Queen of Peace -- '82 Int'l Bluebird w/ 20" raise, solar, et

[HolyBus]

Originally Posted by charles_m

I've been meaning to change the oil, repair a visor, and change the plugs on the MGB I'm in a relationship with, so I drove her to the yard today--a SUNNY 67 degrees!!

What year B? I just gave my chrome bumper 74 to my son. He and I restored it many years ago. I had a 79 but parted it out since it had no title. Great little car. Would fit well on a trailer behind a bus;)

[Roadrunner]

Very nice! Keep up the good work.

[charles_m]

Thanks, guys! I really appreciate it!
The B is a 1973. Totally rust free, which is a small miracle. I love the car dearly and it belongs to my GF, though I was the one who showed it to her ;)
We've done a couple parades in it and driven it up some great mountain passes. It did Trail Ridge Road (highest continuously paved road in NA) and the views were amazing. Hoping to do that in my bus this year. Seriously!

[charles_m]

Got the framing and spray foam done over the past week. The bus is incredible with the foam in. It's like a whole new project!
I've gotten all the 12V wiring and speaker wiring done. I've also mounted the rooftop combiner box for my house solar system in addition to rewiring my chassis solar system.

Using a short bus to fill the long bus!

Framing the bathroom

Close up

Front right

Front left

Bathroom

Back

There is no doubt in my mind that spray foam is the best possible insulation available for our application. The cost for the pro install was less than and DIY option and they cleaned up everything and trimmed the excess. One thing to definitely hire out for.

[bansil]

Turned out great

[nat_ster]

It looks great.

I'm glad your happy with how your insulation turned out.

This alone is going to make your bus so much more comfortable in both heat and cold.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

Nat

[Tango]

Outstanding! --- And I have to agree...hiring out the spray foam is one of those decisions that makes a lot of sense.

[charles_m]

It is crazy the difference it has made in the liveability of the bus. I'm at around r20 all around with maybe higher values in the floor and ceiling, but probably only by a bit. The windows are all double pane and I can walk into the bus on a warm spring day here (75 degrees outside) and for the first time ever, the bus is cooler than the outside air. We will see how things go as the weather heats up, but so far I'm blown away!
I also had the power vent motor in the ceiling rebuilt so that I can run that baby. I think that between that vent (which really blows) and the insulation, I'll have a while before the heat becomes unbearable in there.
Unfortunately (maybe) the cold weather is all behind us, so I'll have to wait and see how that goes in the fall.

[PDBreske]

Spray foam is amazing stuff. One half of my bus is sprayed and the other half (garage area) is not. Even on a hot Florida day (84°+), the foamed half stays ten degrees cooler than the uninsulated half, and that's with the whole thing sealed up. When I run the 6000 BTU window A/C, the insulated side drops down to the set temp and stays there no matter how hot it gets outside.

I used the DIY kit for mine and it was about $700 with shipping. Yours looks a lot better than mine, but how much did it cost to have it done professionally?

[stefan]

That is a great looking bus man! Very nice work, it looks like it is coming along very nicely.

Cheers,
Stefan

[chris'crown]

Amazing. You've convinced me to use spray foam. I'm only a few months behind you on my bus. I'll for sure be following. thanks, Chris

[charles_m]

Doing this professionally would have cost $1 per inch thickness of foam per square feet. That is about 2200 for my bus done just about 3" thick on the walls, ends caps, and ceiling.
The cost of DIY foam that I saw was $1 per inch thickness per square foot which is the same as what I paid. Except they did all the work and I paid for what I needed sprayed, not for any waste. I wouldnt do it myself unless there were significant savings to be had.

[The-Breeze]

Calculating ahead of time the difference between DIY & Prof is a great move and one that many of us don't do. I can't tell you how many times I have seen something in a store and wanted but the price seemed ridiculous, so off I went to recreate it on my own, only to find out that I spent way more money and time doing it myself and the final product sucked.

My history lesson is: If you haven't done it before, maybe now is not the time to try to. So many, me included, really thought that we could convert this bus for next to nothing.

Let this be a lesson for the newbies that think they can create the ultimate skoolie for pennies in a matter of weeks. Even being retired, I still feel that time is money....I don't want to take the time out of what's left of my life to save a buck.

Experimenting on something stationary is a lot different than something that's mobile. Trying your hand on a project in a house is completely different than doing so on a moving vehicle. The outcome now & in the future can produce very different results.

That's why SKOOLIES is such an important tool for information and assistance, hopefully, giving those of us than don't know, the forethought of "do I really want to try this on my own".

I think that is why the government is as they are about putting amateur conversions on the road vs a professional build (though, I still think it's none of their business how I get it done)

[mokibrabrant]

I've thought about stripping down the interior an having it hit up with Rhino Lining or an equivalent product. Probably wouldn't have much of an R-Factor..........but I like the industrial Look and the Choice of colors..........Design the fixtures for an industrial look and just hose the thing down every season. Granted probably won't catch on..............

[HolyBus]

Originally Posted by mokibrabrant

I've thought about stripping down the interior an having it hit up with Rhino Lining or an equivalent product. Probably wouldn't have much of an R-Factor..........but I like the industrial Look and the Choice of colors..........Design the fixtures for an industrial look and just hose the thing down every season. Granted probably won't catch on..............

It might sound like a great idea at first but - there is alot in the bus that you would have to take out and put back every season. Think clothes, bedding, seating, window covers. Electric switches and outlets would be corrosion prone. One advantage might be the sound deadening of the metal but I would use some dynamat or cheap alternative for that if you really want it.

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by mokibrabrant

I've thought about stripping down the interior an having it hit up with Rhino Lining or an equivalent product. Probably wouldn't have much of an R-Factor..........but I like the industrial Look and the Choice of colors..........Design the fixtures for an industrial look and just hose the thing down every season. Granted probably won't catch on..............

I see no benefit to this idea. No purpose.

The only thing adding a product like this would help is noise. Adding the mass to the inside of the outside skin would reduce how much the outer skin resonates, cutting back the noise.

It would add no R value at all.

Polly Urea would be far better. However it should be sprayed on the outside of the bus, not the inside.

Nat

[charles_m]

Hey Guys and Gals!
Just wanted to throw in a quick update. Ive been busting my ass to finish this bus and its basically done! That's why ive been slow to update--ive had the distinct pleasure of being waaaay to busy working on my bus! I'll throw down more in depth updates as I go along but here are some pics and stats real quick

20" Roof Raise
1200 watts of solar into 8 t-105 batteries
composting toilet
custom reclaimed wood cabinets
sliding chest freezer converted to fridge (slides out from under cabinet on custom sliding rack)
natural stone shower with steel walls
custom, queen sized murphy bed with desk
added window above windshield
rooftop deck
and other ****, too that i cant remember now, lol but ill be updating here, and on my blog. My instagram has all the good pics
Thanks for all the awesome **** on here, guys. This site is great

[juliol]

Charles, please details on the ceiling(awesome work)

J

[Tango]

Lookin' gooooood! I'm going the slide out fridge/freezer route too and would love to see some pix of how you went about it.

[M1031A1]

So impressed I'm saving the replay! Stealing some ideas as well, so wifie commands......