Fourscore and Twenty years more

[chardog1971]

So im going to try this again. I wanted to post the progress of my restoration project but i was stymied by the in ability to properly upload the pictures which upon closer evaluation kinda sucked anyway. Hopefully i have figured it out (got the profile pic off there anyhow)

I posted an intro somewhere on here in the new comers area which I cant seem to find but such is life. So the story goes short and sweet (long version is out in space somewhere) I have had the bus for twenty years. Lived on it for a few. got married. had a kid. Divorced. raised kid. bus sits. waiting patiently to live up to its potential (thanks dad for your infinite wisdom).

My daughter Sierra Rain, oh yeah that's the name for our fine friend here, Sierra has finished high school and is moving on with her life. I was renting a crappy trailer in a park known for drugs and other fun and incarcerating activities and for some odd reason I just wasn't cool with it. bad for my head space. Any ways the bus had sat out at a friends for many years and some how ownership had changed hands at some point ( I had a partner when it was first purchased. he sold his share to another friend in lieu of some monies owed) I convinced the latest owner (also a friend) that it was an expensive and arduous proposition for a non mechanically or carpenterelly inclined person such as himself to undertake. he agreed and its mine again.

this is the part where I try to insert photos for dramatic effect.... spent a long time trying to resize the picture. what gives?

When I took possession I was faced with a pretty big mess. The sun had done its damage to the existing wood work. The mice had been in the under bed storage. The factory vinyl floor was starting to peel and discolor. It needed a lot of work. Empty all the stuff out. Clean. Clean more. More clean.hey maybe i could use instagram to post pics.

this summer I worked on a large student housing project where I was able to score alot of materials for free. i re did the floor in the front 2/3 with a product called tuff plank. Its good stuff. 6"x 36" simulated wood grain ( no its not like grandpas station wagon side panels). Originally I was going to do a giant herringbone pattern but I messed it up in the first row.now its just diagonal with a change of direction in the middle. who cares? you ask? not me. It looks awesome if I do say so myself. I realized after about halfway through that I was doing it the hard and messy way. originally i was rolling the glue out a few rows ahead of me and then putting the planks down right away. This was extremely messy with glue squeezing out of the seams and the planks were mysteriously moving around with out touching them. GRRRR.. If you haven't guessed i am a guy, so of course I failed to read the directions. for some unfathomable reason,which still eludes me ,I learned that you can roll it out and go watch half the game, then go out and lay them down while its tacky. way less mess and slippage was eliminated. Just dont mess up a cut cuz they are hard to peel up.

The flooring done for the most part was time to move forward with the meat and potatoes portion of our program. When we first got her some one gave me some stuff like a couch/ bed with a water tank underneath and a sink. the original couch side panels had blown out as did the ones I replaced them with back in 95. (turns out the seal at the front door leaks) I had a bunch of 1 1/8" plywood so I built new side panels and re painted the water tank area. This created a 27 inch space between the couch and dinette. Captain Craigslist to the rescue. A guy in the next town had a nice glow warm propane heater for sale 100 bucks. 26 wide. Originally i had installed a n oven and a gas lantern. Over the years the lines and fittings disappeared. I went ahead and replaced all the line to the stove and the heater while also installing a tee for the refrigerator. also installed a good regulator for multiple appliances. Im not home most of the day and i dont like to leave the propane heat on when I'm gone so I put in a thermostatically controlled electric heater which hopefully keeps things above freezing. The gas heater puts out some serious heat so I dont think I will get cold.

Another craiglist score was an rv electrical center. has 110 v breakers and a 12 v system which is tied into a battery isolator. This in turn powers the 12 v circuit of the coach ie. interior lights, fans, exterior lights, radio (if I had one). I wired in a number of 110v outlets with recycled 12 ga construction grade extension chord. I dont plan to do a whole lot of traveling in it since 6 miles a gallon isnt so cost effective so it will be plugged in almost all the time. I might go for solar and battery set up at some point but im good for now. Stay tuned I am looking to install a HHO system.

