Big Bertha

[roach711]

If either of you gets a cramp in that tub it's going to get interesting real fast

I just read through your build and I wouldn't change a thing. Years from now you'll be really glad you did the proper prep before building. Can't wait to see what you do next.

[big_bertha]

Originally Posted by bansil

how big is the tub?

ugh

shower pan?

ugh

Dinghy?

ugh

the silver thingy

2' wide x 3' long x 2' deep.

Originally Posted by M1031

Getting comfy at the Cone? (Can't help the Cars movie quote........ ) WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Y'all have THREE people in there!!!! Isn't she expecting?!?!?!?!

She is expecting our SECOND!



He just turned one on the 20th...

Originally Posted by BelltownBikes

You guys are doing a great job! Working together building a home for the family will give your team the experience and confidence to tackle all sorts of things in the future.

Where do you plan to park this bus when it becomes your full time home? Can you do RV park, relative's property, buy a lot, etc?

20+ years into the family deal I sometimes wish we had started out with the conscious intent to keep things small and simple. Your "things" can come to own you if you are not careful.

Good day! Bob

We had big dreams when we decided to live in a bus. We had gotten a whiff of the "closed-loop off-grid" mentality and thought we could make all that happen in six short months on one modest income. We wanted the option of living on a campsite or in the middle of nowhere. Then reality hit and now we're compromising, although I like the word "prioritizing" better. The truth is that it takes a significant amount of money to set up an off-grid home, period. We just don't make enough to make that happen right away, though it is still an important goal and a milestone we're going to continue working towards. We rearranged a lot of our plans and goals, picking out the necessities and pushing back the luxuries, so by the end of the year we're hoping to have something capable of docking at a campsite and being livable.

I really owe it to my wife for the "intent to keep things small and simple". It's really easy to get absorbed in the acquisition of things and goods, and upgrading and buying things feels good, especially for someone like me, who was raised by a bad example of financial responsibility. Having a stable job and a steady income is new to me, and if it weren't for my wife I think I would have been seduced by the promise of status and acceptance that goes along with conspicuous consumption.

Thank you all for the encouragement. You motivate me.

[bansil]

all I can say is 'good luck"
.
.
.

If ya'll come near east TN...giimmi a hollar...grill will be going and so will the wine.....and sippy cups fo the kids.....(eehhh no alcohol....just kool-aid)
got acouple acres for a "sleep" over

[roach711]

Originally Posted by big_bertha

Having a stable job and a steady income is new to me, and if it weren't for my wife I think I would have been seduced by the promise of status and acceptance that goes along with conspicuous consumption.

"Retail therapy" is seductive to all of us but I've gotten much more enjoyment from building something or resurrecting some old thing than just going out and plunking my money down for the new "must have" of the moment. It's the process that's enjoyable - the learning, planning and building rather than the "having." One of our friends said we should have just gone out and bought a used RV but had we gone that route we'd have paid our money, brought the thing home then we're back to our boring lives. Doing our conversion was a three year project from concept to completion so I got a much larger bang for my bucks and also met a nice bunch of people here on Skoolie.

Everything you bring into your life claims a bit of your soul so be sure your new toys are worth it.

[big_bertha]

Haven't updated in a while.


Smoothing out the bed platform with some joint compound.


We're using extension cords for wiring.




First layer on




This decal was the big, intimidating one. Hard to get anything under it without scratching off layers of paint. Really learned how to use a heat gun here.


Ritual vacuuming?


We thought about building all our cabinetry, then looked at the amount of time we had left, amount of money it would cost, and our skill levels, and decided Ikea cabinets were our best option.


My kid helped us assemble a few of them






Then we busted out the spray foam.


Warming them up with the halogen worked well, but the light needs to be close, and it needs to be on them for a long time.




This, we found out, wasn't necessary. We didn't know how it behaved though.




















Muffler delete. Is this necessary? No, but you know what? It really makes me happy.






Trimming this stuff is hard work, and it gets everywhere.
























High-temp black


Primer/sealer


















These are mounted in an unusual way, as you can see. They come with mounting holes on the sides, but only toward the open side of the box. When we screwed the first one in, all that force on the front cocked the box toward the front. So to make sure they mounted flush and straight, we drilled diagonally opposing holes on one side.


Oh man these little dudes are everywhere. It's mating season.


Exhaust parts


The instructions actually call for the rug..












Sink will go here


Nice and flat, painted, looking good.

[big_bertha]

Here we go.


These will cover the holes in the roof where the vent fans used to be.


Mounting more boxes. This task stands out in my memory as being really unpleasant. I don't remember why.
















Scraped more decals! Fun!




Saw this from above, yep I'll be replacing those




I love these things. Saving them to reuse later.


It was hot that day.


























4" to 6"


Rigged up a hanger for the pipe


Doesn't look half bad!

[Tango]

You Guys Rock! --- And obviously make a great team. Thanks for sharing and keep the pix coming.

[frank-id]

Thanks for the pics... Frank

[steve.c]

Your bus is looking great!

What spray foam did you go with, how much did it take, and from what supplier? Thanks, Steve

[bansil]

great update, it's lookig good

[browncrown]

Awesome pics and work!!! Bus is looking great!!!

