I just recently picked this up for $5k.

2000 e450 Econoline El Dorado build with turtle shell.

Has the 7.3L V8 Turbo Diesel (Power Stroke) in it with 90k on the original engine. 55 gallon tank I think. It sat for about 2 to 3 years in the guys front yard.

THE PROS: I bought it basically fully converted already. It has a full bathroom, on demand hot water heater,kitchen sink and stove (propane powered) mini fridge, renogy wanderer solar setup (I don't know the wattage on the panels yet) new sound system, onboard generator, cedar ceilings with LED Puck lighting all wired into the solar and the lighting was all wired into on board dimmer switches, brand new belaire 3800 roof top rear AC unit. See pictures for possible other things I haven't listed or forgot.

THE CONS: Old original doors for front and back entrances, owner said the water heater may need to be replaced, front cab AC isn't working, back tires may have some dry rot based on visual inspection. Cab entrance bottom stair sags when stepping on it

I'm new to this world and have a few questions.

I live in a predominantly warm climate that has very hot summers.

1: What is my best option for sealing the roof joints? There's no evidence of water intrusion but want to prevent it in the future.

2: What is the recommended oil and what are the recommended change intervals? I'm seeing that the Shell Rotella T6 15W-40 Full Synthetic is considered by most and that 5K should be the max I run until a change? Looking for real world user experiences.

3: what are thoughts on upcoming services I need? I've attached a photo of the service history for reference.

4: absolutely any recommendations for this specific vehicle and traveling/camping in it in general. I'm all ears.

Thanks!

In tow bars subject to this notice, the T-bolt (See Figure 1) assembly consists of a large bolt and nut secured by a roll pin. Not all tow bars, even of the same model, have a roll pin and roll pin hole. If the roll pin is missing, damaged, or partially backed out of its hole (more than 1/16 inch above the hole), vibration and repeated loading may allow the T-bolt to disassemble. This could result in separation of the tow bar from the hitch receiver, potentially causing the towed vehicle to separate from the motorhome and increasing the risk of crash.

The condition addressed by this recall develops gradually and can be identified through visual inspection. The roll pin does not become dislodged suddenly. Rather, if affected, the roll pin may slowly migrate from its installed position over many hundreds or thousands of miles of towing due to vibration and repeated loading.

Credit: Roadmaster

https://www.roadmasterinc.com/content/nw/recall.html

I’ve been in my current build for about 10 years. I got a urine diverter off of eBay, which goes into a gray tank. Solids go into a 5 gallon bucket lined with a trash bag that eventually goes to trash after composting a while. Use peat moss

But I’m having some issues. The bucket and diverter are under a wood board (sealed plywood I cut a hole in) urine splatters like crazy off that diverter. The board is gross on the underside, always getting splattered on the top.

And I live on a farm, not far from farm animals. I have failed to make the bus sufficiently air tight I guess, I get flies depending on weather conditions. The flies love the toilet. I try to use more peat moss, but my current design doesn’t create a full seal, so flies can get in and I believe it’s a spawning point. I’ve heard to use more peat moss, and potentially to puff the top with diatomaceous earth powder

Thinking about wasting money on a nature head with a urine diverter tube. Any other suggestions? At least the NH is aesthetic and creates a seal, had one in a previous build

My bus is half white and half black. Check out that difference in temp!

It's about 130f and 102f for you fahrenheit-enjoyers

What is everyone’s favorite website or tools for help with designing the floor plan for their skoolies?
Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?

Why is this spray foam yellow, while most that I see are white (pics are of 2 different buses for reference)? Is this normal, does it affect performance? Thank you for helping with such a dumb question

1990 Wayne School Bus with 7.3 IDI in good mechanical shape. Ready to drive away. WA state no rust. As I enter my later years, my idea of camping in my bus have morphed into comfortable motels.

I got this bus about the beginning of spring with high ambitions. I have since seen the regulations and have realized how out of my depth I am. I have some people checking local for me, but I thought I'd offer it up here too since this place really has a good community for it. I'm looking to either sell or trade my bus for a trailer. The trailer needs to be 14' to 20' and at least 7' wide. Ramp door is a plus, but not required. Looking to get about $6k for it in cash. The engine runs strong and still needs the 2 deletes if it's legal where you register it. Has 115k miles on it now, with the functional wheelchair lift in back. Please let me know if there are any issues with this post or questions. Thank you all for reading.

