatively simple. But that is the only safe way I see doing it, but you'd have to leave enough room behind that chair for these 3 foot rails to slide back n forth. Not worth it, she can sit just a few inches further back and have a cover for the stairs. Good sturdy mounted swivel.

What would be even cooler.. 2 bench seats that can swivel so all 4 of us could be up front and buckled in while on the road. One right next to me and 2 over in front of the stairs. But I'm pretty sure those swivels aren't meant for that weight.

And yes I do have plenty of family members pushing 250. Lol.

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