Gilligan Phantom (1987 Gillig Phantom School Bus Full Time Conversion)

[joeblack5]

Well here is how I am doing it. I need instant gratification and the split it up in small parts that are changeable if the plans change.

I left the floor original and put a couch and dinette in so that i could sit and have a cup of coffee or thee. Then I build the beds for the kids so that could camp in it and have fun and so that we could take it to a campground and have the feeling that it was ready .

Then the needs and requirements and desires become more clear .... power. So we did the solar. We had plenty of used panels sitting around.
Putst with inverters, induction stoves and fridges. Fridge changed from 120 vac undercounter with dedicated inverter to Modified black and decker peltier fridge with 12 v boat compressor/ cold plate to 12/24 volt undercounter boat fridge.

Camp some more and came to the conclusion that we needed better heat.

Since we are into used stuff , stuff that comes from the curb, junkyards ,dumpsters the interior and design reflects that.

The floor is going to take a beating, high traffic, sand and dirt, water spills. The old bus floor is designed to take stuff like that. We are now a year later going with insulation, floor heat plywood and paint a persian carpet pattern on it. Cheap and repairable and changeable.

The bathroom comes last. Mainly because on the road it gives a nice opportunity to stop , get coffee. While on campgrounds there are bathrooms and you meet your neighbors. When in the wild then.... don't have to spell it out.

May be we did not plan that much out and if you do it "wrong" or make a "faulty decision" the it just takes a little more time in the enjoyable journey of design, engineering and building.

later j

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Well here is how I am doing it. I need instant gratification and the split it up in small parts that are changeable if the plans change.

I left the floor original and put a couch and dinette in so that i could sit and have a cup of coffee or thee. Then I build the beds for the kids so that could camp in it and have fun and so that we could take it to a campground and have the feeling that it was ready .

Then the needs and requirements and desires become more clear .... power. So we did the solar. We had plenty of used panels sitting around.
Putst with inverters, induction stoves and fridges. Fridge changed from 120 vac undercounter with dedicated inverter to Modified black and decker peltier fridge with 12 v boat compressor/ cold plate to 12/24 volt undercounter boat fridge.

Camp some more and came to the conclusion that we needed better heat.

Since we are into used stuff , stuff that comes from the curb, junkyards ,dumpsters the interior and design reflects that.

The floor is going to take a beating, high traffic, sand and dirt, water spills. The old bus floor is designed to take stuff like that. We are now a year later going with insulation, floor heat plywood and paint a persian carpet pattern on it. Cheap and repairable and changeable.

The bathroom comes last. Mainly because on the road it gives a nice opportunity to stop , get coffee. While on campgrounds there are bathrooms and you meet your neighbors. When in the wild then.... don't have to spell it out.

May be we did not plan that much out and if you do it "wrong" or make a "faulty decision" the it just takes a little more time in the enjoyable journey of design, engineering and building.

later j

** the part about the bathroom ** - cool stuff..


I have never been the camping type.. really simply because of bathrooms.. admittedly im a city guy. so I like to take a shower every day and a decent place to 'go #2'. going to the skoolie swarm last month, I learned that I couldve easily "camped" as the place we were had showers and bathrooms, electricity and the like. makes me re-think the whole "I must sleep in a motel" thing.. I have a webasto heater to install in the bus, I already own a Climax Inverter 12k BTU A/C unit and a Honda eu2000 generator...

being a guy, going #1 is pretty easy cleanly inside a bus..

the idea of sleeping over night in my bus f(or more than just an hour or two ) is becoming more realistic.. and having such niceities as Heat and A/C to do it.. even in my bus which is still full of seats..

being that I fly solo on my long road trips I have to stop for breaks anyway.. the idea of requiring a fully fiunctional bathroom is becoming less and less important each day...

I still dont know the acceptability of a running generator over night in a campground... some tell me its an absolute no, others tell me everyone does it.. my eu2000 is pretty quiet...

-Christopher

[1olfart]

Welcome to the camp, Christopher. As you will discover, there are wonderful places to rest/camp, that you'd miss, if you were looking to get to the next town. I have no doubt that as you venture into just sleeping on your bus, other ideas and options will open up for you to try. Before we know it, you will be posting your own build plans, and we will be able to gain more knowledge.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I still dont know the acceptability of a running generator over night in a campground... some tell me its an absolute no, others tell me everyone does it.. my eu2000 is pretty quiet...

-Christopher

Some people do it. They are usually not my favorite people

Sound carries a long way at night. During the day, background noise hides generators, but at night not so much.

Most people use their generators in the morning to recharge overnight battery use, and in the evening to replace what was lost during the day.

Running AC all night without shore-power is okay if you are at least half-a-mile from me.

Most campgrounds have "Quiet Hours" between maybe 10pm and 6am. Generators are not normally allowed between those times.

[1olfart]

I have seen (You Tube, I think) methods of muffling the noise via redirecting the sound waves. It will never be totally silent, but should be doable, and that Honda EU2/3000 is a good start. I have Champion 2000 units and they are pretty darn quiet too.

