Scrapping a bus interior?

Hey everyone, I was asked about scrapping a bus interior to make room for a party bus. I believe it would just be seats and overhead storage that would need to be taken out. Any idea how hard/long this would take with limited prior experience and tools? Think I could do it in a weekend? Cut the seats out with an angle grinder and same for the storage? I have pictures, but unsure how to upload them yet

I think you need something like ten posts before you can post pictures. Some of the members use a picture hosting site instead.

It sounds like a motor coach.

About the only advise i could offer is to get the right tools for the job. Look at how the seats are fastened down. Did they use a torx bit ? Maybe a SAE or metric bolt ? Whatever they are ... i would try to get the tool that would zip them out quick, quick, quick. The correct tool can cut the job time by 70% or more.

Do you have any mechanic friends IRL that could help you out ? Maybe lend you a tool ?

I don't think i would want to use an angle grinder in an enclosed space. It kicks up a lot of metal and grit dust. Bad to breathe and makes a mess of everything.

Everything Hills said plus, for speed you'll find a decent battery drill driver is your best friend, even if it's just a cheapo Harbor Freight unit. Good Luck...

Originally Posted by hills

I think you need something like ten posts before you can post pictures. Some of the members use a picture hosting site instead.

It sounds like a motor coach.

About the only advise i could offer is to get the right tools for the job. Look at how the seats are fastened down. Did they use a torx bit ? Maybe a SAE or metric bolt ? Whatever they are ... i would try to get the tool that would zip them out quick, quick, quick. The correct tool can cut the job time by 70% or more.

Do you have any mechanic friends IRL that could help you out ? Maybe lend you a tool ?

I don't think i would want to use an angle grinder in an enclosed space. It kicks up a lot of metal and grit dust. Bad to breathe and makes a mess of everything.

Awesome! Thank you for this.

Now, does anyone know what to charge for this kind of service? He wants to know what's fair and I'd like to make the most I can but at the same time, I don't want to get undercut a lot and lose out.

It's drifting a little off topic but there might be a better than scrap option with your neighbor's 250 gallon tank. It used to be that they were cheap to buy at the big box store but the prices have gone up a lot. They're somewhere around 750.00$ these days.

I've sold two used ones in the past eight months.

The first one i pulled out of the basement of a house that had converted over to propane heat. The tank still had 40 gallons of fuel in it. I made the mistake of trying to hoss it around by myself and injured my rotator cuff. That was a painful lesson in humility. I'm not as young as i used to be. Time to use the head and not the back.

The money worked out okay though. Got paid for my labor. Got 40 gallons of fuel worth 2.75 USD/gal. and then sold the used tank & fittings.

The next time around i was determined not to make the same mistake and hurt myself again. This tank was rugged up with unions so it was easy to break the connections and plug all the tank openings.Tipped the tank upright onto a pallet jack and then wheeled it over to the basement opening.

Rigged up a gantry outside and then lifted the complete tank out of the basement with a chain fall. The job went really well. No drama,no heavy lifting, no oily mess all over the work area to stink up the place. Made a few bucks and didn't put any unnecessary strain on an aging body.

I know every guy has his own work style but those tanks get nasty with all of the sludge that builds on the bottom. The job goes a lot betterer if you can keep it in one piece and sealed up tight for as long as possible.

If it can hold a pressure test of 10 PSI for 24 hours ... it can even be good for re-sale.

For whatever it's worth ?

Plan your work and work your plan ?

Originally Posted by nagol68

Awesome! Thank you for this.

Now, does anyone know what to charge for this kind of service? He wants to know what's fair and I'd like to make the most I can but at the same time, I don't want to get undercut a lot and lose out.

Not to be disagreeable, but i think it would be more fair to just give him a set price for the job. It's one thing if you're a seasoned pro with all of the right tools. It's another thing if you're a newbie. There's a learning curve there. It might take three or four days to do that job if you run into unforeseen problems.

If you're charging by the hour ... your customer might start freaking out about how long it's taking.

If it's a set price ... the amount of time it takes to do the job isn't as much of a concern.

what hills said.
thats good advice- sorry i cant advise u about the price since im in another continent altogether

Originally Posted by blackgold12

Good points Hills. I used to get $50.00 a tank regardless of condition the company that purchased them set them out for waste oil collection but times have changed.

The neighbor bought the house then remodeled, tank would have to transit over new floor covering. exit is not a direct shot to the outdoors.

Regarding the buss, he has to figure out how long the job will take to do, how many trips will be made to dispose of those bulky seats, is the scrap yard going to accept all the upholstery and filler, maybe even some ply-board backing.

A noob not used to using zip disks can break a few even a large chunk out of it will render it unusable due to vibration, all this will add to the cost of the project.

A sawzall would perhaps be a better choice for cutting the small diameter pipe from which the seat frames are possibly made from, but not having had the chance to pre inspect the job to many unknowns to give a qualified answer.

Long ago I had scraped an English double decker buss and all the seats and other pipe uses for holds for an over loaded buss were made from stainless steel and my torch was useless.

To sever the pipe used my welder set at a high amperage to burn through the pipe.

If our new scrapper has access to a plasma he could have this job done in an hour.

Each job we take on has it own set of peculiarities.

No customer like to hear an hourly rate, figure out your time and consumables cost then give a flat rate

If it were me, I would advise the customer that he could advertise the seats etc as free scrap must remove, with the current price of scrap not likely the phone will be ringing off the hook.

Or advise the customer he could put the job up for tender, just bear on mind that the winner of a tender in most cases must submit a performance bond. The bond is ti assure the job is completed per agreement.

Years ago when I was doing appliance repair and a dollar still had some value my hourly rate was $30.00, service charge was the same rate but if it turned out to be something simple that could be fixed under half an hour would only charge the service charge.

Best word of mouth advertising is a happy customer.

Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely leaning to a flat rate. And my hope is it cut everything and drive the bus to the yard and throw everything out into the pile. Figure it's be easier than trying to unload the bus, load into my truck, then do many rounds. I'm going to go check the bus out as soon as it gets to down. If everything is drilled down I'll do it for cheap. Depending on how much cutting is needed, thats where things will get pricey.

Grinding and cutting sparks will melt 8nto glass, like vehicle windows.
Then it rusts & stands out, ruins wiper blades.
Then it rusts & expands & might chip out, leaving a hole that ruins wiper blades too.

Id say to unbolt the seats etc if you can, like its mentioned above, its a lot cleaner. And yes, always wear proper safety protection.