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Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: robertglines1 on February 19, 2010, 07:07:05 AM

Title: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on February 19, 2010, 07:07:05 AM
So with your help I have decided between two drive trains C-15 Autoshift(eaton) or 60 series pre egr with eaton...differential to either fit present one or different whole assembly;between 3:93   to 4:10....Diesel gen set around 12 kw...basement air..(won't fit in shop with roof air and I have done basement air before with good success)..repair bus aircond and heat..rear bath with 1/2 butt hut mid ship..2 or 3 slides...so see you have had siginificant influence on this new project....please be patient as more Questions will follow...now if I could build as quickly as design...launch date oct this year...will keep pictoral of complete build..Thanks to all!!Bob
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Phil H / Chicago on February 19, 2010, 10:19:01 AM
Bob...that sounds like one nice coach! I am/will be very interested in watching your progress. I have always loved some of the new designs with the full rear bath and 1/2 bath middle. Do the three slides for sure...maybe even the fourth :)

Where is your shop located...where will you be building it at? So I can stop by and see if I am ever in your neighborhood?

Thanks,
Phil
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: DaveG on February 19, 2010, 10:24:45 AM
Great to hear Robert...take plenty of pictures...for you and us!
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on February 19, 2010, 02:09:10 PM
build will be at home in Evansville Indiana S.W. corner of state ,any visitors should bring work clothes.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Phil H / Chicago on February 20, 2010, 08:30:27 AM
Sounds good Bob....I used to live in Indy and still have kids/grandkids there....so you are not far out of the way.  About all I am good at is pushing a broom, clean-up, and cabinet/woodwork. But I do want to learn the rest...I will bring my work clothes.

Thanks,
Phil
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Zeroclearance on February 20, 2010, 03:50:34 PM
Bob, can you take pictures of your progress and upload them to a "picture server"   You have my attention..    Are you planning on media blasting the under carriage??   Are you going to reskin your roof?   You have mentioned that you are going to basement air?   Good luck!!
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on February 21, 2010, 04:42:59 AM
Zero...bus had 433,000 original miles on it at last service record...roof is like new....already raised from factory...under carriage will be inspected but at this time does not apear to have any problems:had a rear fire aparently caused by a overheated brake.so engine compartment is a total rebuild . PO had stripped the bus of drive train and original interior and other parts.Over the years I have accumilated most of the parts needed...basement air has proven to be a less expensive to install and is more efficient(quieter also)less amp per btu cost from my experience..my very weak link is cabinet work...so at 63yrs old do I go to school???really don't have 10 plus thousand to have pro do..
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on February 21, 2010, 04:49:46 AM
Phil,or any cab gru's,have a stack of rough sawn red oak and cherry..(we run saw mill as a hobby) ...but that is end of my abalitys ..Have read the articles in BCM but still scares me..the rest doesn't..so be careful when you say you do cabinet work..Have plenty of bus parking and elect.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: luvrbus on February 21, 2010, 06:18:50 AM
Robert, I'll be following your progress and hope you have good luck not a undertaking for the weak. 
One thing that I am curios about is how are you going to title the bus it was going to be about impossible here in AZ.
Prevost had to certified the rebuild then you had produce records where you bought parts and paid all state sales taxes it just went on and on here wasn't worth the hassle for me in AZ.
I know when David at Southern Or Diesel rebuilt his H-45 took him about 3 years to get a title.
It came back as a salvage title and knocked the value of his bus way down he got about 1/2 of market value for the bus because of the title.
I wish you better luck.



good luck
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Phil H / Chicago on February 21, 2010, 07:18:36 AM
Bob....I sent you a pm
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
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Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
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Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Jeremy on February 21, 2010, 12:13:57 PM
Robert, I'll be following your progress and hope you have good luck not a undertaking for the weak. 
One thing that I am curios about is how are you going to title the bus it was going to be about impossible here in AZ.
Prevost had to certified the rebuild then you had produce records where you bought parts and paid all state sales taxes it just went on and on here wasn't worth the hassle for me in AZ.
I know when David at Southern Or Diesel rebuilt his H-45 took him about 3 years to get a title.
It came back as a salvage title and knocked the value of his bus way down he got about 1/2 of market value for the bus because of the title.
I wish you better luck.


I was curious about the legal aspects when I read that the bus had been in a fire - here a vehicle that has been in any sort of fire that resulted in an insurance claim cannot be put back on the road, and in some cases you cannot even use them for parts.

