Bus Transformation

[Simran]

OK, I'm not traveling as much as I used to so wanted something with more room so I bought an old school bus to convert into a cabin on wheels.
I looked a long time and settled for a Ford B700 with 10.00X 22.5 tires an Allison automatic and Brazilian made/ Cummins designed Ford/ New Holland 6.6 inline 6 cyl. diesel w/turbo. I've driven it a 300 miles or so and like it good and I don't think it burns much more fuel than my old Hi-top Chevy van.
The seats were gone when I got it. I've been working on it for awhile and have about half the inside insulated. I just got it back from a guy that sprayed 4" of foam insulation on the underside of the bus floor to save head room inside the bus. I'm almost 6' and only have a couple inches to play with in ceiling clearance.
this is a pic of the bus just after I bought it.

I ripped up the old floor

sanded the meta floor

and painted the floor with Rustoleum chain link fence paint.

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I tore out all the side windows except for the first two behind the driver on both sides and sheeted them with painted plywood and put a thermo-pane window in on both sides.



I then commenced to wiring and insulating the walls.

I built a stud wall and insulated it,behind the drivers seat, as I will be living in this thing in the depths of winter in the north country where we've already seen temps below -20.
That's about where it stands right now. Tomorrow I'll begin to finish up the insulation before I drive it 450 miles home, where I'll have over two solid weeks to work on it, along with some free material to finish it off in the inside.

Thanks for looking!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Cool bus. Will look forward to more pics of the build.

 

[ilovemyvan]

Wonderful bus Simran. Smart move putting insulation under the floor. I can tell that you put a lot of thoughts into the project. It will pay off on these cold, cold, cold days . and very, very, very cold nights
It'll be fun following your progress.

Nicole

 

[papas34]

:heart:love your bus

 

[rvwandering]

It's looking good! Please post more pictures as you progress on the transformation.

 

[stude53]

Hey, Gus
I'm impressed by your thoughtful design approach to creating a rolling bus home.
Thanks for sharimg. I'll be watching for the next update.

Bob

 

[Simran]

Thanks for the kudo's everyone! However, I can't really take credit for any of the brain work on this. ALL of the idea's came from elsewhere; I'm just taking advantage of the experience & idea's that have come to me from others. Some of the idea's I got from our own akrvbob & some from another bus forum. I'm just mix & matching so's it fits my needs. It doesn't hurt to have negative digit temps. as a motivator either!

 

[Patrick46]

Love it!!

Can't wait to see more pics!

 

[Simran]

Today's progress was good. It was -5 this AM so I got the bus started and put it in our shop where I work. It is part of the perks for working there. Handy to say the least. I got the window in the other side and furred out the walls to get ready for insulation.


I am re-purposing two of the original bus windows. One in the front wall and one in the back wall. Below is a picture of the one right behind the driver's seat. It should help let in more natural lighting. Because it is on the inside of the bus it should work well even though it isn't thermo-pane.

 

[Simran]

ere is an up date on the bus. I drove it home over the holidays because a neighbor and friend gave me enough fir flooring to do the walls. Insulation was installed and then the fir flooring on the walls.
I then started on the end walls and partitions for the head and sauna; yes, a sauna. Much more efficient when it comes to waste IMHO. The sauna won't get used a lot but will be used in place of a shower.

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Some will ask so I'll just nip the question in the bud. I used fiberglass bats for this reason. dollar for dollar your best money is spent on fiberglass providing you have the room to use it. In a van I'd probably have gone with foam board. Fiberglass is extremely forgiving and easy to work with. it is, however, a bit on the itchy side for some. If the proper precautions are maintained; it isn't to bad.

(As an aside; it would be nice to have more than 5 min. to edit a post. My brain doesn't work that fast!)

 

[akrvbob]

There are lots of advantages to fiberglass batts! I would worry about the batts sagging from the vibration; did you staple them onto the studs to prevent that?
Bob

 

[Simran]

I did staple it Bob but you know; I had the wall off the inside of my 1975 Chevy camper van because the window was leaking. It was a high top conversion done by a company called "Open Road". I thought well, as long as I have the window out I just as well take the sheeting off and make sure the insulation is still good. I did add a little insulation to it but after 135,000 miles the existing insulation wasn't sagging much (no staples) and I was surprised at what good shape the batting was in with the window leaking. Another thing that surprised me was what a poor job they did of sealing around the window. Above the window there was NO insulation.

