The "Buffalo Ride" Conversion Project     This page is my way of sharing the successes, mistakes and methods of converting a perfectly good GMC 4905A "Buffalo" bus into a motor home.  As time and progress goes on, more will be added here. Page updated June 24, 2002

Photo by Dunsmuir Yardmaster

This is GMC P8M4905A-1703 in my front yard near Port Orchard, WA after arriving from Bart Grabhorn's place in Scapoose, OR.  She'd only been on the property for about 20 minutes when this photo was taken June 14, 2001       This now is a seated bus.  She was bought new by the Denver, CO Regional Transit District and spent her entire service life with this owner.  She came new with a Detroit 8V-71 Diesel engine and an Allison V-730 automatic transmission.  At some point, Denver RTD installed a Detroit 350 HP  6V-92TA DDEC-I engine and an Allison V-731 automatic transmission.  This combination makes her pretty "lively" for a bus and she should work VERY well in the mountains.

I rigged up a couple of little NAPA "smart" chargers on the 8D starting batteries.  Since the batteries are brand new, I wanted to keep them in the optimum state of charge to make them last.  The chargers are mounted on the bulkhead to the left and wired so that each one serves one of the 12 volt batteries.  The extension cord seen here is temporary and will be replaced by a receptacle located directly above the chargers on the bulkhead when the 120 volt wiring is added later on.  All 120 volt wiring in the bus will be in aluminum flex conduit, using THHN stranded wire.  I don't want to start on that until ALL of the old air conditioning equipment and the tag axle is removed, so I'll have some room to work...      The little 1.5 amp NAPA chargers work just fine and keep the batteries satisfactorily charged as long as the bus is plugged in.

   The first order of business has been to remove the seats, so she can be registered and insured as a motor home, then removal of  the tag axle which is located in the rear baggage bay, adjacent to the rear axle.  Removing the tag axle will save around 1200 pounds and opens up an area for installation of water, propane and holding tanks and possibly an air conditioning unit and an extra fuel tank if space permits.  My neighbor is coming over this week with his "blue wrench" to make short work of removing the tag axle and the other unnecessary stuff in that bay.
    The existing air conditioning system will be removed, as it is not practical to use it in a "motor home" application.  Besides, it's pretty old and would be more trouble than it's worth to restore it to operation and maintain it.  The existing A/C unit is located on the left side of the bus behind the front wheel.  This area will be perfect for the Diesel generator set.  It is planned to install two "basement" air conditioning units somewhere, probably one in the existing A/C bay in front and the other sharing the "tag axle" bay with the tanks in the rear.
      Mechanically, installation of an electric lube oil pre-lube pump on the engine and a complete inspection and necessary repairs to the existing electrical systems, brakes and running gear will be performed.  I'm sure other problems or ideas will crop up, so they will have to be dealt with as well.  The main electrical work will consist of installing a "house" 12 volt system for interior lighting and some appliances as wll as my Amateur Radio station.  Power for this will come from shore power, the genset, the main engine while driving and a 16 square foot set of roof mounted solar panels that I've had lying around for several years.  A separate 120/240 volt AC system, powered externally or the genset will be in place for A/C, some appliances and battery charging.
     There's a certain amount of restoration work to be done on the body, mostly repairing a few very small rust spots.  The black area around the windows needs to be repainted.  The white area below the windows apparently was painted with a roller to cover the RTD graphics.  This will be stripped, primed and painted red.  The seats, (all but the first row) baggage racks and interior walls will be stripped out of the interior.  The insulation will be replaced with foil backed foam and covered with light colored oak or maple paneling.  The floor has been evaluated and will be repaird and retained.  The floor will be covered with Pergo except in the shower and toilet areas, which will be some kind of tile.  A considerable amount of cabinet work will have to be done for the bathroom area, galley and a small closet, not to mention the bar...
 

The picture on the left shows the left wheel of the auxiliary axle before removal. The auxiliary axle bay after removal of retractable axle.  Tanks, batteries, etc. will go here.

The partially stripped interior, all ready for the licensing inspection conducted by the Washington State Patrol.  Note that the legally required cooking, toilet and sleeping facilities are "installed".  The next step will be to remove the stainless steel A/C ducting and interior paneling.  120 volt conduit and wiring will be applied when the paneling is removed.   The new paneling will be birch, with a Pergo "fake"  hardwood floor.

    Oh, by the way.  This machine is a BLAST to drive!  I've driven some nice buses in the past, but this one is one of the best...  I'm still convinced of that after putting about 2500 miles on her in the last month or so.