| Author | Message | ||
| Jeff Pritchard (Jeffpritchard) (68.6.251.11)
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Since this board is entitled "Busnut", I feel somewhat secure in the knowledge that no idea is entirely too crazy to be discussed here. I was wondering if any of you have ever tried creating a Coach from scratch instead of converting an existing bus? Maybe get a junker to scrounge axles and suspension parts from, and a big pile of tubular steel, and crazy look in your eye? thanks, jp | ||
| Ron Walker (Prevost82) (209.52.245.237)
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Could be done, but with out a jig to hold all the mono frame pieces together for welding, it could be hell to keep everything straight....and not to mention the cost of doing such a thing, steel costs, engineering costs and certificate of road worthiness for DOT reg and insurance, to name a few...new busses don't cost 300k for nothing. It's "WAY" cheaper to buy a used bus and convert. JMO Ron | ||
| vern rainville (68.9.0.180)
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I think that is what Clark Echols is doing in Colorado. Vern (in RI) | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
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You wouldn't need a jig, you just prebend your ribs as you go. Add laterals as you go. That is for a "Framed" unit. For a Monocoque, you would lay up walls/floors/ceilings on a flat concrete floor and assemble. get suspension from ridewell/whatever. No DOT cert required, and you just title as an assembled vehicle. If you go into mass production, is when you have to involve the gub'ment. While you are at it you could make it look lik an EMD F3 and scare the hell out of people. Gary | ||
| Jim Ashworth (Jimnh) (172.141.110.36)
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I think Dr. Frankenstein had a "crazy look" in his eye. Unfortunately, it's likely you will create a monster, also. Stick with MCI, Prevost, GM, Eagle or even some of the lesser known. You'll be better off in the long run. Jim | ||
| Jeff Pritchard (Jeffpritchard) (68.6.251.11)
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Wow, where are all the crazy bus nuts? You guys should be ashamed for being so conservative. 8^) jp | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
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Hey Jeff I got yer back. I'm at least as nutty as you. I think we need ten more nuts. Gary | ||
| TWO DOGS (63.185.72.64) Rating: N/A |
yeah...& as soon as you loose interist..."WE" can buy all your parts for nuthin'...yeah...go ahead | ||
| Derek (Derek_L) (24.83.196.239)
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Clarke Echols is doing it... Buying up his parts yet?? Nothing *can't* be done, just a matter of if you have the interest. | ||
| TWO DOGS (63.185.72.64) Rating: N/A |
day ain't over yet | ||
| Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (63.224.197.10)
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We seriously (yes!) considered a big surplus military airport crash truck as a off road motorhome project, but it appears it has already been done. Anyway, if you won the "Powerball" lottery or something, then dropping a couple of really "big ones" into such a custom project would be... ...just another way of spending your daily time. Hire out all the engineering types you need and start cutting 4130 ! What kind of mill would... ...you run? Would have about any choice you want, within reason. I know it is kinda old, but would a 16V92TI at 1000 hp be OK.  | ||
| BrianMCI96A3 (65.160.215.73) Rating: N/A |
I considered buying a used firetruck striping off the bed and starting there... And I considered buying a truck with a 24ft box and converting that. But seriously, I can't even conceive of how much work would be involved in starting from nothing. And it's not that it CAN'T be done... It's not that it HASN'T been done... It is simply that there is NO WAY in hell I would even consider doing it that way. Brian | ||
| Jeff Pritchard (Jeffpritchard) (68.6.251.11)
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I smell a road trip to Springfield, MO. to buy some bus suspension at Ridewell! Well, maybe not just yet. Gotta get my shop building built first. jp | ||
| Jeff Pritchard (Jeffpritchard) (68.6.251.11)
