Ludicrous Speed

[TygerCub]

I used ACE Galvanized & Aluminum Primer ("100% latex... Interior or Exterior... Excellent Bonding... Under Oil or Latex"). Brushed it on. Worked great. I prepped the flashing we used with paint thinner (to clean off all my markings) then wiped it down with cheap white vinegar. The I put on two coats of primer allowing each coat to dry overnight. This is the same stuff I primed the aluminum siding on the Class C with back in 2006. The latex house paint is still sticking to it.

Great news! Once more, it looks like ACE will be my main source of paint. Thanks for the information, Lorna.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Removed the heater for now and took the lines that dive under the emergency exit out.

My son, Sam, helped me pull the hoses. He has been the most interested of the kids.

We cut out subfloor material and got it laid out. We will pull this up once we are ready to pressure-wash and paint the floor and reattach it once paint dries.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

We are rebuilding an RV door that we harvested from my parents' camper that we demolished about a year ago.

Door prior to disassembly. The door was very rotten on the bottom.

Cardboard core...

Rebuilding with 2x4s. Will fill the gaps with foam board, and skin it with whatever we wind up getting for the windows.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Today's accomplishment: Mocking up the dining / kitchen area!
We built "countertop" and "fridge" out of cardboard, and hung sheets using magnets (I have a ton of old speaker magnets) to represent the pantry, closet, bathroom, and wall/entry to the bunk room. I am pretty happy with how the layout "feels" at this point. All of the kids got a chance to look at it and let us know what they think, and the little ones enjoyed going in and out of the "bathroom".

[itsme1738]

nice!!! do get the kids involved!

[TheRainbowBoxer]

taking advantage of an unusually warm snap in March, we pressure washed the floor and roof of the bus.

Some of the glue and old paint required getting pretty close with the wand.

There was an impressive amount of road grime on the roof.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Barb worked on removing the front School Bus sign.

Painted the rustoleum white primer with additive using a thick pile roller on a stick.

The floor with its first coat of paint...

[dirtygoat]

You've gone plaid...

Keep up the work...

[Diesel Dan]

2012-03-24_13-12-03_959sm.JPG

Was the exhaust tip sticking out the side when the bus was in service in the school district? I thought it was not allowed to have the exhaust in front of, or directly under passenger windows due to fumes coming in the bus especially when sitting in traffic. I'd like to re-route mine like that to clear up more space for hanging tanks in the rear undercarriage, but I do still have one window that would be right above that location.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

I would imagine the exhaust was set up that way... it looks factory from what I can tell. There isn't a hole in the bumper for the exhaust to go through like a lot of these buses I have seen.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

An air chisel worked wonders in our test rivet removal.

http://youtu.be/bw0hvJF_4ic

Cuts through them like butter!

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Quick update... we got the second coat of paint on the floor.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

We also got our steel in for skinning windows and the outer skin of the rv door. 80' x 26" (in 10' lengths) of cold rolled for a total of $217.

[Jarlaxle]

I think we are going to cut out the majority of the coolant lines to the rear heater, and move it to one of the seats making up the dinette, since that is where people will be sitting when the bus is in motion. I thought about setting it up with a hot water heater and pump like Lorna plans on doing, but we will likely just use space heaters for the time being, since we plan to have hookups when camping in general.

If you have two heaters, I would keep them both if you do ANY cold or even cool-weather traveling. The amount of heat they can throw is tremendous. Also, they make a VERY nice emergency heat-sink if you ever find yourself trying to nurse an overheating engine to a safe place to stop.

[Jarlaxle]

2012-03-24_13-12-03_959sm.JPG

Was the exhaust tip sticking out the side when the bus was in service in the school district? I thought it was not allowed to have the exhaust in front of, or directly under passenger windows due to fumes coming in the bus especially when sitting in traffic. I'd like to re-route mine like that to clear up more space for hanging tanks in the rear undercarriage, but I do still have one window that would be right above that location.

I would never do it, but I have seen RV's set up that way from the factory.