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Old 04-07-2012, 08:23 PM   #81
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by bus-bro
Your bus has air brakes, right? Can't you fill the tires using the bus. That's what most of us with air brakes do. Those little oilless compressors don't seem to do much pumping at higher pressures.
Trust me, if I knew how to do that, I'd be under that bus in a flash to hook up the hose!!! Unfortunately, I just don't have the know-how or confidence to try it. Luckily, my mother's boyfriend DOES know how to do that cool stuff. I just have to wait for him to get back from a trip. In 2 weeks. But, in the mean time, I need to get some air back in that tire.

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Old 04-08-2012, 06:35 AM   #82
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

A suggestion is find your air tank.
Where the air hose goes i make a pipe t with a valve and air chuck for your air hose to blow up the tires or what ever you need to do.
Me I ran an aero quip line from the same "T". I then ran it to a place easy to reach and mounted the end again with an air quick connect.

When I was a trucker I made up a hose with an air "glad Hand" connector. That is what you connect your brake and air hose to the trailer for.. I'd hook it up and turn it on. I then attached what I needed to blow up a tire.
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Old 04-08-2012, 09:51 AM   #83
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

David's air compressor fills the bus tires just fine. It is a good sized, yet compact, compressor he used to use to power is pneumatic nail guns. We WILL be putting it on the bus to air up ALL our tires (not just the bus tires). We don't want to get rid of it so we have to put it someplace.
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Old 04-08-2012, 12:46 PM   #84
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske
David's air compressor fills the bus tires just fine. It is a good sized, yet compact, compressor he used to use to power is pneumatic nail guns. We WILL be putting it on the bus to air up ALL our tires (not just the bus tires). We don't want to get rid of it so we have to put it someplace.
What's the make and model on that compressor, Lorna? If I can afford it, I'll trade the one I bought yesterday for something that will actually work.
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Old 04-15-2012, 06:01 PM   #85
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by TygerCub
Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske
David's air compressor fills the bus tires just fine. It is a good sized, yet compact, compressor he used to use to power is pneumatic nail guns. We WILL be putting it on the bus to air up ALL our tires (not just the bus tires). We don't want to get rid of it so we have to put it someplace.
What's the make and model on that compressor, Lorna? If I can afford it, I'll trade the one I bought yesterday for something that will actually work.
Home depot and Lowes both have compressor/ finish gun combo packs for @ $200 - $300. The compressor is regulated to 120psi, but that should get your tires just fine. At the price they sell these for, its like buying the compressor and getting 2 or 3 nailers for free (or vise versa). If you can find a kit with a 18ga trim stapler as well as a 18ga brad nailer and a 16ga brad nailer, get it.. this combination will make your finish work a dream
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Old 04-15-2012, 06:36 PM   #86
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by TygerCub
Quote:
Originally Posted by lornaschinske
David's air compressor fills the bus tires just fine. It is a good sized, yet compact, compressor he used to use to power is pneumatic nail guns. We WILL be putting it on the bus to air up ALL our tires (not just the bus tires). We don't want to get rid of it so we have to put it someplace.
What's the make and model on that compressor, Lorna? If I can afford it, I'll trade the one I bought yesterday for something that will actually work.
Haven't a clue. It's short, compact and sitting over 100 miles away in Socorro. It's small and light enough that I have no problem picking it up to tote it around. It is not a wheeled unit. It is about 15" high X 24" long X 8" or 10" wide. We have enough air hose (even after selling off most of the air hoses) to stretch from the back of the bus to the front plus enough to park the jeep in front of the bus and air up all the tires. We did think ahead before selling off the excess air hoses. David had enough air hose to leave the compressor in the ground and power the Dewalt pneumatic framing nailer on top of a 2 story roof. The compressor could power two framing nailers at the same time. We sold the Dewalts (both framers), the Makita (a finish nailer) and "Baby" our finish/brad nailer and got next to nothing for them. So we decided to keep the compressor since we did have a use for it. Shop around and you can get a good compressor at a decent price.
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Old 04-15-2012, 07:44 PM   #87
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Thanks guys!

Boy, I really need to update this thread! But between posting to my regular blog and trying to create/load videos to YouTube, this one seems to get left behind.

In a nutshell, here's what I've been up to:
  • The tire was OVER inflated! It appears the compressor I bought worked just fine, but my gauge was crap.[/*:m:2bvc2h7b]
  • The wheel wells in the back of the bus were boxed in (and subsequently removed on the 'bed' side)[/*:m:2bvc2h7b]
  • The foam and plywood subfloor are installed in the back of the bus.[/*:m:2bvc2h7b]
  • The "bedroom" wall has been double-insulated and covered with luan.[/*:m:2bvc2h7b]
  • The "murphy bed" was built and hung.[/*:m:2bvc2h7b]

And here's some photos:


Box frame for the wheel wells behind the cage.



The 2" pink "Foamular" is cut out and installed.


Plans for the "Murphy Bed"


"Bedroom" wall framed out and ready for 2nd layer of insulation (2" total)


"Murphy Bed" in place and hinged to the wall using a 6' piano hinge


Bed swings up smooth as can be!

