BusBuilding

Important safety warning - John writes:

I have been noticing that some things on the bus a’coming loose. I was told that I could tighten them all up if I tighten the bus bolt.
Any clue as to where this is?

If you have this problem, you might want to consider this solution:

The bus bolt will be located right behind the muffler bearing. Be sure to clean the muffler bearing with a bucket of prop wash before working with the bus bolt.

Other most expressive answers on BNO…

From Kyle, in a thread on BNO about descending grades in a bus …

A DD 2-stroke doesn’t roar, it sings

They don’t leak either - they sweat horsepower & mark their territory! [with 40wt.]

And in a comment about anger un-management,

The old joke is to slam the door on your hand just as you are starting your trip to put you in the right frame of mind to drive the DD 2-stroke. They like to rev against the governor. That is the way they were designed.

Thanks, Kyle!

:)

Inquiring about why he sees so few conversions on the road compared to factory RVs, NCBob wonders about the ratio of bus conversions to Class A RVs cruising around America…

For a moment I thought I was the only one out there on the road. So you don’t misunderstand, there are a great number of folks driving our great highways who are wonderful RV’er’s and I’ll tip my hat to them. We, wonderfully enough, are a sort of a maverick group who want to take the hobby one step further. We want to not just enjoy the hobby….we want to build a better way to travel.

I welcome the camaraderie of every blessed soul who enjoys the joys of open highways and the solitude of quiet campgrounds.

There’s always room at my campfire for all who enjoy the RV lifestyle and a special spot in my heart for those who toil for perfection.

Could but that we could achieve it……………..

Nicely said, NCBob.

[Bus Conversions Magazine Forum]

In discussing his wallcovering, Zin describes on the skoolie.net forum that what can be done can be undone.

The walls went up very easy, as the carpet is so very light. The ceiling was a little more tricky and i ended up cutting the carpet in 28″ strips to go in between the ceiling seams.

As for removal, I already took one piece off one of the walls to get inside the plywood for adding some electrical wiring. (Planning is for sissies) It was pretty tenacious, but it came off in one piece and didn’t require much in the way of preparation to hang the replacement piece.

Phew, that’s a relief!

(I know the photo isn’t of his wallcovering, but I liked the light on the floor.)

George Myers, a respected authority in the bus conversion world and publisher of Coach-Builder’s Bulletin, writes, in an article on Window Systems Analysis in the November, 2006 issue of Bus Conversions Magazine:

By covering the window openings and installing RV windows, the look of the coach is usually changed significantly from how it looked as a bus. Some people have told me how well I changed my bus so that it now looks just like a motorhome. I have to explain why this is not a compliment.

Now motorhome owners, don’t get all huffy, ok? Some of us bus owners get quite a few askance looks from the factory-built crowd, so if ya’ll can’t respect us, can’t we at least get a little for ourselves?!

A comprehensive list of tools for the “do-it-your-selfer”. This list is especially useful if you’re a beginner mechanic.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beverage across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted body part you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar calluses in about the time it takes you to say, “Ouch….”

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

Plenty more in the full article!

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