Tag: #testingourengineeringtraining

It’s been a busy spring!

Post author By Mom of the adventure
Post date June 6, 2024

With three girls and both of us serving as leaders in multiple activities, spring is always a busy time in our house with camping, soccer, and awards. However, slowly but surely, we are making progress. Here’s what’s been going on:

February

It was time to start working on the inside of the bus now that the outside was complete. We can do a lot of things on our own, but one thing we cannot do is a/c work! We brought it to Saviors Repair in Pearland (www.saviorsrepair.com) to raise the evaporator unit at the back of the bus. Once raised, they would also install new hoses that are long enough to bridge the additional distance of the roof raise.

Shortly after we dropped it off, we got a call that there was no Freon inside the unit. It must have leaked out somewhere. Besides that, this will cost quite a bit of money since Freon is expensive. It also means we could have done the actual evaporator raise ourselves. But at Saviors, they not only supplied brand new hoses, but they also did trouble shooting for the leak. Within a week we had the bus back in our storage. We were very happy with the service!!

From there we spent a lot of time preparing for spray insulation. Taping everything off and putting plastic down to cover every square inch, because spray insulation does leave a mess.

March

This month we installed the spray foam. We started at the back and worked our way to the front. Spraying the foam itself goes fairly quick. We just ran out too quickly resulting in time lost while waiting for the next order to come in. The worst part of using this type of insulation is the very messy shave down. Some spots expanded too much and had to be shaved flat to allow the walls to be installed. After all was cleaned up it looked pretty good!

April

In April, the brother came for another visit. We had two 100-gallon water tanks sitting in the dining room waiting for his arrival. Due to the type of water tank we could afford, we had to change the layout of the bus a little and place one tank burden. This will affect the location of the bunks for the girls. With the tank burden, there will be a bit of free surface movement during the drive when the tank is half full. We will have to wait and see how that works out, but I think because the bus is 32000lbs and the tank filled with water will be 834 pounds, it will not affect the driving conditions too much.

We opted for the convenience of PEX fittings for the installation, as they are simple “slip-on” couplings that streamline the process. After investing considerable time at Home Depot to determine our requirements, we had to make two additional trips for extra fittings. Our initial task involved cutting a hole in the side of the bus for the fill port and assemble the various components (such as pumps).

We then secured the water tank with a wooden 2″ x 4″ frame to ensure it would not move while we were driving.

Water tank framed in

May

With the water tank in place, it was a matter of having a long weekend to start building out the inside. Some things can be done in storage, but building frames and cubbies just works easier with the bus in the driveway. As soon as we had the bus at home, we filled up the water tank and fixed the one hose we had forgotten to connect 😊 The remainder of the pressure test went without issues.

Starting at the back of the bus – the evaporator filter frame was re-painted and hung, more R24 insulation was added around the unit before closing it up with finished plywood, the bench was built up with plywood and the air conditioning control unit was encased.

This took a lot longer than anticipated! Due to travel, we had to return the bus to storage early. We will continue in June when we have our next weekend available.

Tags #bustorv #busadventures #sixwheelsofadventure #makingmemories #skoolieconversion, #finallymakingprogress, #phase3, #testingourengineeringtraining

Stage 1 rebuild

Week 9 of 2023

Post author By Mom of the adventure
Post date March 10, 2023

Small updates

We had a slow week this week. We are trying to get the transition covered, but to do that, we had to put the driver window back. During our trip from California there was a lot of draft coming from that window and it kept sliding open. It started leaking as we drove through rain in Houston. After some discussion, we agreed that it was best to replace this window with an RV window. They are much more solid and leak free then bus windows. Hence, we ordered one and had to wait for it to come in before we could continue.

We did start putting a transition piece in on the door side of the bus. We still have to finish it but did not get to it this week.

Once the RV window came in, we closed the opening with a full sheet of metal.

Once the metal was in place, we cut the hole out of it for the window. The top and bottom supports were welded into place. After setting our steering wheel and blinker on fire, extreme caution and concern was used welding in this area but we had no choice.