Enough for now im getting sleeeepppy. Oh and if any one knows whats up with the pictures trip please let me know. thanks for checking it out more to come

[family wagon]

Good to see you back again. I remember your "new member welcome" post, but I wouldn't know where to find it either! The one thing the forum search does well, though, is finding posts by a particular user. Sometimes when I want to find something I wrote, I do "advanced search" and enter my name in the "user" box maybe with some keyword search terms too in hopes of finding what I think I remember saying..

On the pictures thing, there's a thread there you might find helpful.

[chardog1971]

I think I found the trick for pictures. I had to upload them to photo bucket. my inter net connection thru my phone takes a while.lets see what happens

[chardog1971]

Bus 2015 by chardog1971 | Photobucket Hmmm now alls i have is an icon next to the message. this is more work than it should be. ill try again.

some of the things I have done in the last few days. hmm lets see lots of little stuff really. I installed a northern breeze fan in the front about 6 feet from the wind shield. Some one gave it to me years ago and it was stored in the shade. so it was still good. ( insert imaginary picture here) I havent wired it up yet since it only seems to work in the intake position. I looked for the correct diagram but didnt see it yet. I think it might need a remote switch. dont need the fan in the winter though so its not high on priority list. I also cleaned up the 3 way instamatic refrigerator. ive only tested the 110 v portion of it and it made ice so at the least that portion works. I dont like the fact that its so small (its under the kitchen counter. There was already the proper sized space). Maybe i get a larger one and keep it for back up. I think I will cut the outside access panel in as it seems to put off a fair amount of heat. There is some extra space between the cabinet walls which I will cover with foam insulation.

Speaking of foam, I bought 4 sheets of 3/4 rigid foam insulation, foil on one side white on the other. I cut them into 24 1/2 x 21 3/4" panels . I had some HD spray adhesive handy so I got some grey velour kinda fabric and covered the white side up. One yard has done 3 windows so I need 4 more yards to finish. I put them in the spaces between the window posts, foil side out, and they work like a champ. Its still hot up here and I am oriented due west out in an open field so it gets really hot during the day. It probably lowered the temp by twenty degrees. I plan on making enough for every window although I plan on leaving the front windows open ( I have too good of a view to block off too much). We get periods of extreme cold here - 20f for a week or two at a time. All I have to do is batten down the hatches to ride the storm out in relative warmth and comfort. Also I can put on the panels to protect my stuff from sun damage when im out of town somwhere

I decided I didnt want to remove the wall and ceiling paneling for more R value. I had a bunch of free but brand new carpet around so I glued it to the walls behind the couch and in the front behind the drivers seat which is now the computer/ office space. Also behind the dinette. It definitely helps at night keeping things warm. It also helps with the condensation that builds up on the smooth metal surface. I saved a bundle on adhesive when the flooring guys tossed out 4 gallons. Same method Roll it on the carpet stick to wall. Sounds easy eh? Not so much by yourself. Made a big mess with the glue on the first one. My suggestion is to use a paint masker with 8 -12 " paper. The others were clean and easy. I did have to rig up some temporary wood braces as the weight of the carpet pulled it away from the wall as the glue dried. I just hope there is never a reason to remove it though.

Scored some 10" x 36" stainless steel door kick plates for the front stairs.they cut and bent easily and really spruced things up. I just was given a box of nice prefinished bamboo flooring planks so im thinking for the front steps. Seems like they might be slippery though. I think also I might have to cut the door. Cant decide if I should build a door that swings out, utilizing the existing glass. The hinges are loose and thats probably where I loose a good portion of my heat. I just like the cool mechanism that opens it. If I go that route I could build a nice plant shelf that would get lots of sun and would liven the place up.

