The MUCV (Multi-Purpose Utility Command Vehicle)

[dirtygoat]

Hi, my name is Luey, I live in Washington State, Married with 3 kids...

We bought a bus about a year and a half ago and started building our home on wheels...

Plan on using it for camping, but you never know with the way things are going, it could be our permanent home one day... Always good to have a back up...

I'll post up pics over the next few days to bring the thread up to speed... Hope you all enjoy...

[dirtygoat]

'93 Genesis, 25', International DTA360, Allison 4sp, 97,000 miles, frame like a dump truck, automatic tire chains and a wheel chair lift...

Plan to convert into an RV/hauler... Here is what it looked like when I picked it up...

[dirtygoat]

Got the seats all out... The ones still in there are just for mock up to give me a feel for the space...





The ones facing sideways are positioned where the sofa will go...

The seats facing each other will be the dinette location...

OK, here's some stuff I've picked up for the build...

Got a fridge, stove, toilet, the smaller fresh tank, black tank, hood with light and fan, vent and some cushions all for $100...










I scored a larger fresh tank, a pump, converter/charger and a cabinet for free...

[dirtygoat]

So, we got the heaters out... Gonna save them in case I want to do the veggie oil conversion later... Took the front apart to get to the hoses...





Got the lift out, then started pulling up the plywood on the floor... Almost got it all out... My oldest boy is getting after it....












Have to clean everything up and prep the floor surface for paint...

It looks bad, but it's surface rust... I'll hit it with the wire wheel and coat it with some por15...

I just about ready to start building...

[dirtygoat]

The oldest boy was getting after it... He got in trouble a few days ago and he's kicked it up a notch to get back in Dad's good graces... He's usually a pretty hard worker, but you can tell when he wants something or trying to get his ass out of the fire...

Also got the boy some safety glasses are a member on another forum pointed out my error in judgement...

Here's the lift out and on the ground... That is heavy as hell...







Here she is in all her gutted glory... Gonna finish up the prep and hit the floor with some rusty metal primer then the black enamel...

[dirtygoat]

Started taking out the windows...

Had to get after the rivets, so I can skin it...

I thought I hated rivets when I was building the Blazer...

Then I went and bought a bus that has a million rivets...

[dirtygoat]

Me and the boys got some of the widows skinned... Got hot so, took a swimming break... Gonna get back out there and throw up another piece...
















On of my neighbors gave me some pretty thick galv sheet... Think it's 12 or 14 gauge... I plan on using this to make the side door disappear... Another freebie...

[dirtygoat]

I found an RV Salvage yard that just opened up out in Bonney Lake...

They have a good selection for just getting started and the prices are really good...

I picked up 5 windows, all have screens except for the one that is non-functional... $100 for all 5...



Also bought a 21' awning for $150... It's complete and in great shape, only has one tear about 2" long at the end right where it attaches to the RV(easy fix)... I still need to find a way to get that back to the house... I don't have a way to tow the car trailer until I put a hitch on the bus...

Got the side door off and gonna start grinding away at the rivets, then rebuild it so it has the same shape as the rest of the bus... I would never be able to use the side door with the awning open and I really don't want to work around it with the floor plan...




The stove I got off ebay... I pulled out the slate that I'm gonna use for the hearth...

Gonna build a riser with storage underneath for fire wood... Thinking it'll be about a foot tall... Then some corrugated metal for the walls behind it that will be mounted away from the wall about an inch and a half for air flow...

[dirtygoat]

175 rivets... That's just on the outside of the door...







Here's some pics of the door frame out...

Started getting the hole filled in...

I'll pull the rub rails off of the old door and put them on the new metal to kinda help out with the look...

[dirtygoat]

I've looked around for the matching skins... Haven't had any luck... If it bothers me to much I'll replace them later...

OK, here's the BS I've been whining about...

Removed all the rivets holding the skins on so I can put some real insulation in there and cover everything with osb...

Still have the other side to do...






So, we got the side door closed up and skinned the windows on the passenger side... Getting closer... Still have some rivets on the inside to deal with, I'll get to them later... Right now I'm pushing to get the outside buttoned up and paint it this week...

[dirtygoat]

Went over to Shane's and he cut the RV window openings with the plasma... Thanks again...













Got home and sat down in the recliner and fell asleep...

Only sleep for about an hour, then went out to start putting in the windows...










Still have some rivets to put in on the outside, but I wanted to get the windows in before finishing it all up...

[dirtygoat]

Got the sheet metal work finished along with sealing the seams... Removed the rest of the glue from the stickers and knocked off most of the rust/flaked paint crap...

Still have a few spots to prep and then I'll start priming... Not really putting to much work into the body, just trying to get it prepped well enough for the paint... If you look down the side of any school bus you'll notice that all the panels are wavy... So it's kinda pointless to try and make it perfect...

Hopefully it'll be painted and ready to put the awnings on next week...

Doesn't look like we've been doing a whole lot, because of how time consuming the little stuff is... Should start looking like the progress is moving much quicker after paint...

You don't realize just how big a bus is until you start sanding one...







Washed, Masked And Ready For Paint... Gonna Put Some Color On It Tomorrow...

[dirtygoat]

Talk about a chore...

Got It primed... Need a decent window in the weather to topcoat it...






Well, the weather held out and I got some color on it today... Still have to do the roof and a second coat, then the black... It's starting to come together...









Well, got the roof painted and a second coat on the rest of the bus yesterday... I was worried about the dew over night, but it doesn't seem to be an issue...

Gonna let it cure today, then mask and shoot the black tomorrow...

It took every bit of the two gallons my buddy gave me... Cut it close, but it was just enough...

[dirtygoat]

Started cutting up some diamond plate for the windows and to cover the holes at the top... Thanks Shane for the plasma assist...









Then started getting some black on it... I still have the other side I'll do tomorrow and paint the diamond plate for the back windows...

[dirtygoat]

Got the passenger side awning installed... Had to make some small plates to bolt to on the inside... Still have to install the driver side awning...







I got the diamond plate in the window holes and most of the front bolted back together... Still have to paint the grill and the pieces of diamond plate that will cover the holes up top front and back...