Texas newb!

[Del Aguila 2017]

Hello to all,

Texas skoolie newb from Katy TX to be exact. Anyone from Houston?

 

[Tango-SKO]

Howdy & Welcome! Yep...there are a bunch of Houston area bus crazies on here. One...(M1031A1) who drove for the Katy School District as I recall and has some great lines and info on local buses.

Once again...Welcome to the Madhouse!

 

[M1031A1]

I'm working for South Transportation at Katy ISD. I live by Katy Mills Mall. PM me if you're wanting to learn more and maybe see my build......

M

 

[CCurran88]

Waco bus conversion here

I am in Waco, so Central Texas is well represented...

 

[1olfart]

Welcome to the forum. We too are in the Houston area, but are in Crosby, which is 60 miles East of Katy. There does seem to be a robust group in the area, and they all seem to be good for ideas on your build. There has even been the threat of getting together for a "Howdy Folks, Hoo Hah" but it aint easy to get us off at the same time.

 

[Phatman]

Phatman Here!! Myself & Graycoyote are out here in the Alvin area. Graycoyote is a tad further south. A few of us have talked about doing a Texas get together. Time wise it has been somewhat difficult. Weather has been the other factor. Summer time is coming, so the weather issue should not be a problem. Sounds like a time to hit The Rehab with Tango and have a few cold ones and discuss the issue. Welcome aboard Del Aquila!!

 

[FlyboyHPD]

Hey Del, welcome to the Skoolie madness. I'm up on the NW side of Houston. Lots of Texas folks on this site.

Chances are good you'll find answers to any question you may have on this site.

What type of bus did you get?

 

[TexasPeashooterSally]

Hey! We"re Neighbors!

Im in Richmond/Katy,TX myself! Off 1093 & 99 Hello!
Im barly getting
started. First thing I need is A/C!!! What type have you used? I was thinking rooftop. But im Not an electrician. So im probably gonna go for a generator and a couple of small window units??? Thinking of a way to try and make them look cool instead of an eyesore..Also looking for some good used tires for sale. I believe mine were retreads because after only 2 yrs-(barely any driving)but sun exposed, they have begun to get splits?! My bus is shorter w a handicap lift. Im gonna use it to travel...Blessings..Hey,text back,maybe we can exchange ideas or people we have found who do good work?

 

[Robin97396]

Sally, hello from Oregon

Most people are using the mini-split heat pumps for AC now. Apparently they're much more efficient and you can have several zones.

Ok, back to Texas talk.

 

[TexasPeashooterSally]

Robin

Thank you Robin. That was sweet to give me any idea's. I had never heard of those up until a few days ago? I will look into those. Thank you again and have a great day.

 

[M1031A1]

TPS,

My build is right by there off Harlem Road and 99. If you're interested, PM me and I'll set up a time for a visit.

M

 

[Del Aguila 2017]

Excellent. I live in Old Katy off of Ave D. I could really use some help on getting new tubeless wheels and tires for the rear of my bus. Can you point me in the right direction. I have 9.500R20 tube tires on the rear. The front has 11r22.5 so I'm good up front.

 

[Del Aguila 2017]

Im in Richmond/Katy,TX myself! Off 1093 & 99 Hello!
Im barly getting
started. First thing I need is A/C!!! What type have you used? I was thinking rooftop. But im Not an electrician. So im probably gonna go for a generator and a couple of small window units??? Thinking of a way to try and make them look cool instead of an eyesore..Also looking for some good used tires for sale. I believe mine were retreads because after only 2 yrs-(barely any driving)but sun exposed, they have begun to get splits?! My bus is shorter w a handicap lift. Im gonna use it to travel...Blessings..Hey,text back,maybe we can exchange ideas or people we have found who do good work?

I would definitely like to see your bus, mine is off of Morton Rd and Ave D.

 

[Del Aguila 2017]

Hey Del, welcome to the Skoolie madness. I'm up on the NW side of Houston. Lots of Texas folks on this site.

Chances are good you'll find answers to any question you may have on this site.

What type of bus did you get?

I bought a 1993 Ford B700 with a Carpenter/Crown body. %.9 Cummins diesel with a 5speed Standard Shift.

 

[cadillackid]

are you looking for A/C to keep you cool while stationary or while driving? the two are vastly different and require MUCH different capacities of cooling...

a nicely insulated rear engine bus can probably get away with 25-30k BTU of A/C for driving and parking... a Front Engine or Dognose bus (esp with a doghouse) will need MUCH more cooling to keep the driver seat nice N cool....

if you want to be nice N cool in both scenerios then I suggest installing Both types of A/C.. Coach / engone drioven A/C for the road, and rooftop / minisplits (minis are very efficient but more cumbersome to mount the sizeable condensing units).. for being parked...

-Christopher

 

[Del Aguila 2017]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212532560769549&set=g.523839691070516&type=1&theater

 

[Del Aguila 2017]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212532645251661&set=g.523839691070516&type=1&theater

 

[Robin97396]

are you looking for A/C to keep you cool while stationary or while driving? the two are vastly different and require MUCH different capacities of cooling...

a nicely insulated rear engine bus can probably get away with 25-30k BTU of A/C for driving and parking... a Front Engine or Dognose bus (esp with a doghouse) will need MUCH more cooling to keep the driver seat nice N cool....

if you want to be nice N cool in both scenerios then I suggest installing Both types of A/C.. Coach / engone drioven A/C for the road, and rooftop / minisplits (minis are very efficient but more cumbersome to mount the sizeable condensing units).. for being parked...

-Christopher

The mini-split systems are appealing, but where do you put that big fan? Can that go under the bus?

 

[cadillackid]

The mini-split systems are appealing, but where do you put that big fan? Can that go under the bus?

thats the condensing unit.. the clearance requirements on them are fairly low.. in a bus with good ground clearance you can hang them underneath the bus. they have over-size coils because they are Heat pumps.

another option someone did was modify a window unit to be ducted into floor registers.. the boxiness of a window unit makes it nicer to fit under a bus and hang.. it remains to be seen how this option functions and longevity but its a cool idea..

I did some work on designing a skoolie-friendly under-mountable inverter A/C, but I couldnt make a good business case to sell enough volume that i could sell them at a price skoolies would pay..

-Christopher

 

[Robin97396]

So a condensing unit will work even if it's hung horizontally under the bus? I thought the condensing unit needed to be upright. It's been my plan to eventually get a mini-split system with at least a couple zones.

Here in the NW I don't worry about air conditioning. Our summer hot weather is usually only a couple weeks long, so for two weeks most of us just deal with it. However I want to travel south. Possibly way south. At that time I would need an air conditioner.

There seems to be a lot of 60,000 btu heat pumps for sale on govliquidation, but I think those might be three phase.