The Wheelchair Lift
We ended up getting a bus with a wheelchair lift. Partially because it's what we could find at the right size for our needs and also because it serves as nice access to under bead storage. This allows us to have a sort of garage space underneath the bed that we can easily access from outside the bus if we need to. It also gives us the ability to add in a slide too if we really want to (Emma's favorite idea).
A side effect of this is that we needed to remove the existing wheelchair lift mechanism from the bus in addition to the other demolition that was occurring. I had sat down to do my research on this and watched some informative videos from other folks on the precise process to disconnect the electronics and remove the bolts to get the lift out. Everything seemed relatively straight forward except for the fact that the lift weighs approximately 400 lbs. I figured I'd cross that bridge when we got to it and proceeded with the disconnection.
The electronics were relatively straightforward as expected, a few wires here and there and the worst part was a few difficult to reach screws that required some finagling of the screwdriver. Unfortunately, that's where the easy parts came to an end. The lift was secured to the bus by four large bolts that run through the floor and are secured by nuts on the bottom of the bus. Seems simple enough, until we realized that the wheelchair lift must have been installed before the rear AC which had a fan assembly mounted directly underneath the lift and conveniently concealing two of the bolts entirely. After quite a few failed attempts with various methods and tools we determined that these two bolts were not coming out the conventional way.
Thus, I learned the value and joys of the angle grinder. In my various home improvement projects prior to this I've never actually had a reason to use an angle grinder. It's quite the versatile tool, although I can see its niche being in demolition/removal of items that were assembled in complex manners. It doesn't do the cleanest or quickest job, but the key thing is it does the job. We proceeded to use the angle grinder to remove the heads of the remaining bolts and allow them to drop through the floor. We finally had freed the wheelchair lift and were ready to get it out of the bus.
I wish I could say our next move was the smart cautious thing to do like get several friends and have a well-defined plan to remove the lift. Unfortunately, we were so excited that we had finally prevailed in detaching the lift that we wanted to remove it as soon as possible and admire our empty bus interior. At this point the bus was parked in front of our house and from the floor to the curb was approximately 4 ft. Remember that part earlier where I mentioned this thing ways 400 lbs.? We quickly discovered just how heavy that is and that it would be impossible to just lift this thing out of the bus.
With the intention to keep the lift functional for possible resale we brought over our small plastic worktable that would at least get the lift about 6 inches to a foot lower than the bus. Simply getting the lift onto the table was quite the feat and we soon realized from the flexing of the legs this table wasn't really designed to handle a wheel-chair lift. Thinking quickly, we grabbed some of the left-over seat cushions from the bus and placed them on the ground next to the table. With the last of our strength, we were able to maneuver the lift off of the table to come crashing (gently) down onto the cushions. Lesson learned, don't try and remove a 400 lb. lift from a school bus with just two people after a hard day of work.
Using an appliance dolly we were able to get the lift into our garage where it still rests today awaiting a new home. So, some lessons were learned here and while it's unlikely I'll need to apply them in the future I'm glad to have had the experience. Hopefully this tale has provided some insight for others attempting to remove a lift as part of their conversion or at least brough a smile to your face. Also, if you're in need of a wheel-chair lift, at least at the time of this posting we've still got one in our garage waiting for a new home.
