Tag: #testingourengineeringtraining

Categories
Stage 4 Interior

January 2025

At the three-year mark

During the early January weeks, we built drawers and doors for the bathroom cabinet and a table for the hallway that M will decorate and cover with resin. We also made some seats that will fold out with that table. One of them we installed already.

Securing the refrigerator

We built a cabinet to secure our refrigerator in place. Since the back of the fridge is visible from the outside, we painted the window black. If we had anticipated the fridge’s final position, we would have covered the window during the roof raise, but our plans changed.

To save 6 inches of living space, we positioned the fridge cove above the fuel tank fill. This allowed us to utilize the space underneath for a drawer. We also created additional storage for a step stool, which will help us access the upper cabinets more easily. Furthermore, we relocated the AC duct to the front of the bus, which required some cutting in the overhead areas. We installed a 110v outlet and ran the wiring beneath the bus to connect to our electrical cabinet. Finally, we were able to place the fridge in its designated cove, clearing up space in the bus.

Vacation work

We had some vacation days left from last year, so we decided to bring the bus into the driveway to work on it for a week. After installing additional electrical wiring, we finished the roof boards inside the overhead compartments. However, it started raining, and we discovered a significant leak. We managed to seal it off and to prevent any future issues, we also installed a drain behind the insulation and covered it with plastic. After that, I added a plywood wall over it. Hopefully, this will do the trick.

Time for some seating

Next, we covered the wheel well and added insulation over it. After that, we began working on the booth seats. The back supports of the seats on the driver’s side are angled at 100 degrees and are taller than usual to enhance comfort. Additionally, these seats can be converted into an extra bed.

The booth is raised to provide a better view out of the window, and the space underneath is utilized for storage. We designed one of the benches to accommodate a dog kennel, complete with windows so the dog can see outside.

Since we had to wait for the other paint to dry, we decided to paint the kennel. Although we know dogs are colorblind, it seemed like a fun idea, and now our dog has a bunny to bark at while we’re driving.

After building the booth, C indicated that the overheads on the other side should be removed because they make the living area too claustrophobic. So we cut out almost a day of work in a time span of mere minutes. But we wasted enough time and money in other areas of this bus that it’s hardly noticeable. Except for the dust…. We tried SOOO hard not to have to cut or sand in the bus! Now, there is a nice gray layer on top of everything….

With the booth on the driver’s side in place, we made an additional seat area on the passenger side. This seat will be a seat/table/couch conversion. It could also be turned into a bed for a kid-size person. Underneath this seating area, we will have shoe storage and electrical components. Those will take up a lot of space, and we will have to put those in before the kitchen to know if we need to overflow this into an overhead or kitchen cabinet. The booth on the door side is a bit smaller to prevent the claustrophobic feeling we discussed, plus it will give us a bit of floor space next to the driver’s seat that we can pile in when we enter the bus.

With all that seating in place it was time to put in the ceiling planks and the flooring so we can trim the sides of the booths.

Then everything was ready for the main electrical system. After MONTHS (and months!) of research and help from fellow skoolie owners, we finally managed to get our system together. This is by far the most expensive part of the conversion. In order from most to least expensive:

– 2x24v 280Ah LifePO4 batteries (https://a.co/d/2OhUXVa)

– Victron multiplus 24V 3000VA (https://a.co/d/gEVu6FK)

– Solar Charge controller

– Lynx distributor

– Orion 24v 70 amp DC converter

– Smart shunt

– Smart Dongle

– MK3 interface

– 110V fuse block

– 24V fuse block

– 12V fuse block

– 150amp circuit breaker

– 4x 100Amp mega fuses

– Solar panel fuses

– Buck step down regulator

– Other small wiring and odds and ends

– Automatic fire extinguisher for electrical cabinets

For a whopping total of $5100(!). Add almost $2000 in solar panels that we purchased last year, and our electrical system is just over $7000. Happy birthday to me…. (Note: that is a mid-range cost for a skoolie conversion in the south.) So, if you want to try this as well, start saving or go live in the Pacific Northwest instead of in 100-degree AC-required weather in Texas…..

