Diesel Dan's Skoolie

[Seeria]

Looks comfy! Darn cute kids you have

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by yankeflyer

Ah artic air makes the best sleeping/snuggling time don`t want to rock the bus though.

Solved the night-time arctic temperature problem. I had purchased a thermostatically controlled outlet some time ago: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4959&start=210 but somehow thought it wasn't working. Anyway, I tried it again and it is working perfectly. The fan stays on constantly when the AC is turned on due to the way I wired it, but the compressor only kicks in when the temperature rises out of the range programmed into the thermo outlet. This setup works perfectly for us. The more temperate climate has not diminished the snuggling however, so all is well!

[jkindt]

One advantage of making your own AC lower unit is that you could keep it low profile and duct it similar to having central air in your bus. Too bad about Carrier quitting the RV part of their business. I see lots of Carrier units around here, but not on any of the new units. The electronics portion is not really that complicated and it seems you have figured out a better thermostat setup anyways.

[Diesel Dan]

Below I have copied my notes for ducting the AC in my bus. I had previously ruled this out due to headroom issues, but after living in the bus for a month or so during the Texas summer I now realize that the ducting is necessary to evenly distribute the air to the bunk room and living room, especially since I want to be able to put a door or heavy curtain between these rooms for in the evening when the kids are asleep and the parents are still hanging out in the living room. If you look at page 15 of my thread you will see pics of what my AC currently looks like for reference. My inspiration for the design comes from the "Bike for the Light" skoolie (actually, I'm copying it almost exactly). So thanks to Johnny for his great documentation!

Plan for Ducted A/C in the bus

• Re-arrange 2x2 strips that hold AC onto roof so they run cross-wise rather than length-wise.
• Make a long box out of thin profile plywood to channel output to front of bus and bunk room.
o This box should be roughly 12” wide so that it is centered on the ceiling, and at the same time encompasses the output square hole on the AC.
o The box should extend forward only as far as necessary so that the intake and output air does not mingle. The front vent should blow towards the front of the bus.
o The box should extend backwards to terminate just in front of the rear escape hatch. The vent should blow towards the back of the bus.
o Taper (rip) the wood on the sides and front of the wood duct to soften the angle of the corners.
o Make a sheet metal duct from the output hole to the top of the wood duct. Make a flanged end to attach with screws to the AC, and leave the lower end straight until I mount the box, then use clippers/hammer/pliers to make the lower flange to fit around the hole on top of the wood duct.
o Use flashing to line the inside of the wood duct.
o Make the sides and ends of the duct out of 1”x 2” wood firring strips, with the 1” side being the depth it comes off the ceiling.
• Use vents/grates with rotating wheel that closes off, or opens vents. Mount these vents on the bottom surface. The ends of the wood duct will be closed off by wood just like the sides.
• Use fixed grate/vent for intake that pulls from the side.
• Make a large square out of luan to cover the full 14” cutout (with at least 1”-2” overhang to hide existing screw holes.
o Make cutout in this luan square for the output duct (make a little bigger).
o Make another cutout on the passanger side for the intake vent.
• Run wiring and lighting in the wood duct for the bunk room which currently has no lighting. The wiring can run off of the lights currently mounted on the bunk room wall, but would need to have it’s own switch. Use those little black flush mount lights I got at Home depot, and see if I can recess them so they don’t stick out more than ¼”.

[Diesel Dan]

Can anyone think of why I even need to put flashing on the inside of the wood duct? I'm not even sure why I'm doing it except that air ducts are usually made of metal, so I feel like I should. Johnny (Bike for the light guy) used bubble foil insulation inside his duct, but I don't feel the need to insulate it, and I need to conserve space as much as possible. I suppose I might get condensation inside the duct if I don't insulate - especially when I first turn the AC on and the inside temp of the bus is very hot?

[yankeflyer]

Sure am looking forward to the fuel conversion. Mine will have to wait for the car first. Austin City Limits got to see the show one day.

