Updates on Comfort Bus

[EastCoastCB]

First the sad news.

My father passed away last week Thursday afternoon. I have taken care of all the arrangements and am simply waiting on the judge to sign the death certificate. He will be interned at Fort Sam with his wife (my Mom) who passed 3 years prior. I'm trying to stay busy and not dwell on it, At least not until I have found a job. I will most likely have to give up the car. (2015 Nissan Altima SV) Its a recent acquisition back in Dec of 2018 and the purchase contract is for 5 years. Still have the bus. Trans swap was not done BUT still have all items previously listed to do the swap. Property owner/landlord has given me next month free so that is one expense I wont have to worry about.

Comfort Bus updates.

As previously mentioned I called the shop and had them stop all work. Got lucky and they were just barely tearing into it. Put it back into drive able condition, no charge. Using the bus as my daily driver after car is repo'd will not be fun BUT the car plus insurance is costing me $600 a month. Id rather keep it but realistically not possible. (shrugs) I can always shrink expenses more and save up to have it installed later.

Thanks to all of you in the Skoolie Forum especially Cadillackid, o1marc, EastCoastCB, alpine44, Native, Tango, Dirtdoctor, PNW_Steve, cowlitzcoach, geminusprime, Sleddgracer, Hazmat and Rivetboy. All of you made this a warm, family type experience . . . without the fights, mass alcohol abuse and police every weekend. :Thanx:

Not looking for sympathy, Simply dropping a line or two so you will understand when I dont respond or post as often as I used to.

awe, man that sucks to hear. My condolences on the loss of your dad.
Hang in there!!

 

[o1marc]

Condolences

 

[Native-SKO]

It will take time, but I am confident you will pull through and all will feel mormal again. We'll always be here for you!

 

[Sleddgracer]

First the sad news.

My father passed away last week Thursday afternoon. I have taken care of all the arrangements and am simply waiting on the judge to sign the death certificate. He will be interned at Fort Sam with his wife (my Mom) who passed 3 years prior. I'm trying to stay busy and not dwell on it, At least not until I have found a job. I will most likely have to give up the car. (2015 Nissan Altima SV) Its a recent acquisition back in Dec of 2018 and the purchase contract is for 5 years. Still have the bus. Trans swap was not done BUT still have all items previously listed to do the swap. Property owner/landlord has given me next month free so that is one expense I wont have to worry about.

Comfort Bus updates.

As previously mentioned I called the shop and had them stop all work. Got lucky and they were just barely tearing into it. Put it back into drive able condition, no charge. Using the bus as my daily driver after car is repo'd will not be fun BUT the car plus insurance is costing me $600 a month. Id rather keep it but realistically not possible. (shrugs) I can always shrink expenses more and save up to have it installed later.

Thanks to all of you in the Skoolie Forum especially Cadillackid, o1marc, EastCoastCB, alpine44, Native, Tango, Dirtdoctor, PNW_Steve, cowlitzcoach, geminusprime, Sleddgracer, Hazmat and Rivetboy. All of you made this a warm, family type experience . . . without the fights, mass alcohol abuse and police every weekend. :Thanx:

Not looking for sympathy, Simply dropping a line or two so you will understand when I dont respond or post as often as I used to.

hey man, don't really know what to say, other than keep your head up and keep your goals in mind - been through some very rough times myself and that worked for me - wish you the best of luck - I imagine we'll see more of you here on the forum

 

[alpine44]

Condolences.

Allow yourself to mourn and to show your grief. Trying to hold it all inside just makes it harder on you and the tension that creates taxes your relationships with others. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Condolences.

Allow yourself to mourn and to show your grief. Trying to hold it all inside just makes it harder on you and the tension that creates taxes your relationships with others. Don't ask me how I know.

This is some sage advice. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Thanks to all of you.

Yes it is sage advice.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Saying Goodbye to Comfort Bus

The time has come to say Goodbye to the Comfort Bus.
It was purchased and made into a (large) functional wheelchair accessible van. All of it was to give my father a better mode of transportation for his power chair. The same power chair that gave him back some independence in his life. I have transferred the title into my name, Returned the DV(disabled veteran) plates, placards and Tx DMV Registration sticker to get new "Private Bus" plates and matching Registration sticker. I have removed the handicap stickers from the rear door, lift door and front bumper corners.

