Pooper, Pooper, No More Pooper (michael)

Pooper, Pooper, No More Pooper I was not going to worry about the Head in the rear of the bus. I've read all the horror stories on the boards and I again, didn't want to do it. I told myself that we did not have time and I would remove it when we got on the road and I had some down time. It started to eat at my brain last night. I woke up, walked out to Mrs. Jones and thought," I'm going to call Jeff again!" He came over at 1pm. I showed him the task at hand and without hesitation, he went for his tools and got to work. I didn't tell him all the stories I read on line. I just showed him where all the brackets were then I stood back and helped out when I was needed. Man, it worked like a charm. 3 hours later and just a little sweat and dirt and the tank was sitting on the ground next to Mrs. Jones. Life is good! I have more space!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Propane Compartment (michael)

Propane Compartment

Another thing I was dreading doing to Mrs. Jones is the propane compartment. It's funny to me that I have all this knowledge and experience in building, but somethings I would just rather not do. Like PROPANE COMPARTMENTS. Now just because I don't want to do something, does not mean I don't have to do it. Christi makes me. She said, "An electric stove top costs too much and I would rather have gas". As you men know by now, Mama gets what Mama wants and Mama wants gas. So I said "Fine". I went out to Mrs. Jones, picked up my cell phone and called Jeff. I told him of the wants and needs of Mrs. Jones. He arrived and we went to work. I sent Jeff over to the thrift store with a grinder to remove an LP bottle base for an old trailer, while I pulled all the material we will need out of the salvage pile. Soon we had padded aluminum sheets and aluminum angle stock. Mmmm, salvage. It was pretty easy to do. Don't know what all the fuss was about. We put the base and bottles in the bay below the cook top. We traced the footprint on the floor and found that we could use the floor supports as the top framing. We set the angle aluminum on the bay floor and affixed them with self-tappers. Then the padded aluminum sheet stock for the walls also screwed in place. Then caulked all the seams. Set the base. Cut the drains and placed louvers over them. I found some rubber seals and fit them so the bay door would fit tight when closed. Nice! I will run the line to the cooktop later. Thanks Jeff. What are you doing tomorrow?

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

New Post on the MAK Board (michael)

New Post on the MAK Board

I was on the Boards today and came across this post;

new guy how do you do these?

I am certain I don't know enough to know what I don't know! Some place there must be info on how to convert a bus, what kind of cost to do so, the best kind of bus to use or maybe the concerns and challenges using a particular bus. I am not interested in reinventing the wheel on every decision to be made. What are the values of these buses before and after? I know tough question. I see many advertised/ebay never see any selling prices? Just a start. Go ahead and answer these and those questions I have not thought of yet. many thanks

I went to work and could not stop thinking about this question. I remember when I was asking this question just 5 months ago before we got Mrs. Jones.

My Answer:

Well, bja1234,

First, welcome to the madness. I say that because that is what was said to me. New Years Eve/ New Years 2009 I couldn't sleep after a show. I got on the net and LSS "I want a Bus. Well, I got one and my wife and I are converting it. We don't have money But, we do have exp. in building and are working. That said, I believe that getting a bus has brought immense joy into our lives. The sense of accomplishment, meeting great people and working side by side with the one I love is priceless. We are Blogging the story of our "Change of Life, Bus, Event" Here is the link; http://singinglandcruiser.blogspot.com/ . We have sold our house and hitting the road. All the Best, M&C

It's funny that sometimes it takes someone to ask a question out of the Blue for you to realize just how happy you are!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

More Cabinets and the Kitchen Sink (michael)

More cabinets and the kitchen sink I set the sink base but something was wrong. The cabinet looked like it was listing. I checked the measurement to the ceiling at each end of the base and sure enough, the floor is built at a slant. About a 1/4 inch in 1.5 feet. The sink base is a 1/2 inch out of plumb. So I cut and placed a 1/2 inch shim under the forward edge of the cabinet and screwed it to the floor and then to the wall. A straight edge continued the line along the wall to the corner and side wall. I used 2x4's screwed to the wall for the counter support. Then I attached the 18 inch base, shimmed, to the sink base in an island configuration. Set the counter tops and cut in the sink. The 18 inch draw base fit on the opposite wall, add a counter top and were done. Well, I still have to build the cabinet for the oven. I'll do that soon.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

A Post to Toast (michael)

A Post to Toast

http://blog.toastfloats.com/

My Dear Toast, Christi and I think you and the Doc. are doing a fine job. We will be on the Road in just 60 days. Can you believe it? Our son Jared, a true tween, will be going to his dads' in CA for 7th & 8th grade. There is a small chance that he will come with us and we will home school. Christi has been reading your War Intell and will implement your tactics. We tried the traditional home school program before and it was a total flop. We truly believe you have paved the beaten path for a HS system that WORKS. Now for the important part, where do we send the Care Package??? Stay Safe, M&C

