I wanted to add some stairs to the emergency exit near the back of the bus. It’s just nice having multiple entrances.

This project took a very long time because I am not very good at welding, I needed Kate to be on-site, the weather has been pretty bad for the last couple months, I was busy, and the holidays got in the way. All excuses aside, it was a difficult part of the project and I wanted it to be done correctly, so I took my time.

As you can see, water can still get in the door and pool up on the bottom stair. I’ve got to do a better job of sealing it up. However, the basic structure is there and functional. I feel very good about this modification.

Okay, I know CB radios are pretty much obsolete. However, they are still useful…in theory.

This project has been driving me crazy. I didn’t make any video of the installation process because I thought it would be a quick plug-n-play option for the bus. When I got the bus, it had all the infrastructure for a CB radio to be installed. The only thing missing was the radio itself. The antenna was already wired up, and the power was already run to the spot where I assume a CB radio used to be. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly that easy.

The CB radio wasn’t a high priority, so I put it on my Christmas wishlist and decided I would install it if I got one for free. Lo and behold, my girlfriend’s mom got me the radio I requested on my wishlist. I wired it in and turned it on, and was excited to be picking up some local signals. To be sure I didn’t mess anything up, though, I decided to read the manual and make sure I was doing it right.

For those that don’t know, CB radios and antennas require tuning. I did not know this. My radio comes with the ability to test my antenna to see if it’s a good match. Unfortunately, I kept getting error messages and warning signs. So, I took to the internet to troubleshoot what was going on. Either my antenna or my coaxial cable needed to be replaced, and I needed something I could tune.

I started with the easy part and changed out the coaxial cable that runs between the antenna and the transmitter. Same error. After some hemming and hawing, I decided that it was worth paying for a new antenna to make my free radio work. I installed the new antenna in a better position on the roof (according to what I had learned) and immediately started receiving a much clearer signal. Problem solved, right? Wrong. The antenna was properly matched, but for some reason, my standing wave ratio (SWR) was either off the charts too high or so low it wasn’t registering. I read up on tuning until I became an expert, but I couldn’t dial it in with my radio’s on-board SWR meter.

A quick note about SWR: The SWR meter measures the amount of energy that is being output from your transmitter vs how much of that energy is being reflected back as electrical heat. Ideally, you want your radio transmitter to transmit energy in the form of radio waves. If your antenna is not properly tuned, however, you might end up reflecting that energy back in the form of heat, and frying your transmitter. Receiving is fine, but you could damage your transmitter while trying to transmit with an untuned antenna. The SWR meter compares how much energy you are outputting to how much is being reflected back. An SWR below 2:1 is decent. The lower the better. 3:1 is extremely bad. No matter how I tuned my antenna, I couldn’t find anything between 1:1 or 3:1. What’s worse, if it’s off the charts too high, the radio would automatically protect itself by restarting, so my radio wouldn’t stay on.

After some more research, I discovered that SWR meters that are built in to CB radios tend to be kind of junky and inaccurate. But, this can be remedied by using an external SWR meter!

I decided to do a sanity check with an expert. I went to a local shop called CB Radio World. The place is basically a shack built in the middle of a large plot of land that is covered in dead cars. I parked in the driveway and walked into the store, through the back shop area. The guy working there followed me in. I felt like I was in somebody’s secret electrical lab. The guy behind the counter was a skinny, grizzled looking dude with a salt and pepper beard. He had a lanyard around his neck with three radios hanging from it, all tuned to different channels. I knew I was in the right place. Anyway, I tell the guy my whole story about troubleshooting my system and say that I think I need an SWR meter. He says that’s probably what I need, but he doesn’t have any in stock. However, in the course of our conversation it does come up that the new antenna I bought is probably making my bus stand over the standard highway height clearance limit. It’s not a big deal, since the antenna whip is flexible, but god damn it, if I’m going to do this…I’m going to do it right. I buy another shorter antenna with a spring and I’m off on my way, back through the shop of mangled radio equipment, on my way to my car.

