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Old 02-14-2014, 03:22 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

My husband and I just got our 60 days notice for our rental and are choosing to move into the 1970 International skoolie conversion that we bought off Craigslist for $1000 a few months ago. We are planning to build a house locally (we're in southern california) and so are planning to stay in that on our land. We just started a blog as well: http://www.littlebusontheprairie.com. It needs a ton of work because it sat for almost ten years. Lots of rat poop, etc.

Just wanted to see if anybody else was local or just starting out like we are and build some connections

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Old 02-14-2014, 04:48 PM   #2
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

A little rat poop never hurt anyone! A LOT of rat poop, however....!

Welcome to the site. Best of luck!
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Old 02-14-2014, 06:10 PM   #3
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

First, welcome to the site!

Now lets get down to business. I expect you have talked to the local planning department about your plan to live in your vehicle while you build your house--but if you haven't yet you need to. I too live in So Cal and I can't think of a County, let alone a city where your proposed living arrangement would be allowed without a huge fuss and a lot of bucks. As an example of just how up tight these folks can get, In my city I can't park my bus (house car) on a city street over night. I can't park it on my driveway either--I can park it on a paved area in the back yard or in a garage and no matter where I park it (other than an RV park) I can't sleep in it. I hope your community is a bit more hospitable. Good Luck!
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Old 02-14-2014, 06:41 PM   #4
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Thanks for the welcome! To the best of our knowledge via the building and planning department of our county all we need is a temporary occupancy permit that is good for two years while we build. We have already discussed the situation with our future neighbors as well.

If anybody else has any experience personally with a situation like ours I would love to hear about it.
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Old 02-14-2014, 08:20 PM   #5
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Piss on all the formalities.... Happy valentines day.... ..... And rat poop sucks........welcome
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Old 02-14-2014, 11:19 PM   #6
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

BTW, I tried to do a search and didn't pull up much, but does anybody else here have a double-decker conversion? We're currently redoing the flooring in ours and are considering putting laminate on the 2nd floor, but don't want to make it too top-heavy... anybody have any thoughts??

ETA: We are also concerned about extreme heat sleeping up there in the summertime...
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Old 02-14-2014, 11:47 PM   #7
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sara
A little rat poop never hurt anyone! A LOT of rat poop, however....!

Welcome to the site. Best of luck!
You were saying something about A LOT of rat poop? Please continue, because there was a TON. Eep!
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Old 02-15-2014, 10:13 AM   #8
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Well, Hantavirus would be a good start.
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Old 02-15-2014, 10:34 AM   #9
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Yeah, we've talked about that. Apparently hantavirus is spread when the urine/poop is dry and you inhale it (eg, vacuuming, etc). If you wet it first you don't stir up the dust particles that spread the disease. Also: we've been using gallons of bleach.
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Old 02-15-2014, 07:00 PM   #10
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

If anybody is interested, we've posted a video tour of our progress here: http://www.littlebusontheprairie.com/video-tour-bus/
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Old 02-16-2014, 09:09 PM   #11
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Quote:
Originally Posted by uswiththebus
ETA: We are also concerned about extreme heat sleeping up there in the summertime...
Many here have repainted their bus roofs and added some ceramic beads to the paint to cut down on solar heat gain. All who have used the additive reported a big difference in interior comfort.

Check out Hytechsales.com and "Buscote." Hytech sells beads you mix into your own paint and Buscote sells premixed paint.

Our resident home builder (Nat_ster) recommends Allure Trafficmaster vinyl plank flooring which isn't made from pressed wood so there'll be no issues with water swelling the planks. The planking isn't all that heavy so shouldn't add much weight.


I just checked out your video and MAN THAT THING IS HUGE!
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Old 02-16-2014, 11:08 PM   #12
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

All I can say is OMG.

Please for the heath and safety of your children, speed up the process of moving into a healthy safe home.

Its a real shame that whoever built that did such a sticks and staples route. This is a real good example of why wood should not be used as a building material in a RV.

How did a rat get into a steel structure?

Did you get insurance on it?

Nat
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Old 02-16-2014, 11:29 PM   #13
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

We don't plan to be in it for longer than we have to. The house we are building is a kit home and so shouldn't take as long as a typical home construction project.

The rat got in via a hole that was cut for a drain for the bathtub. My husband has since filled in the opening around the hole.

Regarding insurance: we have auto insurance on it, does it need to be transferred into an rv policy? It's currently registered non-op.
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Old 02-16-2014, 11:37 PM   #14
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Quote:
Originally Posted by uswiththebus
We don't plan to be in it for longer than we have to. The house we are building is a kit home and so shouldn't take as long as a typical home construction project.

The rat got in via a hole that was cut for a drain for the bathtub. My husband has since filled in the opening around the hole.

Regarding insurance: we have auto insurance on it, does it need to be transferred into an rv policy? It's currently registered non-op.
Depends on where you live.

Most places only if you plan on driving it down the road.

Nat
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Old 02-16-2014, 11:44 PM   #15
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

We have a one day moving permit for when we finally take it to the land.

Also, to ease your concerns, my husband, who has also been concerned with the potential contamination of Hanta virus, has been strictly following the guidelines listed on the cdc website for cleaning up after rodents:
http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/cleaning/index.html
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Old 02-18-2014, 09:57 PM   #16
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Quote:
Its a real shame that whoever built that did such a sticks and staples route. This is a real good example of why wood should not be used as a building material in a RV.
I'm curious as to why you say that. We obviously haven't built our own before, but what does everybody else build with? Metal? Fiberglass?
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Old 02-19-2014, 12:04 PM   #17
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Nat has stated in other threads that wood should never be used as a building material, due to the fact that it is affected by moisture and can swell, rot, mold, etc... Although I get what he is saying, I thinks it's overboard. My entire bus is built with wood and I love it. Laminate flooring, 2x4's, T&G knotty pine, plywood, etc... It's pretty much exactly what Nat would NOT build, lol... To each their own. Don't worry about it. Get it clean, keep it dry, and you'll be good. Sounds like an adventure!!!
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Old 02-19-2014, 12:31 PM   #18
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=467094

Nat
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Old 02-19-2014, 01:09 PM   #19
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Yeah, I know... but I still like wood. It's warm, easy to work with, and is aesthetically pleasing. If you read that sentence with a dirty mind, it's pretty funny.

Also, that video doesn't really prove your point remotely. There was an equipment malfunction. They should have made sure no water was running before they left. For that trailer to not be destroyed by what happened, there could be no organic, porous material ANYWHERE in it.

Moral of the story, don't dump sewage all over your RV
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Old 02-19-2014, 01:22 PM   #20
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Re: Reckon we'll be double-deckin'...

Interesting.

Again, I don't know much about this, but doesn't building with metal add a ton of weight? Something we're obviously concerned about with the whole 14' high issue...
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