 

[Simran]

OK, Here we've got the head, sauna and closet closed in. You can see one of the 110V lights there. Also the closet bar is in and I need to put a shelf above that yet.
The last pic is a shot of the partition behind the driver. The window is a repurposed bus window that opens for ventilation and light purposes. You can see the 110V light and outlet in the wall . . . and oh ya' my Reiki table; I been using it to take naps on while I work on the bus :angel:

Any questions or comments just fire away!

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You might notice the closet bar is mounted low. I mounted it high enough to hang a winter coat yet low enough to put a shelf above it for storage. Doing it this way will keep me from crawling around on the floor looking for stuff under my clothes. Beside the wheel well is down there too; so it's not flat anyway.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

great project, nice to have that much space

 

[Clan Graham]

Hi Gus. Looks like it is coming on really nicely ! I look forward to seeing it once finsihed.

 

[Simran]

I worked on the bus again this weekend. It was extremely cold Sunday but I was working on the cupboards so time spent outside sawing was minimal.
I got all the 110V electrical done, got the main cord through the floor and am waiting to get the little door @ an RV place to run the cord out the side wall of the bus. I am now able to plug the bus in and use all the outlets. One of the pics is of the piece of rubber I cut to cover the hole in the floor. It is 3/8 inch, reinforced rubber with a hole cut in it just big enough for the cord to pass through smoothly?
Also there is a pic of my breaker panel repurposed from Ebay.

A couple of the other pics. are of part of the old cupboard out of our house. I couldn't bear the throwing it out so I shortened it and will use it as a work bench behind the rear wall.

The other pics' are of the new cupboard I'm building in the cabin of the bus just forward of the rear wall.

 

[spd2918]

There are lots of advantages to fiberglass batts! I would worry about the batts sagging from the vibration; did you staple them onto the studs to prevent that?
Bob

Most people use foam board insulation because it will not absorb moisture like the batts.

Have you checked out http://www.skoolie.net/forum/ ? Lots of info there.

 

[Simran]

I am a member over their and have a bus build thread of the same name on that site. I've seen insulation come out of a bus that is 10-15 years old with little damage and also seen it with lots of damage. Much of it depends on the climate. I live in a semi arid part of the country where there is little problem with moisture.
I hate to be facetious but I've been through this so many times. This build is an inexpensive one. I'm not building a space ship nor am I building a bus I expect to be around 30 years from now. This build is practical, quick and inexpensive. I am building out of a need for inexpensive living quarters in a part of the country where there are few options for living cheaply.
I am less concerned with a wee bit of moisture over a period of 10 years or so. Actually if I still have this bus 5 years from now I'll be surprised. Between now and then it will save me $1500.00 a month in living expenses. In 5 years I could drive it off a cliff and it wouldn't owe me a thing.
Insulate with foam board if you want. For me it just isn't practical.

 

[Clan Graham]

I am a member over their and have a bus build thread of the same name on that site. I've seen insulation come out of a bus that is 10-15 years old with little damage and also seen it with lots of damage. Much of it depends on the climate. I live in a semi arid part of the country where there is little problem with moisture.
I hate to be facetious but I've been through this so many times. This build is an inexpensive one. I'm not building a space ship nor am I building a bus I expect to be around 30 years from now. This build is practical, quick and inexpensive. I am building out of a need for inexpensive living quarters in a part of the country where there are few options for living cheaply.
I am less concerned with a wee bit of moisture over a period of 10 years or so. Actually if I still have this bus 5 years from now I'll be surprised. Between now and then it will save me $1500.00 a month in living expenses. In 5 years I could drive it off a cliff and it wouldn't owe me a thing.
Insulate with foam board if you want. For me it just isn't practical.

Hi again Gus ... I completely understand what you are saying about the bus only having to last for so long. But I can 100% promise you there is absolutely NO easier way to insulate a bus, than how we did the foam board. We left the old insulation in place inside the walls, and then added 3/4" foam board on to the metal walls, for double the insulation. Forget about cutting away the metal on the walls, as that is a huge pain and very unnecessary. I was able to insulate the side walls on my bus by myself in about an hour. Just food for thought.

 

[akrvbob]

I also much prefer styrofoam and have used it in all my rigs. Now I only recommend Polyiso because it is R-6 per inch.

But, I think fiberglass is cheaper and that is the overriding factor for many people. There is NEVER one best way for everybody. Each of us has to take into account all the factors in his situation.
Bob