I am currently evaluating several gas heaters to install in the bus. I have purchased two BN4 heaters and one BA6 heater. Currently I have one BN4 here. The other BN4 and the BA6 will be here later this week.

At first I was going to install the BN4 because I never saw a BA6 for sale. Well, I did see one but it was rusted out and I was not going to do a restoration before I installed the heater. So I purchased a BN4 off of Ebay for $200 in the fall of 2002. I was in the middle of sound proofing the bus, so it just sat in the box.

Finally this summer I decided to start ths installation. Once I got halfway into the install I found out that I did not have the correct ductwork that I needed.At this point I decide to stop and start to look for what I needed. I put the bus back together and started the search. I was not able to find the piece that I needed, I even had a fellow bus friend in the Netherlands looking for me. The piece I needed looks like this (the round piece on the end of that actual heater). It must be a hard piece to come by.

Finally, I found the piece that I needed on Ebay, but I had to buy the entire heater with it. I bidded on it and won. It was more than I needed, but I really wanted this piece. The plan was to take both heaters and make sure I had one good heater and sell the other one.

BUT, then another Type 2 list member offered up a complete BA6 that was still installed on his bus. I did not know much about the BA6, but I did know that this might be a better alternative to the BN4. I decided to go out on a limb and purchase this heater. The owner started the removal process and is currently getting ready to ship it. This was great for me because I could make sure that I got all the pieces that I needed and I could get pics of some of them in place.

After some research about BA6 heaters I think I have decided that the BA6 is a better heater than the BN4. It uses the stock heater to blow the warm air through and recirculates the interior air. Things that have influenced this decision are below.

1. The BN4 would take up so much room in the engine compartment that I would have to relocate the aux battery I already had in the back.

2. The BN4 would also be very close to the dual carbs when I switched back to them (currently have webber single carb).

3. I have looked into a A/C system for the bus and the compresor would probably hit the BN4.

The cons I have discovered so far to using a BA6 is that it has a lot more parts attached to the bus than a BN4. Sensors and wiring harneses, etc. It will take a lot more work to get installed, but I think it will be well worth it.

Here are some pics that I have of the BA6 right now. Hopefully I will get more pics when it comes in.

Heres are some pics of the second BN4 that I ordered and the piece that I needed. I am going to try to gather up all the pieces I need to make two complete BN4 heaters and sell them on Ebay or trade them to someone that has something that I might need. I will add more pics later when it arrives. I did just recieve several more pieces from a friend in the Netherlands and also some templates for drilling the holes for the exhaust and intake for the BN4. This will definitely come in handy if I decide to not use the BA6 and go for the BN4.

I hope to have a complete installation on this website in the future. I am sure that it will take several weeks to get installed and that is if I do not have any problems. Plus I do not have a garage, so I will need to wait until it is warm to install it :(