New guy with an MC9

[Vido50]

Hello there bus people.
My partner and I purchased a 1983 MC9 in the summer and we have slowly begun to convert the coach into our tiny home (250 sq') on wheels. Our intention is to create a home with the ability to pick up and move as we wish or becomes necessary. We don't really intend to travel a whole lot though we do want the option.

Our sweet beast has a 6-cylinder Detroit Diesel with an Allison automatic transmission that was previously operated by a touring children's choir and then a local church that used it for youth outings on Vancouver Island - so up until 3 years ago it had been going through regular inspections and servicing. Seems appropriate that they would have chosen an MC9 Crusader II!

We are trying to keep our expenses to a dull roar so we are going to do most of the work ourselves. We do realize that since between my lady and myself we have slightly less than zero technical knowledge about what we are doing that we will require some professional help - yes, I know - but so far we have been getting along well with a grinder, drill, sawsall, crow bar plus all the general info and demolition tips & techniques online. I've been blown away by the volume of expertise and experiences you people are sharing! Especially grateful for the detailed log that gumpydog has provided on his website - particularly the removal of the interior luggage racks. What a guy!

We are now at the point where we have stripped the interior down to where we can begin the building up process... almost. I have not been able to locate enough info to feel confident in the removal of the interior auxiliary AC condenser unit that sits up top across from where the WC used to be. I am hesitant to completely undo any of the hoses for fear of releasing Freon or other coolant into the air or onto the floor. There was a lot of hissing when I loosened the connection at the braided hose connected to the back of the unit. Can anybody advise me on the best practices to remove this unit please?

And FYI (since I know someone will probably ask)

We are organic gardeners that want to grow our own, tread lightly, love deeply and reduce, re-use & recycle so we will be looking for the least toxic, locally produced materials, where possible, with a small eco-footprint etc. (So yes, we will eventually have a composting toilet system)

This is the plan-du-jour, so far:

We plan to use birch plywood for floors above the existing ply and lino with a layer of insulation board between.

We will frame the walls below the windows, insulate and clad it with light-coloured wood.

We have left 3 of the 4 segments (except the back passenger-side section where the shower will be located) of the lighting troughs from the luggage racks that house the track lighting and speakers and use LED bulbs as house lights so we will re-use the coved metal ceiling tiles and do a tongue and groove central portion running the full length, in sections. The ceiling has been stripped to the outer shell and we will re-insulate with   (Spray foam, board or batting?)

Any suggestions for 1/2 - 1'' insulation options are welcome for floor, walls, ceiling. Looking to avoid fire retardant.

Heat will come from a wood fireplace - probably a tidy little high-efficiency marine unit that we have not sourced yet – and we plan to leave the floor vents accessible for the OTR heat source also. We live on southern Vancouver Island so AC is probably not such a concern as all the windows flip open and our summer nights are quite cool usually.

It's great to be on board and thanks in advance for any and all advice & contributions to our new home!

David

[Scott & Heather]

Hi David,

Congrats on the bus purchase. Lots of great info here. Our current bus is an MC9 also. If you click the link in my signature below, you will see 900+ detailed photos of our conversion including our 9" roof raise might help you along the way. Ill throw out some thoughts and others will chime in:

I'm a little confused as to what a/c condenser unit you're referring to since I thought that era of 9's had the condenser up front just behind and under the drivers seat behind the screen mesh on the side. Can you post a photo of what you're referring to? Also, if you aren't going to keep the OTR a/c, drive the coach to a local truck repair facility and they will evacuate the freon safely into their containers. You may pay something in the $80-100 range to do this but if your concern is for the environment, that's your best option.

If you're keeping the original side windows, be aware that almost all of them leak at some point in time. Be sure you've addressed this before cladding the sides with wood.

In terms of insulation, IMO you don't want to use batting. I know it came with it in places originally but it gets wet from condensation (a constant battle in a metal tube) and the batting becomes useless. Foam board or spray foam are your best options (closed cell).

Scott


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[PRZNBUS]

Check to see if your AC has R410a coolant, if it does it doesn't contribute to ozone depletion.

Bruce

[Timkar]

Welcome on board   

[buswarrior]

Welcome to the party!