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BTW, what's the big deal about a welding jig. You should see what they use at Country Coach. I was just there a week ago. They just have a few posts set in the concrete floor with some stop blocks welded to it. Most of the "alignment" is done with a laser level (wooo! $40 at home depot, high tech), and a tape measure. They clamp some stuff to it with C clamps and start welding away. Not very impressive. It was that factory tour that got me to thinking about this. The guide said that it was less than a week from starting to having a chassis that they could clamp a patio chair to and drive around to the next station. jp | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (68.250.2.76)
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Hey Jeff! That's what I did in '83. I worked with Ron Lee's Nephew, Bud. We built all the walls. We had a big, flat table that we rolled around to build the walls on then. Hey--the firetruck thing. I have a buddy, jim, that buys firetrucks. I think he's up to about 50. he gets them cheap. I mean so cheap you can't believe it. a grand, sometimes a little more, sometimes a WAY less. they get retired with less than 20K on the clock sometimes. I was thinking about buying one, and building something like this: http://www.navistar.com/site_layout/severe/cxt.asp A buddy of mine already has. It sould be a great source for a chassis though, for instance, Jim bought a 75' Ladder truck, the chassis had to be at least 35 - 40 feet. the eight-year-old in me would hate myself for killing a firetruck though... Gary | ||
| madbrit (67.136.93.59) Rating: N/A |
I did have a great pic of a conversion put on what was a ladder or snorkle fire truck. Had a picture window above the cab and the gap between the cab and the raised floor was where they put the entrance steps. Whole thing was quite tall. Wish I knew where I stored that darn pic........ Gary, count me in as another nut, but a truck nut as I sold the bus for the FLD 120. Peter. | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (68.250.2.76)
Rating: N/A |
Yeah, the firetruck thing would be a pretty good source for a truck chassis. the only thing ablut building from scratch that freaks me out is the caps, but you couls buy one of the commercially available caps and engineer one into the design. Gary | ||
| TWO DOGS (63.185.73.97) Rating: N/A |
get a big truck....good prices..good engines.. | ||
| madbrit (67.136.93.59) Rating: N/A |
Brian, It is not that bad a job to convert the 24ft box. Mine has a nice 1" thick wooden floor and 16" on center ribs in the walls. The ceiling was so high that I lowered the roof by 15", so it would get into my workshop with roof a/c. The worst part was welding all the under floor storage to the floor "I" beams and devising the doors. Possibly easier that doing the same to a transit bus as I don't have to cut doors out of the existing skin. Biggest benefit is the Series 60 for power and cooling being front mounted. Worst is I prefer the forward control position of a bus, but we will see how we get on when it's done. I can always do a bus next time, but the wife says "No more projects", so it looks like I will be buying a ready done one if that happens. Check my profile for a picture of the truck when we first got it. Peter. (Class 8 Freightliner FLD 120 with 24ft box) | ||
| carl (209.240.205.68) Rating: N/A |
how about a furniture trailer one with a double drop and you can have bedrooms up stars and maby 4 slids | ||
| FAST FRED (4.245.212.228) Rating: N/A |
It has been done before , FMCA had a story about a gent that did 3 of them! Simplest would be box on frame , with the love that some have for insulation to the N'th degree perhaps a reefer box would work, with 2 sets of doubble pane windows on either side of the thick walls. Truck boxes are about 40 inches off the ground , so there is space to build a basement (like a transit)but it might be hard to creatre bays that will hold a couple of 8-71 as many coaches will. Fire trucks had great appointments , but the engine was behind the driver , might be a bit noisy like the FC diesel Wanderlodges. The CN folks come closest with "Expediters" which are long class 8 chasis with a box in the frame. But what would be any advantage , besides how cheap a quite new truck can be purchased for? FAsT FRED | ||
| BrianMCI96A3 (65.160.215.73) Rating: N/A |
Oh, don't get me wrong Peter, I SERIOUSLY considered converting a 24ft box truck, but in the end the other half decided that she really didn't like the idea of climbing up and down all those stairs with bags of groceries etc. etc. Truthfully, I liked the idea of having a nice squared and sturdy 24' box to start from, but aside from the stairs issue, I WAS concerned with creating storage space and hanging storage tanks. After making the choice, we are happy we bought our coach, but a 24' box certainly has it's appeal. Brian | ||
| Jerry Campbell (69.59.209.188)
