Replacing metal tubing on a Eagle

[Chariotdriver]

 We got the bus ramped up on some 12x12 timbers and this gives us plenty of room to crawl underneath.
Front tires and rear drive tires are all on there own 12x12 timbers so we feel pretty safe under there.
Is there any tricks of the trade in replacing some tubing under neath the bus?
Ideas that have crossed our minds.
1. Should we make sure that the bus is level before adding tubing to the bottom to prevent it from torquing when driven off?
2. The smaller square tubing under the bus and running lengthwise is in bad need of being replaced.
    We plan on adding some other tubing next to it and then removing afterward.
3. In the front there is some rounding pieces of square tubing that holds the rounded aluminum in place and it need to be replaced. What is the proper way to get the aluminum off considering the rivets and then back on as it looks like these types of rivets are bucked from behind, do I just grind of the fronts to remove and then purchase some to replace?
4. Any reason that we should not use a pressure washer (Hot Water pressure washer) to clean it all off prior to working in the bus? There is quire a bit of oily and greasy mess on lots of pieces down there.
5. Anyone used stainless down there to keep this from happening again?
6. Looks like some of the dividers between the baggage doors need to be cut and replaced down at the bottom. So it looks like it needs to have the aluminum strips and gaskets replaced while I'm at it, any ideas  as where order?
Any other tips would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Phil

[kyle4501]

There is a great guy that used to frequent these boards that is doing much the same to his Eagle & is doing a fantastic job of documenting it. He even has made a CD to help others out. He has posted a bunch of pictures of his project (along with tons of bus rally pictures) here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/converter101/albums/least-recent

Good luck

Here is another:

http://www.busconverter101.com/

No, I don't get anything from this, except the satisfaction of helping show others where some information is.

[Chariotdriver]

 Thanks for sharing,..
Phil

[Tenor]

Phil,
I am not an Eagle guy, but as for powerwashers - Have at it!  Stay away from wiring.  As for rivets, you can grind them off or drill them out.  Either way, you want to preserve the original hole.  Harbor freight sells a reasonably priced pnumatic rivet gun.  I do recommend you use the search engine here about what type of rivets to use.  Good Luck!

Glenn

[DrivingMissLazy]

There is a great guy that used to frequent these boards that is doing much the same to his Eagle & is doing a fantastic job of documenting it. He even has made a CD to help others out. He has posted a bunch of pictures of his project (along with tons of bus rally pictures) here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/converter101/albums/least-recent

Good luck

Here is another:

http://www.busconverter101.com/

No, I don't get anything from this, except the satisfaction of helping show others where some information is.

Anybody know what happened to Gary who originally posted this information? Have not seen him post for quite a while.

Richard

[Eagle]

Do a search on the board for Kysteve he has just about replace all of the tubing in his Eagle and doing a fantastic job.

[luvrbus]

Phil they use a special tool to remove the rivets with out damaging the siding  that you can buy from aircraft tool suppliers eBay has them also,use corten steel tubing to replace with , get the bus level and remove some of the weight from the wheels,bay door gaskets can be bought from Norris at Jefferson the aluminium strips are pop riveted on and most of the time clean up nice, you can buy any type rivet from Byler I use the shaved head when working on mine but again you need a shaver .   be careful and remember that the bottom out side rails carry most of the load on a Eagle     good luck.

[HighTechRedneck]

Do a search on the board for Kysteve he has just about replace all of the tubing in his Eagle and doing a fantastic job.

I second that.  Touch base with Steve.  You can check out his blog and photos on what he is doing with his Eagle rebuild here:

http://ourbusconversion.blogspot.com/

[kyle4501]

Anybody know what happened to Gary who originally posted this information? Have not seen him post for quite a while.

Richard

He is still active with his bus & rallies, generally living the good life. 

He got tired of certain posters harassing him, so he left the boards to keep the crap from starting again. 

So sad when one of the good guys gets chased off like that . . . . .

[blue_goose]

Been there and done that.
The big job is to find a place to stop.  When I did mine, starting in 1986 I didn't know anything except there was lots of bad steel.  The Eagle is built with metric size steel, all I could get was standard sizes.  Had to make it work, not much of a problem.  
All of the advice here is good, lots of luck and keep looking for that stoping place.