I have no doubt 'The Kid' will figure a way to get a/c (-:

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Twigg

Some people do it. They are usually not my favorite people

Sound carries a long way at night. During the day, background noise hides generators, but at night not so much.

Most people use their generators in the morning to recharge overnight battery use, and in the evening to replace what was lost during the day.

Running AC all night without shore-power is okay if you are at least half-a-mile from me.

Most campgrounds have "Quiet Hours" between maybe 10pm and 6am. Generators are not normally allowed between those times.

if its a reasonable night my portable inverter A/C can last a good amlount of time on my batteries.. , if I bridged in my starting batteries too i could easily last a whole night on batteries.. and of course if i have shore power just plug it in..

I could see allowing my starting batteries bridge turned on because with the genny I have a way to charge everything back up bnefore driving.. that bus is mechanical so i dont have to worry about messing up a computer by running the bats low

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by Juicifer

Any help is appreciated!!

Justin, is this the help you were looking for?

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

Just some food for thought and this is just my opinion?
A floating floor does not need to be installed before the framing because then it is not a matter of having to replace it later it is a matter of it is not floating anymore.
Even in the instructions for an engineered floating floor it says to not cut the floor tight to the wall or wall framing and when you do put trim or quarter round in the corners to at least use a piece of paper as a spacer to allow the floor room to expand and contract.
Long story short?
In my house I did the floating floor thing and it it tight to fit?
We don't keep our house the same conditioned temperature 24/7? We like to open our windows and doors when the temps are nice cause we get a good breeze.so our floor is more than happy to let us know if it's a little humid out buy expanding and has slight buckles in places.
And that's just with cutting to fit a wall and nothing screwed through it?
I used engineered bamboo and some engineered teak in my floor but I did my framing and just finish floor the actual walk/visually areas.
The wet areas like under the kitchen sink and water heater bath area I did rubber flooring to make the areas drain pans for when/not if there is a leak?
If you get an idea of your framing plan and screw down some 2x4's before you spray foam/insulate then that will also create a little wiggle room on your lay out for framing.
A floating floor has to float!
The expansion/contraction room required? Is required even on bamboo.
My bamboo has done very well even with 10-15 Boy Scouts and some canoes and kayaks before and after.
Lessons learned from my home install translated into my bus?
But I did glue everything together for the bus?
Like I said? Food for thought?

[Juicifer]

Thank you for your thoughts on the floating floor, and my next steps.

I should have thought of that floating floor issue myself, as I got it after it was removed from a condo after being installed with no gap around the edges and had buckled. Of course I can't frame over it!

So per your recommendations I'll be hashing through the electric, and I'll frame the wheel wells, and bed while I procrastinate

Lastly you may have noticed I generally ask fairly specific questions and I get a little wordy because I'm trying to explicitly explain what I'm asking. I'm really hoping for specific answers to those specific questions. I'd like to keep the conversation on topic for those who are reading through later. I myself have hardly gotten through many build threads in my learning because the conversation turns off-topic and I don't have the time to filter through it, but I would like to!! You guys know what I'm talking about.

[Juicifer]

Hey guys. Sorry for my absence. I've been working, instagramming, youtubing, but not really keeping you updated here!

I installed my second hatch and made a how to video about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCxYfUzHmgo&t=2s

and I insulated the engine bay, and got the hang of using a Kreg Jig while making some wheel well boxes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1HwVPQxUcU&t=5s

Also I've ordered fresh water tanks and have a rough plan for plumbing.

I've also ordered marine grade stranded 12/3 and 14/3 for my AC circuits and will likely use the wires already in my bus for most or all of the 12V. I have a general plan of where fixtures and outlets will go with each of the appliances I'll be installing. I'll post my plan once I've made another draft or two.

Finally, I did a coat of Henry's Tropicool on the roof, video coming eventually.

Oh, Rick, I forgot to answer this question of yours: yes I'm planning for two separate mini-split units (one outdoor unit per indoor) and I'll either have two 12k BTU's or on 9K and one 12K.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by Juicifer

Hey guys. Sorry for my absence. I've been working, instagramming, youtubing, but not really keeping you updated here!

Finally, I did a coat of Henry's Tropicool on the roof, video coming eventually.

Oh, Rick, I forgot to answer this question of yours: yes I'm planning for two separate mini-split units (one outdoor unit per indoor) and I'll either have two 12k BTU's or on 9K and one 12K.

Dude, good to see you here, and you have been busy. +1 on the Tropicool, however most (almost all...) of my roof will be solar panels, boat hatches, and a chimney.)

Two minis?? Only on shore? One on solar? Both on solar? Maybe on lithiums...

[Juicifer]

Mini splits will be shore power only, so if we expect to be in hot climates we’ll plan to plug in.

We could run it on lithium some day if a lot of money presented itself....that would be “cool”.

[Tango]

An aside...

anyone planning on a roof deck, multiple solar panels or any such roof construction should first take on sealing that roof as best possible. Addressing a leak after all that stuff is attached will not be fun/easy...so do it right before you stack things on top of it.