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Speaking of boxes on trucks. This was my first try. http://www.peak.org/~jerryc/housetruck.htm | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
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Very, very cool Jerry. thanks for sharing that. I first got interested in bussing, from housetrucks, growing up in Oregon and all... I was planning on doing one based on my 53 studebaker, then I started looking at crowns, but bikes ended up taking priority over all. Gary | ||
| Lee Bradley (140.178.68.172)
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Go for it Jeff! Hundreds of people around the country are building boats from the ground up; much bigger projects than a motorhome. Shoot some of them may even be completed. | ||
| Adame (129.82.228.252) Rating: N/A |
Sure you can do it. If you're the type who likes to build things then this should keep you happy for a long time. It will also prevent you from doing much else if you plan to use your creation anytime soon. Ronthebusnut had some rolling chassis available a while back. That would be a huge start. Good luck. Bob | ||
| madbrit (67.136.111.28) Rating: N/A |
Those house trucks are really beautiful, my wife would love one, but having to limit one's road speed to what the roof shingle manufacturer states, is not my idea of fun....... LOL. Brian, I don't think my floor is much higher than a bus. I have 3 x 8" steps inside and a double electric one outside. My decision was made when I bought the long trailer. I see a lot of 40' motorhomes with looooong trailers, but what happens if they have a big clamp down on the 65ft max? I didn't want to be stuck with my pride and joy bus and not be able to tow my trailer for fear of a flood of tickets or being stopped and having to find a tow-truck to move the trailer. Peter. | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
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Yeah, the're not for long trips--more like from one commune to the next. Gary | ||
| TWO DOGS (65.179.193.103) Rating: N/A |
best idea....get a BUS & convert it...instead of 20 foot living area...ya' got 40 foot... also...you stand a good chance of a ALL CAVITY body search driveing a truck with a house on the back...(neat drawing tho) | ||
| FishbowlBrian (Fishbowlbrian) (67.165.212.171)
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Just to clarify, the following rant pertains to a scratch-built coach, NOT a conversion of another vehicle to an RV (which is kinda interesting and cool, IMHO)... Although someone certainly could probably build a bus from the ground up, I just can't imagine the finished product being as successful as that someone selecting a model that meets their particular needs as close as possible and modifying it... or just making do and compromising. Let's not forget that coach manufacturers have 50 years of collective R&D into how coaches drive, stop, and handle. The builder is still going to have to assemble it from made parts like suspensions, brakes, axles, engines, trannies, etc. All you've essentially done is made a frame and skin, really, and somehow have to calc. everything just right the first time around, with 20,000 pounds of metal... or you've got really big, scary problems. I'm an architect that's fairly versed in shear, tensile, and compressive forces, moments, delfections, etc. But the thought of translating these comparitively static forces from a structure into something that travels upwards of 70mph would just totally freak me out. Especially with my family on board. To each his own, though. I guess that my busnut badge is a means to an end: I just want to drive something big and safe and affordable while seeing the country... not tinkering on something for the next decade or so and getting to see... more of my garage. That said, there's room for all of us to "do it our way." Tinker away. I just hope that I'm not behind someone's "homebuilt" out on the highway. My $0.02, Brian | ||
| TWO DOGS (63.185.81.185) Rating: N/A |
told my girlfriend.."never follow a Ford"...you have to drive over all the parts that fall off | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
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Hi Brian, I think one would buy suspension components from ridewell or similar. They are "Modular", so likt the front suspension comes as a qhole "Bolt-On" unit. Of course this method would not be for the majority, but there are a few of us here that could pull it off. Also--I think having "Hired help" would be mandatory if one wanted to complete without depending on reincarnation. Gary |