[Diesel Dan]

Whoa... my thread almost dropped off the first page again. That's my wake-up call to post an update! Okay, so I've been piddling around with little things here and there. Taking a lot of measurements and making drawings for cabinets, etc. I've been remodeling my house, so have little time for bus work. I did manage to fabricate a door to separate the bunk room from the rear utility/bath room. I took a hollow core door and cut it down to fit in the space:



While we were living in the bus, I made little foot pegs for the kids to use to climb up into the bunks. I didn't want to make ladders because they would close the bunks in too much. In the pic below you can see the foot holds and you can also see the tracks that the upper bunks ride in when moving up and down. The rope goes to a couple pulleys that you can't see in this pic and there are eyelets and clips holding the bunks in the "up" position to allow seating on the bottom bunk during travel and just hanging out:



Of course I still haven't stained the new items yet. Also, I made a little composting toilet using the 5 gallon bucket and kitty litter strategy. It works great and doesn't smell. I decided not to mount it and will attach eyelets and bungee cords to hold it in place but yet allow for it to be easily moved when needed. You can also sort of see on the bottom right of the picture a metal stock tank (full of junk) that I will use as a bath tub/shower pan. It's 2'x2'x4'. I will rig up a circular shower curtain like people do with those old clawfoot tubs. Here is the pic:



Current projects in the works are the dining table, and a duct for the AC. The AC duct is getting pretty close to done, and I'm making some progress on the table so hopefully I'll finish those items soon and post some pics.

[putterspitt]

did you use a regular 5 gal bucket or a shorter one?

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by Moshart

...I see that you made a compost toilet, how long did you go between cleaning it out and starting all over again? Did you use a trash bag inside the bucket?

Yes, I use kitchen size garbage bags which fit the bucket with plenty of extra material that I fold over the lip of the bucket. I used a regular size 5 gallon bucket (taller rather than shorter). We didn't use the toilet all that much so I don't feel like I can give an accurate report on long-term use. We just used it for the couple days during which we didn't have access to the bathroom in my house. My wife emptied it despite my desire to see how long it would go without stinking, so all I can really say at this point is that it was certainly fine for a day or two, even when the bus was left to get hot without the AC on. Although I think my wife did say it was starting to be noticable by the second day, but I didn't smell it, so it must have been a faint odor. I did leave the back window cracked open a bit, and the bathroom was separated to some extent by a blanket over the doorway.

[Diesel Dan]

So I finished the AC duct. I'm bummed about losing the headroom, and find myself hunching over a lot as I walk back and forth between the front and back of the bus, but I felt like the duct was really necessary to balance the temperature between the rooms. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Probably need to put some padding on the sides/corners though before I slam my head into it too many times.

Here is how the duct is constructed:





I framed in the output hole of my AC upper unit and used duct tape to seal any cracks:



...Continued next post... (how do people post more than three pics in a single posting?)

[Diesel Dan]

Then I screwed the duct housing onto the ceiling, aligning a square hole I made to match the output hole on the AC unit. Also, I put some weather stripping around the duct hole to prevent air leakage:



Then I screwed the bottom plate onto the housing with the vents already attached. The vents are floor vents which have adjustable flaps to control air flow. I also used sheet metal inside the vents to block off the part that would have blown backwards, so the front vent only blows forward, and the back vent only blows backwards into the bunk room. Here is what it looks like in the front:



And here is the other end of the vent sticking out into the bunk room:



...continued next post...

[Diesel Dan]

Then I installed a couple return vents to cover the holes on either side where the AC draws return air:



As you've likely noticed, I also put up curtains between the bunk room and front room. Here they are closed:



And here they are open (notice the curtain on the back door window as well):



I really didn't intend for it to look so... (castle-like? medieval? renaissance?) but had those materials and one thing led to another... and now you can see the result.

In the last pic you can see a wisp of the fabric (draped over the seat on the right) I'll use for the living/dining room window curtains. I'm not thrilled with the flowers, but I have the material, my wife will like it, and it'll prevent the bus from becoming too overly masculine, which is what would happen otherwise.

[Diesel Dan]

I also put a sort of temporary rack up on the roof and got a rooftop carrier up there as well. I haven't actually mounted the carrier yet, it's just sitting there. I'm debating if I really want to increase the height of the bus that much. What do y'all thinK?





Lastly, I thought I'd post one more pic. This pic explains why it was so important to sort out the AC flow issues, and also explains why progress on the bus has been slower than I would like:



And yes, that thermometer is in the shade.

