Canadian Skoolie Project - Page 8

jkindt · 05-18-2010, 08:27 PM

Yeah, my wife is excited to go this weekend. We got the fridge fired up and ready for the groceries. Now that we have the converter installed, we can use the lights without worrying about draining the batteries. I also cleaned up the battery box and installed a starter battery for the chassis so that I could use both of the Marine/RV (fake deep cycle) batteries for the coach. Here's the pics that I promised...

jkindt · 05-19-2010, 11:26 AM

Looking at all the other projects on the board really make me want to work on the interior of my bus. It may be because I have so many good ideas, or that I don't exactly like the way the previous owner did it. Or it could just be that I want to be able to call it all my own and know that it was designed and built by my own hands.

After all, isn't that why we build skoolies? I see people ripping out the floor and putting in insulation and new plywood and it makes me wonder how much benefit it would actually have in my bus. I know there is a plywood floor under the rubber, and it seems to be in decent shape from what I have seen of it, but other than a million seat bolt holes leaking air into my bus, what benefit would I actually gain from removing it and replacing it? The addition of 1/2" foam insulation may provide a little R value, but would I even notice it in the summer? Right now it is just carpet over factory floor, it even has the rubber runner down the middle still intact, in fact you can see where it is because of the unevenness under the carpet. (no underlay obviously!) Then I remind myself that this is not being designed to live in full time or anything. It is meant to be a camping unit, mostly in the summer. Week-at-a-timer stuff.

If I were to live in it, that would be different. So, my thoughts are leave the plywood floor, remove the rubber, seal all the bolt holes and seams. Then lay down carpet in the back with underlay and either laminate or vinyl flooring in the front half. I guess the real question is...where does most of the heat come into the bus and what can be done that provides the most bang-for-the-buck?

timbuk · 05-21-2010, 11:51 AM

you have done lots and the bus is coming very well! We could be the gray whales if we get our busus together,looks great there neibor! Where ya going? And do tell more about that inverter you are showing! timbuk

jkindt · 05-24-2010, 08:30 PM

The weekend camping trip was a huge sucess. We had everything we needed and the bus was set up perfectly. When we got to the campground we found that we only got 15 amp service. We had planned to run two 1500 watt space heaters if things got cold, but we found that one was plenty to keep the bus nice and warm at night. While the weather wasn't perfect, it was a great first trip out with the bus. We stayed in a small town campground about 45 minutes from home, far enough to be worth going and close enough in case something broke. Here are some pics of the site with the bus as well as a picture of how well we blended in with all of the sticks-n-staples that everyone else brought.

Diesel Dan · 05-25-2010, 03:45 PM

I love the camping shots! It's great and inspirational to see someone's skoolie being used for it's intended purpose (rather than sitting in the driveway like mine)!

jkindt · 05-26-2010, 12:49 AM

Here's a few more camping pics. We really did enjoy the weekend. Our new power converter worked perfectly, we were able to use as many lights as we needed without worrying about the batteries. We usually turned on the outside porch light at dusk and left it on until we went to bed. Next thing to do is finish tinting all the windows, I have only got one side and the back windows done so far. We could sure tell the difference in heat inside when the sun hit the untinted side vs. the tinted side, not that it was bad, it was a cool weekend.

crazycal · 05-26-2010, 12:51 AM

Looking good.

jkindt · 05-28-2010, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmylc

did you get any campers coming up and asking q's / did they just look at you weird/any one gawking rubber neckers?

Actually it was kind of funny. All weekend long people walked past, did their own thing, and didn't even seem to notice that it wasn't a premanufactured motorhome. I was expecting at least someone to say something, but nothing. Like I said before, I seemed to blend right in. Now by blending in I don't mean 'conforming', I don't think many of us are the conforming type of people. Had I painted it rainbow colors and put daisys all over it, I would have had some comments for sure!!!

jkindt · 05-28-2010, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmylc

PFFT,if i was there i would have screamed "SKOOLIE!!!" while running full tilt directly at you/while shooting 8k q's before i got 5 feet from you, then i would have rolled laughing as you dove for cover , then got up and would have said very calmly "wasup" LMAO :P ...

I am just waiting for the day when this actually happens. I am sure somebody will eventually take enough interest to realize that skoolies are FAR superior to sticks-n-staples.

jkindt · 06-03-2010, 01:16 PM

Well....it's time to take the bus out into the middle of nowhere for a few days.

We are planning on leaving this afternoon and going into the Canadian Rockies and set up camp for the weekend on crown land. No electricity, no water, no outhouses, just trees, mountains, and nature.

We are going to an area that we have camped in many times before, so it will be familiar to us, but this time we will take the bus. I will be taking our generator just in case we need it, but I want to try and go all weekend without it. I will try to get lots of pics, since that is what we love here!!!

Stuff · 06-03-2010, 01:30 PM

who need pre made rv's when you got a high enough bluff skill? lol

Also good luck with the camping. Its pouring cats and dogs in SE Sask today! I was trying to get out to work on the bus but its a LAKE outside my door and bus...

jkindt · 06-06-2010, 06:38 PM

Well...I can now say that the bus is completely capable of spending 4 days out in the wilderness completely self-sufficient.

We had no running water, no power, no hookups at all. Just a bus load of camping gear and supplies. I was able to get waaayyyy back into the bush. Gotta love the ground clearance of a bus!

We went to an area that we have been before so I knew the area well and had no problems finding a great place to set up camp. In fact, in past years, 'someone' has made quite a nice plot to park in, complete with a gravel pad and a small stream that runs along the back side. Here's some pics as promised...

jkindt · 06-06-2010, 06:40 PM

...and some more pics...

jkindt · 06-06-2010, 06:43 PM

...and some more pics...

Stuff · 06-06-2010, 08:57 PM

now that's camping!

bus-ted · 06-07-2010, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmylc

nice!!!

ditto. I'm jealous. I can just taste some skillet trout...

Seeria · 06-07-2010, 07:18 AM

How did you attach that tarp to the bus? Can you get me details, close up shots, please?

bunedoggle · 06-07-2010, 10:09 AM

WOW, what a beautiful landscape!!
How far do you have to travel to get to such a place? Makes me want to go! (Probably take me two weeks to get there though.)

jkindt · 06-07-2010, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunedoggle

WOW, what a beautiful landscape!!
How far do you have to travel to get to such a place? Makes me want to go! (Probably take me two weeks to get there though.)

The entire trip was a total of 290km. So, about an hour and a half drive each way. Unfortunately I was pushing against some really strong wind (60-70km/h) all the way there so my fuel economy was crap! I just filled up tonight so that I could calculate exactly what I used and I came out with 4.76 mpg. Probably needs a tune up, but that wind was pretty strong. Was it worth it? Absolutely!!! I love the mountains and the weekend was soooo fun!

jkindt · 06-07-2010, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeria

How did you attach that tarp to the bus? Can you get me details, close up shots, please?

Attached to the side of the bus is some aluminum channel that is used to attach RV awnings. Then you sew a rope into the side of the tarp that attaches to the bus. The tarp slides into the channel and then we just used aluminum tent poles, some strong line, and some 12" spikes to anchor the setup. It works very well and is much more secure than a standard RV awning. I will try to get some closeup pics to show you what I mean, its just a bit dark out right now.

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