Just went out and put a coat of poly on the new computer desk. Its a 32" x 32" L shaped piece of 1 1/8 ply located directly behind the drivers seat, which I took out to store my guitars plus I wanted the floor to go under it so I was open to the option of a different seat that spins. Was thinking of a quick release system to use seat outside. Will screw the monitor to table top once I find just the right spot. Mounted my flat screen above the steering wheel in the middle. Bought a TV mount that usually retails for a hundo at Ross, I was actually in there to inquire after a lady friend who is rumored to work there, for a cool twenty bucks. Up and down and side to side motion. Well see If It bounces off the wall when im driving. prob put a pillow behind it and attach a ratchet strap so it dont hit me in the head. Ross often has some cool stuff that you wouldnt expect.The TV is tethered to the laptop via HDMI cable. Can watch the game, work on the computer and watch the sunset all at the same time. One of my many schemes for the rear area is a tiny recording studio which also provides the P A for the portable stage which is part of the roof rack configuration ( I have the structure which was a large sliding barn door made of square steel tubing).This will connect to the bridge for integrated sound and video control.

The only problem with living on it before its done is I think too much about it. Too many Ideas in my mind,but at the same time it helps me to know what looks cool but may not be practical for daily living. Right now I am lucky to have a space to work on it and stash materials where there are no hassles from the neighbors or the laws. It seems like it would be a real head ache to do this kind of thing while mobile. Thank you Harry for storing it all these years and putting up with me and my distorted schemes!

thats enough for now.I think Ill try pictures again. thanks for reading. let me know if the link at the top left worked. what a pain

[roach711]

Originally Posted by family wagon

On the pictures thing, there's a thread there you might find helpful.

Have a look at Bansil's excellent posts in this thread. Linking to photobucket pictures is wicked easy.

[dond]

Easy...Just left click on IMG (it auto-copies) and paste here.

[Dragonpop]

Your looking to store guitars reminds me of the lady hauled into court
for beating her husband with some of his guitar collection. The judge
looks at her and asks, first offender? She replies no, I first used a Gibson
and then I used the Fender.

[chardog1971]

I finally got my computer to work and I even got my pictures onto photo bucket only to have the thing time out on me and loose almost an hours worth of typing. So well try again. It has been a while so lets see whats new. Exterior paint is new. for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to brush and roll it out. Why not? I brushed and rolled most of the inside and it looked great. Now Im not saying it doesnt look good now that its done but it was a hassle and a half. next project Mask and spray and walk away.

[/URL][/IMG]


I used Rustoleum hunter green for the body and smoke grey for the roof. I think that I might paint the middle part of the roof white as it seems to absorb a bit too much heat. Prob wait to see if it helps keep warm in the winter. Its sunny here a lot of days here so I hope to take advantage of the solar gain. all of the trim was sprayed with rustoluem black with a few red accents here and there. Its really weird when I drive up and dont see a big yellow blob on the horizon. You can be sure the neighbors are glad that after 15 years the eye sore is a thing of beauty

[/URL][/IMG]

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lights under the upper flashers were these super bright ( and probably very energy consuming) bulbs. These things light up the night. it is also the same on the back. Ill need to find some type of protective grill as they dont seem to be as stout as regular head lights. I can light up the turkeys roosting in the trees not more than 20 feet from the front window.

I also cut the fridge access in the side and wired up the 110v. circut. I still need to bring a 12v. branch circuit from the converter panel which is on the other side of the room. Thinking of running a left and right circuit since there are 2 breakers for the 12v. portion of things. Been waiting for the colder weather to do alot of the interior stuff. Next out side task is to cut in the hot water heater. I havent tested it and was hesitant to cut the hole but I realized that they were all the same size and really pretty simple if there is a problem with it. Wishing I had done it before I painted. oh well.

[/URL][/IMG]

Holes are a lot easier to cut than I thought they would be. 5" grinder w/ cut off wheel made quick work of it. On the fridge hole I had to cut across one of the vertical supports due to an existing cabinet where the fridge fits. There was plenty of room so I didnt have to cut the support, just grind the rivets and pull off the sheet metal off. Then I lined the inside of the cabinet with 3/4 foam. Food is good and cold. Speaking of food Im hungry. Stay tuned now that I know what Im doing with pics Ill take more and post them. thanks for watching

[chardog1971]

the interior after lots of time spent cleaning

[nat_ster]

Great pics.

I would remove the upper super bright lights. They leak water like crazy. Cap that up and seal it off.

Also shoot one of them Turkey's and cook it up. I wish I had wild Turkey's here.

Nat