[lornaschinske]

I believe the temps! When we came out west (in July), we stayed a couple of days at the Holiday Park COE in Benbrook. Nice campground but I would like to visit it when it's cooler. Saw some venison on the hoof. Our fresh water tank on the Class C only has a thin 1/2"(?) of Foamular insulation on it and the water was so hot that we didn't use the water heater. David tried using the solar showers and got scalded. the solar showers we used in Harrison Bay SP (TN) were never that hot.

You need to measure the overall height of the bus now. And post the height on the visor over the drivers seat. That way you won't forget and "clean the carbuncles off" your roof. Most bridges/overhead obstructions are 12'6" at the lowest, which really means lower if they were borderline and they got repaved or it "dips" and you are long. We figured 12 ft for us but have decided not to put anything on the roof except a tank vent and the flat solar marine vents. I've been in too many campgrounds that involved low hanging trees either inside the campground or on the way into it.


Nice curtains! I like the plain outside with the opulent touches on the inside.

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

... David tried using the solar showers and got scalded. ...

Yep, that Texas sun sure does generate lots of solar energy. We used a solar shower for dishwater while we were camping in the yard for that month or so, and we had to mix like 1/2 cold water or we couldn't put our hands in there!

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

...Nice curtains! I like the plain outside with the opulent touches on the inside.

Got 'em for a couple bucks at a garage sale. Had I been buying material at a fabric store I'm sure I would have gotten something different, but beggars can't be choosers as they say, and anyway I kind of like that fate has determined the look of the bus. I will add some color (forest green) to the rub rails on the outside of the bus, and probably a few other trim colors and/or small graphics here and there, but I will try to keep it unassuming and low profile (to whatever extent that is possible with a skoolie ).

[MikeyBskunk]

Im loving the progress!! wish i had my AC hookes up, and i personally think the look of the bs is great! keep it up DD

[Diesel Dan]

So I've been working on the bathroom this past week. I'm just about done building a shower enclosure with tub. The tub is a 2'x4' oval stock tank I got at the Tractor Supply store. I built an enclosure for it. The enclosure has vents because it marries up to a wall that has a heater on the other side. I cut a hole in the wall so the heat would come out into the tub enclosure, and I can then open or close the vents to allow the heat to flow into the bathroom or not.







Now I need to find some 3/4" quarter round rubber bead to take up the gaps between the tub and the enclosure. I will caulk the heck out of it, but I will also have a shower curtain that goes 360 degrees around the inside of the tub. So the idea is that no water should get on the rest of the shower enclosure. I used FRP paneling anyway, just because it's inevitable that someone will not have the curtain quite right and the rest of the enclosure will get wet.

[Diesel Dan]

I had just a few inches of space left between the tub enclosure and the back wall, so I made a very narrow broom closet in which I will also store rope, electrical cords, etc.



I am currently working on curtains and blinds (in the mornings when the weather is colder), and then when it warms up, I'm trying to get the plumbing drains situated and possibly get the grey water tanks mounted. I'm using two 30gal plastic drums plumbed together. I plan to hang them using 3/4" strapping I got at Grainger. It's rated for over 2,000lbs, so three or four of those per drum will be more than enough. I'll try to get some pics taken while I'm doing the job. Last night I spent a miserable couple hours scraping rust off the bus frame and floor underneath and treating it with Ospho. Once the holding tanks are in I won't have access to those areas, so had to do it now.

This weekend we are taking the bus on a mini-trip a couple hours out of town to my sister in law's wedding celebration. We'll be spending the night in the bus, so I'm considering it an official camping trip, even though we'll likely be parked in her driveway.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

... We'll be spending the night in the bus, so I'm considering it an official camping trip, even though we'll likely be parked in her driveway.

So what is the difference between sitting overnight on a slab in a campground, sitting overnight on a slab in a parking lot and sitting overnight on a slab in a driveway? None to me! You're camping or "RVing". Some folks claim that you're not "camping" unless you are in a tent!

BTW, in a developed park/campground, I tend to refer to it as camping. In parking lots, I call it "wallydocking". Call it what you want. We'll know what you mean! Have fun!!!!

[putterspitt]

nice to see progress, i likey the pics, looking good, love the tub