The Camel Conversion Project

[PDBreske]

I added an edit to my post from earlier today.

[inkblots84]

Thanks PDB. we're planning on using the spray on liner stuff only where the foam would be exposed to the elements below. With under the floor insulation I'm still wondering - spray the whole underfloor, then mount belly boxes and such and insulate the boxes, or just mount the boxes and spray everything? The balance between wanting to go over kill on everything and save money is driving me nuts!

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by inkblots84

Thanks PDB. we're planning on using the spray on liner stuff only where the foam would be exposed to the elements below. With under the floor insulation I'm still wondering - spray the whole underfloor, then mount belly boxes and such and insulate the boxes, or just mount the boxes and spray everything? The balance between wanting to go over kill on everything and save money is driving me nuts!

Unless you have a legitimate reason for insulating the belly boxes, I would avoid it. This stuff is expensive and you should try to use only where you absolutely need to. Since I was using rigid styrofoam to fill in between the wall studs, I could get away with a single foam kit. If I were to start with bare walls and expect to get three inches of insulation, it would have taken at least two kits, but no more than three. Of course, I'm only using the front half of the bus for living space. Anyone converting an entire 11-window school bus will need a lot more. In that case, I'd be tempted to go with a professional installer and see what that would cost.

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by Part-time

I had a few quotes to do the underside of my floor sprayed, roughly 33'x8' so 264 square feet at 3" thick. They all ranged between $400 and $800.
I am going to get mine done sometime within the next couple of weeks, when the guy is available... at $400 I'll be flexible to his scedual
I'm building my belly boxes after and if I figure any need insulating I will use 1" styrofoam.

That's a good price. The Foam It 602 kit covers approx. 600 sq ft one-inch thick, so what you're planning is roughly equivalent and for that price, you can let someone else do the dirty work (the kits cost about $750 with the HAZMAT shipping fees). And it is dirty work, believe me.

The biggest drawback to having it done by someone else is making sure you know (in writing) before they start just exactly what the finished product will look like. You may have to demand it be done again if they somehow screw it up or only cover two inches thick or whatever. If it's not in writing, they can always say, "Hey, that's what we told you it was going to be," and you'll have no legal recourse.

[PDBreske]

Picked up one of these today: Stanley FatMax Reversible Flush Cut Saw, $12 at my local Lowe's (though not listed on their website). It's perfect for cutting off the foam squeeze-out by the studs. I tried it out tonight before it got too dark to work and will finish tomorrow, but I can tell already that it's just what you'll need for trimming the foam, and much cheaper than a dedicated electric foam saw. The reversible feature is great for getting into corners of all angles, too.

Still makes a helluva mess, though. I'll be vacuuming more styrofoam beads and foam dust tomorrow.

[PDBreske]

So I finished trimming all the squeeze-out and it wasn't that bad. The saw I used was great for knocking down the large chunks, but the bed platform was a special case that required a special tool. Since my bed is going to be on this surface, I want it to be as flat as possible. Any insulation between the platform joists needs to be no higher than those joists to avoid hills in the plywood that will be laid on top of them. I used a random orbital sander (with a vacuum attachment) to flatten the uneven surface and it worked like a champ. It's not as fast as the saw, but it does a much finer job of removing small amounts of foam. And with the vacuum attached, it's also much cleaner than the saw. Finished results:



The hand saw leaves a rough cut:


The sander leaves a very smooth surface:


Bed platform foam finished:

[PDBreske]

Almost forgot about this. The other day I cut and mounted a plywood cover for the box over the driver's head. My DC and AC control panels are in this area, so the cover only hides all the wiring.

Since the rest of the bus is going to be very efficient and straightforward, I wanted to add a bit of whimsy to this one spot. I first mounted the uncut board and installed all the screws in their final positions. Then I took the whole thing down and cut the lines for the center removable panel. When I reinstalled the three panels and reused the pre-positioned screw holes, everything lined up exactly with only a blade-kerf gap between the panels.

The middle panel will be screwed only at the bottom edge and will slide into a slot formed by the ceiling and the structure in front of the panel. I'll need to get in here in case I want to work on the 12VDC or 120VAC wiring.

In retrospect, I probably should have cut the lines in a thicker-in-the-middle pattern, but this is reminiscent of the curves of a woman's body, so I'm going with what I've got.