Once we had the hole cut we noticed since we overlapped two sheets at the top of the window, that things just did not fit right. So we ended up removing the screws, cutting the sheets and welding them together.

New driver window

It’s starting to look good, but we are not finished yet! More to follow next week

Tags #babysteps, #bustorv #busadventures #sixwheelsofadventure #makingmemories #skoolieconversion, #finallymakingprogress, #slowbutsteady, #testingourengineeringtraining

Stage 2 roof raise

Week 5 of 2023

Post author By Mom of the adventure
Post date February 3, 2023

More welding;

We fixed the door frame on the driver’s side on the bus and lengthened the door. Hopefully it all fits when we put the door back in place. The wrong sealant was used when we put the gasket back so we may have to redo the gasket later if it proves not to be watertight.

Next, we cut back the fiberglass on top roof at the very front of the bus. Talking about a major fiber glass dust cloud! Can’t be too healthy but it was the only way to get our front transition into place. We cut back about 2 inches so we can lay the transition steel on top of it and tie it all together.

Then it was time to weld the longitudinal transition supports in place. We managed to get three of them in.

Unfortunately, because of some welding drops, we damaged the steering wheel and window washer/blinker in the process. Sigh.

Next we can start skinning! Although lifting up the AC would have been nice, we have no solution for it yet so we will have to change the order of events to make sure we don’t lose too much time

Tags #bustorv #busadventures #sixwheelsofadventure #makingmemories #skoolieconversion, #testingourengineeringtraining, #willbedieselmastersbytheendofthis

Stage 1 rebuild

Week #20

Post author By Mom of the adventure
Post date December 23, 2022

Finally tackling the little things

Last week we finally managed to get all the remaining chairs disassembled so we could get some of the inside roofing and chair frames to the scrap yard. A small trailer load of 500lbs of steel gave us a whapping $30.- of income…

The last of the scraps from the back yard

Final driveway prep

Later that week we brought the bus into the driveway to pressure wash it for storage. We also grinded some of the roof rivets off. We then marked the cutting line so we can determine what exactly needs to be dismantled for the roof raise.

Sunday was finally the day we have been waiting for; our enclosed storage unit was ready! Now we have two months to get the roof raise as well as the skinning done before storage get too expensive. We loaded the bus up with all the tools and material we will need, including the raise insets and raise supports that have been in our bedroom for the past six months.

Prep work is underway

We had some happy helpers this week. R started to take out the windows while N collected all the screws, bagged them and marked them. The driver side window took us a while to take out since we have not done that before. In the end, we did get it out

We took off the doors, which were much heavier than anticipated. After that, the door jams were removed.

Then we removed the emergency roof hatches and dismantled the air conditioning from the roof.

We placed the floor jacks with the premade frames to make sure they will work.

Cutting has started

Then it was time to take out the front section of the roof. This will become a transition section. Even though we measured, once we started cutting, we noticed we had hit the fiberglass of the front roof cover. Can’t really change our minds at that point so we completed the entire cut. Now we have a little less than two months to figure out how to mount the transition piece without creating leaks. It’s a future problem.

Transition panel at the front of the bus

We figured that when the rivets were grinded off and the front cut was made, we could just easily lift the top section off. That was not the case. It took hammers and crowbars to get the roof section parted from the glue.

Now at least we are sure that any leaks we had were all related to the rivets and not the caulking cracks of the adjacent roof sections. It will take a while to clean all the glue remains off so we will have a proper welding surface…

For the coming days we have more dismantling to do, followed by measurements so we can get the skinning steel.

Tags #bustorv #busadventures #sixwheelsofadventure #makingmemories #skoolieconversion, #testingourengineeringtraining

Stage 1 rebuild

A tiny wire…

So much support

The amount of calls and tips we received after the last blog was amazing and very heartwarming! Several people helped us with tools or pointed us into the right direction to get the information we needed.

We got in touch with someone who used to work on Cat engines and someone who used to work at the Pearland bus barn. They helped eliminate some of the potential problems and gave advice on how to start the engine directly from the starter without hurting ourselves. We followed the advice and …

IT STARTED!!!