I'll be watching the conversion progress with interest as well, especially installing the three slideouts. It's a huge project to try to complete within 8 months - unless you are able to throw people at it of course.

Jeremy
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Skykingrob on February 21, 2010, 06:50:07 PM
Bob
Cabinets are really no problem after you build the first one because they all go together the same. Very easy to talk a person through, especially another prevost guy who understands that the most difficult aprt is scribing wood to the curved walls. As an aside, cabinets pale in comparsion to rest of the things you plan to do. When you get ready send me a PM. The only things you need are table saw, jig saw, kreg jig/drill bit/screws, glue, random orbital sander, wood of your choice and time. I chose 3/4" birch cabinet grade plywood for walls, floor, solid birch for rails/stils. BTW, I bought several parts off that bus before it was sold to you, so my 91 and it will be sort of like brothers!!

Rob
91 Prevost LeMirage XL
Missouri
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on February 21, 2010, 07:08:20 PM
as far a title Todd has promised the salvage certificate...with that and a bill of sale the dmv assures me I can get a salvage title...as far a resale I don't plan on selling as this is last conversion...I can apply for a builders certificate and a builders vin number also.. so have various avenues to the end as a RV title...presently working on it and will not go to far without a positive solution...feel confident it will work out..lots of ways to aproach build....we just ran a 36 dodge cab onto a 550 ford chasi..
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on February 21, 2010, 07:25:05 PM
Dallas about same...Fixed outer skin before I left...and weathered her in...named her OLD SMOKEY...got keys made to unlock doors and compartments...enjoying Fla for a while...
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: cody on February 21, 2010, 07:46:11 PM
Rob, cabinets are no big deal if your only looking from the utility aspect of them but some view them as an extension of furniture and for that the list of tools becomes more extensive.  Shapers come into play when your deal with raised panel doors, I prefer a tighter fitting joint than kreg allows, they start nice and tight but continually work over time to loosen, the nice part about that is you can retighten them if you can get at them, but I'm not sure I'd put them in the same catagory as a mortise and tenon joint or even a doweled joint, then you get the discussion of straight fluted dowels as opposed to a spiral flute, lots of variables but it's rarely simple, it can be I guess, it depends on how you want the final product to turn out.  With a table saw you can cut the dados and rabbits for drawer construction and the dadoes for fastening the inner panels to the faceframes but some prefer dovetailed joints for the drawers and all that can be a little more involved, maybe I'm too particular I don't know.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: belfert on February 22, 2010, 06:37:41 AM
If one wants raised panel doors and doesn't have the tools many cabinet shops sell just doors.  You can probably find a local cabinet shop or there are plenty on Ebay selling just doors.  A local cabinet shop might give a really good price due to the economy.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: cody on February 22, 2010, 06:56:13 AM
Your right a person can find raised panel doors in many areas but my point is saying that cabinetry is simple and you don't need much for tools is like telling a mechanic that he can run the rack with a ball peen hammer and a pair of channellocks.  It all depends on what kind of a job your looking for, like I said many want just utility cabinets but others may want more furniture grade cabinets and that requires not only some specialized knowledge but also the tools to do the job properly and safely, some are satisfied with the face frames butt jointed to the inner casework and others want the casework dadoed into the faceframes, it's all dependant on what kind of an end product your looking for.  I've seen some very nice cabinets made with a hammer and skill saw.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: luvrbus on February 22, 2010, 07:20:33 AM
I am with you Cody I believe cabinets should look like furniture (not the import cheap stuff furniture)I have a shop full of wood working tools and all I do is waste wood.
So now I am trying to experiment with pine making raised doors the Walnut and Cherry wood will break you screwing it up don't ask how I know  lol there is a art to cabinet making and making it look good.
I am not going to say how much we paid for our kitchen cabinets at home but it was a bunch and looking at one Sunday I noticed the back of one when drilling a hole and the thing look like card board made to look like wood and these were high end cabinets.   




