Journey Begins - 1988 Crown Conversion

[willhitch]

Did you end up getting the Cummins Hybrid Quiet Diesel Power System? What was the ballpark cost on that? That seems like an incredible system that probably has a steep price tag.

[gmarvel]

I paid about $8,000 for the 8000 watt system. That included all the components such as the inverter, and the central control that will figure out when connected to shore power, and when demand requires the generator to turn itself on. This system retail price was over $10,000, but I researched the price online and got it for almost wholesale. My generator is hooked up to my vehicle's 112 gallon diesel tank. It is the Cummins Onan Quiet Diesel System.

[gmarvel]

SIDE WALLS GOING UP

We are finally starting on the side walls. We had to finish some critical electrical before starting on the side walls. The area that is black near the floor is where much of the electrical is running. It is a chase area below the old seat side rail in the Crown. We needed to have access to it if we needed to make revisions or repairs in the electrical runs. We insulated the lower area with the LizardSkin acoustal and thermal insulation coating discussed in an earlier posting. We added additional insulation in the chase using reflective closed cell sheets. The chase is then closed up with a black metal covering. We selected that color because we believe it compliments the European Birch side walls. The screws in the pictures still need to be painted black.

The European birch panels are prefinished and we found them on sale at Ikea of all places. The paneling matches the cabinets we selected.







We also played with where the navigator chair is going to be placed. The problem is the front passenger side wheel well is the best place for the seat, but placing it on top of the wheel well makes the chair too high. We had to play where we wanted it so it could swivel without hitting the wall. We decided on placing it just behind the wheel well. This will also allow us to build a strong frame for the the navigator chair that will be bolted completely through the floor and secured by a large metal plate under the bus to spread out the pressure points. Obviously, we want the chair to stay bolted into the floor in the event of a serious accident.

[gmarvel]

FIRST WALL UP
A bit of a milestone today. We got our first wall up. Photo can be found below. We are using the same European Birch that we are utilizing for the side walls below the windows. The more of this wood we put in the better we are liking it.

[Tango]

Simply Out-freakin-standing guys!

[WinslowtheBluebird]

Your bus looks great so far...I love the retro Crown look!

Keep up the good work; I look forward to following your progress.

p.s. we have an tankless hot water heater and you'd be surprised at how consistent it is! It gets hotter than in my old apartment!

[Tango]

What brand tankless if I may ask? Been looking myself and keep hearing issues about the flow rate needing to full on to ignite the heater. Any such problem with yours?

[gmarvel]

Thank you Tango and WinslowtheBluebird for the kind words. We spent a great deal of time and effort deciding on our wood type and finish. This European Birch has a totally different grain than American Birch. Also, the way it takes a stain is different. We tried to duplicate the finish and could not. We went to a cabinet maker to see if he could match the stain, and he could not with American Birch or any other common wood. So, we found these large wood panels at Ikea that are used for the end pieces in large floor to ceiling cabinets. We bought eight large sheets on sale (about 60% off). We did not measure correctly and have already run out. It is off to Ikea tomorrow to get another four panels. These panels match the base and wall cabinets we already purchased from Ikea. We are using them for the side paneling below the windows, for the walls to our bathroom areas and "master" bedroom in the back, and for the skin on a custom cabinet we are having built to house the electric fireplace and the pop up LED flat screen TV.

WinslowtheBluebird, we decided to go with an all electric bus. We don't want any chance of a propane leak and potential fire. All of the tankless electric water heaters could only raise the water temp about 20 degrees. The problem with that is that the water coming into the heater could be in the 40's or 50's, resulting in a rather chilly shower. I believe that propane tankless water heaters can raise the temperature substantially higher and are a good way to go if you are going to use propane. Since we were not, the tankless route was out for us. You can see in my earlier post that I got a killer deal on a great electric 15 gallon water heater.

Our build is taking a lot longer than I was expecting. We have seen some of you guys already out and about taking journeys and having adventures. We are not there yet, but are getting close. Sometimes the setbacks come in unexpected ways. For example, we bought 3M Crystalline tint film for the windows of the bus. This is the best tint product on the market (from multiple sources). It has a lifetime warranty when installed by a certified installer. We had four, count them four different certified installers crap out on us. Scheduled appointments be damned. Return phone calls wondering why you did not show up? Optional. We were at a standstill on some major interior work waiting to get a certified installer. We finally got one and the tinting is completed. However, it set us back a month.

Again, thank you for the kind words. I can't wait to show you the finished interior. I think it is going to look wonderful.

[gmarvel]

12 VOLT ADJUSTABLE READING LIGHTS

We found a source for some neat 12 volt adjustable reading lights for the bus. We bought five of them (one for the Navigator's chair area, one each for the two sofas, and two for the Queen bed in the back). These are 12 volt LED light fixtures from Gustafson Lighting. They have a metal brushed nickel finish and individual on/off switches. They will be perfect for task lighting and reading. We only paid $8.50 each. A great deal.

[Tango]

Sweet deal on the lights! I'll be checking out these guys...thanks for sharing!