The sound of success

Yes, indeed the bus started! We drove around the storage lot just to have the engine running and the tires rotating. Even though starting via a loose battery on the side of the bus is not how we want to keep starting the engine, it finally felt like we were getting somewhere! Plus, this confirmed that the engine faults were indeed fixed.

Drawings

From another direction we received the electrical drawings for our specific bus we so desperately needed. We traced and traced and traced wires some more. We noticed a “door open” LED that had appeared during all this tracing and we knew there should be a way to bypass all the door safeties. Door safeties are not necessary on an RV.

Wires, safety, and not all freightliners are built alike

From the very get-go, we have suspected that the lack of starting must be a problem with either a wire or solenoid. We did not want to spend thousands of dollars fixing things that do not to be fixed. After tracing all the wires using the drawings, we finally came to the solenoid we needed to bridge to get the bus started by ignition key at the driver seat. And that without impeding any of the other bus operational circuits!

Any freightliner that is not designed as a school bus does not have the door safety circuits so it was merely a matter of figuring out which wires to connect. (or solenoid to bridge)

We took out the interlock solenoid, put in a jumper wire and – praise the Lord – THE BUS STARTED BY TURNING THE KEY UP FRONT!!!!

We drove it home right away. Now it is a matter of closing the engine access hatch we created, putting back the bump guard underneath the engine and fan coil spindle that we had removed for easy engine access. Then we will be back on track so we can continue to prepare for the raising of the roof. And that’s how one little wire stopped us in our tracks for months on end…

Onward we go!!

Tags #busadventures, #bustorv, #makingmemories, #sixwheelsofadventure, #skoolieconversion, #testingourengineeringtraining, #willbedieselmastersbytheendofthis

Stage 1 rebuild

Summer Update

Post author By Mom of the adventure
Post date September 21, 2022

July / August / September 2022

Where have the updates been?

We have had quite a few requests for a bus update. Why has it taken us so long to get back on track? Unfortunately, in a very short time span we had several tragic losses in our extended family and circle of friends. We never experienced this much grief and sadness on a weekly basis during a two-month period. Even living in the comfort that they are now all rejoicing with the hosts of Heaven, the mental impact for those left behind takes huge amounts of energy and does not leave much room for anything other than keeping the girls and ourselves moving forward. Add to that: camps, COVID, and AHG, and any free time we might have had was claimed by activities.

Getting back to life

Now that things are calming down, we are resuming our quest. Once we finally managed to get back to the bus, we tried once more to start it. Of course, it did not turn over. Instead, flash codes 25, 63 and 49 showed up. We are working with the flash codes since we do not have a reader that we can plug in.

Flash code 25 is a boost pressure sensor or intake manifold sensor issue.

Flash code 63 is a Fuel pressure warning

Flash code 49 is an inlet heater relay issue

We wanted to work on the boost pressure sensor code first. Unfortunately, it is impossible to access it from behind or side of the engine. We had to cut a hole in the bench. Always nice to do something like that AFTER having insulated and covered it with plywood…

Plywood, insulation, steel bench and sheet aluminum layers

Not an easy fix

Cutting the hole was not as easy as it sounds and due to limited time availability, it took about three weeks to have the individual cuts complete without destroying anything below the bench. Then we pulled out the sensor from the top of the engine and discovered that the replacement we had purchased was not the same as the sensor we had on the engine. It took two weeks to get the correct part. After that the engine still did not turn over so we proceeded to work on flash code 63.

Next code – fuel pressure regulator

This code can normally be resolved by replacing the fuel pressure regulator. This regulator is placed in another very convenient location: at the back of the engine. Hoping not to have to cut another hole in the bench, we decided to move the air intake line. This was much easier than expected. Even though access was difficult, we could see the front side of the engine clearly. The front of the engine was so caked in dirt and grime that it took us a while to find the regulator. It involved a few more days of research to make sure we would pull off the correct part.

With help from Oma, who had arrived for a two-week visit, we managed to get the grime off and find the problem location.

