- Welcome to RV Conversions Community.
Recent posts
#61
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: Is anyone running Red-dyed...
Last post by Krash - October 02, 2026, 07:08:42 PMHome heating oil (#2 fuel oil) will run in most diesel engines, but it's not a good idea. If the cetane is too low, it hurts performance, and if the pour point is too high the fuel can gel at low temps, which can be a problem in cold climate. #2 can be treated with cetane additives to increase cetane, and blended with kerosene to lower pour point. Don't know what they sell where you guys are, but back in the day here in NY metro area a lot of the diesel fuel being sold at service stations and truck stops was straight #2 oil, some of it very poor quality.
#62
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: Is anyone running Red-dyed...
Last post by luvrbus - October 02, 2026, 10:15:48 AMIf you are afraid of red fuel buy home heating oil you can buy both in Texas but the red stuff is easier to find at stations in Texas.I filled up with red fuel 3 times, the fuels come from the refinery almost clear the red dye is added at the loading dock.1 station told me it was for trucks only but I was about full anyways so he said go ahead and top it off.A taxing authority is not going to stick a tank in RV anyways ,I haven't saw one of their check points set up 20 years ,fill it it up 220 gals at $.44 cents that is almost a 100 bucks
#63
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: Solar water heating system
Last post by Gary Hatt - Publisher RVConversions.com - October 01, 2026, 03:49:43 PMEither do that, John, or use non-toxic ethylene glycol in your closed-loop system and a manifold to circulate water through the manifold and the insulated hot water tank. I believe off-gridders do this to prevent freezing in the winter, and then you don't have to worry about it getting too hot when it is not circulating.
That being said, knowing you as I do, you will probably use a thermostat in your tank to shut off the circulation pumps (you will need 2 now), once the water temp heats up.
Heck, maybe you should consider installing the same heating system in your floor if you can afford the height in your bus without a raised roof.
That said, it is like solar electric: you have to park in the sun for it to work, which means the inside of your bus will be hot in the summer too. The alternative is to make a portable box to set out in the sun and run the hot water through houses into your bus tank. But then, you will have to carry extra hoses with you.
Bottom line, with all your solar panels, it may be better to heat your water with electricity, primarily during the middle of the day, and store that hot water for night use. I would want at least a 10-gallon tank, and preferably a 20-gallon if you do a lot of dishwashing, or if you have 2 people in the bus. This eliminates a lot of extra equipment you have to lug around, and every pound you cut will mean more MPG you will get with your bus.
That being said, knowing you as I do, you will probably use a thermostat in your tank to shut off the circulation pumps (you will need 2 now), once the water temp heats up.
Heck, maybe you should consider installing the same heating system in your floor if you can afford the height in your bus without a raised roof.
That said, it is like solar electric: you have to park in the sun for it to work, which means the inside of your bus will be hot in the summer too. The alternative is to make a portable box to set out in the sun and run the hot water through houses into your bus tank. But then, you will have to carry extra hoses with you.
Bottom line, with all your solar panels, it may be better to heat your water with electricity, primarily during the middle of the day, and store that hot water for night use. I would want at least a 10-gallon tank, and preferably a 20-gallon if you do a lot of dishwashing, or if you have 2 people in the bus. This eliminates a lot of extra equipment you have to lug around, and every pound you cut will mean more MPG you will get with your bus.
#64
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: Solar water heating system
Last post by Iceni John - October 01, 2026, 02:29:39 PMHi Gary!
I forgot about when you climbed up through my roof hatch at Paul's house to take a photo of my PV panels - that's a great photo.
My intention is to make a simple water pre-heater system that will supplement my existing propane/electric Suburban water heater. Probably in summer it will completely heat water by itself, and in winter it should reduce my propane usage. I'll keep my present heater, and also use it as an insulated storage tank for the solar panels. The only complication is the need to drain the panels after they've heated the water enough; obviously I can't just switch off the pump and leave the water inside them, because on a hot day it will boil or even flash into steam very quickly, and that's no bueno. Designing a simple drain-back system is the tricky part; the rest of it is just basic plumbing and adding some valves and a pump. I'm beginning to get some ideas now for the drain-back side of things, such as ensuring that ALL water can freely drain out of the panels (that means that coiled pipe or hose won't work because it traps water, nor can the panels tilt for obvious reasons!), or choosing pumps that allow water to back-flow through them when they're switched off, and some other arcane details that I would never have considered before now. I'll come up with a workable plan, but I'm still on the vertical part of my learning curve. Above all, it has to be basically simple, and not affect the present hot water system if it should fail or explode or something.
When I built my roof walkway for the PV panels I deliberately set aside some space at the end of the walkway for two water panels. I can only fit small panels there, but they should be enough for my modest needs. At least I have plenty of electric power from the PV panels to run the new pump and some solenoid valves; the pre-heater system conveniently will only work when the PV panels are also making power, so it probably won't draw any power at all from the batteries.
