Good News Bus - 1995 Genesis International DT-466 School Bus Conversion Project into a Motor Home

New Good News Bus Video!

2011-08-09T04:29:00.001-05:00

We have uploaded an new video of the Good News Bus called: The Good News Bus in Ten Minutes

Be sure and check it out. It is a very condensed video of the Good News Bus project.

Thanks!

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-05-31T22:57:00.002-05:00

I know this will be hard for our die hard fans to believe but after months of silence I am posting an update on the goings on of the Goods News Bus. As you already know we came up to Canada for a short visit with family. Believe it or not WE ARE STILL HERE!

Not long after arriving we had an opportunity to do some ministry while we were here. Bringing the "Good News" is what we like to do. We are actually starting a ministry work in the local city here. Not long ago we were featured in a local newspaper that covered what we were doing. We have a full band and my brother in-law who has studied the hot topic that is Creation vs. Evolution gives a great presentation on the issue. This and other things make for a great ministry night that we are doing once a month.

So for now we are in Canada for an unknown amount of time.

As far as The Good News bus is concerned. The winter was very harsh and I was not prepared for the cold. I had some pipes crack all of which are now fixed. We are moved back into the bus and enjoying it. It is like the Hilton on wheels. That may be a slight exaggeration but it is really nice.

More soon....maybe!

Maiden Voyage

2010-12-17T13:34:00.004-06:00

The Good News Bus departed the south on Nov. 30th and arrived in Canada on Dec. 5th.

This is the first time the Good News Bus has ever seen snow. Everything went well and we arrived safe.

Previouse Post Update

2010-11-11T09:23:00.003-06:00

In the previous post Tires & More!!! I posted that we had used tires placed on the back and new on the front. We were having problems with a lot of vibration with the used tires so we took them back and had news tires put on instead. Evidently the kind of wheels we have are hard to get balanced. I am trying to find a place to do it. But the vibration is WAY less with the new tires.

Odds, Ends & Backup Power

2010-11-11T08:48:00.005-06:00

If anyone knows what this plug is for, on the front drivers side of the bus, let me know.

I can only assume that it is a block heater but I am not sure.

The last few days I have just been doing some odds and ends on the bus.

First was a picture I forgot to add in the last post.

I had a new bumper cap??? made to cover the gap between the bumper and the back of the bus.

I also installed a 30 - 50 amp plug. Everything is powered up and seems to be working great:

I came up with a very simple but effective idea for a shower curtain rod in a tight place. I used a bungee cord:

If you lean against it is will not fall like an ordinary curtain rod.

I can add a second bungee cord to make more room in the shower:

Next I needed a lit entry way so I obtained 2 LED lights and installed them.

I installed a lock for the back door storage / room:

I received the backup power generator for the Good News Bus. There is a 30 amp cable I have run from the back of the bus to the Iota switching system. I tested it and it powers everything just fine. Very nice, VERY QUIET!!!:

Almost Done!

2010-11-05T09:10:00.008-05:00

So much has been done I am not sure where to begin. My internet has been down so I was unable to post as I went so here it is.

After installing the metal over the new door opening I was trying to figure out a way to hid the seam. I tried caulking it at first and was just not satisfied so I went ahead and used body filler on the seam.

Here is a pic with some of the body filler done:

Here is a pic of the door removed, body filler finished and metal painted.

Here it is finished:

Next I worked on the stairwell. Here are a series of pictures of the progress:

The tanks are also installed and hooked up and most important...working properly:

I also decided to move my battery bank to the other side of the bus in a more convenient location. I now have more room if I need to work on my batteries.

The washer / Dryer combo is also installed and working:

Last but not least I installed a stainless Steel Tail Pipe Tip:

For the most part the bus is done! I have a Honda 3000i Generator on it's way for the backup power.

Plumbing & Door Install

2010-10-22T20:42:00.004-05:00

Today I started off by working more on the sewage tank vent. I attached a pipe to the vent that will also act as a drain for the washer/dryer combo unit that is on it's way to us.

This is where it comes out under the bus:

Next I installed the outlet to provide power for the washer/dryer.

After that I worked on the treating and priming the original stair treads.

Then I primed the new stair treads that I had made:

Next I went up to the metal shop and had metal cut to skin the framing around the door. Here is the door set in place temporarily.

More Soon!

Sewage Vent

2010-10-21T22:04:00.005-05:00

Today I installed the sewage / storage tank vent. I decided on the Cyclone Vent because I read some good things about it. It swivels with the direction of the wind and pulls the odors out of the tanks reducing the chance of odors in the cabin.

Tanks should be in next week.

Welding

2010-10-21T09:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I took the bus in to a local welding shop and had some new steel framing installed so that I can put in the new door.

Next I will need to get some metal to skin over the framing.

I also had them weld on a hitch receiver that we purchased a while ago.

More pics!

