Sojourner

[sojourner]

O-k-a-y.....
It's been a while since I last posted. Progress has been a bit slow due to demands of the new job and short daylight hours.
Anyhow, I did get the window post covers on the port (left) side of the bus installed. It sure trims up the windows a bit. Here's a pics of the living room windows with them back on. I had to roll one edge flat to lay against the sheet metal nicely.





I also got the rub rails cut and fit for the Starboard (right) side. This took a bit of doing to get as many of the original rivet holes to match up and keep an equal distance from the rub rails to the door frame. Not all of them worked out but when done (these are just fitted and held in place with a couple rivets) it should not be that noticeable. I like the look of factory ends around the door and fridge vent rather than simply cutting flat.





I still have one more piece to make (hopefully this weekend) just above the service door at the bottom of the sheet metal (yet to be prepped and primed) covering the navigators seat. The rub rail pieces will be removed, cleaned and prepped soon.










Maybe I'll get a chance to prep and prime the sheet metal tomorrow and hopefully get some headway on the seat belt mounts. Sundays are the only day a week I have to work on Gimel.



I took the position of Production Manager of Charleston Blast and Paint. Our core business is rebuilding and up-fitting container chassis's to current regulations. Looks like I'll have a place to paint my bus when I get ready!! We currently have a paint booth large enough but getting ready to install a 65' booth inside as well as a blast booth that size.

[Tango]

Nice work!!! Keep the pix a comin'!

[david.dgeorge07]

Midship door looks great! Kinda wish I had one!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by sojourner

O-k-a-y.....
It's been a while since I last posted. Progress has been a bit slow due to demands of the new job and short daylight hours.

Short daylight hours just started this weekend. I was complaining the last few weeks too but today sunset is 5pm. And the days will only be getting shorter.

I took the position of Production Manager of Charleston Blast and Paint. Our core business is rebuilding and up-fitting container chassis's to current regulations. Looks like I'll have a place to paint my bus when I get ready!! We currently have a paint booth large enough but getting ready to install a 65' booth inside as well as a blast booth that size.

Free skoolie paint jobs? What did you say your address was?

P.S. VERY nice so don't get upset by the below (David quote).

Hell, I'd kill for the barn in the background of long shot photo. Just having it parked at the house instead of an RV lot would help. Even if all I did was spend 15 minutes trying to remove a stripped screw, it would be 15 more minutes than I can do now. One day a weekend (usually/sometimes) and a couple of hours after work 2 or 3 days a week is about all I get... if it isn't raining. Just heard on the radio this morning that we need 4 more inches of rain by the end of the year to break the record. It's only 58" but still it's been very wet here.

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

Midship door looks great! Kinda wish I had one!

You think so? Don't get me wrong, the work looks great but IMHO the rounded corners. No thx. With his skills, I'd have gone for a square emergency door, deskinned it, insulated, lengthened (and whatever else it might have needed) and reskinned it.

BYOB (Build Your Own Bus; adaptation of Hike Your Own Hike) but you aren't going to hide it being a skoolie. Embrace it!! Keep the windows and doors square. I'm going to have a hell of a time finding double paned square framed windows. I dunno if it's even possible but I might end up having to reuse the OEM windows. Can they be repaned? And sealed so they don't leak like OEM windows?

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

Midship door looks great! Kinda wish I had one!

Thanks. The door is salvaged from a travel trailer our family used when the kids were little. Lots of good memories going in and out of that door!! LOL 😀. Hopefully many more to come!! Just seemed natural to reuse it in the adventure to come.

[EastCoastCB]

Nice to see updates, Trav. I'm sorry I never did get back to you about that steel. My stepdad has been busy and he's retiring soon so he's been unavailable.

Your bus is looking GREAT!

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Nice to see updates, Trav. I'm sorry I never did get back to you about that steel. My stepdad has been busy and he's retiring soon so he's been unavailable.

Your bus is looking GREAT!

No worries. I just picked up an air horn off FB marketplace. It's a Wolo Dragon Express (new name Siberian Express). I'm trying to find a creative place to mount it. Anyone have any ideas or pics? They stand kinda tall. Probably close to 12" above the base. By the way, they are LOUD!! Very cool.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by sojourner

No worries. I just picked up an air horn off FB marketplace. It's a Wolo Dragon Express (new name Siberian Express). I'm trying to find a creative place to mount it. Anyone have any ideas or pics? They stand kinda tall. Probably close to 12" above the base. By the way, they are LOUD!! Very cool.