John
I forgot about when you climbed up through my roof hatch at Paul's house to take a photo of my PV panels - that's a great photo.
My intention is to make a simple water pre-heater system that will supplement my existing propane/electric Suburban water heater. Probably in summer it will completely heat water by itself, and in winter it should reduce my propane usage. I'll keep my present heater, and also use it as an insulated storage tank for the solar panels. The only complication is the need to drain the panels after they've heated the water enough; obviously I can't just switch off the pump and leave the water inside them, because on a hot day it will boil or even flash into steam very quickly, and that's no bueno. Designing a simple drain-back system is the tricky part; the rest of it is just basic plumbing and adding some valves and a pump. I'm beginning to get some ideas now for the drain-back side of things, such as ensuring that ALL water can freely drain out of the panels (that means that coiled pipe or hose won't work because it traps water, nor can the panels tilt for obvious reasons!), or choosing pumps that allow water to back-flow through them when they're switched off, and some other arcane details that I would never have considered before now. I'll come up with a workable plan, but I'm still on the vertical part of my learning curve. Above all, it has to be basically simple, and not affect the present hot water system if it should fail or explode or something.
When I built my roof walkway for the PV panels I deliberately set aside some space at the end of the walkway for two water panels. I can only fit small panels there, but they should be enough for my modest needs. At least I have plenty of electric power from the PV panels to run the new pump and some solenoid valves; the pre-heater system conveniently will only work when the PV panels are also making power, so it probably won't draw any power at all from the batteries.
John
#65
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Is anyone running Red-dyed die...
Last post by Gary Hatt - Publisher RVConversions.com - September 30, 2026, 11:09:47 PMIf you are in Texas, and maybe other states, you can now run red-dyed diesel over the road to save 44 cents per gallon, which adds up when you have big bus tanks.
My concern would be that it is fine if you stay in Texas, but if you travel to other states and get your tank dipped, would you be fined? The fine, I believe, is $10/gallon, so you had better pray you don't get caught with a full tank.
Also, if you filled up with red diesel and then filled up again in another state with a half or quarter tank, will that red dye still show up? I am sure traces will remain for quite some time, since you never really run your tanks completely out of fuel...I hope.
To me, it is not worth taking a chance, and I am unsure of this temporary law. As I read it, it may apply only to agricultural use, not to Bus Nuts like you and me, unless you have agricultural plates on your bus.
My concern would be that it is fine if you stay in Texas, but if you travel to other states and get your tank dipped, would you be fined? The fine, I believe, is $10/gallon, so you had better pray you don't get caught with a full tank.
Also, if you filled up with red diesel and then filled up again in another state with a half or quarter tank, will that red dye still show up? I am sure traces will remain for quite some time, since you never really run your tanks completely out of fuel...I hope.
To me, it is not worth taking a chance, and I am unsure of this temporary law. As I read it, it may apply only to agricultural use, not to Bus Nuts like you and me, unless you have agricultural plates on your bus.
#66
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: Solar water heating system
Last post by Gary Hatt - Publisher RVConversions.com - September 30, 2026, 10:50:41 PMInteresting idea John. As Clifford would tell you and others, some places don't require a water heater in the summer months. I am currently in my bus in South Texas for the summer, and I haven't turned on my water heater in the past two months. When the ambient temperature is in the triple digits during the day, the water comes out of the shower warm enuf to take a good shower. That being said, today is the first day it has dropped below 101 degrees during the day in the past two months, so going forward I may have to fire up the Aqua-Hot for a few minutes each day.
It will be interesting to see what people here have come up with. I have been in the bus business for several years now and have not seen any designs for heating water yet. However, my system and many buses with Aqua-Hot and other systems have a manifold that connects into the engine cooling system that heats the house water whilst driving down the road. So when you park for the day, your water is hot. A hot water heater is so simple and reliable. But I know you like your 12V systems. But maybe consider a diesel hot water heater? It only takes a few minutes to warm up a tank of water.
I would think it would be easy to run black PVC tubing in a circular pattern on the roof, or run parallel black pipe with a circulating pump on part of the roof to heat the water a bit. Your problem is that your roof is covered with solar panels (Have you been on your roof lately? (see belos)
), except for the walkway down the middle. You have limited real estate, so you will have to be creative, as you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Don't forget: a circulation pump will draw power from the battery bank unless you only run it when the sun is shining on your solar panels, which is probably when you want to run it anyway. But then again, aren't some of these off-grid systems self-circulating?
Then, will you have an insulated tank so you can also have a hot shower in the morning? Where will you squeeze that in your school bus?