In the driveway I run into some other grizzled old guy. He asks me if I like oysters. I love oysters, so the guy hands me a half-dozen oysters that he had harvested that morning at his property on Vashon Island…or so he says. I take the oysters and I’m back on the road.

I try several electronics stores and super-marts trying to find an SWR meter. Nobody knows what they are. After explaining that it’s for a CB radio, they say they don’t carry anything like that. Nobody even knows where to point me. So…off to the internet…again.

I threw down some more money and got a cheap external SWR meter shipped to my house. I waited about a week until it came, but it didn’t have a jumper coaxial cable to connect it into the signal chain of my antenna. So, I had a coaxial “jumper” ordered and did expensive overnight shipping because at this point the CB was driving me crazy and I just wanted the project to be over with. I plug it in and turn everything on and the meter doesn’t move. I adjust the antenna, still nothing. Also, I’m not getting any signal. What the hell? Either the jumper is messed up, or the SWR meter is toast, or I’ve ruined my radio.

I decided to order another SWR meter to be sure. I ordered a different brand and wait another week for it to come in the mail. This one came with a jumper. I plug it in, and it’s working! I can actually read my SWR! The first SWR meter was faulty. The readings on the working SWR meter are WAY off from what I was getting on the radio’s built-in. Now I’m going from the roof of the bus, to the cab, testing and retesting, trying to get a properly-tuned signal. I must have climbed up and down about 50 times until I got something workable.

Finally, after all that, I’m ready to try it out. I turn it on and sit there, listening to the radio for a solid 15 minutes. I hear some people talking, but I don’t know how to interject. I don’t know how to talk CB. I listen for a while, trying to catch on to the lingo, before giving up and consulting the internet again. After some digging, I find a good script to ask for a radio check. I go out to the cab and turn it on, but the only signals I can hear are communications between a trucker with an oversize load, and his pilot car. I don’t want to interject and cause some kind of horrific car accident, so I turn to channel 19. 19 is the go-to party line for when you’re looking for a conversation…or at least it was in the 70s. I start transmitting my script into the ether: “One-niner, one-niner, this is Woolly Mammoth, can I get a rig check.” Nothing. “One-Niner, can I get a rig check. How are you reading me one-nine?” Nothing.

Suddenly I remember that I own a CB scanner! In my attic I have a really old multi-band radio that is used for passively listening in on radio chatter across many different bands. It can listen to CB! I go get it, plug it in and give it a go. I can’t tell if I can hear myself in the radio, or if it’s the echo in the bus. Without anybody else around to help, I decided to make the video below to test it out. Sure enough, I’m transmitting loud and clear…at least across the yard.

So was it worth it? I don’t know. I know I can transmit and receive, but there doesn’t seem to be many people on the airwaves. CB is definitely not mainstream anymore. On the one hand, I now have access to citizen-band radio in case of emergency, or to keep me company on the open road. On the other hand, I spent around $200 on equipment, trying to make my free gift work…and there doesn’t seem to be anybody around to enjoy it with. We’ll see if it ever comes in handy.

I’m going to try my best to keep electrical power consumption to a minimum on this bus. Backup cameras have wireless options and other add-ons that I decided I didn’t need. I need to see what’s 30 feet behind me, but that’s about it. I chose the wired option so I wouldn’t have to splice into another DC circuit to power the camera. This meant running wire from the front to the back. Luckily, my bus is stripped down to the studs right now, so that’s an easy task. Also, I don’t want the camera drawing phantom power, so I decided to attach it to its own switch, requiring that I manually provide power to it in order to activate the system. The results are pretty sweet, but it’s starting to get kind of cramped in my nest of wires.

Bus windows are notoriously leaky. This video shows how I went about removing and re-sealing them so they will hopefully do a better job of resisting moisture.

It’s a race against time to get the bus painted before the weather shifts. I enlisted the help of my friends to come sand the bus with me. It just needs to be scuffed so the paint will hold better. It’s a big project, so why not make it a party?