Stock location is on the roof above the driver if that's any help. If you don't want to change your clearance (I don't remember what if anything you have up there, you might be able to shove it in with the wiper motors.

[david.dgeorge07]

If you don't mind it getting blocked a little you could put it under the floor below the driver.

[sojourner]

I finally got the navigator wall skin prepped, primed and installed along with window treatments and rub rails cut and installed last weekend.





It was then time to move to the back door. I've been wanting to put a RV door latch on the back door to be able to lock it and still be able to get out through it in case of an emergency. The headboard for the bed will be able to swing up to allow us access to the escape route. I bought two matching RV door latches so I can use a common key on the main entry and the rear.


Using the RV door lock opening as a template I laid out both sides and plunge cut with a cut-off wheel to allow finish cutting with a jigsaw.








Once the cutouts were finished I test fit the door latch.





The door was a bit too thin so I made shims with some aluminum I had laying around to fatten things up.


The inside one is 1/8" thick.





The outside one is 1/16" thick and I built in a stiffener into it.





I didn't like the factory strike plate as it's a bit too lightweight to make things really secure.





So, using the opening in the strike plate, I laid out the cutout for my beefier version.





I then tack welded a piece of 1/4" flat bar to make the new strike plate and ground it to fit.





Here's a pic of the inside.





Sorry for the fuzzy pics. It was raining on me all day while finishing the work I started last weekend. Once I can back the bus into the shop I'll clean and weld the strike plate in much better with the MIG. All I had to work with today was some wet welding rods to just get it where the door would latch shut.
It's a bummer when the only day one has to work on a project it's raining all day.


At least it closes like a normal door now.

[plfking]

Nice skinning job......what kind of navigator window are you going to install?

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by plfking

Nice skinning job......what kind of navigator window are you going to install?

Thanks. My navigator says she want's a standard skoolie window. I framed the opening with left over hat channel from the midships door install so the windows will mount just like the rest. I can easily see out it too.


The plan is to disassemble the windows we're using and rebuild replacing the clear 1/8" clear glass with 1/4" tinted safety glass since the stock vinyl glazing is not available anymore. A local glass shop says they've done several like that for the school systems. We'll also modify the opening so they seal better than the stock configuration.

[Ninjakitty]

Nice work on the latch

[EastCoastCB]

Glad you've got your window plan!

Great skinning, man.

[plfking]

Originally Posted by sojourner

Thanks. My navigator says she want's a standard skoolie window. I framed the opening with left over hat channel from the midships door install so the windows will mount just like the rest. I can easily see out it too.

Cool-o. I wanted a driver's slider for my passenger side, but couldn't find one.....after searching for 2 months, I just took my my extra standard window, removed the latches, and turned it on it's side (and epoxied all the latch slots to keep water out). In actuality, it slides as well or better than my driver's slider.

The plan is to disassemble the windows we're using and rebuild replacing the clear 1/8" clear glass with 1/4" tinted safety glass since the stock vinyl glazing is not available anymore. A local glass shop says they've done several like that for the school systems. We'll also modify the opening so they seal better than the stock configuration.

That makes me wonder.....do you foresee any additional insulation benefits with 1/4" glass vs. 1/8"?

[Brewerbob]

Wish my stuff looked anywhere near as straight.

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Wish my stuff looked anywhere near as straight.

Anybody can do it. It just takes time and patience. Good squares and levels help a lot! At least for me they do 😀.

[joeblack5]

Nice job on the door lock. Are you worried about the corrosion reaction between the steel and the aluminum spacer plates?



Later Johan

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Nice job on the door lock. Are you worried about the corrosion reaction between the steel and the aluminum spacer plates?
Later Johan

Thanks for the concern. No, I'm not. The plates are mounted on painted surfaces (and some of them with sealer in between) so the only electrical contact is through stainless steel rivets. Also, for there to be galvanic corrosion on any appreciable scale you have to have two things. One, dis-similar metals (which we have) and two, an electrolyte (like salt water (which we don't have)). With the small amount of rainwater (which is a very poor electrolyte) this will ever see, it'll take decades for there to be a problem if it ever does occur.

[EastCoastCB]

What's your plan for paint when the body is ready?