Personally, I think doing it "right means cleaning any and all old sealant from around all the seams and roof penetrations...then working OEM grade seam sealer well into all those crack & crannies...then applying either several coats of quality paint or a good rubberized coating over it all.

Just my dos centavos.

[Juicifer]

Originally Posted by Tango

An aside...

anyone planning on a roof deck, multiple solar panels or any such roof construction should first take on sealing that roof as best possible. Addressing a leak after all that stuff is attached will not be fun/easy...so do it right before you stack things on top of it.

Personally, I think doing it "right means cleaning any and all old sealant from around all the seams and roof penetrations...then working OEM grade seam sealer well into all those crack & crannies...then applying either several coats of quality paint or a good rubberized coating over it all.

Just my dos centavos.

I agree with you. And that was my reason for coating it with tropicool, even though I'll have all of those things that you mentioned shading the roof for the most part, and the roof is already white. While I didn't take it to the level you describe, and maybe should have, the Gillig Phantom roof is made up of 2 40 foot long sheets of aluminum overlapped and seamed in the center of the bus. I don't believe it's ever leaked in 30 years, and with my 2 coats of tropicool as long as I can buy myself 10 more, I'm happy. When I go up to spray the bugs off of it that stuck to the roof while painting, I'll see if water pools anywhere along the seam, and then use their silicone based seam product to build up a bit of a slope in those areas.

[Tango]

Must be nice to have a single seam!

But seriously...anything that is gonna get covered up, hopefully for the life of the bus, should be made right before covering. I feel the same way about floors and cringe when I hear about folks who want to skip taking the flooring up but sink a ton of money and time into a nice interior build. On top of the unknown.

Reminds me of an old military adage...

"If you ever find yourself engaged in a fair fight...
you obviously failed at the readiness planning."

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Tango

Must be nice to have a single seam!

But seriously...anything that is gonna get covered up, hopefully for the life of the bus, should be made right before covering. I feel the same way about floors and cringe when I hear about folks who want to skip taking the flooring up but sink a ton of money and time into a nice interior build. On top of the unknown.

Reminds me of an old military adage...

"If you ever find yourself engaged in a fair fight...
you obviously failed at the readiness planning."

Sage advice, indeed! Hobbits are so wise
lol!

[Juicifer]

Henry's Tropicool Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV06G5hc7nY&t=1s

This product is probably overkill for many Skoolie builders, but I think it made sense for our situation/climate.

Tomorrow I'm running all electrical lines. I've got marine grade sheathed duplex and triplex wire in various gauges. In the center of the bus will be a built in refrigerator across from a pantry. The bottom of my pantry will be my battery bay and electrical cabinet, and I will run wires underneath the bus, through the undercarriage storage, and up into that refrigerator cabinet for the wire runs on the passenger side. They will then go into the walls on both sides and to their destinations. There will be just a few 12V wires run through the ceiling as well. Can anybody think of anything bad about that idea? Seems really easy to me and now that I mostly understand it I'm excited to get the work done!

[Twigg]

There is a remark made right at the end of the video about not using silicone paint unless that is all you want, ever. I'm glad they included it.

Nothing sticks to silicone, not even silicone.

Henry's also make an elastomeric roof coating (paint) and it would probably be the better choice for most people.

It's this one:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Henry-Compa...MaAkRZEALw_wcB

[Juicifer]

Originally Posted by Twigg

There is a remark made right at the end of the video about not using silicone paint unless that is all you want, ever. I'm glad they included it.

Nothing sticks to silicone, not even silicone.

Henry's also make an elastomeric roof coating (paint) and it would probably be the better choice for most people.

It's this one:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Henry-Compa...MaAkRZEALw_wcB

This makes me wonder. What am I going to use to seal the holes I'll be making in the roof for my solar racks? There must be something that works with this product...off to figure that out.

By the way on that topic I've ordered 35 feet of aluminum residential solar racks made by Iron Ridge. This will eventually hold 6 panels, and maybe 10 feet of deck on the back. Total cost is $400, plus whatever the bolts to install it to every cross beam that holds up the bus roof cost.

If anybody wants to do something some day, hit me up for a parts list.

Is it common to use solar racks to mount them to the bus? Seems like a no-brainer for me, because I like simplicity.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Juicifer

This makes me wonder. What am I going to use to seal the holes I'll be making in the roof for my solar racks? There must be something that works with this product...off to figure that out.

By the way on that topic I've ordered 35 feet of aluminum residential solar racks made by Iron Ridge. This will eventually hold 6 panels, and maybe 10 feet of deck on the back. Total cost is $400, plus whatever the bolts to install it to every cross beam that holds up the bus roof cost.

If anybody wants to do something some day, hit me up for a parts list.

Is it common to use solar racks to mount them to the bus? Seems like a no-brainer for me, because I like simplicity.

At best, an elastomeric sealant may stick the the Tropicool. At worst you can cut the coating back to the paint in the area of the holes, and use a polyurethane elastomeric sealant.