1973 Blue Bird

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon May 30, 2011 4:05 am

Coming soon:

Conversion of the 1972 Chevy (former class C camper) to a flatbed equipment hauler. Many pics included. We are working on it today.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Tue May 31, 2011 10:35 pm

As you may know, there are lots of animals on the property here. This is the friendly chicken. She is always curious as to what we humans are doing, so she hangs out with us.

Last week, Marha got some baby ducks and one baby goose. In just a few days they doubled in size. The one at the bottom center of the pic is the goose.

Some full grown ducks hangin' around.

Mark R. Obtinario · Post by **Mark R. Obtinario** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:29 am

Rudy, just a fyi about taking the living portion of a class 'C' off and turning the rest into a flat bed truck.

You may have some problems when it comes to licensing it. That is, if you decide to change the use from RV to truck.

Just as it is hard to get some of the licensing people to change a bus to an RV it is just about as hard to change an RV into a truck.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:56 am

Mark R. Obtinario wrote:Rudy, just a fyi about taking the living portion of a class 'C' off and turning the rest into a flat bed truck.

You may have some problems when it comes to licensing it. That is, if you decide to change the use from RV to truck.

Just as it is hard to get some of the licensing people to change a bus to an RV it is just about as hard to change an RV into a truck.

Mark, Zac mentioned the same thing. He just has to jump through the bureaucrat's hoops. It can be done, though.

Many pics coming soon. It is cool.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:35 am

Busy, Busy,Busy.

First, it has been two weeks since the injury to my arm. I am happy to report that most of the black and blue has dissipated. It will be another week before I can play accordion.

The conversion project to a flatbed hauler has come to fruition. I have MANY pics and descriptions of the process.

It will take a day's worth of posting to get it on here.

If I don't go to the show today, I will have time. If not, I will begin posting tomorrow.

I have to level the bus because the drainage from the air conditioner leaks inside the bus.

At this moment, I am involved with loading the flatbed with staging and tent equipment.

Busy,Busy,Busy.

Stay tuned for more of the adventures of the Blue Bird Guy.

Standaddy · Post by **Standaddy** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:47 am

Sounds like you're really busy enjoying your new home Rudy. That's a good thing.
Stan

ezrablu · Post by **ezrablu** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:59 am

Rudy, I'm happy for you being so involved and enjoying your new life! Looking forward to your photos

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:15 pm

Now, for the continuing saga of the adventures of Blue Bird Boy.

Let us begin with the transformation of a 1972 class C motorhome into a flatbed equipment hauler.

In this first pic, you will see what the truck looked like. It sat idle for many years on the side of the shop as well as other properties.

The tires were bought new when the motorhome was parked. They are in remarkable condition, being that they were never exposed to the sun.

The camper section was dismantled, and the appliances and systems components were traded for other mechanical stuff.

Shortly after the camper portion was removed, Zac spotted an Avion pickup truck camper. He got the idea that he could build a (new) camper.

The Avion was strapped onto the Bed of the Chevy. It rested there for five years. The (new camper) project never came to fruition.

Contained in the next several pages you will find a comprehensive look at the transformation of the van/truck. Complete with photos and descriptions of the event, this article is sure to be a winner.

Sit back and enjoy the show.

The (new camper) awaiting becoming something else.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:33 pm

The first step in the project was to wash the whole unit, and then remove the Avion from the van.

Here are some photos of the wash day. We moved it in front of the shop with Zac's cool little diesel tractor that has a front bucket on it. There are photos of it that I had posted when I first arrived here.

Let the cleansing begin. I had some of this stuff called Purple Power Auto Cleaner. We used that with good results. We diluted it in the water bucket and used brushes and a sponge.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:44 pm

Here you see the aluminum frame that will become the bed of the equipment hauler. The roof of the camper still needs cleaning.

I must say that I was impressed with how clean it came with having to get the scum off of it.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:30 pm

We got the motor started. It is a 350 with a Holley 650 carburetor. It has dual exhausts and an RV cam. It ran rough (more on that later).

It was sufficient to move the van so we could extract the camper from it.

This is a very heavy Avion truck camper. It was a precarious job to jack it and support it.

We moved one of the Jeep trucks, (with the tractor) and created a space for the camper to live.

Someday, there will a walled section all around the bottom which will also become another floor of living/sleeping space. It will actually be a two story guest house with a deck off the back. As I said, someday!

We supported the camper with three 55 gallon drums, part of a steel work table, and a wooden frame.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:13 pm

We were fortunate that the van has a metal floor. We bolted the aluminum flatbed frame to the van floor.

We removed the fiberglass "wings" from the cab.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:30 pm

Here you see Zac getting ready to put the frame on the van. This frame was welded together from 2 inch square aluminum stock. A friend of Zac's did the welding. The frame is 8 1/2 feet wide and 11 feet long.

Originally, there were to be many of these frames made. They were to be hinged to the side of a large trailer. They were to be used as a fold-down stage.

The trailer was sold shortly after just one frame was made. Zac still has many 20 foot sections of the aluminum square stock.

We laid the frame onto the floor of the van.

Here is a section waiting to be cut. We used a chop saw to cut it. We then put several sections under the frame to raise it in order to give clearance for the tires.

The lovely Marha giving some sage advice. "Where are your safety glasses?"

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:47 pm

We used recycled 2X8 pressure treated deck boards. We drilled through the board, through the pieces of aluminum, and through the steel floor of the van.

Here you see Zac bolting the frame down. We used 1/2 inch thick carriage bolts with nuts and washers.

We bolted to the van floor in 9 places. We also bolted the ends of the aluminum runners to the frame.

Rudy · Post by **Rudy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:02 pm

The first two boards are mounted. You can see that the fiberglass "wings" have been removed.

Although my left arm was still injured, I was able to assist in this project.

These are the carriage bolts we used for the attachment to the van floor.

NOMADICISTA

1973 Blue Bird

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