The Black Plague II (The new Jacuzzi Bus) - Page 2

lapeer20m · 07-01-2005, 07:08 AM

Saturday I hope to get the ceiling painted. first i have to sand, clean, primer, paint....wait for that to dry.....

then tape off all the flames. That'll take at least 6 hours just to tape. Then spray the flames. After it dries (prob sunday) i'll remove the tape and touch up the spots that need it. Then i'm gonna clearcoat the ceiling. I'm addicted to clear coat now.

I also need ot clearcoat the roof (outside) while i'm spraying......

lapeer20m · 07-01-2005, 01:06 PM

The hole in the ceiling was remarkably easy. The panels inside the bus are attached to the vehicle with screws instead of the usual rivets. this made it very simple to remove the interior panels. I removed 2 panels, they're each the same width as one window. There was 2" worth of insulation between the ceiling and the roof. I cut the roof panels with an abrasive blade on a circular saw.

Here's a photo taken with the primer down on the floor. The epoxy shield had not been applied yet.

also, this jacuzzi is about 4 inches smaller than the old one. This one actually fits inside the bus.

Eric von Kleist · 07-03-2005, 03:06 PM

Looking good! And you're making good headway, too. I like the clear coat on the bus. It does make a big difference in the look of the paint. That'll be one heck of a sky light over the jacuzzi!

lapeer20m · 07-06-2005, 11:23 AM

I got the ceiling painted black, hopefully i'll get the ceiling taped off today while i'm at work. I am going to paint flames on the ceiling.

After the ceiling is painted......

the mirror for the walls, the glass block, and the couch/benches are the biggest interior projects left.

There's still all the jacuzzi plumbing, and the electrical/stereo/tv ect, but those are all little things.......

I can't believe how fast this bus is coming together. In one week i've completed several big tasks. IT's so much faster and easier to work on a bus when the temperature is above 10 degrees! I think that's why it took so long to remodel the other bus, i did it here in michigan during january and february. Finding ambition to leave the house is difficult when the temp's are in the single digits outside.

THE MAN BURNS IN 59 DAYS!

lapeer20m · 07-06-2005, 10:20 PM

Wow! This bus is a sports car compared to the other bus. The top speed of 65 is really a luxury. I keep looking down at the spedo and realizing that i'm driving over the speed limit. I never had that problem in the other bus! Acceleration is amazing! I can't immagine what the DT466 with an extra 100 hp would be like in a skoolie.
I've been pulling away from people at stoplights. The past two days driving to and from work is the first trip i've taken since i brough her home as i just got registration and insurance last friday. The first two or three gears the bus has an incredible amount of get-up-and-go. About third or 4th gear she starts accelerating at a much slower rate. This bus would run circles around my ford.

I love this new bus......even if it doesn't have air brakes. It does have a spring loaded seat that rides very similair to an air ride seat. I can't tell the difference. It has a dial to allow the user to adjust the seat to their weight

Steve · 07-07-2005, 10:22 AM

Glad to see your finally behind the wheel of your International. My old IH ran circles around your old bus.

lapeer20m · 07-08-2005, 03:39 PM

you're old IH would prob still run circles around this bus too. From what i remember, that thing was pretty "sporty" (as far as skoolies go)

I finally finished taping off the flames for the ceiling today. I don't know how many hours i spent.....but it took what seemed like forever to finish the project. I worked on it over the past 3 or 4 days. My neck hurts from looking straight up for so long. I'm at work today, so i can't paint untl tomorrow or sunday.

Now i need to find a couch, build the benches, and buy an "electronics cabinet" Next i'll try to get the jacuzzi and associated plumbing projects finished. Then the bus should be in service, although not finished.

I think i'll wait till the other bus sells before i spend the big money on mirrors for the walls, and the glass block. Those two projects will cost about 7 or 8 hunred dollars total. I might venture down to Chicago and buy some of those 4x8 sheets of plexi-mirror. I think they were 1/4 the cost of the same material from home depot. If i go there and party for the weekend, i can pick up the material on monday and head home. Then it wouldn't be a wasted trip! and it'll give me an excuse to party in Chi-town.

Steve · 07-08-2005, 03:43 PM

Where are you buying the mirrors? I love the effect and might be able to use it.

lapeer20m · 07-08-2005, 04:48 PM

It took me a half hour or so to find this link....

http://www.americanacrylics.com/mirror.htm

$2.00 per square foot is what it costed when i called the place a few months back. At that time, I opted for the same material from home depot pre cut to 24x48". It was $4.00 per square foot, and required that you purchase 10 sheets (80 square feet) Kinda pricey, but convienent as it's as close as your local home depot. They do have to special order it.

this stuff can be cut, drilled, bent, shaped ect. It's actually just plexi-glass with mirror backign on it.

Steve · 07-08-2005, 05:10 PM

Do you think the ceiling of a bus could be covered with it?

lapeer20m · 07-08-2005, 09:43 PM

i think that 4 foot across the center would work fine.......but would be a little more tricky towards the sides as the roof curve begins to get more radical. I know plexi-glass can easily be bent into extreme shapes by applying heat. A 110,000 btu salamander heater and a pair of welding gloves work great.......i'm not sure how the mirror surface would react to that treatment however.