Jack

[kyle4501]

BTW, The more effort you put in at leveling the bus now, the easier things are later. 

With the corrosion you mentioned, the frame may be a little out of square. Find something that should be parallel to the shop floor (bottom of windows?) Then start adding supports as needed to get her level. RailRoad screw jacks are helpfull here. 

Recheck the position often as settling of supports will add to the confusion 
(This is where a laser level comes in handy.  )

[twragg]

 ;)Great questions!  I'll take #1,#4 and #5.  But first my qualifications.  I have a 1988 Neoplan an340 (truss frame like Eagles have) that has been highly modified (re-powered 60 series, raised roof, two 14' slide outs, re-framed main rails, new paint lock galv. skin, etc...
#1)  DEFINATLY level your coach, but not just in 4 places.  When you  cut out members, the strength of the truss design is ruined.  Everything becomes an unstable noodle! I leveled my coach (on a concrete slab with 14x14x14 blocks and shims) at all approved jacking spots for the frame. The roof is leveled, my floor slopes towards the front 2-1/2". Then I purchased 12 adjustable trailer leveling stands (trees).  I placed these at key tubing intersection points spread out under the bays.  Leveling the bus in 4 places was easy, adding twelve more adjustable stands was a cool breeze.  Side note: After I string-lined the floor and roof I found my bus had a pretty good belly in it, I had to gradually tension up on the adjustable stands to remove it. Even after adding all this support I found it necessary to only remove/replace ONE member at a time.  If the member was long (more than two intersection points) I would temporarily span the area just above or below the area and tack weld a temporary member in place .  Then I did my repair, and then removed the temporary member.
#4)  Wash everything you can when ever you can!  It still will be very dirty work.  If you don't clean it, it can be hard to stay motivated on greasy, grimy, rusty, dirty, _____ etc.
#5)  I had all of my tubing hot dipped galvanized (stainless was far to $$$).  I did use (as Neoplan did originally) type 304 SS sheet metal in all of the wheel wells.  Be sure to use Sikaflex 252 to seal ALL lap joints.  That will help with any future rusting.

I hope that helps, Tom

[kysteve]

Phil,

     You have gotten a lot of good advise here already.  I will second all, and by all means get Gary Labombard's CD and download all of it.  I reference it allmost daily and believe me I needed all the help I could get.  Gary's the Eagle guru as far as I am concerned.  He will help you to get the right info when he cant answer a ? for you.  Gary and I have become really good Friends building these Eagles and I could not have kept my head above water without him.  His links above are just good starters.  Go into the members area and look up his name and you will find links to his email.  I assure you he is reading all of this as we type.   

    All so look into Pat Bartlett's and Gumpy's site for good info too.

    It would help us all to identify the extent of your rust areas with a couple of photos

    Just fire away any ? and I am sure all of us here will help you get through your repairs.

    If you need anything just PM me or email me at sbg40503@yahoo.com

Thanks for the compliments guys  ..........Ky Steve ............

[rv_safetyman]

Depending on how bad your tubing is, you can also consider "double tubing" in the areas that need repair.  My definition of "double tubing" is to add a second tube adjacent to the existing tube.  That way, you don't have to cut the existing tubing out and end up with a bunch of butt welds.  You can weld along the seam of the two pieces of tubing.

I was fortunate that my existing tubing was good enough that the "double tubing" method worked well.  I show that process in a couple of places on my project pages listed in my signature.

In Gary's case, the tubing was so bad that he had no choice but to replace a bunch of it.

MIG welding can be very deceiving.  You can get a good looking weld that has poor penetration.  If you are not proficient at it, work with someone who can help you get good welds.  You can make MIG welds on  some "dirty" metal, but I guarantee that the weld will be inferior.  You must clean up the metal and make sure all oil is removed, as that will add carbon to the weld and make it weaker.

Just some thoughts.

Jim

[muddog16]

Gary and Steve are the Eagle guys when it comes to replacing chassis steel, they both have been through their Eagles, these old buses all rust!  Looking at both sites will give you the trouble spots on Eagles and also give you plently of idea's about correcting them!