One of the batteries arrived the day we would return the bus to storage. I am glad it did because it is BIG and HEAVY. It fits under the planned electrical cabinet perfectly! Secured it in place with blocks. And since we were working on electrical anyway, we figured we’d also put the Multiplus in place. But, of course, there is a ¾” difference between the drawing and the actual built dimensions because we decided to put a piece of plywood over the wheel well. Meaning the multiplus does not fit. Sigh. And we have no other place to put it unless we put it above the batteries, and that’s not a good idea. Or we put it in the kitchen, which makes fitting the stove a serious issue.

Getting SO tired sometimes. Anway the option is to raise the both floor 2 ½” (might as well add the extra ventilation space now) and have relative short legroom, or raise the whole booth. Basically starting from scratch. The table is in place already and we really don’t want to move that at this point.

What’s next? Probably the rewiring of the solar panels and electrical installation, then the hallway wall, followed by the air-conditioning installation. There is still so much to do….

Categories
Stage 4 Interior

End of year 2

In December, we had several days to work on the bus since we still had some vacation days left and time available during the Christmas holiday. So, we brought the bus home and focused on the bathroom installation.

Shower and vanity

The one wall of tiles for the shower stayed in place, so we proceeded to tile the other wall.

Shower walls

Then, we built the bathroom vanity, which blocked us from walking through the bathroom wall. We now had to walk around to get in there. With the vanity in place, we put the remainder of the bathroom flooring down, followed by finishing the bathroom walls.

Vanity and flooring

We added hot and cold water piping in the wall and to the toilet-to-be. We had marked the bus frames on the side walls of the bus interior to make sure none of the piping would hit the floor frames under the bus; after “dry” placing the toilet and sitting on it to check clearances, we moved it as close to the frame mark as possible.

Time to cut a hole in the bus

Then, it was time to cut the hole for the pipe from the toilet to the black water tank. With a 3.5” hole cutter, we made the cut through the subfloor.  Once we lifted that portion out, we noticed, to our disappointment, that we were 1” over the framing. That 5-minute cut just became half a day of work…

We tried the reciprocating saw as best we could, but in the end, we still had to go under the bus to clear more steel. In the picture, you can still see a steel bar under the hole. That bar holds the mud flaps of the rear tires, so we can easily move it and reweld it by the time we put the black water tank underneath. We could now put the pipe in place and the toilet on top.

Reciprocating Saw
Steel bar under bus
Bus frame cut through
All clear from under the bus

Next, we built the sink counter for the cabinet. After checking for counters in our favorite hardware store (which coincidentally has the colors of the Dutch Royal family) and its prices, we came up with the idea to use vinyl instead. We bought a large roll and tried to stick it on as best we could. However, our bus is a home build, and due to curved lumber, wall adjustments, etc., none of the walls are 90 degrees, and thus, the vanity counter is not squared either. After three attempts, we finally figured out how to get it on without bubbling underneath.

The first attempt

Connecting drains

We dry-placed the sink and could now cut the hole for the drain in the correct place. We played it safe this time and stayed well away from the frame indication. That seemed a good idea at the time and thus the hole was cut without issue. However, when we tried to put the Hepvo valve on (it is a valve that is used instead of a P-trap, so there are no tank smells in the bus when the bus is in storage and the P-trap dries out), the hole was 1” off (hmm where did we have the measurement issue before) with the drain…

R suggested using an “angled pipe,” I am unsure why we did not think about that ourselves. Another trip to the home store and 2 x 45-degree angles later, it all fit. We managed to slide the drainpipe over the main bus frame to still be able to eventually mount the grey water tank on the starboard side of the bus. With the drain installed, we tried to connect the hot and cold waterlines from the sink, and we were only three inches off from making that work. So we had to cut two new holes and adjust the waterlines. This time at least not too big a deal because those two unused holes won’t be visible anyway.