[White99z]

Cool bus! I'm also curious about the spray foam!!!

[Ponyracer]

Nice job on the foam! Did I miss what you used? Self sprayed? How many did you use? Brand?

[big_bertha]

We used Tiger Foam, we went with two 600bd-ft fast rise closed cell kits, which arrived in four boxes, each holding a tank slightly smaller than a 20lb propane bottle. They were heavy, about ~50lbs each. The kits came with a few nozzles, detailed instructions, everything needed to set up and spray except personal protective equipment. For that we picked up what was recommended on the site and reiterated in the instructions - OV+N95 half-mask, extra cartridges, hooded tyvek or equivalent, nitrile gloves, protective goggles. All of that is necessary. The vapors from spraying burn your skin and especially your eyes if you're not wearing goggles. It seems like only large particles are sprayed, but when you look more closely after spraying, everything is covered in a fine mist of hard adhesive particles. My glasses fogged so badly I had to take the goggles off to see, and now my glasses are covered in the stuff.

It's hard to say exactly how much one kit covers, because it's really impossible to spray perfectly evenly, and a lot of it is wasted when you trim. It's really hard to gauge on the spot how much the foam will expand. I tried spraying many light coats, one heavy coat, everything in between and it's just hard all around. I'm sure by the time I'm done spraying the whole bus I will have gotten the hang of it, but by then it will be too late. I may have to buy a smaller kit to supplement if I run out, we'll see how it goes.

[Malkieri]

This may sound stupid, but is there a reason to not use a "hot-wire foam cutter" to trim the excess down? It seems to me that it would be far less messy than any of the saw blade methods I've seen here, but unsure about flaming nature of the foam.....thoughts? Ideas? Here is a video for a DIY version....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA5WowY6j5Q

[Tango]

Far and away the best solution --- I've seen it done by a local bus converter. They made their own "knife" using an old train transformer and some piano wire on a pvc pipe frame. No dust, no little beads everywhere, just nice smooth, clean surfaces to build over. And in a fraction of the time involved in just about any other method. Tons of DIY info online for "how to make a hot knife". Still have one I made years ago for totally different use.

[r_w]

Other than the bus ribs are metal and will ground out the hot wire....

Figure that one out and you are on to something.

[jazty]

I tried a hot wire for a bit. It stinks! The smell may go away eventually, but I threw the test chunks away before they stopped stinking. Concave curves are also difficult (ceiling). The grinder makes one hell of a mess, though, so it may still be the better way. On the plus side, you end up with garbage bags of loose fill insulation if you use a grinder with wire wheel! It'd be good for an attic space.

[big_bertha]

With running boards over the metal ribs, we wouldn't face the grounding issue in such a direct and obvious way. With the hot wire, I mean. We would, however, run into grounding issues with the galvanized stud connectors we used. There are also wires which run close to the trim level in some areas, and a hot wire may prove more destructive than a saw. The wire can melt through vinyl jackets much quicker than the saw can chew them up. We didn't even risk the saw in the problem areas, I used a large flat screwdriver to pop out small chunks.

I think concave surfaces would be difficult with wire. Maybe instead of wire you could heat a hacksaw blade and put handles on each end.

Jatzy, if you took some, I would like to see pics of your hot wire in use.


Exhaust going together










You know, in hindsight, it might have been a better idea to enlarge the existing hole and keep it rear-exit. I'm going to piss off whoever is parked to the left or right of me whenever I run it.








Plenty of room = stress-free wires = peace of mind








This color was advertised as "natural white", but it was more like "unnatural white". It had a sickly greenish hue to it, very fluorescent looking. I returned it and got warm white, which doesn't perfectly mimic warm incandescent, but much friendlier than this.


Wago "lever nuts"
















Kitchen outlets.












Harbor freight epoxy putty




I decided to cement all these fasteners in place. They're wood screws run into metal connectors. Again, peace of mind.












Oven receptacle. There are two outlets for one plug!!! Why!!!




The one below is for the fridge.


This is a beautiful snail.










Starting to look like a jungle in here...


Junction boxes for AC LED modules.

[big_bertha]

Wiring sucks.


Getting them cleaned up a little bit


















Yep, grandma's rotary dimmer switches.










How to mask receptacles before spraying... stuff a glove over them




Bam! The morning after... it echoes differently!


Nice and fluffy




If you care about anything, remove it from the area.






We are beginning to drill holes for plumbing. This is supposed to give the pilot something to follow all the way through, so if we have to saw from underneath we know we're sawing in the same place.










We looked under the bus, estimated the distance between each floor support rib, estimated exactly where to drill to avoid them, and ended up hitting one DEAD CENTER.


So we gave up and started finishing the bedroom.


Pine, little square drive trim screws.






Shore power. I ordered the wrong one the first time, I got a 50A 125V. Which is a 3-wire. 50A RV receptacles are 4-wire. Live and learn.


Oh, hello


Yeah.














Another awesome snail.












Using Wago ferrules from newark




Don't worry, it isn't bonded to neutral.










One for W/D drain/supply, one for fireplace/fridge ice









Stay tuned.