Mobile Farm on a 1992 International DT466

[onenationundergoat]

Howdy, Y'all! I just purchased a 1992 International Navistar DT 466 last week. Going to put in a WVO system and convert the inside, complete with a back barn area for the animals.

Just returned in the fall from a four-month 25,000 mile trip around the country in a Honda Element pulling a 1968 Cox Campsquire pop-up camper, with two humans, three cats, two dogs, and a goat. When I get the bus converted I'll be adding chickens, rabbits, and window box veggies, and hopefully one day have a moss lawn growing on the roof!

 

[lornaschinske]

When we picked up the bus in Needmore (NC), it had moss growing on it. By the time we hit TX, it was awful brown.

 

[onenationundergoat]

*1993 not 1992* dang typos.

I'm gonna try to put a foam piece on top for it to grow into and get a specific kind of moss that it meant to withstand full sunlight. Only one kind exists like that I think, and it's used to make lawns for people who don't like to mow grass.

 

[lornaschinske]

There's a nursery in N. GA (around Blairsville or Hiawassee) that sells all kinds of moss. Can't remember but it was an online store that specialized in moss. Yo may need to add a drip irrigation/soaker hose to the set up before putting the moss in for those dry times. I'm one of those people who don't like to mow grass and love mosses.


Link to a commercial nursery about growing moss on the roof. http://www.mossacres.com/moss-roofs.asp

 

[onenationundergoat]

So.... awkward moment while ago when I was reading my maintenance records and discovered I have a DT360.

 

[HolyBus]

Glad to hear it. Welcome to my world. I have the same bus but mine is an 88 dt360. I love it!

 

[onenationundergoat]

I looked at some of your other posts about your bus. I'm glad the engine size isn't a deal breaker! What's your average speed? Mine seems to be 47. I get 52 downhill! =]

 

[onenationundergoat]

Thanks for the moss info! It'll probably happen way after I get all the other stuff done though. I'm wondering if moss would make good insulation or if it would make the bus hotter in the summer...

 

[HolyBus]

I don't know about my average speed. I love driving around town and trips have been no issue so far. My top speed seems to be 65 on level ground. That is what I did the whole way home when I got it (Pensacola to South Orlando). I got decent millage too. I don't have a number but it was better than I expected. I have a 50 gallon tank. Being an 88, I have no electronics. Your data may vary for that reason.

 

[onenationundergoat]

Could you see what your average rpm is at your normal cruising speed? Mine seems to only do the 47 at 2800 or so. I'm wondering what I can do to it to get it up to the 55mph speed limit.

 

[HolyBus]

Jiminny! I think it should be faster than that.
Mine is an automatic with 4 wheel disc brakes. It has 28' from the back door to the back of the driver's seat. I will check rpms at various speeds for you next time I have it out. Right now, I have been tinkering, measuring and painting.

 

[charles_m]

The 360 is a great motor. I wouldn't mind having one!
Look around on your rear axle and see if there is a tag that says the ratio.
You can also roll the bus forward slowly and count the number of turns on the axle to wheel rotations.
It alllllmost sounds like you're not getting into 4th. Have you tried shifting up through the gears manually, starting with the selector in 1, then 2, etc? Maybe when your lever is in D, it's actually in "3". That would be sweet.

 

[onenationundergoat]

Pasted from another thread on my bus, here are some pictures!

Bus vs. Pop-up camper

Here's a very rough mock up of what the conversion will look like. The will be a claw foot bathtub in the living room with a repurposed door sitting on top with cushions available to make a bed, couch, table, or bathtub! A gas log fireplace in the living room/kitchen area. The bedroom will have two bench couches with storage underneath and the storage doors will swing up and connect to make one large bed. The back mud room will store animal food containers, the dog crate, and a dryer to be run from a generator. It's somewhat of a necessity with our messy lifestyle. The whole back area is a grated washable floor for the goat, rabbits, and chickens, and will have a storage area in the top for fishing poles, tents, canopies, chairs, etc. I'm thinking of making a small back platform off the rear end to hold a generator and house a staircase up to the moss roof.

 

[HolyBus]

You may want to get in there with a tape measure and put some masking/duct tape on the floor to figure out space for items and get a true feeling for how much space everything will take up.
Other than that, I think you have some great ideas. Don't stop til the dream is a reality and then dream some more!

 

[bansil]

We travel alot in NC and I swear NC has it's own school bus yellow

and also the only state I have seen the "pug nose" buses, how big is the dog house in them?

welcome to the site