For those of you how don't know of her, her blogging was the catalyst for us to take the Giant life altering step into the bus and blog world. We will forever be grateful to Toast.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Bathroom Tile Grout (michael)

Bathroom Tile Grout

Dad is at it again! Randy Smith came back to finish the bathroom tile job. He bought a big bag of goodies for Mrs. Jones (the Bus), IE: sand colored grout, sealer along with all the tools to do the job. I have to say" They don't make them like him anymore". He dove right in and in 5hrs. he was done with the shower AND he did the floor too. He stated that he needed to have the Boss sign off on the work, So he went and got Christi. No! not me, Christi! She gave it her blessing. Then dad packed up this tools, cleaned up and refused money for the supplies he brought. I think Mrs. Jones is in love. What a guy!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Treasures found after the Bus Demo (michael)

Treasures found after the Bus Demo

Well, I guess you could call it Treasure. When we were ripping out the Int. of the bus, coins started turning up. Not a lot, mind you, But still enough to get ones hopes up. I am a Treasure Hunter from way back. I have all the standard Th'ing toys for coin shooting, cache hunting, nugget snipping and placer mining... So when coins start popping up, the hunt is on. I was not going to blog about this because we Th'ing'ers tent to keep our finds close to the hip. But, it made me wonder what other Bus Nuts have found while ripping their buses apart??? We found pens, about 30 of them, pencils, casino advertisements, buttons, photos, notes, a token, a commemorative coin, nuts, bolts, screws, a few coins, a small diamond ear ring and a small gold nose ring. The most interesting thing we found was wedged in the front drivers compartment. It is a card with a quarter glued to it and it reads "HELP, Although I cannot leave the accident scene, I must still notify my company as soon as possible. Please use the attached quarter to call my employer at: Then the driver and bus info. followed by, Thank you for your assistance. We didn't find this card until now because we are keeping this small upper locking compartment intact. I will come in handy on the road for maps, bus info... I was prepping it for the end cap when I found the card.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Tiling the Shower (michael)

Tiling the Shower Today, the shower got its skin. Beautiful tile. My dear adopted dad, Randy Smith provided the laying skills and I made all the cuts. Wow, it sure looks good. Christi is grinning ear to ear. Dad says "piece of cake". I'll call him to come grout it and help me with the wood flooring. Thanks Dad.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Painting, Priming (michael)

Painting, Priming.

Christi started priming all the bare bead board in the bus. She used Killz 2 and we think it looks great. She will be painting the walls in off white and lite earth tones. Nice job.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Venting Through the Roof (michael)

Venting through the roof. For some reason, I did not want to do this. Putting a hole in the roof is just wrong. I put it off as long as I could. Momma want a bathroom and a kitchen sink. I used a 2.1/4inch all purpose hole saw and a drill motor. I cut a hole in the 2x4 plate and then carefully cut through the aluminum ceiling. I stopped to inspect for wires and sure enough, their they were. A whole bundle of them. I moved them out of the way and drilled a pilot hole through the roof in the center of the hole. I climbed up on the roof with all the tools and supplies I need to complete to task at hand. Using the same hole saw, I cut through the roof. Wheew! Not as bad as I thought it would be. Using a 50 year silicone caulk and 1/2 inch self tapping screws, I applied the flashing to the roof. I will paint it white later so it will blend. I then cut the ABS vent pipe at a slant and put it through the flashing boot with the slant facing the rear. I read that on someones web page. A small piece of P-tape and 2 screws held the pipe in place. I'm glad that is over with!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Re: Can you remove the A/C frame work on a MCI 102A3 with a 8V92????

This is a ? we posted on the "MAK Publishing Bus and Coach Conversions Bulletin Board" We removed the compressor and rocking mount in the rear of the bus. Now we have the 2 supports (frames) that is welded to the side wall and the main frame that supports the 8V92. Her is the link; http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=11690.0 I found a good use of this space without cutting a thing.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Crown Super Coach has found a good home. (michael)

The Crown Super Coach has found a good home. Our 1952 40' CSC Skoolie is now in a good home. Our " Who's Your Phil Guy" Phil and his wife Jane are now the proud owners of ol' #10. Our Phil Guy knows all and is a wise sole. They will do well with this old classic. They plan on fixing her up and go to the craft shows, bike & bus Rallies. We, Christi & I, are glad she has gone to a place that will give her the love and care she needs. For pics see Crown Supercoach. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/