It sounds like this coach has the auxiliary AC unit mounted on the back wall beside the washroom?

Welch Industries was the common supplier name IIRC.

Don't harm the unit, someone may want it for a home brew project?

Does your coach AC work? Somewhere around 25 lbs of refrigerant in a full system...

local auto shop might evacuate it for you?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Check out the Rage Bus Project if you are into ecofriendly.  https://www.facebook.com/ragebusproject.  They are three girls that travel around the country and grow plants and are all about being eco friendly. I had the opportunity to meet them when they drove through LA a year or two ago.  They are a very interesting group of girls.

[Vido50]

Thanks guys.

Found a receipt for a coolant top up from a few years back... Freon R134A. Searched it to find it is not an enemy of the ozone but it has a "global warming" rating of 1200!! Not sure how that rating works but sounds apocalyptic. Made a few calls today and think I have someone to evacuate the system... or we may leave the unit in place if we can brew our own at the back of the bus!

Scott, I will be using your photo archive for reference as we move ahead - thanks for posting it. After looking at your photos it doesn't seem that I would see evidence of window leakage without removing the inner skin. Another decision to ponder but I guess this won't cost anything and will allow for better insulation.

Cheers,
David

[moosemanusa]

plenty of AC guys will happily do that task for no cost as they will recycle the freon..

just a case of calling a few..

[Oonrahnjay]

plenty of AC guys will happily do that task for no cost as they will recycle the freon..

just a case of calling a few.. 

    I had a similar situation in Charlotte, NC.  The best "no cost" solution I found was to pay a company $175 to come remove it from my Gillig donor bus.  It must be some seriously difficult stuff to handle because it seems to have all leaked out one night without anyone noticing.

[luvrbus]

Not to be a smart @$# like I am sometimes but give me a break, you worrying about Freon and spilling a little oil in the environment.Then you buy a 1983 MCI with a 2 cycle Detroit Diesel and that probably has asbestos in the flooring along with asbestos brake shoes.Don't sweat the small stuff go for it 

Good Luck      

[eagle19952]

Not to be a smart @$# like I am sometimes but give me a break, you worrying about Freon and spilling a little oil in the environment.Then you buy a 1983 MCI with a 2 cycle Detroit Diesel and that probably has asbestos in the flooring along with asbestos brake shoes

Good Luck     

not to mention the carbon footprint that I read so much about.

[plyonsMC9]

David! Welcome to the forum! Hope you will have time to post an occasional picture as your bus/tiny home project sounds pretty interesting.  Kind Regards, Phil

[TomC]

As far as insulation goes-unless the existing floor is soft, I'd leave it alone. Since heat rises and cold sinks, insulating the floor isn't that important. Just overlay with either carpet or wood floor and you'll be good. All the insulation that you want to do will be a giant job. My bus (transit) has 1" plywood that I left alone and cold floors have never been an issue (coldest I've been in is 17f).
As to the rest of the bus, spray foam insulation is the best. I stripped my bus down inside, welded a couple of cracks above each door (millions of openings from being a transit), wire brushed then sprayed with Rustoleum primer. Then I screwed in 1x2 fir strips horizontally to the supports to have an anchor for the plywood. Then had spray foam installed that was 2.25" thick. Spray foam is a nasty, sloppy job that I would strongly suggest you have a professional do. Then used 1/4" plywood over on the walls, and 1/8" plywood on the ceiling that easily bent to the curvature of the ceiling. Many ways of doing things-that's why we buy our own buses. I've had my bus now for 23 years with being usable for that past 16 years. Now doing a truck conversion on my old '85 Kenworth 90" cabover Aerodyne. Good Luck, TomC

[TomC]

I know you don't think you'll need it, but with the ceiling down now, install at least two (I have three) 14" x 14" roof vents with 120v 20amp wiring to them to add roof top A/C in the future. I know summers in BC are very pleasant, but I'm sure you'll have sometime you'll be in the southern states during summer and need A/C. If you're keeping the bus for many years, the price of a Diesel generator is worth it. Good Luck, TomC

[Boomer]

LOL you took the words out of my mouth Cliff I just hit my edit button but you didn't, lol.  Leaking leaners are not environmentally friendly and you can't make 'em so.