Ecstatic to be making some headway, we started to undo it (two more trips home for the correct tools). Lo and behold, the part came loose…. after breaking off the attached fuel pressure sensor… AAARGH!! Fortunately, Oma was sitting beside me to hold open the access hatch, which prevented the explicits from coming out of my mouth.

Oma helping to keep the calm, shine her light, hold the hatch, clean and preserve

Perseverance pays off

A few frustrated deep breaths and onward we went, unbolting the entire system. After blocking off and covering the now open fuel line, we took the section home. A little cleanup and reassembly, then back online to order a new fuel sensor. These have changed since this Cat was built so we hope the new version works the same way.

The old and new fuel pressure regulator and fuel pressure sensor

We did spot fuel in the electronic part of the sensor, a common issue with the Cat C7, so a replacement was due but still more money and time spent. We remounted the assembly and put back the air intake line. Re-strapped all the electronic cables and re-tightened all the bolts we had loosened for the easy access.

More delays

We spent a day replacing the batteries in the bus with fully charged ones. Then a day to figure out how to reset engine error codes. And of course, the latter did not work. Meaning we now have run all electrical possibilities and replaced:

Batteries
Starter
Boost pressure sensor
Fuel sensor
Fuel regulator

All of this, plus a lot of prayers and we are still stopped dead in our tracks. And we have not made one step of progress since May. We now officially have reached the point where we need to call in assistance. Frustrating, but we look forward to the moment where we have a purring engine again…

Tags #busadventures, #bustorv, #sixwheelsofadventure, #skoolieconversion, #testingourengineeringtraining, #willbedieselmastersbytheendofthis

Stage 1 rebuild

Week 16 – May Update

Post author By Mom of the adventure
Post date June 2, 2022

No start frustrations (Still or again?)

The new batteries did not solve the issue. We have been trouble shooting ever since. Which is very unfortunate since it pushes us way back on our timeline. We have run by every fuse and wire and still did not come up with a sensible explanation on why the bus will not start.

We had great assistance from our electronics guru out of Colorado Springs. He deepened our knowledge and understanding of bus system electronics drawings. It also resulted in elimination of many potential issues that were proven in good order. But it did not get us closer to a start.

What was checked

We checked for loose wires, tested every fuse, checked the ECM, ECU, VIM, VEC, TCC, (yeah learned a LOT about this bus!) fan module, starter, and transmission. We did electrical component checks, tried to jump solenoids the right way as well as the wrong way (getting close to setting a bus on fire, which was no fun but a great heartbeat check) We had a nice battery weld arc because we accidentally connected the positive of one to the negative of the other battery at the end of a very long and tiring day of trouble shooting, destroying the thread of one of the terminals which we then had to fix, and still… nothing.

What we eventually did get is engine faults appearing on the display. The one we are working on now is the boost pressure sensor fault (code 25) and low fuel pressure fault (code 63). Neither should affect the starting of the bus, but we might as well fix them now. Of course, the 63 fault makes sense since the engine is not running.

All this trouble shooting is very educational, but not fun. Especially crawling under the bus in a very dusty and sometimes windy gravel lot does not make for very good moods and positive attitudes.

Why don’t you get a mechanic you ask? Two reasons:

One: skoolie.com is FULL of no start issues. About 95% of them are due to a simple wire disconnects or rusty connections. It is merely about finding out which wire that could be.

Two: skoolie.com is also FULL of regrets. Spending thousands on mechanics who made people replace very expensive components (like the $1000 ECM an $800 HUE or a $500 starter) with no avail, only to discover that $4000 later the problem was a simple corroded wire on a starter solenoid or a starter screw that had vibrated loose.

Another factor is we have no idea where to find someone locally who knows how to work on Thomas pusher busses with a Cat C7. You may understand our trepidation here…

Positive Note:

On a good note, all the inserts for the roof raise are ready to go and they look awesome! We ordered them from Vico Manufacturing here in Houston. They took the sample beam and matched it perfectly! You can check them out here Vico (vicomfg.com)