I have been doing research on Youtube, Google and here for ideas. Still on the fence about removing the lift, might come in handy getting heavy objects in or out of the bus.
All my interior paneling is 99.995% riveted in. I have discovered Unique chest freezer/fridge that runs on 12 V DC. Makes sense to keep the cold air in = lower cost to run. My roof is nearly flat (except where it slopes off to the sides) from front to back save for a small passive vent up front in the middle. Could easily shave it off and close up the hole. Been looking at the 100 watt flexible solar panels, Can cover the roof in those. Seems the ones with ETFE surface and no lines on the mono-crystalline cells offer better performance and longer life 10+ years. Some builds included a murphy bed or three. Good idea to save space. Im looking at diesel fired glycol heaters to keep me from freezing (might be in an area that gets cold white stuff on the ground) and provide near instant hot water for showers, dishes and perhaps even a clothes washer/dryer. Going to add 3 inches of insulation on the sides and ceiling. Keep the front 60K BTU A/C and use a 36k BTU soft start mini-split with dual zone cooling/heating. Going with a Air Head toilet to not have a black water tank. Simply dust the solid "deposit" with smell-eze (amazon) then a handfull of ceder chips. The powder absorbs moisture thus reducing the possibility of a smell. Ask a scientist if coprolite has a smell. Nope, because its all dried up.
Need to start from the beginning again. Strip the interior of the bus, Completely. All ceiling and wall panels. Remove all fiberglass insulation. Re-wire the external and internal lights as well as the drivers switch control panel. Remove the rear engine coolant heater and reroute the lines to a new front evaporator with heater core, might even get a bulkhead evaporator to better cool the front. Thinking of keeping the flooring. Its tough and easy to clean. Do a vinyl wrap on the exterior of the windows. I did find a couple apps to help visualize the build. SweetHome3D for Ubuntu (my preferred OS) and Floor Plan Creator for my cell. Its available for apple and android. Both are free and provide a basic visualization of what you can do with what space you have. Ive not tried to add upper shelves or cupboards yet. Just a little creative imagination to fill it in. Also a basic pencil and paper also works. Set a scale and stick to it. My interior is 7.5 feet wide. I can easily the six inches for 3 inches of insulation per wall.

BUT . . .


Before any of that can happen, I need to get my GED. Already in a school (free to me) and getting the test for freeas long as I put in 40 hrs of class time.
Ahh the intelligent decisions a seventeen year old makes.
Need to get a relatively good paying job so I can set a little aside for the expensive things mentioned previously.
I already have the new name of the bus figured out, Need to come up with a graphic that suits it.
Thank for all the information and inspiration to start again.

 

[Native-SKO]

I am happy to hear you are going after your GED ... that is GREAT news!

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

I could possibly pass it now but this refreshing of the knowledge will help raise the final score.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

A look at what can be done with Sweet Home 3D on Ubuntu. It's designed for regular house design, did the best I could.

It's basic. The front and rear cabinets in the middle of the bulkheads represent the mini split evaps/heatpumps. Blue chair is driver's seat. Got appliances sized for what I found online and the clothes washer is also the dryer. Fridge is 10 cu ft Unique DC powered. Fridge/freezer with freezer on the bottom. Composting toilet. Fresh water tank under bed, grey water tank somewhere else. Hide LifePo batteries somewhere along with the electronics for them and solar panels. Bathroom has a sliding door. Exterior dimensions are 21.5 ' x 7.5' with 3" thick walls. I extended the front a bit to include driver's seat and main door. I think my bus is between 30 and 35 foot long.

 

[Native-SKO]

A look at what can be done with Sweet Home 3D on Ubuntu. It's designed for regular house design, did the best I could.

What desktop environment are you running on Ubuntu?


It would be nice if Sweet Home 3D works with KDE.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

I think it's gnome. I'm not sure. I did a basic install of it. I know it's not windows.

 

[Native-SKO]

I will have to take a look at it then. The "README" might tell me what I need to know. Thank you.

 

[OrionsComfortBus]

Just a quick note. I ended up selling the bus. Very nice guy from Missouri drove down to pick it up. I included the renewed mt643 trans and accessories for the swap. Perhaps life will lead me to get another bus, perhaps not. I did see a video walk through of s mobile home that included a attached 2 stall garage. Looked great.

Thanks again to all of you. I certainly had fun learning about transforming a bus into a RV.

 

[Native-SKO]

Chapter (er Bus) number one has been written. Stay tuned, we'll still read your posts. ;-)