Big Bertha

[somewhereinusa]

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.

So, were you able to get a 4 wire recepticle in the same style? If so where? I looked all over and ended up making my own.

[Dragonpop]

You can find the RV 50 amp plug on Amazon or E-bay it's termed a Marinco 50 amp, do a google search sometimes you can find one on craigslist as well and maybe an extension cord as well. good to see you kids are back and doing a great job. Seems a little over the top on the electrical panel at 100 amp for a 50 amp hookup
but I don't know how much generator your using.

[big_bertha]

I did find a 4-wire inlet, made by Hubbell, HBL504RI. I ordered mine from amazon. The picture is wrong almost everywhere they can be ordered. They show a round stainless screw-on cover, but I'm almost the "R" stands for rectangular. The actual unit is pictured below. I couldn't find a Marinco unit that was all stainless, so I'm very happy with this guy. Heavy, solid. Feels good to operate. Feels durable.

[Ponyracer]

Originally Posted by big_bertha

I did find a 4-wire inlet, made by Hubbell, HBL504RI. I ordered mine from amazon. The picture is wrong almost everywhere they can be ordered. They show a round stainless screw-on cover, but I'm almost the "R" stands for rectangular. The actual unit is pictured below. I couldn't find a Marinco unit that was all stainless, so I'm very happy with this guy. Heavy, solid. Feels good to operate. Feels durable.

Thanks for the heads up on this! Put one in my amazon cart directly!

Great job, keep up the good work.

Don't suppose you have a wiring diagram of your different electrical "layers", shore power, gen power, batts etc? I absolutely HATE wiring so anything you could put up would def help wiring newbs like me!

[big_bertha]

I'm working on the bus all weekend, so I'll do a short write up of what I've learned early next week.

[Shocker]

Love the build, but I am concerned about the use of extension cords as main wiring. Why not use something rated for permanent installation?

[dgorila1]

For having no experience or knowledge of construction and fabrication, the work you guys are doing is top notch! Most professional tradesmen don't do as nice a job you are doing on everything. Your craftsmanship is very impressive and you will have a beautiful, solid rv when you are done!
I guess your wife has parents that support her vision and "alternate" housing choice. That is so cool. My parents are too conservative and would never have understood if I had done what you guys are doing when I was your age. Of course, if I knew then what I know now I would be living in one at this moment. Now I'm trying to "dematerialize" my life which is allot harder after years in the system and with a family.
You can find a hot knife for trimming foam at Harbor Freight. Too late now but maybe someone else can use the input for their project. Tried one at work and it works well but I can't stand the smell of burning foam. Definitely don't let your wife and baby breathe the fumes. You have to be careful because most burning foams/plastics give off a variety of toxic fumes including cyanide. Nasty stuff!
I like the watering trough you're using for the tub/shower. I have been planning my build in my head for several years and plan to do the same thing. You might want to change the kitchen and bath electrical outlets to GFCI type for safety.Just a suggestion.
Keep up the great work. You guys are doing a quality build. Just from the quality and craftsmanship you are showing on your first build, I would say you guys could make a business of doing quality skoolie conversions.
Do you have an estimate on what the final cost of the build will be when you are done? Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming! Awesome job!

[White99z]

Originally Posted by Shocker

Love the build, but I am concerned about the use of extension cords as main wiring. Why not use something rated for permanent installation?

Extension cords are used in a lot of Skoolie conversions and what we will be using in ours (10 gauge). The reason is that it is stranded wire. The "permanent stuff" used in housing is solid wire and not suitable for RV applications due to the ability to break from vibration. That being said, I have seen photos of solid wire being used in camper trailers from the factory and imagine it is used in some RV's also.

[Shocker]

Touche on the Romex, but I was thinking of stranded 12/2 or something similar.

I am sure it will be fine, but it would just make me a bit nervous. I have read several articles on the subject and the main reason is the compound the insulation is made of is not designed for constant use and when opening up the cord, the exposure starts the breakdown of the inner insulation. Also there is no provision for wear or abrasion inside.

Just my 2 cents.

Looks great!

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by dgorila1

I guess your wife has parents that support her vision and "alternate" housing choice. That is so cool. My parents are too conservative and would never have understood if I had done what you guys are doing when I was your age. Of course, if I knew then what I know now I would be living in one at this moment. Now I'm trying to "dematerialize" my life which is allot harder after years in the system and with a family.!

Not to start a fight but I take issue with this statement, I consider myself conservative & I'm all for this type of living, it's the librails that demand you conform to their beliefs & way of thinking

[bansil]

dunno about liberal v/s whatever We "carry" everywhere and take care of ourselves..... and the whole wire thing...errr...I think personally that stranded extension cords are fine and cheap...would I wire a none moving house with it? probably not (cheaper to go solid)
My chose and I believe flexible wire has less strees...you cAN never beat this horse deader
**** moves...how much? who knows? we drive 5000 miles a year max....and then we park.
damn...what were we taliking about???