2010-10-19T18:26:00.007-05:00

Here are some pics in regards to yesterdays post.

Here is the new air ride seat:

I also installed my wood arm rest next to the new seat:

Here is one of the original stair treads before I had the new treads made.

Here are my new treads. They will be covered.

Today I added some trim pieces to the shoe rack:

I got a shipment in today!!!! Here is the new door that will be installed in "Good News"!

Here are the Brand New tires that went on the front.

Here are the used tires that went on the back:

Here is the weight certificate:

Tires & More!!!

2010-10-18T22:08:00.004-05:00

The other day I decided it was time to pull up the bus stair treads. The metal under the top tread is ok but the last two steps need some work. Both have rusted strait through to the ground.

We took the bus up to the metal shop today and he made 3 new stair treads. (Will post pics soon)

After that we went a had tires put on the bus. A local shop stocked the tires that fit the bus. They are slightly used and have a ton of tread left on them. At only $145 mounted I could not pass it up. I did get brand new tires for the front. (Pics soon.) I am finding that the used tires produce more vibration then the old tires I had on. I called the shop and they want me top bring the bus back in to see if they can fix the problem.

Next we took the bus the get weighed. Something I have been wanting to do for a while. We came in at 22,080 pounds.

Then we went by the local international dealership. I picked up some new wipers, a new head light switch and my new pride and joy...an air ride seat!!! (Pics soon) Wow what a difference!

After that we drove to a local restaurant and relaxed. Here are a couple pics of the bus in the parking lot.

Finally...a NEW POST!

2010-10-16T22:52:00.008-05:00

I have some updates to tell you all about.

The last couple months I have been very busy with some other things so I have been unable to work on "Good News". Well the good news is I have some time again so I am getting the bus finished.

I had 4 more cabinet door that needed building so I got them cut out, stained, assembled and varnished.

Here are 3 of them:

The 4th I installed over the opening where the trash can goes.

It is a slide out trash can so we purchased brackets that enable you to hook the cabinet door directly to the sliding mechanism.

The other 3 cabinet doors were installed in the master bedroom.

One had already been installed from before.

There was trim work to be done in the kitchen on the cabinet that goes along the passenger side. I had thought long and hard how I could bend a piece of trim to mold to the contour of the ceiling but I could not bring myself to invest the time. Instead I cut multiple pieces (3 to be exact) to get the contoured look:

Next I finished trimming out the rest of the cabinet.

During the last month or so I was bothered with how I did the water storage tanks.

Problem 1: Both tanks are filled through one tank. As one tank fills the tube that connects the main tank to the other tank allows it to fill also. The tube I had used was not allowing enough water to flow through it so it took a while for the Seconal tank to fill up.

Problem Solved: I re-plumbed the tanks with a larger pipe that goes from the main tank to the second tank. Now it fills faster. Tubing was scrapped.

Problem 2: I had no way to drain the tanks other then letting the water run until they were dry.

Problem Solved: I connected into my new pipe that connected both tank together and installed a valve. When it is opened both tanks drain out of the bus!

More to come soon!

More Additions

2010-06-22T14:05:00.002-05:00

I wanted to add a few of the recent additions that we have done to the bus.

I was driving past a Long Horn restaurant and noticed that they were throwing away all their bench seats because they were renovating. They were in perfect condition so I grabbed two of them. I removed the cover material and used it to cover both the dinette seats in the bus. It turned out pretty good. My original intention was to have them professionally covered with leather. But right now FREE is better.

We also installed a towel hook in the kitchen:

And toilet paper holder in the bathroom:

We needed something to store toilet paper and towels on. We found this rack at Lowe's.

It has a top shelf and a towel rack.

Update: More to come in the future

2010-05-31T13:21:00.004-05:00

I just want to say thanks for all those following this blog. We hope that you have enjoyed it. We are very close to the completion of the bus. At this point progress has slowed because we are living in it. We plan on being done at the end of June. At that time we hope to hit the road.

If you want to see the build out from start to finish of this bus start here:

Day 163 - MISC.

2010-05-19T21:58:00.004-05:00

I know this post is long overdue but I have just not had time to update the blog.

The house we live in is in the process of being sold so we are now living in the bus to get used to it before the day comes when we have to leave here. We want to make sure everything is operational and how we want it.
One of the latest things finished is the closets. At first I was going to put in all shelves but ended up installing a dowel and 2 half sized shelves. It actually turned out great!

Now we have a top shelve, two center shelves and a bottom shelve.

The other item I installed was a slide out trash can:

I hope to have some more updates posted sometime soon.

Update...

2010-05-17T11:15:00.003-05:00

The last few day we have been getting some more work on the bus. There is not much more to do. The main thing that needs to be done is the installation of the black water and grey water tanks.

I will post more pics soon.

Day 162 - MORE TRIM...

2010-05-10T20:00:00.004-05:00

It feels like the trim on this bus will never end.

