Diesel Dan's Skoolie - Page 6

Seeria · 06-17-2010, 04:46 PM

Grea buys! Best I got done today was seasoning the six new cast iron pieces I picked up for $20 at a garage sale!

Diesel Dan · 07-13-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeria

Grea buys! Best I got done today was seasoning the six new cast iron pieces I picked up for $20 at a garage sale!

I love cast iron cookware for the non-stick properties, but they take a long time to heat up on the stove, so perhaps not the most efficient choice for a skoolie. That said, I still plan to use some smaller cast iron skillets in my bus that are thinner metal than the larger ones I use at home.

Diesel Dan · 07-15-2010, 02:50 PM

I've been continuing to work on the front part of the cabin. Finishing off the stairs, engine cover/hutch, I re-installed the grab-rail on the passanger side and dressed it up a bit with wood paneling, and I'm currently working on the couch. I bought a used RV jacknife couch, but it needed to be re-stuffed and mounted on a new base. So I've spent the past three nights working on that. I only get to work about 2 hours per night, so progress is slow. I ran out of 2x4's last night so made a run to Home Depot at lunch today to get wood, stain, and various electrical tidbits. I think I will use 120v recessed lighting for the bus. I will use the compact flourescent bulbs. I think that is a good compromise between efficiency and not having to run 12v DC wiring all over the bus in addition to the 120v AC wiring. I plan to be plugged into shore most of the time anyway. I'll get around to taking some pictures soon - maybe after I stain all the woodwork I've been doing and have the couch put together. Next task will be the dining booth which I will make out of the existing bus seats and a table top that will fold out from the wall.

Diesel Dan · 07-20-2010, 05:06 PM

Here are some pics of recent progress:

I built the basic frame for the couch to sit on:

And then conducted extensive quality testing:

The couch is a jacknife couch/bed from an RV which I had to restuff. I put an electrical box in the middle of the seat base. Underneath will be a storage area and also provides access to the fuel tank sender and pickup. You can also see in this picture that I've reinstalled the grab-rail and dressed it up with some wood paneling.

Diesel Dan · 07-20-2010, 05:13 PM

I got my wife out there cleaning up the seats:

Since I will be covering the chair rails with insulation and paneling, I had to make a support for that side of the bench seats, which will be facing each other in a booth configuration as you can see in my mock-up pic of the living room:

Nothing is bolted down yet, and the couch frame needs to be covered in paneling to close in the cabinet underneath. The table will fold out from the wall. I will also enclose the bottoms of the two dining bench seats to make storage areas. One thing I've gathered from reading this forum is you can never have too much storage.

Diesel Dan · 08-18-2010, 10:16 AM

I drove the bus to work this morning. I'd like to say that I did this because it's a good idea to fire up the beast and drive it around once in a while, but the reality is that my other vehicles are not currently operational. *sigh*

So I've never really tried to max out the speed until this morning. Result: Sustained 67mph at 2700rpms and the engine heating up to 210F. I can cruise at 60mph at 2500rpms or 55mph at 2300rpms and the engine stays closer to 200F. I sure would like to to be closer to 2000rpms at 60mph though. I also think I may have some restriction on my gas pedal. I insulated behind there and it feels like it may be stopping before I reach the end of it's range. The ambient temps will be around 100F when I drive home this evening, so we'll see how well the bus likes sitting in traffic on a hot day.

Conversion-wise there isn't much to report. I've been busy working on my other vehicles, and try to get a little bus work in here and there. Still trying to get the "living/dining room" together: wiring, paneling walls, installing seats. It will look very similar to pics in my previous post of the "mock-up".

Diesel Dan · 08-18-2010, 06:47 PM

Well, the ride home was a little hairy. The route was much more hilly and the temperature 20 degrees hotter. The bus was happy to sit in traffic and idle, but when climbing the hills it got up to 215F and at times as high as 220F. I was about ready to pull over, but just in time the traffic would stop and idling would cool it off. I realized when I got home that the valve that allows the coolant to go to the heaters from the engine was shut so that's why turning on the heaters wasn't doing any good. But still, the engine should run at a reasonable temperature without me having to turn on heaters.

