The Black Plague II (The new Jacuzzi Bus) - Page 7

lapeer20m · 12-26-2005, 07:09 PM

The jacuzzi lift idea has been going nowhere for the past several months.....I don't like the design i have so far, but i've spent too much money and invested too much time and effort to call it quits now. I've probably spent nearly $1,000 so far....mostly for steel.

At a brand new (to me) junk yard the other day, i stumbled upon a few junk fork lifts. If i can get the lifting portion of one of those cheap enough, I think that's going to be the new jacuzzi lift. It'l llift way higher than i really need, plus it'll be safer and easier than my current setup. More importantly it will work!

I hope

Eric von Kleist · 12-29-2005, 05:04 PM

That's cool! Plus, you get the propane tanks in the deal. I think you can change the valving on those horizontal tanks to make them into vapor supply tanks if they are currently liquid supply. The tanks are probably worth a good bit if you don't use them yourself.

lapeer20m · 01-19-2006, 05:26 AM

i didn't get THAT forklift, that's just an example.

anyhow....

I sure have been slackin. Haven't done much of anything with the bus as far as improvements since november. I really need to get started on the big remodel job. I'd at least like to get the floor and block wall finished before february 11. The bus and I have a party to attend in London. I've been spending all my time and money traveling as of late.

lapeer20m · 01-30-2006, 05:03 PM

We started the big remodel job in my bus over the weekend. Phill (Phillbus914) made the over 130 mile trip to come help which was much appreciated!

Nearly everything except the jacuzzi, drivers seat, and veggie oil tanks were removed from the bus. That was a bit of a project.

Tomorrow i have an appointement to get the new floor installed. Then the excitement begins! I have been invited to a bus gig in Detroit this Friday for a pre-super bowl party. Putting humpty dumpty back together again in only 2 days will be an adventure. It's unrealistic to think that the remodel will be finished in the period of time, but the bus will be back in service.

It looks about like this inside (this photo is actually from when the bus was "new")

Wish me luck! I'll try to take a few actual photos of the progress

Eric von Kleist · 01-31-2006, 09:31 PM

Good luck! Get some pics at the bus meet!

lapeer20m · 02-03-2006, 07:00 PM

She's not finished, but we're getting closer

SKOOLBOY · 02-03-2006, 09:21 PM

It is looking pretty kickass!!!!!!!!!

lapeer20m · 02-04-2006, 09:54 AM

just got my diamondplate alluminum for stiar treds....i need to get that installed. I also need to install the glass block wall in front of the jacuzzi.

lapeer20m · 02-12-2006, 03:53 PM

Returned from London Ontario (Canada) with the bus today. Had a awsome get-together last nite. The Canadians are a lot of fun to hang out with!

The bus and all it's systems operated flawlessly.

I utilized the fuel oil boiler for jacuzzi heat while parked for the first time last nite. It is in the beta testing stage. It worked remarkably well. I'm not sure the exact outside air temp last nite, but it was down in the 20's. I easily kept the jacuzzi warm till about 5 am when we finally went to bed. The boiler uses a max of 0.65 gph. I replaced the original 0.85gph nozzel. I need to do some more work to make the boiler project a bit more tidy, but as a water heater, it certianly is spectacular.

lapeer20m · 02-13-2006, 06:23 AM

I forgot to mention that for the first time i got pulled over and inspected at the border coming back into the USA.

it was horribly uneventful. only took about 10 minutes, 5 for the paperwork, and 5 for them to search the bus.

now i'm considering a trip to montreal quebec with some hott canadian girls......but it's a 1K mile roundtrip. that's a lot of miles to drive just before i leave for south texas for spring break......

lapeer20m · 02-18-2006, 09:24 AM

I wish i could back up a few weeks to the time before i resurfaced the floor. If i could go back in time, i would have run pex tubing in the new rubber flooring.

My next bus will have in floor heating. After climbing out of hte jacuzzi onto the freezing cold floor a couple times, i've decided that in floor heating would be the cat's patoot!