Here is some of the trim we did. It consisted mostly of installing corner bead.

Last I built the book shelf for the master bedroom:

This is what it looked like before:

Here is the book shelf built ready to be installed:

Here it is installed:

More soon!

Day 160 & 161 - Shelving

2010-05-08T22:09:00.004-05:00

A few days ago I decided to go ahead and panel the rear with metal (See Below). I will be painting it soon.

Since then the little bit of time I have had I have been putting shelving in where the front wheel wells are.

Here are some pics showing the work. Sorry about the picture quality. I used my phone to take these.

The kitchen cabinet closest to the drivers seat. The plywood in the cabinet covers the wheel well:

This covers the front passengers side wheel well:

I was in need of more shelving in the storage area in the back:

We also stained and varnished the last bit (I HOPE) of pine corner bead:

More soon!

Opinions Needed...

2010-05-02T22:11:00.012-05:00

This was kind of a last minute decision but we decided to go ahead and panel the rear windows with metal.

I had previously taken out the glass and painted the backs of it to give it a dark tint look.

FLASH BACK:

It turned out looking great but we noticed when the sun hit that glass it really got hot and would heat that rear storage area that we have. There was also the risk of the windows leaking.

Here is a pic of how it looks now:

Now I am torn as to what color scheme I should do on the back. I need the readers of this blog to help me decide.

I will post some of the simple schemes that I have come up with. Please just comment as to what scheme you like best. If you come up with a simple design idea please email it to us.

Here are the following schemes that we cam up with:

Red & White:

Black Out (original window look):

Partial Black Out:

The Wave:

Mountain Range:

Peak:

Please let us know what you all think.

Thanks!!!

Day 159 - More Trim

2010-04-28T21:47:00.004-05:00

Today I worked on finishing up the unfinished trim. It is almost done!

First we trimmed the front cabinet that sits next to the front door:

Next we trimmed out the box that sits under the table that covers the passenger wheel well.

I was then able to trim next to the bathroom door and leading up to the door:

More Soon!

Day 158 - Screen

2010-04-26T21:06:00.006-05:00

Today I worked on making screens that go over the 3 pop up vents that are in the bus.

I designed a magnetic screen so that it could be remove fairly easily so .

I picked up a roll of fiberglass screen and 3 rolls of magnetic stripping from Lowe's.

I cut the screen at 29" x 29" and stuck the self stick magnetic to the screen. Then I flipped the screen over so that the magnet faced down and used a hot glue gun to glue the screen to the magnet:

Now the screen is ready to be installed:

Here it is installed:

Day 157 - Dinette Trim

2010-04-22T20:32:00.004-05:00

Today I started out by staining and varnishing some more trim boards. After they dried I worked on trimming out the dinette area.

Just a few more pieces to go and it will be done.

I also varnished and installed the two counter pieces at each end of the dinette.

More Soon!

LOWE'S DEAL ALERT UPDATE:

2010-04-22T09:50:00.003-05:00

I was at Lowe's yesterday and I came across a DeWalt XP 14 Piece Drill Bit Set for $15. This set also includes the $10 Off card. So you end up paying only $5 for the set. A very good deal for any drill bit set. Make sure if you are doing a project to pick up some of these great deals. You really can't beat the price on these especially if you have a project going.

See the below post for more Lowe's deals!

Here is the previous Lowe's Deal Alert that I posted:

I should have posted this some time ago but better now then never.
Lowe's has a deal going right now on DeWalt driver sets. I have bought many of these and I will tell you why.

The two sets pictured above each come enclosed with a $10 off coupon for the next time that you shop at Lowe's. You do have to spend $50 to get the $10 discount. Not a big deal if you have a project going. It ends up being 20% off of $50. The set to the left costs about $13 and the set to the right costs about $10. So for the set on the left you end up paying $3 (after the $10 off) for it and the set on the right you get for free (after the $10 off)! How cool is that? Buy one each time you shop, use the card inside and you can give away, or ebay the sets that you don't want to keep. Sometimes these are hard to find.

Day 156 - More Trim, More Lighting

2010-04-20T23:07:00.008-05:00

Today I was able to get the trim in the kitchen finished. I installed both vertical and horizontal pieces. Scroll down to a previous post see a before shot. Here is it is now:

Next I trimmed all the windows in the master bedroom:

I also finished installing some other trim pieces that still needed to be done:

I installed the latches on the closet doors:

Last but not least I installed two reading lights in the master bedroom:

More Soon!

Day 155 - Closet

2010-04-18T23:38:00.001-05:00

The electrical panel now has paneling around it. This sits in the front lower cabinet by the door.

Today I worked on the closets in the master bedroom. Being that the wheel well stick up in the closet I covered them first.

Then I installed one shelf at the top:

I still have to install the dowel to hang clothes on.

Here is another pic:

I did the same this for each of the two closets.