TheSkoolieLife.com Episode 23:
Expensive hood repair
I own a dog nose, 35 foot long Thomas Built Freightliner FS-65.
It’s shown below as it was before I started making any changes to
it.
On dog-nose buses the
hinges are in the front, above
the bumper. The hood opens
like this.
After owning my bus for about 10 months I started noticing that
the hood was sagging on the driver’s side when I opened it. The
gap between the hood and the bumper was smaller on the
driver’s side than the passenger’s side. On the inside of the hood
around the hinge I saw a gap between two pieces of fiberglass.
I shopped for the strongest glue I
could find, thinking the biggest
challenge would be how to clamp
the pieces together. No such luck.
The fiberglass around the hinge on
the driver’s side failed so badly that I
could no longer open the hood, even
to check fluid levels. There was no
alternative but to find a body shop
that works on such large vehicles
(not that common) and pay them to
remove the hood and do a thorough
repair. With tax it came to about $4,000 Canadian or $3,000 USD.
Of course, after such an extensive repair they’d have to paint the
hood. Painting the bus a blue-green colour was on my summer
to-do list, and I was delighted to have them tackle the hood.
They did a great job.
Click the image below to see episode 23 on my YouTube channel.
The video includes tips on what to look for when shopping
for a bus to avoid this expensive repair, and maintenance
tips once you own a bus to keep the fiberglass healthy.
And while you’re there, click the Subscribe button so you don’t
miss subsequent episodes.
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