Black Betty Driver 1 · 02-24-2006, 09:21 PM

no one has ever heard from me but i have been hiding out in the back ground for about a year now. I am a 25% owner of a 1987 Chevy Blue Bird, and her name is Black Betty. The other three owners and i are getting our info together to show her on this wonderful web page you guys have here, soon. I guess this is the first i've felt pushed to give opinions. On your floor heat, they do make small electric mesh mats that I have used under ceramic tile, concrete or just about anything of hard surface. Don't think you would need to do the whole floor now but maybe something 4-6' out in front of the jacuzzi. Just enough room to worm you toes while you throw some flops on. the mesh is real thin, will actually lay in 3/8" mortar bed for ceramic tile, runs to a small 110v transformer, that could easy be polugged into a converter. Just my thoughts on the matter. Great bus by the way.

lapeer20m · 02-24-2006, 11:27 PM

it takes A LOT of electricity to make heat......unless your are staying at a campground then it's free.

My plan for in floor heating is to use pex tubing. You can get it in several hundred feet if you want, so there won't be any joints or connectors buried in the floor.

I plan to use engine heat while driving, and boiler heat when parked. I have a fuel oil boiler in my skoolie that i use to heat the jacuzzi. A boiler is simply a hot water heater that uses diesel fuel. Diesel fuel is far safer than propane.

I got the boiler for free....the biggest downside is that it is heavy.....hundreds of pounds.

lapeer20m · 02-27-2006, 04:41 PM

my fancy new boiler quit working already....the ignition transformer went bad....$80.00 for a new one...but i found a better deal.

Called a heating and cooling guy i know, and he donated a complete working burner to the project.

I love freebies!

My geni is only 110 volts therefore can't run the 220 volt jacuzzi pumps. I just found an almost new pump that is nearly identical to the one on the jacuzzi for $50 bucks. Now i'll be able to run the jets on the jacuzzi with my inverter while driving, and the honda eu2000 geni while parked.

People love the bus!

lapeer20m · 03-04-2006, 05:08 PM

Got the 110 volt pump installed,

Finished the diamondplate on the stairs

and tidy'd up some electrical stuff including mounting the stereo

Roasting8 · 03-05-2006, 01:04 AM

The diamondplate looks great but, isn't it kind of slick when you got wet shoes?

I also love what you've done with the radio.

lapeer20m · 03-05-2006, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasting8

The diamondplate looks great but, isn't it kind of slick when you got wet shoes?

IF it was just shiny alluminum it would be slippery when wet, but i think that diamondplate was created as a non-slip surface. It's used on the tailboards of firetrucks and ambulances to allow a person to climb into and out of the trucks. In this cautious day and age of law suits, if it did not provide good traction, i'm sure they'd use something else.

Roasting8 · 03-05-2006, 12:49 PM

Thanks Jason,

I probably should have used some common sense. One thing for sure though, it does look great.

lapeer20m · 03-05-2006, 02:26 PM

you're not the only one who has raised concern about how slippery it might be when wet....

Thanks for the compliment. It took a good deal of work to complete.

lapeer20m · 04-07-2006, 11:57 AM

well, I haven't done much with the bus since i've been home from texas. I did rent a storage lot to keep her in. She takes up too much space in teh driveway....(not to mention some local ordinance about keeping a motorhome on your property for more than 48 hours.... i have not had issues with the ordinance yet, but i'd like to keep it that way.)

Anyhow....

today i finally go around to getting her cleaned out. I removed all the stuff from inside, then using the garden hose i sprayed everything from ceiling to floor and washed all the ickyness out the front door. I parked the bus up on blocks so gravity would help the water go in the right direction.

I washed all the black velvit fabric just after i got home from texas, so i re-upholstered the couch and all the benches today.

Since i've been home, i've been kinda bussed out.....i just wanted to wash as much salt as possible out of the bus before it did any noticable damage.

anybody wanna buy a jacuzzi bus?

just kidding, i don't really wanna get rid of her...not yet at least.

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