Converting a MCI bus into an RV...

[ka0tyk]

If you have time.Hershey Chocolates tour. Kids will never forget the day they toured Hershey Chocolate.If open?

we spent a day at Hershey park! Hot but it was actually a nice park! We have had Disneyland passes for a long time and I’d say they did a great job compared to like knotts and six flags (ghetto and filthy)

 

[ka0tyk]

Plymouth Rock

 

[Ol Man]

Thanks for your summary. Sounds like your design is working well for you. You are really doing well on fuel mileage. I get about 8 on my present 38 foot pusher and previous 35 foot pusher.

Continue enjoying your vacation.

 

[ka0tyk]

Thanks for your summary. Sounds like your design is working well for you. You are really doing well on fuel mileage. I get about 8 on my present 38 foot pusher and previous 35 foot pusher.

Continue enjoying your vacation.

I’m def impressed with the Detroit 12.7. It continues to pull up hills easily. Only problem I am having is a governor at 70. Sometimes when trying to pass or getting a running start at a hill some more speed is necessary. Im not looking to cruise faster I like just going 65-70. But having it fall on its face has been frustrating. I’ve been really liking the Allison transmission brake retard. The first setting lightly applies it with just braking, next click is lightly with decel and then more aggressive the more I push it. Less actual braking the better on the hills.

it was pretty crazy though to lift the engine hatch under our bed and see just how massive that motor is.

 

[ka0tyk]

Boston vs Yankees at Fenway.

 

[ka0tyk]

This jellystone campground is amazing. They have tractor and monster truck rides, water park slides, etc. nailed my parking spot backed in first try. Everyone was watching thinking I couldn’t fit. Woo!

 

[fmo24]

Next you need to set up one of your minis to flat tow so you have a run around car.

 

[ka0tyk]

Next you need to set up one of your minis to flat tow so you have a run around car.

unfortunately we sold the blue one that was a manual. Our white s is an auto and can’t be flat towed. I was thinking about ditching that and grabbing a little focus zx3 like I had before. They’re super light and pretty reliable, unlike the minis.

 

[DWC]

Plymouth Rock
View attachment 1028024

What a cool trip. Kids will never forget it.

 

[dirtslinger2]

This jellystone campground is amazing. They have tractor and monster truck rides, water park slides, etc. nailed my parking spot backed in first try. Everyone was watching thinking I couldn’t fit. Woo!

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Which campground is this? I'll be in Yellowstone in a few weeks.

 

[ka0tyk]

Which campground is this? I'll be in Yellowstone in a few weeks.

they have a few parks. We are still in PA.

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts

Splashier, cozier, and way more bear hugs than your average vacation. It’s not just a campground. It’s Jellystone Park!

www.campjellystone.com

 

[ka0tyk]

Kinda funny someone recognized me and wanted a picture! We are YouTube famous! Hah.

 

[Slick]

Boston vs Yankees at Fenway.

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Nice! Curious where you parked the rig in the Boston area.

 

[ka0tyk]

Nice! Curious where you parked the rig in the Boston area.

sister in laws house. Hah driving in downtown would be hell. We have had to drive through some towns and roads that the bus clearly was not meant to be on. But some times the locals have been very helpful. I had to pull over for a phone call and a policeman checked on us, etc. for the most part we have been able to drive most places… one road had a 10 ton limit and we were on it for maybe two miles before hopping on a highway. So far no low bridges, but we are pretty low if I drop the bus down it’s 6”.

 

[RVR SWPR]

You guys obviously research and plan every project,every trip,experts time management etc. Low bridges could be major factor planning your daily travels. Good to know you aware,especially this first major trip right out of the build gate.

 

[ka0tyk]

Frank Lloyd Wright falling water.

 

[ka0tyk]

Guess where…

 

[69hondo]

Guess where…
View attachment 1034520

Pirates cove.

 

[DRYHEAT]

Pirates cove.

Sure looks like the parking lot but then again I’ve never seen it that empty.

 

[ka0tyk]

Sure looks like the parking lot but then again I’ve never seen it that empty.

yeah here on a Friday and the other side is completely empty.
Gonna toss the ez up out and let the kids splash around before he head home for the last leg.

 

[WildHorses24]

yeah here on a Friday and the other side is completely empty.
Gonna toss the ez up out and let the kids splash around before he head home for the last leg.

You home yet? Looks like some drama in your track!!! Swat, county heli, Multi-casualty Incident!!?? Saw it in the HB community forum and thought of you guys… hopefully you’re sipping Colorado Coolaid by the water still [emoji6]

Update: Buddy is HB Det, multiple shot while serving an eviction notice.. resident was lying in wait.

 

[ka0tyk]

You home yet? Looks like some drama in your track!!! Swat, county heli, Multi-casualty Incident!!?? Saw it in the HB community forum and thought of you guys… hopefully you’re sipping Colorado Coolaid by the water still [emoji6]

Update: Buddy is HB Det, multiple shot while serving an eviction notice.. resident was lying in wait.

we're fine, we actually were over at kaiser getting a covid check when all that went down and we're 3 or so blocks away.

ehhh it was a little more than that. a guy lived with his father in the home, mid 50's. father died and before he did so, the guy wrote a letter had the father sign it along with a witness (not a notary) saying that he was leaving him the house. his two sisters came along after the dad died and wanted to sell the house they thought they were entitled to. they used some real estate loop hole and attemped along with their realtor and another (who was supposed to be the muscle in this process) and served dude a 24 hour eviction notice. guy came outside, shot the muscle dead, shot the sister and the other realtor in like the arm and went back inside and thats where the standoff left.

people sure get greedy for things they never worked a day in their life for and are willing to die for them...

 

[ka0tyk]

Back home safe and sound. All cleaned up and ready to head to storage tomorrow.

 

[ka0tyk]

Good lord these oil filters are HUGE and it runs two. The blue one is a filter for my 8.1 for comparison.

 

[Meaney77]

Good lord these oil filters are HUGE and it runs two. The blue one is a filter for my 8.1 for comparison.

View attachment 1042573

Oil changes are fun, get your 5 gallon bucket ready!

 

[ka0tyk]

Oil changes are fun, get your 5 gallon bucket ready!

Yeah it def takes a LOT more oil than I am used to. Also was surprised to see that it has a coolant filter. Anyways gonna do all the filters and such, I didnt do it for our trip because it had recently been serviced with records and such. Just checked the levels. But after our 6000 mile trip its time.

 

[Ol Man]

I buy my oil in 5 gal containers and use this to pump into the engine. Nice and clean;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MCXOPO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[JayDub]

We've really enjoyed the chronicles of this adventure! Great family times for sure! Just a quick mention of something I'm sure you have prepped for in your follow up maintenance. I've ran this in all my diesel engine coolant systems, especially for protection against cavitation loads. Kudos to you and yours! Great youtubes, too!

Diesel Engine Cooling System Antifreeze Coolant Additive (hyperlube.com)

 

[STV_Keith]

I’ve been really liking the Allison transmission brake retard. The first setting lightly applies it with just braking, next click is lightly with decel and then more aggressive the more I push it. Less actual braking the better on the hills.

Your fuel mileage is impressive. With the Cummins ISM450, my 38' has got a best of 7.9mph not towing. 10 is amazing!

The trans retarders are awesome! Sounds like you have the 6-position joystick as well. That makes braking so much easier. In town, I just use the joystick and barely have to touch the service brakes. On the longer or higher setting decels, you do need to watch retarder oil temp though. Retarder output temp goes up quickly, and is separate from trans temp. I run the VMSpc software and have it connected to the J-1939 bus to monitor engine and transmission data, and watch this while using it. The retarder temp has a max transient of 330*F if I remember correctly. I generally let off it if I see it get to 250 or so. Higher temps mean more frequent trans fluid changes.

As for the oil changes, you might consider something like the drain pan I got: https://www.ebay.com/itm/114727103836

Looks like you're enjoying it...that's the key!

