Hi Cappella Bus. Thanks so much for posting your progress. We also bought a 2003 Low Floor Gillig bus. Unfortunately we didn’t start it for a few weeks and now it doesn’t start and someone said something that we should have turned off the battery? I did not know you have to do that. Did you? So we started demo on the bus but I’m very intimidated by all of the wires because I don’t want to leave them all but we are afraid to remove something that prevents the bus from functioning properly. I also hate the wheel well covers and that safe behind the drivers seat so I’m very glad I got to see that you took it out and pointed out that those wires are the air compressors and must be left alone. How did you know what wires you could remove? So that’s the air conditioning unit on the top back of the bus. I think we are going to remove it as well. Your idea of replacing the unit with the water tanks is great except then where will the air conditioner go. We want a mini split. and air vents in the back. Do you know if there is anything important under that second (back) level? I would like to take it out and add the tanks under there. Otherwise we might have to put the water tanks on the floor level with the second platform. The problem is that my husband is 6’4” so we don’t want to loose any more head room than we have to. The high ceiling is one of the reasons for choosing this bus. No roof raise needed. The low floor presents many problems because there is no storage under the bus but I absolutely love this bus too. It runs smooth and quiet and we bought it with a new engine with like 45,000 miles on it. Now if we can only get it to start up.
Hello and thank you for watching! Please look up on Facebook for a group called “Gillig Conversions”, there’s a bunch of us there and we can get into all these questions fast 😉 The batteries can drain completely if you don’t shut off the disconnect. We can also go over this when we connect over there. Don’t panic and keep building!
Having an area like that to park and work on it is a huge deal, I currently pay $450 per month to have mine parked in a covered area with electricity and it's not as nice as your place... keep up the good work.
Yeah, I had my previous bus parked outside and had to drive to work on it. It was definitely harder. This time we moved a bit far and rented a place with this workspace in mind, it’s awesome to just go in the backyard and be able to work on the bus!
For building so far is great! I only have the initial 4-5 days of driving it and it was so smooth! Hope you find the platform you’re looking for soon, let us know to also follow your build!
In your video exactly at 1:18 …what tool did you use to remove or turn the 3 rivet or turn key lock mechanism they use to hold that panel into place that folds down once you turn all three latches I guess
If we’re talking about the same thing, that’s a square key, you can buy them online. If I’m not mistaken they come in more than one size so measure yours or buy a couple of them, they are not expensive. If that’s not what you were talking about let me know and we can try to figure out. Cheers and thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing your project! I am also embarking on a Gillig conversion, and I'm curious what kind of fasteners are used to attach the seats and grab bars? Are they Torx? Security-torx? or something you have to drill out like rivets or spot-welds? I'll be working on my bus in a remote location, so I need to put together a portable tool bag I can bring with me each trip.
We removed all of them a long time ago but if I remember correctly they were grade 8 fasteners for T-slot rail with locking nylon nuts. Having access to your specific bus manual will save you a lot of time, Gillig can sell it to you if you give them a call and provide the vin number etc. Good luck with your build, it’s an amazing adventure so far!
Been following your build. Great job. My question is on the removing the wiring from the black box behind the drivers seat. I have been dreading that for months any tip?
Yeah, that’s always nerve racking! I did follow the wires from there to the other end one by one and went removing them carefully. One thing I can say is to test if the bus is working normally after each removal. This way if you get something wrong you know exactly what was it and can easily fix it. Check us out on IG and send a DM if you need more help. Good luck with your conversion too!
I wish I saw your comment two days ago. I did completely the opposite, ripped all of them now I have three warning lights lol. I have no idea which is which. (Check 12v, high voltage system, low voltage system.) interior lights not switching on😊
Do you have any footage of the A/C removal process? Does the entire unit come out as one piece? I'm also doing a conversion on a nearly identical Gillig LF bus with the ThermoKing HVAC and want to get rid of it so I can use the space for plumbing and mechanical stuff, much like you did. I can't find any info or pictures online for how to remove (or how to install or service for that matter). Both Gillig and ThermoKing are very tight fisted with their technical manuals.
I’ve heard of people removing it all in one but I didn’t have a forklift so I just went piece by piece until I only had the metal cage structure, which is aluminum so, less heavy.
Unfortunately no! To recover some cash you have to sort out all materials and take them to different recycling centers. For us it would be too much time to pull everything apart and take that time from the build. If I remember correctly I had to pay to dump this whole thing unsorted 🤷🏻♂️
Hi Kenneth, thanks for watching! I think we have some footage of that. I will publish it soon here. It was a slow process because I didn’t have a forklift to remove it all at once. I had to disassemble all parts.