I'll have to do some research on this overheating issue before I take any major trip.

yankeflyer · 08-18-2010, 09:37 PM

What axle does it have - your are right to want to lower your cruise rpm - its good for the engine all the way around - lower temp - less wear and tear and better mileage. still it looks good

Cygnusaa · 08-20-2010, 08:32 PM

hello dan..

new to skoolie.net

got my eye on a bus just like yours...nice find

Diesel Dan · 08-31-2010, 11:33 AM

YF: I'll have to check out the axle to see what I've got. Is there a marking somewhere that I can look for? I think I actually have the original build/delivery paperwork from the school district, so it might be listed in there.

This weekend I hope to make some progress in painting the bus. I've already started doing some sanding. At a minimum, I want to get the roof painted, and the rest of the body sanded and spot-primered.

I'm also starting to work on the electrical closet. The passenger rear corner of the bus will be the electrical closet, and right in front of it will be a closet (where the wheelchair lift door is) that will hold two 55gal oil drums for my extra WVO for long trips. Unfortunately that will be a lot of weight on that corner of the bus. Probably 800 pounds of WVO, and then another 300 pounds of batteries. The other back corner (driver's side) will have a grey water tank and a generator mounted underneath. I hope this isn't too much weight so far behind the rear axle...

Diesel Dan · 09-15-2010, 11:54 PM

I've been working on the house power for the bus and have laid out the foundation of the system. There is a main panel that can plug into either shore/generator/inverter and a sub-panel for the air conditioning and heating that can either run off the main panel or plug into a seperate power source. I've got 4 6v batteries to power lights/TV/water pump/etc when I'm not plugged into shore. I haven't bought a generator yet, and will probably wait until next summer to do that since it's only purpose is to run the AC when on the road. The electrical closet will eventually be sheeted in by plywood (with access doors of course), and I'll have a vent to allow the battery fumes to escape to the outside.

I covered the inside of the back window with smooth paneling which I painted black. It's hard to see in this lighting, but I like the look of it.

I've also started prepping for exterior paint. I plan to use Rustoleum Gloss White as the base color, Hunter Green for the rub rails, black for bumpers and mirrors, and hammered silver for the wheels. The roof will have the ceramic insulating beads mixed in.

CAMO-MONSTER · 09-20-2010, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUSBOZO

DD, I have the same roof height as you and I am 6'1". I did 1/2" styrofoam insulation and 5/8" OSB plywood and I can actually stand upright on each far side of the bus next to the windows.

I'm 6'4" (6'5" with shoes), and when I had the original 3/4" plywood floor and black rubber mat, I had about 1/2" headroom in the center of the aisle. So I'm pretty much not going to put any more than 1" total flooring.

yeah that sounds like me in my carpenter and it is a 6'3" and i'm 6'2" and 6'4" with my boots on

CAMO-MONSTER · 09-20-2010, 02:01 PM

[quote=Diesel Dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by "Pied Typer":1ta1altc

What are you planning on doing with your red and yellow upper flashers? You may be better off addressing them and the patch for the rust at the same time?

I'm going to leave the flashers alone for now. If anything, I will replace the lenses with clear lenses and maybe a stronger bulb to use as outdoor lighting or to augment my reverse lights. For now, I'll just swap the amber and red lights so I have all amber in front and all red in back.[/quote:1ta1altc]

more brake lights!!!!!! i have mine wired in to my brake lights and i wired in a swich for get off my @$$ swich but my ligths are differint then yours mine are 7" sealedbeem head lights that are tinted red and amber.

CAMO-MONSTER · 09-20-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

I'm also building a hutch/cabinet thing to go over the engine cover. I still need to add some more trim, a rail around the top edge to keep things from rolling off, and then stain/polyurethane. I insulated the inside with 1/2" foam insulation. I think the engine noise is reduced, and the heat less noticeable.

You can also see a bit of the laminate flooring I am using. It's a cherry color.

Lastly, I scored some free paneling on craigslist. Enough to do the whole bus! (Thanks, Cara!)

and you have what size FEET?

CAMO-MONSTER · 09-20-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1031

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

Someone on craigslist was parting out a golf cart and I got the 6 batteries for $200. The cart was running and the seller claimed they were all good and that two of them were "like new". I noticed that a few of them have slightly bowed looking sides, as if some internal pressure has made them balloon out. It's not that dramatic, but it makes me a little nervous. Has anyone encountered this phenomenon? Would some malfunction cause this, or did the plastic just get deformed by the Texas heat? I figured for that price I would take my chances. I could see that at least two of the batteries had a 2007 date on them. What is the typical lifespan of these things? I will probably use 4 of them in the bus, and the other 2 will power various things I use in the garage for pumping WVO and such.