I still need to add hinged legs to the bed and some type of latch system to keep it in the up position for storage, but otherwise, the bottom is glued & screwed in place, and it's ready for a 6" foam mattress!
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Old 04-15-2012, 08:07 PM   #88
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

WOW! thats fantasic progress! hadn't thought of a Murphy bed though, good idea. I cant wait to be done with the shell, and on to the cool stuff, unfortunately I got quite a bit of rust to deal with.
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Old 04-15-2012, 08:24 PM   #89
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

not bad but bout half foot too short for me!
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Old 04-16-2012, 01:20 PM   #90
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

I don't have much experience with piano hinges, but they seem kinda flimsy to me. I suppose the number of attachment points makes up for the thin metal, but I'll be curious to hear back in the future how well it holds up over time. I do like your concept for the murphy bed though - I considered it myself, but it wouldn't have worked with my floorplan.
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Old 04-16-2012, 02:23 PM   #91
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

We are planning to do a murphy bed style thing in the master bedroom. We are going to make the bedroom convertible into a garage. The bed is going to split in the middle and fold up to the walls on each side. This way, we can haul bikes, the grill, etc, and offload them out the rear emergency door, then drop the bed halves and be done. Will have to see how it comes out.
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Old 04-16-2012, 04:23 PM   #92
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel Dan
I don't have much experience with piano hinges, but they seem kinda flimsy to me. I suppose the number of attachment points makes up for the thin metal, but I'll be curious to hear back in the future how well it holds up over time. I do like your concept for the murphy bed though - I considered it myself, but it wouldn't have worked with my floorplan.
I agree the hinge metal seems flimsy, but I attribute it to the extreme length. Once it was attached it was very rigid. And you are correct, because the weight is evenly distributed over a long area, it can support more than one might suspect. How it is attached is important too. I attached the hinge so that forces would be pulling not only on the screw head, but against the length of each screw in the wood.


But don't worry. No matter how well placed, I'm paranoid enough to not trust a single 6' hinge to support my 200lb butt! I'm also adding legs to the base that will provide 90% of the support. They will also be hinged so they fall flat against the bed when it's against the wall, but swing down into the support position when it's lowered.
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Old 04-16-2012, 10:06 PM   #93
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

And finally, here are a couple of videos from this weekend's "murphy bed build".

PART 1
[flash=480,360:1wdf4zbv]http://www.youtube.com/v/FuIa2qEJRDc?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0[/flash:1wdf4zbv]

PART 2
[flash=480,360:1wdf4zbv]http://www.youtube.com/v/djspDj6ZxUs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0[/flash:1wdf4zbv]
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Old 04-17-2012, 07:42 AM   #94
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Your bus is coming along nicely...and the videos are top notch! Very good quality all around.
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Old 04-18-2012, 07:24 PM   #95
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Put down some more flooring today. Can't go any farther until I get help moving that generator, though, so I'm at a stand still.

I did get a couple of latches installed to hold the murphy bed in the up position against the wall. I used two of these:


They work like a charm! They seem to hold okay, but if I get worried about the road bouncing them up, I can put a little cotter pin in place to hold the latch shut.

My next big project after finishing the floor will be to search for plumbing supplies. That's going to take some research, but I'm looking forward to starting in on it.
I was kinda thinking about using this for the tub/shower pan:


I was also looking at the agricultural tanks as a fresh water tank.


The only thing that concerns me with this one is how to install the fill hose. Would I drill a hole in the top cap and run the fill hose through it? Or would it be better to just open the thing and drag a hose in from the window?
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Old 04-19-2012, 09:14 AM   #96
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

i think you should drill the appropriate size hole and epoxy a fitting in for both the fill and the small vent line. the fill should be something like 1 1/2 inch in diameter, and the vent something like 3/8" or better. not to mention.. screen on end of vent, and cap on fill.... just my two cents...
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Old 04-19-2012, 09:58 AM   #97
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

I will just underscore the
Quote:
Originally Posted by chev49
screen on end of vent
...

Every open ended hose on my bus had been taken over by mud daubbers while it sat. And they don't vent worth a darn when filled with the cement those little critters make.
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Old 04-19-2012, 03:15 PM   #98
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

If that tank is polyethylene, epoxy won't stick. Nothing will stick. There are fittings made for polyethylene, but they are usually a compression fit. You would need the fittings first to ensure you drill the exact proper size hole.
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Old 04-19-2012, 06:30 PM   #99
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quickie video showing the latches I used to keep the bed up against the wall.

[flash=640,360:1vn4ct5k]http://www.youtube.com/v/2fQibVknyZ8?version=3&feature[/flash:1vn4ct5k]
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Old 04-19-2012, 08:38 PM   #100
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango
I will just underscore the
Quote:
Originally Posted by chev49
screen on end of vent
...

Every open ended hose on my bus had been taken over by mud daubbers while it sat. And they don't vent worth a darn when filled with the cement those little critters make.
Dirt daubbers LOVE refrigerators on RVs to the Nth degree. Its why I built a removable screen (using a regular DIY screen kit) to lay inside the huge bottom vent/access panel. I'm not sure why they like them so much. But they even like the electric dorm fridge/freezer we had. But a little judicious use of window screening is a good deterrent.
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