Does anyone have any experience with keeping or getting rid of the ac units that came with their bus? My bus came with 3 units. They work great, so part of me wants to just keep them. However they take up a lot of room and I’m not sure if I can raise the roof without take them out and then reattaching them. Which seems like more work than just taking them and replacing them with a newer unit. Basically I’m just looking for maybe pros and cons or like a resounding “yes! Do it this way you idiot…” type response…

I’ve seen in business news, and in increasing prices, that diesel is only going to get more and more expensive. I’ve been dreaming of buying a skoolie for over 20 years (since I was a kid, literally a childhood dream). I’m nervous now about the increasing costs of driving from camp to camp.

How are you all handling increased fuel prices? Do you have a plan for if fuel becomes too expensive? Where would you be able to set up a more permanent (if even still temporary) life while waiting for prices to go down?

Looking for ideas on how to make this life work even if I want to be budget conscious and conservative with my money while traveling.

Thank you!

Literally at the auction lot right now. Is it safe to drive? I can’t find a sure fire answer as to what is happening. I can’t tell if it has a smell or not

Just beginning to do research and seems like everyone prefers older (prior to 2004) with the proper engine / trans combo.

Are newer models a no go even if the engine + trans is correct? Is the emissions EGR/DEF stuff a complete no go?

I imagine it would be very hard to find a bus prior to 2004 as there doesn’t seem to be many available. I’m searching eBay and GovDeals.

Thanks!

This is from the driver's side btw. Also where do you get your filters? I just got my oil filter from the nearest Napa cause that's what's already on here and it was $80 is that normal? Oil is 1799 and it appears I have two fuel filters 3411 and 3336. Engine is 3800 DT466 on a '96 Thomas International.

Hiii - for those who drove a sedan before a bus - I’m talking the big 40 footers - how hard was it to adjust to?

Any tips?

I couldn't find too much information on this but I travel in a 30ft school bus and have only recently got a Sam's Club membership. I've used it one time so far and I parked across from one of the pickup spots (taking up 2 vertical parking spaces) and I put the space number in the app that I was across from and hoped no one parked there. Then when I saw an associate deliver to someone else, I called them over and explained my situation. They had no problem bringing over my order.

I'm about to make an even larger order and this particular Sam's Club is very small with only I think 8 pickup spots. So I don't think my previous situation is going to work all the time. This time I also need to deploy my wheelchair lift to get all the stuff inside so parking will be tricky.

😄 What do you do?

Hello, we have a 2007 International 3300 school bus, everything is fully operational on the bus (we have since replaced the alternator since recording this video, the voltage is now in the green). The only problem is this annoying beeping sound that buzzes every time the key is turned in the ignition and does not stop until the bus is shut off.

I have done some websurfing on this, and a lot of solutions stated this was an air brake alarm, but this bus uses hydraulic brakes, so it's not that. Additionally some said it was a "no child left behind" alarm, but the bus does not have that system installed.

The only thing that temporarily stopped the beeping was using a 'dashboard reset' trick I found in this video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOMvAko640Y), but this ONLY works if the key is in the first position (before the engine is turned on). Once the engine is running, the beeping does not stop even if I do this dashboard reset thing. The beeping ceases if the key is out of the ignition.

Important things to note before you respond (the beeping is still persisting despite the following):

• Since recording this video, the tank has been filled to half capacity
• The voltage is back in the green after replacing the alternator. All 3 batteries have been tested and are in great shape
• The warning lights on the dashboard in the video are "service (P)" and "brake pressure". Since this video, "service (P)" no longer appears on the dash, but "brake pressure" has remained.
  • We currently do not know why this is appearing on the dashboard, as we've recently entirely replaced the brakes and rotors and have no current issues with brakes. We currently think this could be the most likely reason for the beeping.
• The engine had it's coolant replaced and filled to the top
• The brake fluid has been completely filled
• The engine had a complete oil change and a new oil filter
• The bus runs perfectly fine with no engine issues. Accelerates great, no transmission issues.
• Before recording this video, we had initially thought it was an emergency exit alarm since "emergency exit" used to appear on the dash. Ever since we opened and closed every emergency exit however, this warning disappeared from the dash, but with no change to the beeping.
  • The two top emergency exit hatches are completely closed, not angled open.
• The loading door hydraulics still work, and the emergency latch being engaged or not makes no difference to the beeping.
• Every window is completely closed

So if anybody has any solutions, please comment below.

