Canadian Skoolie Project - Page 5

jkindt · 04-07-2010, 10:50 AM

Mountains? I live within view of the Canadian Rockies!!! One of my favorite places to go camping.

jkindt · 04-07-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheezypsnookle

ouch srry to hear about the wrist....

Well, after getting some x-rays today, I found out it is not visibly broken. Thank goodness! But I damaged a bunch of tendons and bruised the end of my ulnar bone. It looks like a mess, all bruised up with a rainbow of black, blue, and red. I would post a pic, but I can't seem to focus the camera with my left hand. Might get the wife to take a pic later if I can stand to unwrap it long enough to do so.

As for today's progress, I picked up the roof vent that I found in the local classifieds. It is one of the new Ventline vents with the wedge shaped lid. I almost hate to cover it up with the Maxxair cover. Maybe I will find another vent to use with the cover and install the Ventline without a cover for now.

cheezypsnookle · 04-08-2010, 12:13 AM

thats good to here a break would set u back quite a bit

jkindt · 04-08-2010, 06:17 PM

Here is where I mounted the switch for the porch light. I have considered adding a second switch for the stairwell light as well...

jkindt · 04-08-2010, 06:26 PM

I could not have picked a worse day to put in my roof vent....well, almost. This morning I took the vent, measured and marked the ceiling where it was going to go. Then I drilled the four corners through both layers into the great outdoors! I used a pneumatic reciprocating saw to cut out the 14x14 square from the roof. As I was doing this I noticed that the wind was getting stronger and stronger. When it came time to get on the roof to screw it down, I found that the guy that I borrowed the ladder from had come and taken it back. So, after trying to get onto the roof from on top of the hood with a half-broken arm, I gave up and decided to go borrow another ladder. I tied a big hammer to a string and hung it from the vent to hold it in place while I went to get the ladder. By the time I got the ladder set up and was up on the roof, the wind was gusting over 60mph and I felt like I was going to be blown away! Nothing like installing a roof vent in a hurricane!!!

Well, all went good, vent is in and looks great! I am not going to install the cover until a calmer day.

jkindt · 04-08-2010, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty

What's the little pancake fan (2nd pic) for? Personal A/C?

You didn't see an old witch riding a bicycle while you were on the roof did you??

Smitty

That fan is the previous owner's method of circulating the hot air that collects in the 'dome' roof of the bus. There is 5 of those little things on the roof! I think my method will work better.

I didn't see a witch, but I sure have been having a lot of power surges and brownouts due to the high winds! I am almost to the point of unplugging a bunch of equipment in the house. There are wind warnings in effect here....and I was on the roof of my bus installing a vent!

jkindt · 04-10-2010, 09:43 PM

Today I convinced my brother to help me build a scaffold so that I could continue sanding and priming the bus. We used 2x4s for the legs and 2x6s for the deck. It is 48" tall (plus 1.5" for the deck surface) and allows me to reach from the bottom of the windows to about 1/3 of the way across the roof. I can't believe how much easier this is than using a ladder! It will also come in very handy when the time comes to hoist an A/C unit to the roof. Here's the pics...

Stuff · 04-10-2010, 11:51 PM

looks like that scaffold will make it a heck of allot easier!!

jkindt · 04-11-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuff

looks like that scaffold will make it a heck of allot easier!!

I sure wish I had thought of this earlier! Why hasn't anyone else on here mentioned building one to work on their bus, it is SOOOOO much easier to work on the sides of the roof. No more balancing upside-down on top of the roof, or leaning over a ladder just to sand the sides up top.

jkindt · 04-13-2010, 10:05 PM

With our 'winter storm' happening I haven't been able to do much on the bus. I did a little work under the hood, cleaning up some of the 'extra' parts that aren't needed such as the emissions air pump, vacuum lines that used to operate the stop sign, and other various things. I did, however, score a pair of swivel seat pedestals from the local classifieds for only $20!!! The ad stated that they wanted $30, of course I thought that was for the pair so I offered $20. It turns out they wanted $30 each, but since I drove across the city during a blizzard they let me take them both for $20. Here's the pics...

Stuff · 04-14-2010, 12:08 PM

sweat deal!! I assume your putting two nice seats up front?

jkindt · 04-14-2010, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuff

sweat deal!! I assume your putting two nice seats up front?

I am not sure. I want to put one under the drivers seat so that it can be turned around and used when parked, but I am not sure how I am going to use the other one. Hard to fit a co-pilot seat in a conventional bus...

jkindt · 04-14-2010, 02:22 PM

Well, after looking, pondering, deciding back and forth, the weather has made a decision for me.... With our nice heavy wet winter storm knocking out our power for the past 12 hours or so, I bought a 5000 Watt LPG generator. It is a lot bigger than I had originally planned, but it was on a sale for half price. It sure runs the house refridgerator, tv, blueray player, a couple lights, and a 1500w electric heater well.

And the best part is that it is propane powered so I can tie in to the bus system easily. The wife loves the fact that it is electric start....she can't seem to pull start an engine even on a good day!

Stuff · 04-14-2010, 03:17 PM

nice! never thought of a LP powered genset! must be a big bugger?

jkindt · 04-14-2010, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuff

nice! never thought of a LP powered genset! must be a big bugger?

Yeah, it is a bit (lot) bigger than I had planned for, but I like the idea of having enough power to use as a backup for my home as well. My weakest link today was not the capacity of the generator, but the capacity of my cords! I have a couple 25 ft extension cords that I used, but they are only rated at 13 amps (14/3 wire). The one going to my house fridge was fine, but the one running my 1500w heater, tv, blu-ray player, and stereo got a little warm at the plugs after a couple hours of use. I need to look into getting some heavier cords. But all is well, power is restored and we didn't lose any of our perishable food.

I figured if we had lost a fridge/freezer full of food, we may as well have spent the money on the generator instead of replacing food.

CAMO-MONSTER · 04-16-2010, 07:35 AM

i'm using a 100' 12/3 to redo the wires in my bus it had and has romex
and i'm also braking it into zones not all on one run

jkindt · 04-16-2010, 01:02 PM

Here's the pics of the new power plant. It is not the quietest, or the lightest, or the smallest, but I feel much better knowing that in case of emergency we now have a source of backup power sufficient to keep our home safe. I just need to wire in a disconnect plug on the furnace so I can unplug it and run it off the generator. As for the bus, it is too big to fit under the bus, so I will have to make sure my bed at the back is high enough to slide it under the bed through the rear door for storage. I may end up with a 'loft bed' in the back if I keep raising it much more!

Redbear · 04-16-2010, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuff

nice! never thought of a LP powered genset! must be a big bugger?

Any size generator that runs on gasoline could also be converted to run on propane. There are kits or pre-converted units out there as small as 1kW, if not smaller. Big genset manufacturers like Onan divide their power plants into two types - diesel and "spark ignited."

jkindt · 04-16-2010, 09:10 PM

Well, I got the exhaust pipe for the bus. I chopped the old pipes off at the back of the muffler and attached the new 3" pipe directly to the muffler. It has a single bend in it and exits right in front of the rear wheels. I was able to use the stock exhaust brackets with new clamps. It is solid. Here's todays pics...

jkindt · 04-19-2010, 09:35 PM

With the weather cooperating I was able to get a lot done today. It started at 0830 this morning when I went and picked up the exhaust tip for the new pipe. It is a 3" inlet with a 3.5" outlet and a slant cut. Ignore the masked off tire, I was priming the wheels on Saturday. Here's a couple pics of the exhaust...

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