15 amp extension cords are more than fine in my mind...my mind is different tho'

[browncrown]

As long as it's not going to shock the **** out of you...carry on...love the build

[dgorila1]

Not to start a fight but I take issue with this statement, I consider myself conservative & I'm all for this type of living, it's the librails that demand you conform to their beliefs & way of thinking [/quote]

They were just raised back in the time when you got a job, started a family, worked for the same company for 30 or 40 years and retired in the same house you bought when you were married. Couldn't ask for better parents, they just aren't comfortable with the "non-typical" lifestyle since they were raised and brainwashed by the system. I will say that they have seen the light though due to the circus we call our government and "Commander in Chief". Honestly I'm afraid for what my kids have to look forward too with the way things have been heading (both social and political). I'm doing all I can to expand their views and teach them to not take things at face value. Already got them on board with idea of skoolies and being mobile

[Dragonpop]

On the wiring where it passes though the stud walls you will want to mount some metal plates to prevent a wayward screw or nail from coming through and shorting out some of the wires in a future modification or when finishing the walls. Your doing a great job so far and really fast as well.

[mtunderwood]

I was about to say the same thing Dragonpop. Here's a pic to help clarify.

[steve.c]

Any updates? Love to see some new pictures, keep up the great work!

[big_bertha]

Update:






Notching out for screw heads in lumber connectors






















She made a liner for this basket, plus a piece of 3" foam in the bottom in a soft pillowcase. New baby's bassinet.






Kitchen walls insulated


Kitchen walls, higher outlet is for oven, lower is for fridge.


We had a leak, so we ended up removing this piece of ceiling, filling in a sizable gap with great stuff, throwing a tarp over the bus. Then we decided to roll on a siliconized roof paint. You'll see how that ended up later...








Sprayed inside the partition walls for the added rigidity and sound-deadening. Much faster than trimming rigid board to fit around wires, also.






Had to be REALLY careful not to nick wires when trimming the foam. This was true for pretty much everything we sprayed though.






Kitchen walls covered on the other side as well.


We knew about this major leak for over a month. We decided to rip up the plywood, fix the leak, and make the driver's compartment/stairwell area a wet zone, with some kind of rubber floor coating. It's still up in the air. This pic also lets you know about our hoarding problem.








These curves were fun. She freehanded some, so some came out looking better than others. We used a template from the front walls for the rest.


Decided to scrub the roof with soap & water before rolling on an elastomeric.






And we've also started sleeping in the bus on certain weekends to save time driving back and forth. We use a little butane camp stove for meals, soups, sandwiches and frozen dinner bags!


This looks comfortable. It is, however, blankets on top of plywood.










Rolling it on went fine....


Then it rained for 5 minutes in the middle of the night. We basically woke up and cried in each others arms at 3am. Then after shivering on blanket plywood for another two hours we decided to check out the damage, and it was as bad as I could have imagined.




We rolled the dice on the weather forecast and lost. Serves us right and we learned our lesson.






Line of white on the ground




Then the next weekend some cold winds blew in from outer space and froze our bus.


The weather was freezing at night and warmer during the day, for about an entire week, and the freeze/thaw cycles accumulated enough water on our metal roof to form little icicles.


Kerfed 1/4"




















Kitchen toe kick, or "ladder"














Sanding all the nasty mold or whatever off the plywood we put up






Looking better!








Finally! Bunks!








































Testing out our stain. It's darker in person, the pic doesn't represent very well.




Wires all buttoned up and ready for spraying












Made a big ol' mess again


Trying to smooth out the ceiling and fill in the gaps with WoodEpox. Results haven't come in yet. It's like marshmallow clay.




Regular wood filler on the screw holes























So we've had some ups & downs, but I think it's going to start coming together in the weeks ahead. we bought most of our appliances, toilet, fireplace, oven, bathroom sink, batteries, solar panels, some odds and ends... thank you black friday!
My wife has been hard at work designing interior textures, colors & fabrics. We almost have all the upholstry for the front sofas. We're going to try to completely finish the back two bedrooms before we move on to other rooms. Stay tuned. Happy thanksgiving!

[ol trunt]

Thanks for the really great update. Personally, I am pleased to know that there are still younger people who are willing to work until their dreams come true. You are setting a mark of excellence for those who follow. Hang on to each other and keep up the good work. Jack

[big_bertha]

Started off on Friday filling & sanding screw holes, smoothing imperfections and filling gaps with wood epoxy.










Hard to find screw holes here! Unfortunately they become really obvious when stained.


It rained hard all day Friday, but we were warm and dry inside.




CD plywood sucks. It's ugly on both sides, and it's more work than it's worth for the little extra you could spend for the nice stuff. Learned.






Rustoleum Dark Walnut










Moved the campsite into the front two rooms because of the fumes and the dust. And we actually have a mattress!




Woke up to some snow!


Sun came out at around noon and temps fell well below freezing shortly thereafter








These are for kids' bunks, staining the underside to match the frame.




Rustoleum satin polyurethane




Kitchen is where the kitchen will be!


Insulation trimmed












Plus sand texture.










Valspar interior satin "tempered gray"






Polyurethane on the bed platforms


















Ice lifted up all the rocks on the ground. I have never seen this before. It's awesome. And kind of creepy.


Water heater came!!


And toilet!!


























Kids' kitchen.






Playing with fabrics for living room seating, we are getting closer to something that works!



That's all for now. Stay tuned.

[cowlitzcoach]

You have done some real quality work on your project.

Personally I don't like dark wood stains and would have gone with a much lighter color. But it is your project and not mine.

You have done a lot to keep the cold out. I hope you have made provisions for vapor barriers. I would hate to see all of that spray foam get water soaked from condensation.

I hope you left access panels for the different holes that went through the floor from the factory. The most important is the access to the top of the fuel tank. You don't want to have to drop the tank if you ever have an issue with the fuel pick up or fuel sender.

Good luck and keep up the good work.