Drednought Refit of 2015 - 2003 Bluebird TC2000

[dredman]

A misspelled play on words, I decided to name her something for now, and the old battleship came to mind. Mechanically she seems fine. Only 2 of the tires look less than 70%(more like 10%) I have been bidding on buses for several months now and the ones I wanted always seemed to go a grand beyond what I was willing to pay(the last batch of Alabama buses went for over $7k) So I dropped a bid on this one early, and wound up driving 600 miles to get her.

Here she sits, still on the other side of Columbus, Ohio

For the last 9 months I have been busting my ass, fixing my house to prepare for sale. After the sale, my vision is to semi-retire, sell most of my crap, and travel the US on a "working vacation". With a few requirements, I hope to cram my entire life into this rig. I am a webmaster, so I need to power electronics, and plan to install solar. I also ride motorcycles on and off-road, which is why I was interested in the wheelchair lift.

Gonna be a tight squeeze.

So I got off to a good start yesterday, and removed the seats in less than an hour.

Then, I decided since that was easier than expected, the floor should be just as easy.

Then, I met THIS GUY

The floor appears to be nailed, glued and bolted the metal subfloor, theu the track system. So I guess I am supposed to remove all the track-bolts (100+) from the underside?

If so, I will be purchasing an air-wrench today

 

[sdwarf36]

Welcome! There was someone a while back on here that had a neat idea. He had a small flip down ramp attatched to the handi ramp to extend it enough to get his Ducati in. Looks like you's only need a couple of feet.

 

[dredman]

Welcome! There was someone a while back on here that had a neat idea. He had a small flip down ramp attatched to the handi ramp to extend it enough to get his Ducati in. Looks like you's only need a couple of feet.

flip-down ramp - yes, that was what I was thinking.
Any idea where this guy posted his mods? pics?

 

[wauto]

Nice klr any more pics of it ?

 

[dredman]

Nice klr

You are mistaken sir - looks can be deceiving


so, I have yet to extract a single bolt(intact) from the track system

I have cut one, and successfully unscrewed another, but the bottom plate/washer will not come off?

my ruff math:

8 tracks X 23 feet X 4 bolts(per foot) = 500-700 bolts (depending on estimate)

Starting to wonder about this project and whether I should keep the floor?

Has anyone ever removed a track floor before?

I searched but could not find anything in HowTo?

 

[nat_ster]

I'm at well over 3000 rivets and 400 or so bolts cut on my build.

Just get after it. The bolts won't cut or remove themselves.

This step is a bonding moment between you and your bus. No pain, no gain.

It's like changing your baby's poopy diaper for the first time. lol.

Nat

 

[dredman]

I'm at well over 3000 rivets and 400 or so bolts cut
Just get after it. The bolts won't cut or remove themselves.
Nat

I guess this is what I was asking - is this something I can avoid, or is there a shortcut, or is it as bleak as it looks?

After $90 worth of tools, I have discover the bolts must be cut, as they WILL NOT be unscrewed (BROKEN hex bit on the first try)

well, let me get started cutting

 

[nat_ster]

Sorry, no way around it.

Many of the bolts on mine will not loosen or tighten. The heads just spin because the threads are rusted away.

Cutting is all I can do.

Nat

 

[dredman]

so do your bolts look like this?

so in addition to grinding 700 bolts, I am gonna have 700 holes too?
and grinder slices?
no wonder that got rid of this thing

 

[nat_ster]

Your using the wrong cutting wheel.

That wheel is for masonry. It has diamond grit glued to it.

A metal cutting wheel is black.

It might be easier to cut the bottoms where ever you can. The nuts will be hanging down. Cutting the flush mount bolts suck because the aluminum is in the way.

Be sure to wear a mask. You don't want to breath aluminum dust.

Nat

 

[dredman]

pretty sure I am just going to keep the floors as is for now, give it a good washing and see what happens - they are filthy, but there is no smell.

gonna do some layouts to see how I can make everything fit after I recycle the seats.

Maybe I will work on some video now?

 

[nat_ster]

Next time your trying to cut steel with a angle grinder, use the right abrasive wheel. You will find cutting bolts cake walk compared to trying to cut them with that diamond masonry wheel.

I would have had the floor out in a few hours. However I'm quite skilled with my tools, and have a nice selection to choose from. That and I love taking things apart.

Nat

 

[dredman]

yep I changed out the wheel after I took the pic, that and there were no more sparks. I thought about cutting from the bottom, but it looked like there many that were inaccessible....... another day maybe - I just hate failure on this level so I gave up

 

[dredman]

video from this weekend

 

[Timelord-SKO]

The video is private. To show it, set it to unlisted or public.

 

[jazty]

So?? Do I smell a roof raise? Looks like either the bus has a short ceiling, or you are a tall man!

 

[dredman]

So?? Do I smell a roof raise? Looks like either the bus has a short ceiling, or you are a tall man!

Haha, I was wondering if anyone would notice.
The "short" answer is no.

Limited time, budget, and skills will prevent me making this machine into the luxury coaches that some of you have. My plans are to make this an escape pod, more than a "home". But it will serve as both.

I have a hankering for some adventure, and that is primary above everything else. So I am preparing to be able to load the minimal belongings(moto, clothes, tools, and business accoutrements) and assume the rest will work itself out.

I am really good at winging it

 

[nat_ster]

Is the track on the floor good enough to use to tie down your bikes?

Nat

 

[dredman]

Is the track on the floor good enough to use to tie down your bikes?

Nat

the bad spots are on the center(and the rear that I tore up) and they are just soft. The tracks could support the bus, hanging upside down, with 10 motos inside

 

[dredman]

#1 challenge appears to be solved, with 2 bolts, 2 nuts, 4 washers, and a $14 c-channel, cut in half and drilled, combined with an aluminum ramp I had already. The only other addition is a kickstand platform, to keep the bike from leaning too far.

And the bike as it sits in the rear of the bus.