[PDBreske]

Just a small update to show my installed 1/2" plywood bed platform. It's very flat.

[bansil]

SO............when are we going under surgery?.I wanna see the jeep in there

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by bansil

SO............when are we going under surgery?.I wanna see the jeep in there

Soon enough it will be. Patience you must have.

[bansil]

Originally Posted by PDBreske

Soon enough it will be. Patience you must have.

You....wise one..........have said that 6 months now.....see patience I have

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by bansil

You....wise one..........have said that 6 months now.....see patience I have

Time these things take. Rushed they cannot be.

[PDBreske]

I broke a toe a couple weeks back so things have been slow, but I have been working on the bedroom for the past few days. I want to finish this area soon so I can install the window air conditioner I ordered last week, It should be here on Friday and once it's in, the interior of the bus should be a nice place to work.

Test fitting the window I bought for $25. It's a perfect fit in this hole:


Ceiling installed and window wall cut to size. At this point I traced the outlines of the openings from the other side so there would be no errors in the cut.


I left angles in the corners of the window opening that I can adjust at a later date, but the rough opening is where it should be. Of course, I only measured the hole for the light switch (between the window and AC opening) once and cut too high. I'll now have to cover the adjusted opening with a plate. Luckily, I have a lot of scrap aluminum to play with.


Measure twice, cut once (oops):

[Tango]

Body by Igloo

That's some serious insulation! Love it!

[Sam]

Very impressive work! Going back a bit, I really like your deck design and roof hatch. Any more thought to the fold down rail system? I am trying to think of something for my own conversion and wanted to pick your brain keep up the good work!

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by Sam

Very impressive work! Going back a bit, I really like your deck design and roof hatch. Any more thought to the fold down rail system? I am trying to think of something for my own conversion and wanted to pick your brain keep up the good work!

While I haven't sketched out anything yet, I'm maybe leaning more towards a folding bimini top that provides some sun shade. On the tubing that supports the canopy, I could attach some through-bolts with wing nuts to hold rails that would merely keep people from walking right off the edge. As long as no one leans on the rail with their full weight, I think it would suffice for its intended purpose.



Getting even fancier, I could add zip-off sides to the canopy to keep out bugs ... or even add a camouflage pattern for animal-watching with my camera. Of course, I don't how many animals would be fooled by the lack of definition on top of a 30-foot-long white rectangle.

[PDBreske]

A little more work over the past couple of days. I installed the window and screwed through the aluminum frame into the rough opening. I found these little caps that go under the screw head with a cover that snaps closed to present a cleaner appearance.







When I ran the AC for the first time, I found that the mount wasn't perfectly level and this, coupled with the fact that the vehicle has been gradually sinking into the grass on the driver side, left the condensate to spill out of the drip pan and into the wall under the AC. Luckily, this happened before I sealed the wall seams in the garage, so everything just dripped out and dried up. I used some plastic leveling blocks under the wheels on the left side and temporarily raised the left side of the AC unit to get everything as level as possible. So far it all seems to be working and the AC has since been locked into place. Eventually, I'll foam around the mounting board to prevent air leaks.





In related news, that little AC (LG, 6000 BTU, 10.7 EER, $169 at Walmart) really cools the interior well, even with the air leaks around the mount and with no curtain to insulate the window. Right now the "garage" gets so hot that a lot of heat transfers through the glass, so once that area is opened up and I'm able to close a thick curtain across the window, it should be a lot more efficient.

[PDBreske]

Just uploaded a video tour of the interior and exterior of my conversion project.

http://youtu.be/wY4bNcdYnhg

[PDBreske]

Today I installed R14 fiberglass insulation between the ceiling joists. This was one of the few jobs that was easier than I thought it would be and took only a few hours. Now that it's done, I can relax for week, per doctor's orders. Tomorrow I have another resection procedure to remove a few new bladder tumors, so I'll be out of commission until at least next Friday. Also, a few weeks back I injured a toe and today it was confirmed that I broke it, so I'll be resting while that heals, too. I'm just all full of good health!

New ceiling:


That little window AC was great today. It was raining on and off most of the afternoon, so I was able to set up inside the bus to cut the insulation for mounting. It was cool and dry inside.

[Accordion]

Sorry to hear about your ailments.

That is some massive insulation. You will be glad that you have it during the summer.