Did I mention I also scored a brand new 15,000BTU Carrier rooftop air conditioner the other week? For $300 I think I got a great deal. It doesn't have the inside assembly though.

I also bought a bunch of electrical supplies like romex, outlets, switches, breaker box, etc. So mostly all I need to complete the electrical system is a battery charger, inverter, and generator. Oh, and the time to actually install all this stuff! I may wait on the generator, since my only need for that is running the AC while on the road in the summer. I don't think we'll take a major trip this year though.

Are the batteries similar to a normal car battery? If so go to AutoZone and have them check to see if you have a dead cell. If not do a voltage check with a voltometer. See if you have less than 10 volts. If so, put the battery on the slowest chage and in a well ventilated area (preferably outside in the evening) and let the battery drip charge overnight and check while using a face shield and rubber gloves, among other acid protecting equipment, in the morning (just in case there is a discharge of acid). If you get the smell of rotten eggs before checking the battery, don't bother checking because it's bad.

autozone all they can do is look stuff up and give you the wrong parts i have so much better luck at napa or les schwab's

M1031 · 09-20-2010, 05:28 PM

I guess so long as you get the idea........

Diesel Dan · 09-20-2010, 07:58 PM

After going through two Harbor Freight battery chargers I finally got my refund and went to Sears to get a charger that would actually work. The batteries seem to be holding a charge, so at least I know they are not DOA. The four batteries are really heavy though. I may eventually downsize to two batteries once I use these up. I plan on being conservative with my power usage when running off the inverter, so hopefully the four batteries will be more than I need and I will be able to downsize later on. For now though, I've got 'em so I might as well use 'em.

CAMO-MONSTER · 09-23-2010, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

After going through two Harbor Freight battery chargers I finally got my refund and went to Sears to get a charger that would actually work. The batteries seem to be holding a charge, so at least I know they are not DOA. The four batteries are really heavy though. I may eventually downsize to two batteries once I use these up. I plan on being conservative with my power usage when running off the inverter, so hopefully the four batteries will be more than I need and I will be able to downsize later on. For now though, I've got 'em so I might as well use 'em.

i have a old trickle charger they works great, might take for ever at 2 amps but oh well it gets it done.

Diesel Dan · 09-28-2010, 09:01 PM

I took the day off of work so I could finally paint the roof. It's been raining for weeks, but we finally have some clear weather. I will be off tomorrow as well, so we'll see if I can get any more painting done. Here is the result of today's work:

I skinned my windows with galvanized sheet metal (which I will never use again for a painted surface!). What a hassle to paint! I used a Rustoleum product called "cold galvanizing compound" which is mostly zinc powder, and is supposed to actually stick to the galvanized metal. I also scrubbed it with vinager first to etch the metal. But the cold galvanizaing compound runs/drips like crazy! I've never seen anything like it. It's just very liquidy. I've used lots of spray bombs and know how to avoid drips but this stuff will drip no matter what you do! Here is a pic of all the drips:

And when I try to sand down the drips, I get to bare metal before eliminating the uneven surface. Plus this CGC product leaves a lot of loose debris that needs to be scuffed off with super fine sand paper or steel wool before you can paint it. Argh!

Addendum: I went back and very carefully re-sprayed the CGC over the areas I had sanded back down to metal. The trick is that once it even starts to look liquid it's too late, a drip will form - unlike regular spray paint where you want to see it starting to look liquid. So I had to just touch the sprayer for a second in one spot, move to another, then come back to the first spot after a few seconds, then back and forth like that until coverage was complete. I plan to go over this paint with regular primer before the final coat because the CGC scratches off easily, which is disappointing since that indicates that it isn't adhering well despite being marketed for use on galvanized metal. I called a paint store and they said to use a latex product on galvanized, but I will be using an oil-based enamel for the top coat, so didn't want to risk problems mixing those two.

Diesel Dan · 09-30-2010, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAMO-MONSTER

i have a old trickle charger they works great, might take for ever at 2 amps but oh well it gets it done.

Mine has the option to charge at 2A, 10A or 50A. I use the 2A setting (better for battery longevity) when I have several days to get the charging done, but if I will need to use the batteries the next day, then 10A is the way to go. I think the 50A is for starting an engine - I've never used that setting.

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