Hi Cappella Bus. Thanks so much for posting your progress. We also bought a 2003 Low Floor Gillig bus. Unfortunately we didn’t start it for a few weeks and now it doesn’t start and someone said something that we should have turned off the battery? I did not know you have to do that. Did you? So we started demo on the bus but I’m very intimidated by all of the wires because I don’t want to leave them all but we are afraid to remove something that prevents the bus from functioning properly. I also hate the wheel well covers and that safe behind the drivers seat so I’m very glad I got to see that you took it out and pointed out that those wires are the air compressors and must be left alone. How did you know what wires you could remove? So that’s the air conditioning unit on the top back of the bus. I think we are going to remove it as well. Your idea of replacing the unit with the water tanks is great except then where will the air conditioner go. We want a mini split. and air vents in the back. Do you know if there is anything important under that second (back) level? I would like to take it out and add the tanks under there. Otherwise we might have to put the water tanks on the floor level with the second platform. The problem is that my husband is 6’4” so we don’t want to loose any more head room than we have to. The high ceiling is one of the reasons for choosing this bus. No roof raise needed. The low floor presents many problems because there is no storage under the bus but I absolutely love this bus too. It runs smooth and quiet and we bought it with a new engine with like 45,000 miles on it. Now if we can only get it to start up.
Hello and thank you for watching!
Please look up on Facebook for a group called “Gillig Conversions”, there’s a bunch of us there and we can get into all these questions fast 😉
The batteries can drain completely if you don’t shut off the disconnect. We can also go over this when we connect over there.
Don’t panic and keep building!
Having an area like that to park and work on it is a huge deal, I currently pay $450 per month to have mine parked in a covered area with electricity and it's not as nice as your place... keep up the good work.
Yeah, I had my previous bus parked outside and had to drive to work on it. It was definitely harder.
This time we moved a bit far and rented a place with this workspace in mind, it’s awesome to just go in the backyard and be able to work on the bus!
Hard work pays off 💪 looking forward to future videos 📹
🇦🇺🦘🐨
Thank you for watching!
Thanks for posting... just trying to figure out if a Gillig is right for me. On to your next video.
For building so far is great! I only have the initial 4-5 days of driving it and it was so smooth!
Hope you find the platform you’re looking for soon, let us know to also follow your build!
In your video exactly at 1:18 …what tool did you use to remove or turn the 3 rivet or turn key lock mechanism they use to hold that panel into place that folds down once you turn all three latches I guess
If we’re talking about the same thing, that’s a square key, you can buy them online. If I’m not mistaken they come in more than one size so measure yours or buy a couple of them, they are not expensive.
If that’s not what you were talking about let me know and we can try to figure out.
Cheers and thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing your project!
I am also embarking on a Gillig conversion, and I'm curious what kind of fasteners are used to attach the seats and grab bars?
Are they Torx? Security-torx? or something you have to drill out like rivets or spot-welds?
I'll be working on my bus in a remote location, so I need to put together a portable tool bag I can bring with me each trip.
We removed all of them a long time ago but if I remember correctly they were grade 8 fasteners for T-slot rail with locking nylon nuts.
Having access to your specific bus manual will save you a lot of time, Gillig can sell it to you if you give them a call and provide the vin number etc.
Good luck with your build, it’s an amazing adventure so far!
Been following your build. Great job. My question is on the removing the wiring from the black box behind the drivers seat. I have been dreading that for months any tip?
Yeah, that’s always nerve racking!
I did follow the wires from there to the other end one by one and went removing them carefully. One thing I can say is to test if the bus is working normally after each removal. This way if you get something wrong you know exactly what was it and can easily fix it.
Check us out on IG and send a DM if you need more help.
Good luck with your conversion too!
I wish I saw your comment two days ago. I did completely the opposite, ripped all of them now I have three warning lights lol. I have no idea which is which. (Check 12v, high voltage system, low voltage system.) interior lights not switching on😊
Do you have any footage of the A/C removal process?
Does the entire unit come out as one piece?
I'm also doing a conversion on a nearly identical Gillig LF bus with the ThermoKing HVAC and want to get rid of it so I can use the space for plumbing and mechanical stuff, much like you did. I can't find any info or pictures online for how to remove (or how to install or service for that matter). Both Gillig and ThermoKing are very tight fisted with their technical manuals.
I’ve heard of people removing it all in one but I didn’t have a forklift so I just went piece by piece until I only had the metal cage structure, which is aluminum so, less heavy.
Were you able to recycle and recover some $?
Unfortunately no!
To recover some cash you have to sort out all materials and take them to different recycling centers. For us it would be too much time to pull everything apart and take that time from the build.
If I remember correctly I had to pay to dump this whole thing unsorted 🤷🏻♂️
Do you have video of the ac removal?
Hi Kenneth, thanks for watching!
I think we have some footage of that. I will publish it soon here.
It was a slow process because I didn’t have a forklift to remove it all at once. I had to disassemble all parts.
Cappella Bus that would be great thank you so much!!!