I got the seats, luggage racks, silver heating vents, and most of the bathroom out.
Before I put plywood down over the floor and on the walls/ celling... is there any real reason why I should rip up the original floor, walls, and celling? I would rather just plywood over it. There does not seem to be any rust issues.
I guess my question is:
Is there anything wrong with using the original insulation? I just want to keep this as simple as possible.
Under that original floor are the AC ducts. There is a lot of "crud & filth" in those ducts. If left in there, it can cause a musty, moldy smell in the bus, especially if the bus sits for a awhile all shut up. Ask anyone that has cleaned out these ducts. Jack
Jack is right because in our Eagle we found that to be true but let me also add that every bus is different! Some used more than others and in some cases they weren't even used as charter buses. In our present bus, we just went over the existing flooring with new plywood. The OEM floor was two layers of 3/4 inch and one layer of something sandwiched between the two plys and then the heavy gauge vinyl floor on top. I added 3/8 inch ply to the whole thing which made for a pretty stout floor and pretty sound proof too! A bitch to cut holes in I might add!
Ace
The floor in my mci 7 was good and straight, so I just put down fake pergo flooring on top of the proper backing. No complaints. My bus did not have any odor to begin with. I really just matters how fancy and much time you have and want. Keep us posted!
Glenn
Our plan was to use thin plastic sheeting instead of plywood. You, know, the kind you see in public bathrooms and stuff. It comes in 4x8 sheets in various colors and textures. Thin, light, easy to bend, hids dings and stuff and easy to wipe clean.
Were going to alternate soft white with light blue across the ceiling, with off white on the walls under the windows. Various strip moldings are also available with this plastic stuff. Plan was to attach with screws with chrome dimple washers. HB of CJ
information/opinion post
The way I am planning on doing it will seal the floor and walls so you wont smell the old mold/dust/dirt/eww
The walls will seal to the floor with calking.
The only thing I see as a benefit to removing the floor is to make more head room. How much wood is there on a MC8 floor? 1"?
Quote from: JackConrad on February 08, 2009, 01:25:54 PM
Under that original floor are the AC ducts. There is a lot of "crud & filth" in those ducts. If left in there, it can cause a musty, moldy smell in the bus, especially if the bus sits for a awhile all shut up. Ask anyone that has cleaned out these ducts. Jack
If iremember right, I think it was 5/8" or 3/4" plywood and 1/8" vinyl flooring. Jack
Is there metal under that? Any pics?
i would advise that you remove the walls and remove the insulation. my bus was rust free, though there was quite some rust behind the wall panels. either way, even if you remove the walls and insulation and there is no rust, the exposed frame gives you a nice flat backing to put your plywood up against.
but thats just me and my 2 cents. i didnt go through the hassle of removing the entire floor. i just took a circular saw and cut out about a 1ft wide section all the way down the duct. when im done cleaning the ducts (tonight actually) im just going to take 4x8 sheets of 3/4 sheathing and lay it down right over it. an inch of headroom is not worth the hassle of removing the floor, especially since its covered in vinyl tile adhesive so i wouldnt even know where to begin searching for the screws.
Think about how much insulation you will need under the floor. You will be surprized how much cold comes up through the stairs and the floor. The more insulation the better, if you ask me.
Bill
Take into consideration how you will use the bus. Ocassional weekend use or full timing. If you do plan on full timing in all kinds of weather then replaceing the original insulation is a real must. You dont have to go for spray foam, it can be done with sheet insulation.
The foil faced sheets on the floor as Bill mentioned is a nice touch, almost a must for full timing. Alot depends on the budget and intended use. Keep in mind you are trying to heat and cool a tin can!! Once the plywood is on the walls and the cabinates are in you will not want to go back and redo the insulation.
HTH Jim
Just curious here...after removing the "silver heating vents" will a person still be able to use the otr system for the AC?
yes, you just have to duct it out
Thanks iminaccess,
I'm in the market to buy and wanted to remove those vents but didn't know if I would lose the bus air in the process. Good to know...Thanks!
no problem! im actually in the process of getting ready to duct mine out myself
I would remove the walls and ceiling and put in new insulation. ( I did ) The old insulation has little R value. My 5 c floor was 1/2 or 5/8 plwood. You can see the plywood above the bays. I insulated my floor also.
HB, I used the pastic sheet for my bathroom ceiling. I glued it to the alumium ceiling, it looks good. Hope it stays up there. Tom Y
Quote from: Freedom Rider on February 08, 2009, 04:31:53 PM
Just curious here...after removing the "silver heating vents" will a person still be able to use the otr system for the AC?
Sure, if you run new ducting. The question is why you would want to.
The original aircon is only good when the engine is running, so if you want cooling when parked, you need a couple of roof mounts or a basement mount. If you are doing that, you might as well pull out the heavy original system and use that space for something else.
Besides, the old system uses something like 25 POUNDS of refrigerant, so recharges are a bit expensive.
One thing I've learned driving buses, and we had non airconditioned buses converted both ways with engine driven compressors and generators with roof units and the engine driven stuff wins hands down.
Never ever get rid of the oringinal engine driven system. Take it from a man from Tucson that drives buses all day in the 110 degree heat.
I was dumb enough to buy my MCI with it removed and I would give my left nut to have it back.
Simply my opinion
Quote from: Oregonconversion on February 08, 2009, 03:33:57 PM
Is there metal under that? Any pics?
On our MC-8, no metal under the plywood. In the area of the 3 bays, if you look up at the bay ceiling, you are looking at the bottom of the plywood (except the area of the "tunnel" that runs down the center of the bays. Over the wheels, there is fiberglass insulation under the plywood, then the wheelwell. Jack
I kept the front ducts so I would have heat on the road but the cooling seems not effective maybe to lo on refridgerant. I have never noticed any bd smells so I left the floor alone. Jerry
Look at this to see what under the plywood floor and some of the dirt removed from there.
http://www.incredibus.com/Floorremove.htm
Hope this helps
Paul
QuoteQuoteSure, if you run new ducting. The question is why you would want to.
The original aircon is only good when the engine is running, so if you want cooling when parked, you need a couple of roof mounts or a basement mount. If you are doing that, you might as well pull out the heavy original system and use that space for something else.
Besides, the old system uses something like 25 POUNDS of refrigerant, so recharges are a bit expensive.
Reason I wanted to keep the bus air was that I read in a lot of these posts that the roof or basement airs that are added really can't keep up when driving down the road.
Quote from: Freedom Rider on February 09, 2009, 09:57:23 AM
Reason I wanted to keep the bus air was that I read in a lot of these posts that the roof or basement airs that are added really can't keep up when driving down the road.
There are many variables that determine the effectiveness of roof or basement ACs while driving down the road.
Among these are bus insulation, amount of glass that the sun is shining through, your position in relation to glass sun is shining through, location of AC ducts, efficiency of your particular AC system, color of bus exterior, type of curtains (if present), outside air temperature, etc.
Our bus is pretty well insulated, exterior mostly ultra white, with average amount of windows that are tinted. Our AC system is one basement unit (24,000 BTU) and we no problem staying comfortable.
Now, that said, if we are driving west in the late afternoon, our bodies are absorbing so much radiant heat through the windshield, that it would be difficult for any system of overcome that completely. We have 2 of the small fans installed above the windshield that re-direct the cool air onto us. this make a big difference. Jack