You might be able to bend the mirror enough just using screws (not heat). I'm not sure.

phillbus914 · 07-09-2005, 12:41 AM

I need to paint my bus, maybe I could come by and help you with you new bus in exchange for some help painting mine. The school bus "yellow" has to go, but one solid color never seems to look good on a bus. You can see my bus on the skoolie gallery on the last page.

I was thinking of painting it like the General lee from the dukes of hazard. Kinda thought that would be funny, paint one of the slowest vehicles on the road like a fast car famous for doing crazy jumps.

lapeer20m · 07-09-2005, 10:57 AM

where are you from?

I"m all about helping people....especially the crazy skoolie type

I'd be more than happy to give you instructions in how to do the prep work, and all the masking. I hate masking! uggggggg. If you get her all prepped, I'll paint the bus for ya. Obviously you need to purchase all the supplies

I live near detroit michigan.

phillbus914 · 07-09-2005, 11:19 AM

I live in Grand Rapids, MI

I have no problem prepping my bus, but then it becomes undriveable, so I think I'd have to do it at my house. I just need some help and/or pointers on how to paint it. I also have no problem buying all the needed stuff to do it. I have an air compressor and I can borrow a spray gun. So I'm half way there right?

I've had my bus for over a year, and I worked on it last summer a lot but this past winter/spring I havent done much at all. Since I found this sight last week I'm motivated to work on it again. I couldnt get to sleep lastnight becasue I was thinking about everything I want to do to it now. In fact I just got back from menards and spent about $70 on stuff for it. Why couldnt I have found this sight last year? I also think it helps to have a camping trip planed to get you motivated to work on it.

Anyway back to your bus: how is your new bus comming along? do you have any pic's of your latest progress?

lapeer20m · 07-09-2005, 11:26 AM

So far, the bus project has been moving ahead at lightning speed which seems good.......but it's actually rather dull and boring. Until now, this bus is nearly identical to the old bus with the exception to hole for the jacuzzi in the roof rather the wall.

Today i was at the junk yard looking at hydraulic cylinders to open the new roof flap, but the only cylinders i could find were off of a garbage truck and they were just way to huge in stroke and bore. Probably 4" bore and at least 48" stroke. The junk yard guy misunderstood what i was trying to do. He looked at me like i was crazy and said "you want to raise the entire hot tub up through the roof?" I said no, i'm just looking to open the ceiling above the......Wow! What an incredible idea, having the entire jacuzzi raise up through the roof? BRILLIANT!!! Why didnt' i think of that?

He said if i pull the cylinders myself i can have them for $25 each. I only need two plus a good amount of steel to make it work, but it's cheaper to just go ahead and buy all four cylinders and put one at each corner of the jacuzzi. The boittom of the cylinders will extend through the floor about 24" and attach to the frame. The other end will attach to a special platform that the jacuzzi rests on. Doesn't sound complicated at all, does it?

Still have to figure out the hydraulic pump/valves. I might steal those from the donor truck while i'm at the scrap yard. I don't want to use air for this application because air is much more unpredictable.

Rick78EFI460 · 07-09-2005, 11:41 AM

I would go ahead and study a good quality vehicle hoist to accomplish the task of lifting a heavy object that height. I think it could be done very well and safely too. our 12000 auto hoist only uses one cylinder under one of the ramps to lift a vehicle or truck the height you'd need. You need to be sure that it will lift evenly and lower evenly to prevent heavy side loading. The vehicle hoists use mechanical catches ( air released ) to hold the vehicle in place after its lifted for safety. It can be done ! If you have the hydraulics anyways you could also build a hydraulic leg setup too, for stability.

Eric von Kleist · 07-09-2005, 11:53 AM

Sounds like a plan! ...and your blueprints look like they are done by the same draftsman that I use...

lapeer20m · 07-09-2005, 12:44 PM

On second thought..... I have a 12 volt electric pump that does power up, gravity down, but it would be really really slow since the cylinders have such a large bore.
The high pressure hydraulic hoses are really expensive too

I think i'm going to use air over hydraulic with about 100 to 150 psi. That doesn't sound like a lot of pressure, but a 4" bore will have 12.56 pounds of force for every pound of pressure on the input side. In other words 100 psi going in will yield about 1,250 pounds of lifting force on the working end for each cylinder.

A 4" bore with a 48" stroke would require two gallons of fluid for full extention. I'll use small diameter tubing and fittings so that in the event of a broken hose, it would take several seconds for all the fluid to be forced from the cylinders adding a measure of safety. I'd like to make the jacuzzi rise to full extention in 7 to 10 seconds.

A safety lockout mechanism is also important. I'll go take a look at the ones used on automitive hoists.

I also need a good source of air.....since this bus has hydraulic brakes.

phillbus914 · 07-09-2005, 02:09 PM

holy crap this is getting compliated, but it would be awsome when finished. Are you going to build a deck on the roof and have the hot tub rise up through a hole in the deck? That would be awsome.

Eric von Kleist · 07-09-2005, 03:09 PM

Two words: DRY ICE!

With your lighting skills, and the jacuzzi rising through the roof, you need some spooky dry ice fog boiling out of the place...and the theme from 2001 A Space Odessy (Thus Spake Zarathrustra is the title of the piece, I think)

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