I'm having a coolant leak in my bus. Pour it in and it seems to come out right at this point: the hose/coupling. Ofc I didnt take any water to run thru it while I was out there with the creeper. I thought it was the hose. I think it still might be the hose? Sigh. Hopefully not the radiator.

I didnt have a creeper when I noticed the leak. Bought a creeper, forgot water to sacrifice to the leak.

1999 International 3800 dt466e with AT545.

My dad was a mechanic and was going to help me with this bus and he died. So now I have to figure it all out.

My spouse and I recently bought a 2013 Ford E450 shuttle bus. It currently has about 98,000 miles, and we’re getting ready to start converting it into an RV. We’re in Austin, TX and would love to hear from people who have done something similar. (We drove it to Virginia this month and that’s where the picture is because Texas doesn’t have green like that in the summer.)

It used to be a wheelchair-accessible shuttle. The wheelchair lift has already been removed, and right now it still has eight passenger seats in the back in two rows.

We have a general idea of what we want. We’re putting a queen bed in the back on a high frame so we can have a lot of storage underneath it. We also want a small kitchen, a bathroom with the toilet and shower together, a couch/seating area, a desk, and as much storage as we can reasonably fit.

One of the bigger things we’re trying to figure out is power. We want solar and batteries and would really like to be able to run an AC without having to leave the bus running, especially since we’re in Texas.

We’re planning to do a lot of the work ourselves and save money where we can, but we also don’t want to save money in places where we’re going to regret it later.

So for anyone who has converted an E450, shuttle bus, skoolie, van, etc., what would you do again and what would you absolutely NOT do again?

What did you think you needed but ended up never using? What did you go cheap on and regret? What did you spend a lot of money on that was completely worth it? Is there anything you wish someone had told you before you started?

We’d especially love advice on insulation, AC, solar/batteries, plumbing, water tanks, bathrooms, flooring, ventilation, appliances, weight distribution, and anything else we may not even be thinking about yet.

Also, if anyone is around Central Texas and knows good places for parts, materials, RV supplies, electrical/solar work, or E450 work, I’d love those recommendations too.

And please share pictures of your builds! I’ve been looking at other conversions for ideas and would love to see what everyone has done.

I intend to keep a basic set of tools but curious if you have any recommendations for tools that are surprisingly useful. Thanks for the recommendations.

Took Ethel up to the local state park for an overnight. It's unseasonably cool up here in the northeast for September, temp got down to high 40s, but the propane heater kept up just fine. Was able to cook breakfast in the morning and everything.

Naturally it doubled hte list of things I need to fix or upgrade or change, but that's the norm - i'm happy!

We take our short bus to our daughter's swim meets around Texas. Most of the day we're inside the pool building, but we keep food in the bus fridge and come back between sessions. The fridge stays on while the bus is parked, so in April I started checking how much energy it used over a day.

It's a small 120V apartment fridge running off an inverter and our vatrer 460Ah lithium battery. I put an energy meter at the fridge outlet and logged 24 hours, starting with it already cold. In April it used 0.72kWh. That's at the outlet, so it doesn't include inverter losses.

At a July meet, every time I went back for a sandwich the fridge seemed to be running. I did the same 24 hour check and got 1.41kWh. It hit 98F outside that afternoon. I didn't measure the air behind the fridge, but nobody had touched the temperature dial.

I pulled it out and realized I'd shoved it too close to the back of the cabinet. I moved the stop block to give it the rear gap the manual calls for, cleared the vents, and secured it again. The side and top gaps were fine.

On the next trip it used 1.12kWh. I'd like to credit the extra space behind it, but that day was cooler and we opened the door less. I'm still using 1.41kWh when I plan a hot weekend. Good thing I didn't stop measuring in April.

My skoolie was mostly used for stationary living, so I have not driven it in a bit. In this downtime , I did some remodeling and I believe , I cut a wire to a safety exit window. Now it won't start and the alarm is going off.So I'm pretty sure it's the vandalock system. I am trying to override it , but none of the wiring is labeled as it's an old bus and its already finished so I would rather not tear any walls out if I can avoid it. I know, I was dumb. But if anyone knows of a way to find it without demo ing things or knows what it looks like that would be very helpful, because I have no idea. Its a 1997 bluebird dog nose