Medicine cabinet

Next, we built the behind-the-mirror shelf. We bought one in the store, but it was very flimsy. We can do better than that. However, purchasing a beveled mirror by itself is twice as expensive as buying a recessed mirror cabinet. So we bought the latter, removed the mirror, and put it on our design. It looks pretty good if I say so!

Shower Head

Then, we installed the shower head. We raised the bus roof to have plenty of height for the shower. So, we dry-fit it to cut the hole. But that seemed a little high, so on a whim, I moved the drill down two inches and started drilling. WHY????? I have NO IDEA!? So now the shower head is still lower than we wanted. Was this whole year of roof-raising all for nothing????? Stupid me. But we did not want to drill a second hole and move the shower up because that would always remain visible. So now I will likely just be annoyed while showering on our bus. Oh well. Sometimes I amaze myself….

All the details

Next, we spent a day or two on caulk, paint, and trim touchups. We also had to figure out where to place the toilet roll. Wise decisions were made there. Then, we installed some hardware, a door lock, and a towel ring.

Now for the real test

The day after Christmas, it was plumbing testing time. We connected the hose to the bus; M was on the faucet outside, C was checking the plumbing behind the shower, R was under the sink, and I was behind the toilet to check all the connections. As soon as M opened the water valve, I got sprayed with a gallon of water. The first connection clearly failed. I closed the toilet valve and went to check the rest. All the other connections were dry except for the shower. After three new attempts, the shower connection was still leaking.

We made a quick trip to the depot and bought a new shower connector and toilet hose. In the afternoon, we ran a second test. The toilet issue was fixed, but the shower was still leaking, so we ordered a new shower arm.

While waiting…

Since we had to wait a few days for that, we figured we’d install the heater so we could test those connections as well. That meant cutting a 13×13” hole in the side of our bus. However, with some of the electrical lines already in place and the location of some of the bus structures, we had to build a raised platform first, which meant installing the cabinet bottom plate. With all that in place, we made the cut. This time, it went without a glitch. Although I did burn my fingers on the metal of the bus while applying the caulk. That steel gets very hot in the sun!

We installed the heater and built a cabinet around it, then connected the water lines.

The shower arm came in at the same time, so we installed that, too. Then we did our water test once more. This time, it was all dry. Everyone was happy about a successful few weeks. In the end I just noticed that we forgot the shower arm cover, so I put that on—and scratched the paint off the shower arm in the process. Sigh. It’s never-ending.

With that, the bathroom was complete

Last little bit for now

Last, we made the coves for our extra hallway seats and table. Then, we measured the remainder of the bus. We tried to check if we can make changes in the kitchen but figured out there is only one actual order to do it in now that the location for the heater is set.

So, we taped the seating booth out on the skoolie floor and assessed the situation. That does not give us enough walking room, seeing the full-size fridge we bought. We have to switch the booth to the other side of the bus. That means there will be a change in the electrical plans as well. In short, we now have to build the fridge cove first (so we can secure it when driving), followed by the seating booth, before being able to start on the kitchen. The ever-changing plans of a skoolie….

Excited for 2025, we hope to have her finished this year!!

Categories
Stage 1 rebuild

It’s been a busy spring!

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!

After spray foam
After shaving of insulation
Cleans up nicely
Brother helping

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).

Pumps with Pex fittings
water connections
Hole cut in side
Hole cut in side
Water port with lockable door

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.

building out the back

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.

Categories
Stage 1 rebuild

Week 9 of 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

Categories
Stage 2 roof raise

Week 5 of 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

Categories
Stage 1 rebuild

Week #20

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.

Learning all sorts of new skills

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.

Categories
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)

The red jumper wire did the trick

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…

Bottom hatch already installed

Onward we go!!

Categories
Stage 1 rebuild

Summer Update

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…

Categories
Stage 1 rebuild

Week 16 – May Update

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)

We have ordered a boost pressure sensor and hope to have better news at our next update…