Off-grid traveling family dreams

[lgonzalez]

Hi everyone! I have been reading around for quite sometime now and decided to start my own topic. My family and I purchased a 2001 Thomas diesel and have begun the process of conversion. We are about to raise the roof by 2 feet to allow for more headroom to add sleeping lofts. We also plan to add 2 slide outs. We will have 4 children and us (2 adults) in the bus so we need as much floor room as possible. We also want our bus to be fully off the grid, solar panels, composting toilet, generators, etc. Anyone out there put solar panels on the roof of their bus? Any thing we should absolutely never try? Any advice is much appreciated. I am lucky however to have an amazing husband who restores classic cars for a living, so as for as welding and the dirty work goes, we have an advantage. I hope to update this thread as much as possible. We have been creating videos and taking pictures as we have gone through it.
You can see it all on
http://www.lemonheadpress.com

[Locutus]

Welcome to the insanity!
If you want solar panels and want them to actually work, you should read this blog thoroughly:

http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

[wmkbailey]

Welcome to the maddness.

There are a few of us here with the Thomas rear engine buses. I just took mine to Indiana and found out it handles the snow like an old VW bug. All that weight over the tires, work good.

I did a roof raise too, but only 10". Love my composting toilet. I plan to use solar in the future. WildBlue had a nice post about their solar, but their post's got deleted. But they have a backup on their web site check it out here http://www.wildbluebus.com/2013_01_01_archive.html At the bottom of the page is part 1 and 2 of their solar.

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by lgonzalez

We also plan to add 2 slide outs. Any thing we should absolutely never try?

I'd think twice about adding slide outs unless there being designed by a professional engineer, IMHP your dealing with some major structural mods especially since your adding a roof raise, I've been working on aircraft 34 yrs ie overhauling , modifying, repairing & I would I'd maybe do one or the other on my own but both, I'd get help with that one

[lgonzalez]

in regards to the slide out comments...what if we plan on doing above floor slide outs and not flush ones? Are your worries based off of uneven weight distribution? We plan on adding levelers for added support.

[wmkbailey]

I seen a bus with a slid out like that in the back for the bedroom. The husband was too tall to fit in the bed. This gave him more leg room. I will see if I can hunt their build down for you.

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by lgonzalez

in regards to the slide out comments...what if we plan on doing above floor slide outs and not flush ones? Are your worries based off of uneven weight distribution? We plan on adding levelers for added support.

weight distribution, body flexing, you'd hate to be driving down the interstate & the front of your bus is going west while the backend decides to go south

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by allwthrrider

weight distribution, body flexing, you'd hate to be driving down the interstate & the front of your bus is going west while the backend decides to go south

I'm not saying it can't be done or don't do it ,I don't know you or your husbands engineering abilities I'm going off my lifetime of experience just saying a blue print & second set of eyes might be in order, wish you best of luck

[Tango]

While I cannot offer any explicit directives regarding this particular build, I do know for a fact that these units (buses) were engineered around an original set of design criteria that we as "converters" need to consider. In short...be careful what you chop. Modifying any pre-stressed body/chassis unit can easily lead to disaster if not well thought through. Example...I spoke with the engineers at BlueBird before I raised my roof. They said absolutely do NOT go cutting up the end caps or remove rib sections in an unbalanced manner. Otherwise, the whole rig could torque itself out of shape and collapse if put under stress (if you whack into something).

Integrating something like a slideout really requires some serious engineering thought as it dramatically alters the original design concept.

Just repeating what I was told.

[ol trunt]

Ditto on what Tango said.

[ol trunt]

Nate, I suggest you don't know anything about what Tango and I and several others can do, have done and what training we have. You are welcome to your opinion but it seems to me that for the most part that is just what it is. You go on and on about "doing it the right way"--as long as it is your way. If several of us are warning a new member about possible pitfalls I'd think you would be right there along with us trying to protect them rather than encouraging them to pay their money and take their chances.

[Skip]

You guys are gonna scare 'em off just with your bickering

Originally Posted by wmkbailey

Welcome to the maddness.

[JakeC]

LMAO Nat... I see you still don't understand the concept of tact. Do you seriously have to be so condescending and belittling when people have an opinion different from yours? It reminds me of someone else, just from a different angle. They gave her a caution, which was wise. Most people don't have the fab skills or engineering knowledge to pull off a slide-out. If they do have the ability to pull it off, they are well aware they have the ability and will be able to say "thanks for the caution, but we are capable of doing this." Quit thinking your word is the end word. You aren't the smartest one here, and are turning this lady's thread into a pissing match.

[Tango]

Hey Guys --- I'm in no way discouraging anyone from building anything they need or want into/onto their chosen platform. All I am saying is think it through before you go cutting up any engineered structure. I will stick with what I stated earlier in that any such mods, whether a slide-out or a roof raise... "requires some serious engineering thought". As noted, I consulted with a BlueBird factory engineer prior to raising the roof on my All American by 19" and got excellent guidance including his advice on maintaining the integrity of the endcaps as well as staggering the cuts on the roof bows to avoid a "weak line" and also some very good suggestions on how to attach the raise without dramatically altering the loading of the structure. It turned out very well and was not only "solid" but properly flexed and transferred the loading as it should. With a little research and proper direction, just about any mod can be accomplished without negatively impacting safety or structural integrity.

BTW...I used to fly aerobatics in small, high powered craft designed to function at the extreme edge of their engineering limits. In working with qualified A & P mechanics on them I came to especially appreciate how a "small" modification in one area can upset everything else. Example there...adding a small amount of steel to try and stiffen & beef up the engine mounts on a highly modified Pitts S1B seemed to me a minor and sensible adjustment. The A & P knew otherwise in that it would transmit excessive torque & vibration to the airframe that could push it beyond its' limits unless other measures were taken elsewhere.

I know these old buses don't get pushed that hard, but they do share a common characteristic with the aircraft in that they were originally designed & engineered to handle a specific set of loads a certain way. Any alterations made need to take that design criteria into account if anything remotely close to the original load specs are to be maintained. And while I am NOT a structural engineer, cutting away large sections of the primary structure on both sides certainly seems to qualify as an "alteration" to that original design.

Can it be done safely and satisfactorily? Absolutely! But it does need to be done thoughtfully...not casually. That's all I'm sayin'.

My dos centavos.

[JakeC]

Very well-worded and wise advice, indeed. For what it's worth, the thread that Nat posted has some EXCELLENT info in it. A very good example of one way to build a slide out and probably the best one I have seen as well. Not to mention the fact that his fab skills are pretty much eye candy.

[wmkbailey]

Man, now you have me wondering if I should do a slide out.

I could not find the link I had for the slide out. Most of my Bus links no longer work.
They bascially took a section where the windows are and did what they called a pull out. Just the width and height of the bed.

[bansil]

That's what Sir Trunt did made room for his footsies

[JakeC]

Originally Posted by lgonzalez

in regards to the slide out comments...what if we plan on doing above floor slide outs and not flush ones? Are your worries based off of uneven weight distribution? We plan on adding levelers for added support.

The concern has probably been explained enough, lol... Hopefully the bickering didn't scare you off. I would think that doing an above floor slide out would simplify things substantially. For one, it would make it easier to seal, in my mind, and more importantly, you would be able to keep the chair rail. That would make the engineering simpler, as the chair rail adds a fair amount of structure and leaving it would mean you were modifying the original design that much less. It would also be fairly simple to tie reinforcement into the chair rail.

[Stu & Filo. T]

Boy I have to step away for a few hours & look what happens

[gbstewart]

and welcome to skoolie.net see how much fun it is
gbstewart