[gmarvel]

MORE WALLS GOING UP
We have waited so long for this moment. Things are moving quicker this week. We are getting the walls up and making minor adjustments to the layout as we figure out we have an inch extra here and an inch less than we thought there, etc. I can't say enough great things about this wood paneling from Ikea. It is just looking great. I should have pictures late this week or early next week showing the side panels and some of the furniture installed.



Notice how the wood is curving to follow the form of the Crown's roof.




The walls will be insulated with spray foam.

[r_w]

I know spray foam makes the wall stronger, but what about using cotton or wool batting? They are much better for sound control.

+1 on the Ikea paneling looking awesome. I figure a lot of my interior will be coming from there.

[gmarvel]

We have a roll of the closed cell foam sheets with aluminum on both sides. That will be going in first and then the foam insulation, and then another layer of the closed cell foam sheeting before putting the back side of the wall up. It should help deaden the noise. You are smart to look at the Ikea wood paneling and cabinets. They are very well made and relatively cheap when compared to buying custom cabinets. On the other hand, if you have great wood working skills, Ikea is much more expensive than building it all from scratch. I happen to be the type of guy with absolutely zero. . . . .nada. . . . .zilch. . . . .wood working capabilities. Somewhere up in my attic I have the really ugly jewelry box I made in wood class in junior high. Took me all semester and is a sad testimonial to my lack of skills in this area. Manage a $500 million budget, CHECK. Build a cabinet from scratch, DEAD ON ARRIVAL. Ikea is my salvation. Also, the European Birch takes such a wonderful stain. The grain and everything is just perfect. We tried to duplicate it with American Birch and it was just not the same. It did not look as elegant and beautiful as the European Birch. We have been getting all of our wood paneling in the bargain bin. It is 50% to 60% off due to minor scratches on one side. We just put the scratched side against the wall instead of facing out. Perfect! We have had to go several times to get all the wood we needed as I did not want to pay full price and each time they had only one or two sheets of the wood paneling.

[Tango]

Do What Works...for you!

[WolfyWho]

How hard was it to remove the original headliner and reinstall it? Which rivet tool did you use? Thanks!

Wolfy

[gmarvel]

It was not that hard in terms of skill. Just time consuming with over 1,500 rivets. Crown headliners are used to help support the rigidity of the roof structure and help strengthen the ability of the roof to handle roll overs. Crowns built from the late 70's on were built to handle the bus being dropped from a height of 25 feet on its roof and the roof would not collapse. The overlapping headliner panels are an integral part of that strength. I have seen some skoolie conversions that modify or even remove their metal headliners. A structural engineer told me not to do that. My concession was to put a rubber tape on the structural roof ribs before putting the headliner back up to try and create a thermal break. The overall strength was retained and now I had an insulated barrier (I used spray insulation closed cell foam) to the cold and heat. I also purchased rivets that had a very low profile. That was because I wanted to put a faux leather headliner up on the roof and I did not want the rivets to show through the smooth leather covering.

[gmarvel]

STAINLESS STEEL SHOWER STALL
We really love the look of vintage AirStream trailers and their stainless steel showers. We wanted to duplicate that look. In my research I learned that you don't want to wimp out on the quality of the stainless steel sheets. You absolutely need high chromium content steel to minimize any possibility of rust. The stainless steel sheets were over $1,000.

The floor pan is also stainless steel. The key is to make sure that the steel walls fit inside the floor pan and not outside. You don't want any possibility of water getting through any seams or cracks.

Below are pictures of the shower enclosure. We really wanted the shower larger. However, it would have taken up too much floor space and screw up our other wants. It is also a custom size 27" x 31". The ceiling is one piece that exactly matches the curve of the Crown's ceiling and sides. That was a pain. This material is very expensive, so redoing mistakes was not an option. We used a cardboard template to get the exact curve of the sides and roof.

It has not been placed in the bus as yet. That comes next. It will require the windshield to come out of the bus. it is the only way to get the finished product into the bus due to its size. The problem was doing any welding inside of the bus. We have already put in the faux leather covered headliner, the wood floor, some of the side wall paneling, etc. Welding inside the bus would probably damage what we have already done. So, the welding is taking place outside of the bus, and then the windshield will be removed and the shower pushed through the opening. I kind of feel like the guy that builds a large boat is his basement and then realizes that there might be a problem getting it out of the basement. On the other hand, the final shower size had to wait as we finished other aspects of the actual placement of sofas, cabinets, walls, etc. We decided to move forward with the other aspects of the interior and then decide at the appropriate time what the actual shower size would need to be. Thus, the need to take out the windshield to get the shower into the bus.

The protective tape is still on much of the steel












We are planning on a frameless glass shower door.

[r_w]

DROOL.

[missingTexas]

I seriously love this bus.. and I am drooling over your generator set up .. at almost $10k just for the generator I would guess you mean serious business!

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com ... p6600.html

I might wire mine expecting one of these and wait until the last minute when I am ready to move into the bus to purchase it. Living in the bus I'll save that much in just a few months so ...

[missingTexas]

How does one go about getting someone to build a custom thing like that ? What type of business?