I did find this thread that you may be interested in, though.
https://www.skoolie.net/threads/solar-hot-water-panels-bus-cabin-heater.663166/
Let me know what you come up with, and maybe we can patent it/
It will be interesting to see what people here have come up with. I have been in the bus business for several years now and have not seen any designs for heating water yet. However, my system and many buses with Aqua-Hot and other systems have a manifold that connects into the engine cooling system that heats the house water whilst driving down the road. So when you park for the day, your water is hot. A hot water heater is so simple and reliable. But I know you like your 12V systems. But maybe consider a diesel hot water heater? It only takes a few minutes to warm up a tank of water.
I would think it would be easy to run black PVC tubing in a circular pattern on the roof, or run parallel black pipe with a circulating pump on part of the roof to heat the water a bit. Your problem is that your roof is covered with solar panels (Have you been on your roof lately? (see belos)
), except for the walkway down the middle. You have limited real estate, so you will have to be creative, as you can't have your cake and eat it too.Don't forget: a circulation pump will draw power from the battery bank unless you only run it when the sun is shining on your solar panels, which is probably when you want to run it anyway. But then again, aren't some of these off-grid systems self-circulating?
Then, will you have an insulated tank so you can also have a hot shower in the morning? Where will you squeeze that in your school bus?
I did find this thread that you may be interested in, though.
https://www.skoolie.net/threads/solar-hot-water-panels-bus-cabin-heater.663166/
Let me know what you come up with, and maybe we can patent it/
#67
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: D series bay door latches
Last post by plyonsMC9 - September 29, 2026, 10:57:58 PMI'll have to snap a picture. There was a bolt which needed to be tightened. But somehow in the original Vantare conversion process, the bolt was made inaccessible. The fix was to drill through the bay wall, enabling a socket to reach the bolt head, allowing the latch to be properly aligned and then torqued into place.
#68
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Solar water heating system
Last post by Iceni John - September 29, 2026, 10:32:05 PMDoes anyone here have a solar water heating system on their bus? I'm thinking about having such a system on my bus, but at this stage I'm mightily confused about what type of system is best for a bus. I still have space for two tiltable solar water panels at the end of my PV panels, but I don't have much space left for a drain-back tank etc. I know that I can run excess PV power through my inverter to power the electric heating element in my Suburban water heater, but ideally I would prefer something that is largely separate from the PV system. Any thoughts, anyone?
Thanks, John
Thanks, John
#69
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / Re: D series bay door latches
Last post by luvrbus - September 29, 2026, 06:54:30 PMQuote from: plyonsMC9 on September 28, 2026, 10:03:19 PMHi Jim, I've been away for a while - what adjustment were you making to the door latches?
We have a 1993 DL3-45 and we did at one point need to fix a bay door which intermittently would come open while traveling down the road - especially during high wind or vehicle flex. It was kind of a small nightmare at certain points to have that fly open. The latch was not able to hold itself shut. And I could see no way to get to the adjusting bolt as there was a sheet metal bay wall in the way.
Or - was it a completely different situation?
Take care!, Phil
The early D's did flex a lot and the doors would come open ,MCI offered a upgrade to stop the flex, mine had the upgrade so I never look for a place to adjust the door latches ,you could see the door tighten when the air locks were engaged maybe you adjust the air locks ?
#70
Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) / KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR ...
Last post by Gary Hatt - Publisher RVConversions.com - September 29, 2026, 01:40:54 PMWouldn't it be nice if your RV could tell you when something was wrong?
RV Whisper® gives you a smart wireless monitoring system designed specifically for RVs, bus conversions, skoolies, vans, motorhomes, and other converted vehicles.
Depending on the sensors you choose, you can monitor:
• Battery voltage and state of charge
• Shore power
• Inside and outside temperature
• Propane levels
• Fresh, gray, and black tank levels
• Tire pressure
• Water leaks
• Doors and motion
• Humidity — and more!
Check your RV from your phone, tablet, or computer and set up alerts to warn you when something needs your attention.
It's especially useful for full-timers, boondockers, pet owners, and anyone who leaves their RV unattended.
Your RV can't talk — but RV Whisper® comes pretty close.
Keep an eye on what matters, wherever your travels take you.
Learn more about RV Whisper®
https://rvwhisper.com/
RV Whisper® gives you a smart wireless monitoring system designed specifically for RVs, bus conversions, skoolies, vans, motorhomes, and other converted vehicles.
Depending on the sensors you choose, you can monitor:
• Battery voltage and state of charge
• Shore power
• Inside and outside temperature
• Propane levels
• Fresh, gray, and black tank levels
• Tire pressure
• Water leaks
• Doors and motion
• Humidity — and more!
Check your RV from your phone, tablet, or computer and set up alerts to warn you when something needs your attention.
It's especially useful for full-timers, boondockers, pet owners, and anyone who leaves their RV unattended.
Your RV can't talk — but RV Whisper® comes pretty close.
Keep an eye on what matters, wherever your travels take you.
Learn more about RV Whisper®
https://rvwhisper.com/