Newbie Here!

[NeverManufactured]

Hi there! I'm Tim!

We have a 2003 Ford 3-350 shuttle bus! The thing is, I have no idea who manufactured the bus portion of our bus, as it has like, literally no labeling anywhere other than the Ford labeling. That being said, she's 12 passenger with a handicap door, aluminum shell on the back, fiberglass shell on the front, and NO FLOORS!!! (yet lol). I'm removing the windows this weekend and covering them up with aluminum sheets via rivet. I have no experience in bus conversion, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, vehicle customization, or pretty much anything I'm doing, but I have a PHD in Online Research and a minor in Youtube, so I'm basically qualified. I also have a lot of determination in making this work for me, and I hear that's the most important part.
I've read through skoolie.net posts for the past year and a half or so and, I gotta say, y'all are some smart cookies! I would just like to say thank you, everyone, for all of the helpful tips and tricks you've given away for free; your personal experience is priceless. I can not say enough how appreciative I am of the fact that there's a place where someone like me, with very little information on how this all works, can come in here and walk away with a plethora of newfound knowledge, some of which you can not find anywhere else.
I will definitely be posting again pretty soon with updates on the windows and also with probably sooooooo many questions on how I'm supposed to figure out this wiring panel that I can't find a wiring diagram anywhere for. (I did a bad and ripped out all the rear wiring when I removed the old bus ac unit and compressor.)

If anyone has any questions or comments, bring 'em on!

 

[nikitis]

Cool project. Seems like a solid build. A little rust, but nothing Ospho can't handle. Doesn't look serious.

Do you have any build questions? Looks like so far you're doing it right by getting down to the skeleton of it all. Repair any rust, Replace any framing rust that's too weak. Then you can put a steel sheet floor in, insulation, floor, and repeat for walls and ceiling. Then you can build a bed, small kitchen, and a table space and you'll be traveling in no time.

 

[NeverManufactured]

Cool project. Seems like a solid build. A little rust, but nothing Ospho can't handle. Doesn't look serious.

Do you have any build questions? Looks like so far you're doing it right by getting down to the skeleton of it all. Repair any rust, Replace any framing rust that's too weak. Then you can put a steel sheet floor in, insulation, floor, and repeat for walls and ceiling. Then you can build a bed, small kitchen, and a table space and you'll be traveling in no time.

I think I have almost everything down except for a couple things, and they both have to do with solar. One: Do I need inline fuses for the solar panels if I run them through a combiner box or are they the same thing, packaged differently? Secondly, and arguably more importantly, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE TO GET A GOOD (more than 2GPM), CHEAP (less than like $150) 12V UV LIGHT WATER FILTER? I find plenty of 110V that fit my needs but, for some reason, 12V UV lights seem like either a really expensive thing to produce, or someone has a market hold on the product because those things are EX-PEN-SIVE!!! Either that, or they're pushing out like 1.5GPM. (Who wants to have to turn their inverter on just to have clean water?)

Other than that, yeah, you're absolutely right! The windows are all covered up (except for the one on the back. I'm leaving it open for ventilation while I continue to grind away at the rust on the inside) , including the fiberglass window on the front (I went with resin and fiberglass patches) and a few other holes in the fiberglass as well! I'm probably going to be posting an update tomorrow when I'm able to sand it down and get some pictures.

 

[nikitis]

You shouldn't need a fuse from panels to PV combiner box. But between PV Combiner box and other devices I'd add a fuse between every major Solar component past that on the Positive lines and one on the final ground. Better if there's ever a surge or lightning strike it fry at the fuse than on your equipment.

I've not dealt with the filtering myself yet, so not sure where to buy a quality one. Someone else will need to chime in on that.

 

[NeverManufactured]

You shouldn't need a fuse from panels to PV combiner box. But between PV Combiner box and other devices I'd add a fuse between every major Solar component past that on the Positive lines and one on the final ground. Better if there's ever a surge or lightning strike it fry at the fuse than on your equipment.

I've not dealt with the filtering myself yet, so not sure where to buy a quality one. Someone else will need to chime in on that.

Thank you for that! I also do plan on having a fuse and shut off switch between every major component in the event of a surge of some kind. No one wants to spend that kind of money to have it go up in flames!

Hopefully someone comes along before I am forced to go with the 120V filter D: