SanFord the Great! A 1956 Ford B-600 RV

In reply to Dusterbd13:

It actually came with two clusters. I'm hoping that between the two I can get all the factory gauges working again.

Amazingly enough, I haven't seen any bugs. Maybe the uber cold north kills them all?

A/C is going to be on the list. It will need to be done by this summer or the bus will never get used. It might be a case of using a generator and the rooftop unit for now. I'll have to see how my budget for this year goes. Buying the bus and getting it home put a pretty good dent in the play money.

I've never worked with a rooftop unit before. I'm assuming it's electric?

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Yep, 110V so a generator would have to be running for it to work.

I happen to have a 70s era 3kw Onan, that I could mount on a rear bumper, that would look pretty cool, but it's a heavy SOB. Still tempting.

What if....you have put a generator, chunk? Electric motor... Onto the drive belt of the big block? Or maybe 2 alternators and 2 or 4 batteries?? Just thinking aloud cause well, generators are loud

So, does this mean it's a rat rod? :-) I think a dead rat sticker on the back when finished would be the perfect homage.

Why can I not get the thought of building the rotisserie for this project out of my mind?

I'm with bearmtnmartin in that the scope of this build kind of overwhelms me.

I had a similar camper bus and mounted a generator in the right rear by making a compartment below floor level with an access door just like any motorhome.

You never said in the original Bus thread, how many people does or will SanFord be sleeping? That might determine how much you can expand the privie area.

In reply to Don49:

That is probably what will happen in the long run.

In reply to Kia Racer:

It's going to sleep 2 comfortably, 4 if they are family and 5 in a pinch. I'm down to 2 kids at home, soon to be 1. My plan is to have SanFord completed by the time I retire. I'd like to spend several years cruising around the country. That gives me about 15 years to finish it. Realistically, that's probably how long this is going to take.

NOHOME wrote: Why can I not get the thought of building the rotisserie for this project out of my mind?

Why is it every time I start a new project it rains for days. This happened with the Jet Boat too. It's kind of irritating.

I bet that thing smells of rich mahogany and leather bound books.

In reply to Scottah :

At the moment, it's closer to gym shorts and football jerseys. I'm working on it though, or at least I will be if the rain ever stops.

Is there any history to the bus or did the Previous owner just buy it and park it? Be interesting to know it became a camper and where it has been?

In reply to NOHOME:

The story as I was told it. The bus was bought by a Vietnam Vet that wanted to get away from society after the war, and converted into a camper. He lived/camped in it for a bunch of years in the Pacific Northwest, in the Oregon/Washington area. I don't know if he died or just sold it, but it ended up with a guy in Indiana.

The Indiana owner changed the engine to a 1970s Ford FE big block and added the two speed rear axle and modern one piece wheels with new tires. It then sat basically untouched for 10-12 years before the Wisconsin owner bought it.

The Wisconsin owner trucked it home and got it running again. He fiddled with it some and never really used it. He had it a year or so. He sold it to me to finance a move from the great white north, to the mountains of Tennessee, and I drove it to Charleston, SC.

That brings us up to present.

Carpet on the ceiling? What were they thinking??? If the roof has been leaking, I can only imagine what it must smell like.

If going diesel for the drivetrain, start looking for a small diesel generator. There are some out there small enough to fit under a Sprinter, so they would definitely work here. Of course, since the diesel is ways down the project list, a gas one would be better for now. But I'd recommend starting the search now in case you run across a cheap one for sale since brand new they are not cheap, unlike gas/propane RV generators which are easier to find.

I've been reading about composting toilets. Not cheap, but would avoid the need for a black water tank and better/less smelly than chemical toilets.

I know I've mentioned it in the past, but check out the Creative Cruiser website. While he's obviously working on a crazy budget, there are still some good ideas for maximizing space.

There are also tons of videos on YouTube from guys/gals who have DIY RVs and camper vans and is another source for interesting ideas to steal (and some to avoid...).

In reply to Ian F:

In the 70, all surfaces were carpeted, ceiling to ceiling. Lucky for me the roof leaks are confined to the front above the windshield and that carpet has already been pulled. There is a slight funk going on though. It will get better as things come together.

I considered a composting toilet and if I was starting from scratch I probably would, but there is already a black tank and toilet installed, so I'll use them.

I checked out the Creative Cruiser. Holy Huge Budget!! I think I'll have less in my entire bus then he has in the wheels and tires. Very cool project.

If the grey and black tanks use the same dump valve, then it's pretty easy to combine them and get more grey water capacity. From what I've read, the biggest advantage in getting rid of the black water makes dumping a lot easier. You can almost dump anywhere. And when the toilet is full, the compost is fairly benign and can just go in the trash.

Good to hear about the leaks. I had a mental (nasal?) image of wet carpet nastiness.

In reply to Ian F:

This entire bus dumps into the one tank. Good thought on the ease of dumping and extra capacity. That's worth considering for the future. Especially for long term camping. I would love to be off grid capable for extensive boondocking. A compost toilet would certainly help extend the time between dumps.

mazdeuce wrote: Rat pictures downloaded. Photobucket was nice enough to let me know I could get them on holiday cards if I wanted. I might take a bit of artistic license with the eyes and such, but I think I can get you a pretty cool dead rat sticker out of it. Mrs. Deuce thinks I'm a weirdo.

If it were my bus, that rat would have been dipped in polyurethane and hung from the rearview mirror. Then again, I have a big pile of cowE36 M3 dipped in polyurethane, framed, and hanging on my wall...so maybe I'm the weird one???

In reply to petegossett:

Yep, you win.

In reply to petegossett:

You can't tell us that and NOT post a picture.

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Ian F: This entire bus dumps into the one tank. Good thought on the ease of dumping and extra capacity. That's worth considering for the future. Especially for long term camping. I would love to be off grid capable for extensive boondocking. A compost toilet would certainly help extend the time between dumps.

A diverter valve under the sink wiht a garden hose attached running outside works great when boondocking for the grey. Just get it aways away. That stinks worse than black as it decomposes. Really.

mazdeuce wrote: In reply to petegossett: You can't tell us that and NOT post a picture.

Ok, here you go.

Damn, I just realized how dirty it is!

So here's the backstory: My father was an artist, and my parents owned a small art gallery/frame shop in our tiny hometown. They became known for, and eventually accepted the motto of "We can frame anything" - I remember antique firearms, coins, beer cans, a 7' rubbing from a Middle-Eastern tomb, etc.

At some point dad & grandpa decided that framing a pile of cowE36 M3 would be a good idea - this is even odder than it seems, as dad didn't drink, and grandpa only had one beer(Old Milwaukee) before bed each night. So grandpa asked a farmer buddy for a favor, who then followed around a cow in the pasture with a trash bag for an hour or two, until the deed was done. Grandpa let it dry in his garage a couple weeks then coated it with poly, and dad did the framing & mounting. There's a plaque on it that says "Donated by Steve Lockhart and Cow".

SWMBO won't let me hang it anywhere she can see it though!

I must admit. This is the first thread I have ever seen that literally went to E36 M3.