 

[ka0tyk]

Your fuel mileage is impressive. With the Cummins ISM450, my 38' has got a best of 7.9mph not towing. 10 is amazing!

The trans retarders are awesome! Sounds like you have the 6-position joystick as well. That makes braking so much easier. In town, I just use the joystick and barely have to touch the service brakes. On the longer or higher setting decels, you do need to watch retarder oil temp though. Retarder output temp goes up quickly, and is separate from trans temp. I run the VMSpc software and have it connected to the J-1939 bus to monitor engine and transmission data, and watch this while using it. The retarder temp has a max transient of 330*F if I remember correctly. I generally let off it if I see it get to 250 or so. Higher temps mean more frequent trans fluid changes.

As for the oil changes, you might consider something like the drain pan I got: https://www.ebay.com/itm/114727103836

Looks like you're enjoying it...that's the key!

I think the biggest factor of mpg is speed... I generally have cruise set at 65. I'm getting a J1708/J1587 programmer so I can see everything the bus is doing as well as calculate total mpg per trip, engine load, etc. I'm not sure if I have the abiility to see "retarder temp" I think its all looped together with trans temp. I notice on a long hill if I have it on 2nd notch (first is only with the brakes pedal depressed) that the trans temp creeps up a little higher than usual.

 

[STV_Keith]

I'm not sure if I have the abiility to see "retarder temp" I think its all looped together with trans temp. I notice on a long hill if I have it on 2nd notch (first is only with the brakes pedal depressed) that the trans temp creeps up a little higher than usual.

I'm guessing that's a 12-pin J1708/J1587? If so, the Silverleaf VMSpc will work. That's what I have.

Here's the 2-in-1 laptop with the keyboard removed I use to display all the data. Microsoft Surface 4 Pro (2015 model I got for $300 on Craigslist), using 3 of the Magic Mount Pro XL magnet phone mounts to hold it to the dash.

 

[ka0tyk]

Just doing some misc odd and ends. Got all the pocket doors cut painted and hung with hardware. Doing closet door and cubby doors with hinges. Also converting away from drawers in the bunk rooms to lift up beds with storage underneath.

 

[ka0tyk]

Also tossed in the bunks and brackets. Kids were super happy about bunk beds!

 

[havasujeeper]

I'm blown away with the finish work.

 

[ka0tyk]

Spending the weekend camping. Feels good to be back in the bus.

 

[ka0tyk]

Managed to get on the lake too! She was a ripper! 20hp governed probably to 25% throttle and 3 miles of fishing line wrapped around the prop.

 

[ka0tyk]

Got a license plate to go with the bus and our YouTube channel. RV THT BS

 

[ka0tyk]

Tore apart the front cleaned the front ac coils and we ended up spraying everything with a grey vinyl/plastic spray that looks pretty good. Not shiney more like an oem finish.

 

[ka0tyk]

Got some camping sheets

 

[ka0tyk]

We have been posting a lot on Instagram etc. we have started getting recognized for brands like kitchenaid, furrion, rice-a-roni, etc.

 

[ka0tyk]

This is how I get rid of stress and relax. Wash and clean, polish wheels at the campsite. Heh

All clean and ready for this weeks trip!

 

[ka0tyk]

Our overpriced Covid firewood left over from the bus build. Lots of plywood.

 

[Ol Man]

I have really enjoyed following your Youtube videos. You have accomplished a lot.

 

[ka0tyk]

It’s been worth all the hard work.

 

[ka0tyk]

Best part? Can make a pit stop anywhere for lunch!

 

[havasujeeper]

Love this thread. Now that you are done, what are your biggest regrets, foolish shortcuts, and other designs that you didn't think out enough?

 

[zhandfull]

Best part? Can make a pit stop anywhere for lunch!
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Looks like Ventura.