good luck
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: cody on February 22, 2010, 08:14:00 AM
Not an uncommon problem, it seems that a lot of companies that specialize in "high end" cabinets feel that if it's out of sight it's ok, you see that in the high end coaches quite often too, even marathon seems to feel that laminate will cover a world of sins lol. The summer of 2001 I spent at the fort in Mackinaw city at the bridge building period furniture for their restoration, I had my tools with me but couldn't use them until after hours, because of the reenactments going on at the fort I had to dress in period clothing and use 1700's methods and tools during the open hours, I seemed to spend more time answering questions from tourists than actually working but i enjoyed it and it was an education in old world craftsmanship and the tooling they had, after closing I could bring out my power tools and jump 300 years lol.  Some of the furniture I was replicating were actual period pieces that were provided by the university of michigan, to handle and measure and duplicate a piece that had been build long before the revolutionary war by a few of the world famous craftsman  was an honor that I'll treasure always.  One of the pieces were a set of chippendale chairs that the fort commander had brought from england, the set provided for me to duplicate were an actual set that were very close to the original but were actual chippendale chairs from a museum, that was probably the hardest job I've ever done and thankfully they are now behind glass in a display, the 50ft rule never applied so much as right there lol, most of the projects were rustic but surprisingly complex like the butterfly fasteners for the legs and tabletops, easy in appearance but had to be so precise.     http://www.mightymac.org/michilimackinac.htm (http://www.mightymac.org/michilimackinac.htm)
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Phil H / Chicago on February 22, 2010, 08:29:52 AM
Cabinets are like so many other products out there for the consumer to buy and the terms "beauty" and "quality" and "craftmanship" are always in the eye of the beholder because they are relative terms. As Cody said...It doesn't take a great deal of knowledge and skill and equipment to build a cabinet, it all depends on what you want the finished product to look like. If all you want is something to hold up your countertop, then pretty much anybody can accomplish that.

Part of the problem with the cabinet industry today is the big box manufacturers have gotten so good at putting out a great looking face to the product while the interior construction and materials are lacking. And sometimes all the average homeowner can see is the face and the price. I deal with it everyday trying to design/sell....trying to help people look beyond just what they can see. I guess that's where the old saying comes into play....you usually get what you pay for.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: luvrbus on February 22, 2010, 08:38:24 AM
Where these guys get you is the term 100 % wood products I know what that means now 



good luck
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: cody on February 22, 2010, 08:49:56 AM
Clifford, I've swept up a lot of 100% wood products over the years lol.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: JackConrad on February 22, 2010, 09:23:44 AM
   When making a purchase today, I think the average consumer only looks at what they see when shopping. Very few consider how well it will hold up under day to day conditions such as cloth on the ceiling in a kitchen area. When you ask most people a technical question such as what kind of joints were used, how was it fastened together, or what kind of finish did they use, they don't have a clue. Of course, the same can be said for many of the sales personel also. 
   I think because, typically, most busnuts are into doing much of the stuff ourselves, we try to get more information before buying, so that our purchased is based on being an informed shopper.  Jack
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: cody on February 23, 2010, 04:13:25 AM
I've seen what bob has done with the present prevo he had at BK's rally, I have every confidence he will do a fine job with the new prevo, I liked the way he set up the island and how he designed and built the slide mechanisms. Anytime a person takes on a project like a burned bus regardless of the extent of the fire, it's a daunting job and not one for the weak of heart and my heart continues to weaken as I get older lol.
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Phil H / Chicago on February 26, 2010, 08:59:12 AM
http://en.visonerv.com/cgi-bin/md/M10999/s1.pl? (http://en.visonerv.com/cgi-bin/md/M10999/s1.pl?)

Hey Bob....(if this link works)....1997 Prevost XL 45 with wrecked front end. May be some parts you are interested in.

Thanks,
Phil
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: crown on February 26, 2010, 10:30:07 AM
 hey bob i went to there place and got some stuff nice folks if you pull parts its cheaper there are a few motels near buy
 one hotel gives a special rate to vision customers john
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Zeroclearance on February 26, 2010, 11:22:53 AM
The link of the wrecked Prevost was Dottie Rambo's bus.    When I seen the front end damage and the paint/artwork, I knew that was her bus.

Dottie Rambo on Fox News 5/12/08 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtqo6dALTqE&feature=related#normal)

My family and I were driving north thru Missouri in our (new to my family) Prevost, when the accident happened.   
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: robertglines1 on October 12, 2010, 03:08:28 PM
Oct 12th project is coming along slides in & insulated. kitchen cabinets set,butt hut in. glass here not installed.ready to clean and start finishing inside..appliances in.Judy has started on couch.Bed spreads and headboard.. next post will start new topic and include pictures..This build took longer than I had hoped for..should pick up now(pace) lots of prep work..Bob
Title: Re: 45 XLE up date
Post by: Busted Knuckle on October 12, 2010, 10:05:18 PM
Shoot Bob, let me know when you get bored I'll clear out a space for you to park next to the one I'm gonna help you convert for me ;) 
;D  BK  ;D
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