As you can see in the very beginning of the video, I tried to install a lock and measured wrong. Kate came by and corrected my mistake. I’ll try again soon.

Once sanding was done, some buddies of mine helped me get the floor up, too.

After finalizing my bus plans, I decided that some windows are going to go. The windows in front are fine, and offer a very open view. I will be resealing them to be sure they don’t leak. In the back, though, I want some more privacy in places like the bathroom and closet. In the way back, I will eventually be installing RV windows.

I don’t know how to weld, so I enlisted the help of my friend, Kate. She’ll be a big help throughout this project, I’m sure.

My bus was equipped with a pneumatic stop sign. It needs to be removed in order to register as an RV. Again, I wasn’t able to find a video that detailed how this is done, so I winged it.

The heaters in the bus work very well, but they only work when the engine is running and warmed up. That’s great for staying warm on a school bus route, but not so great if you need heat while you’re living in a stationary bus with the engine off. They are tapped into the coolant system, so after doing some research and not getting very far, I decided to just hack it apart and hope for the best. This project was something that I felt really needed a video explanation. As far as I know, I’m providing the first video on the subject. Hopefully this demystifies the process for anybody out there that is considering doing this.

Something to consider: My bus is kind of old-school. On newer buses, there’s usually a locking hatch on the outside of the bus, just below the driver’s side window. That hatch is very important. From there, you can get better access to your wiring and plumbing just behind the console. My bus doesn’t have this feature, so I’m stuck with what I can see/reach. Therefore, when I reconnected my pipes and couldn’t get them into the hole behind the heater, I decided to leave it that way. If it fails, at least I can and see/reach what I’m doing. If I had the outside hatch access, I would have cut the lines and reconnected them inside the hatch for better stowage.

In order to be registered as an RV, you must get rid of the school district signs, the stop sign, the swing arm, and the red and amber overhead flashers. The point of the flashers is to warn motorists that the bus is stopping, or is stopped, and to be aware that children are present. Some people remove them completely, and weld over the holes where the lenses used to be. I opted to re-purpose the lights into useful floods.

I ordered new clear lenses for the lights at something like $8 each, and rewired the system, removing the flasher relay in the process. Now, when I flip the switch that used to activate the flashers, it turns on my overhead lights. The front and back are on different switches. The video below does a decent job of explaining how the system works.

Most school buses don’t lock. This is a safety feature so kids don’t get stuck on buses overnight. However, I want my doors to lock. I’ve seen solutions that other people have come up with. The most common is the three-prong deadbolt, similar to what Seinfeld has on his apartment door. However, it still allows for the door to swing a bit, so I wanted something better. I also wanted to be able to lock and unlock the door from either side. Some conversions just install a latch for a padlock. That’s not very secure and not very pretty. You can only lock or unlock from one side. Not very functional.

My door is an accordion door. In order to open it up manually, you need to push on the center and fold to the side. If you can’t push it, though, you can’t fold it, so it is essentially immobile. Therefore, I decided to put a lock in the floor that would brace the door from being pushed.

The first plan was to get a door handle similar to what you would find on a heavy steel double door in a school. When you pull the handle, a mechanism contracts a bar above and below the threshold of the door to allow it to swing open. These latches are prohibitively expensive, though. I thought I might try to do something with a garage door handle and some metal, but it seemed too complicated and those locks aren’t all that secure.

In the end, I decided to install a simple deadbolt down at the base of the door. It does what I need it to do. The downside is that I have to bend over to unlock it. The upsides are that it’s cheap, secure, has a solid lock that can be re-keyed, and I can lock and unlock it from the inside without a key!

If somebody wanted to get in, they would need, at minimum, a strong wrench to tackle some of the hinge and tracking hardware that is part of the original door construction. They could also try to break the window and unlock the other side. The door doesn’t rattle when locked, and is extremely secure in this state. At any rate, getting in would take time. I think it’s enough of a deterrent that thieves would move on to easier pickings.