 

[ka0tyk]

Tonight’s project. As some of you know who watch our YouTube channel we control our lights with a micro controller called an “Arduino.” It’s an inexpensive yet powerful and open source method of having a programmable way to control things. We divided our lighting in our bus into six sections. Front, kitchen, bath, bunk, bedroom, and center row. Why do we need a center row to be it’s own section? Well those who have a bus know when you need to walk from the front to any section back you need to turn on the lights. But what if you’re going all the way to the back bedroom to sleep? You don’t want to have to turn on every section along the way. Each section has two simple push buttons mounted on the wall. The top button when pressed will turn that sections lights on and off. The bottom button will turn on and off the center row of the entire bus. Each section has six 12v lights and three center row lights for a total of 45 led lights. That’s a lot to control with just switches. There is a 5v positive signal from our Arduino to each button. When pressed a circuit is made and that signal is sent back to the arduino’s specific pin. The code sees a “high” signal and it’s action is to send a “high” signal on another pin to a relay which applies 12v current to that sections led lights.

However 9 lights in each section is pretty bright. Currently we only have on/off with a relay board. That’s where this comes into play. To properly dim a led light you need to do something called “pulse width modulation.” Think of it as an extremely fast blinking of the light. The higher the frequency, the more it blinks the more light is emitted from the bulb, the brighter it is. With all the lights they require a decent amount of amps to run which the arduino itself cannot support. So I built this “hat” for our arduino which will remove the relays and replace with these “mosfets” which will allow us to dim our 45 “high current” lights efficiently. So once installed a press will turn them on/off and then a long press will do a dimming cycle, releasing will keep it at that setting.

Having a controller can at some point allow us to set a timer, or control the lights remotely using our phones/Bluetooth.

Stay tuned for a video demonstrating this process. I understand a lot of this seems extremely complicated to most.

 

[Racey]

Tonight’s project. As some of you know who watch our YouTube channel we control our lights with a micro controller called an “Arduino.” It’s an inexpensive yet powerful and open source method of having a programmable way to control things. We divided our lighting in our bus into six sections. Front, kitchen, bath, bunk, bedroom, and center row. Why do we need a center row to be it’s own section? Well those who have a bus know when you need to walk from the front to any section back you need to turn on the lights. But what if you’re going all the way to the back bedroom to sleep? You don’t want to have to turn on every section along the way. Each section has two simple push buttons mounted on the wall. The top button when pressed will turn that sections lights on and off. The bottom button will turn on and off the center row of the entire bus. Each section has six 12v lights and three center row lights for a total of 45 led lights. That’s a lot to control with just switches. There is a 5v positive signal from our Arduino to each button. When pressed a circuit is made and that signal is sent back to the arduino’s specific pin. The code sees a “high” signal and it’s action is to send a “high” signal on another pin to a relay which applies 12v current to that sections led lights.

However 9 lights in each section is pretty bright. Currently we only have on/off with a relay board. That’s where this comes into play. To properly dim a led light you need to do something called “pulse width modulation.” Think of it as an extremely fast blinking of the light. The higher the frequency, the more it blinks the more light is emitted from the bulb, the brighter it is. With all the lights they require a decent amount of amps to run which the arduino itself cannot support. So I built this “hat” for our arduino which will remove the relays and replace with these “mosfets” which will allow us to dim our 45 “high current” lights efficiently. So once installed a press will turn them on/off and then a long press will do a dimming cycle, releasing will keep it at that setting.

Having a controller can at some point allow us to set a timer, or control the lights remotely using our phones/Bluetooth.

Stay tuned for a video demonstrating this process. I understand a lot of this seems extremely complicated to most.

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Super cool!

I've used lots of these pre-printed boards from sparkfun as well. They make it super easy to build "shields" for the arduino.

SparkFun Power Driver Shield Kit - DEV-10618 - SparkFun Electronics

This shield allows you to use a computer power supply (or other power source) to use your Arduino to switch high current. With RFP30N06LE MOSFETS, you can

www.sparkfun.com

If you need any help on the code i've spent a lot of time working with arduino.

 

[timstoy]

Best part? Can make a pit stop anywhere for lunch!
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Looks like Rincon, one of our favorite places to camp.