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Old 10-14-2009, 01:24 PM   #81
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Re: Victoria

Things are really moving along quickly, but now we come to the problem of the walls...

Can I use drywall for the wall finish material?

I see on some other threads people say it would crack, I just wondered if anyone has tried using drywall on their skoolie and what was your experience? If you haven't, what would you recommend I use?

Thanks,
Nick

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Old 10-14-2009, 01:43 PM   #82
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Re: Victoria

You can't go wrong with 1/4 inch luan plywood for sheeting the interior out. It's is substanially lighter than drywall, easier to work with, and won't crack. It's also not very expensive and can be stained to a nice finish or painted.

Do you have more information on what kind of battery you have or has that situation been resolved? A battery going dead is not necessarily the fault of the battery itself.
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Old 10-14-2009, 02:24 PM   #83
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Re: Victoria

My battery still dies a few minutes after the bus is shut off. I believe it is 1200 CA, and I wondered if a battery for a large pickup truck, like an 850CCA (which I think is just over 1000 cranking amps at 70 degrees).

I think it is called an 8D battery. It's about triple the size of an ordinary battery, and has either 6 or 8 white caps on top.
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1988 Chevy C1500
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Old 10-14-2009, 05:32 PM   #84
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Re: Victoria

If your battery is dying, check the water level, if it is low it will not fully charge and keep dying on you. Dont use drywall, the joints will crack. Luan worked good for me and I ended up staining it but you can cover it with anything or paint it. If you want the drywall look, cover luan with paintable wallpaper and paint it up.
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Old 10-14-2009, 11:48 PM   #85
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Re: Victoria

Luan is pretty good stuff... Unless you live with a "Thrower" or someone with minor anger problems as its not overly sturdy to impacts. I have had to repair the damage that a friend caused when he got pissed at a videogame and chucked the controller into the wall (both wall and controller got fixed). And once when he got overly happy about something and accidentally punched the wall.
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Old 10-15-2009, 10:21 AM   #86
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Re: Victoria

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sojakai
Luan is pretty good stuff... Unless you live with a "Thrower" or someone with minor anger problems as its not overly sturdy to impacts. I have had to repair the damage that a friend caused when he got pissed at a videogame and chucked the controller into the wall (both wall and controller got fixed). And once when he got overly happy about something and accidentally punched the wall.
Do not let this person back into your bus or house until proper anger/happy management classes have been attended by him and a certificate of achievement documented.

Luan is the best all around choice for wall covering. I only added plastic for the tub surround.
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Old 10-15-2009, 10:09 PM   #87
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Re: Victoria

These things occurred in his Mobile Home. We took down the...sheetboard?.. that was on the walls and replaced it with luan a couple years ago when he inherited the place. He has put two holes in the wall which I had to fix, one in the ceiling, which he got a (not so)handy man friend of the family to fix it and it got screwed over even worse (my friend wont fix it, says that he doesnt want to redo whats already been done). He built a fence, I had to take most of the boards off it and nail them back up straight. The roof has a leak that has caused both him and I to climb on the roof no less than 10 times since January, me bitching that he needs to get a new roof put on by pros and be done with it, every time I climb the ladder. My favorite is that the floor under his toilet is rotten. He wont call someone in to fix it and he wont try to do it himself. Trying to sit on the thing can make you seasick or dump you on the floor if your not careful.

I have started to hate going to his house, I have to fix something every time I go.
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Old 01-21-2010, 11:39 PM   #88
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Re: Victoria

Ok...so it has definitely been a while, an update is in order. I ended up using 3/8" osb for the walls. God I hope that doesn't make Victoria too heavy. For a short time I was living in the bus, and it was great, but unfortunately, Michigan has very cold winters, and since all I had to work with was a 1500 watt electric heater/fireplace, it got very hard to stay warm and comfortable. I definitely need a new battery, and I'm hoping the largest one walmart sells for $75 will do. I believe it is over 900 CCA, not positive though. Since my battery is pretty well shot, I couldn't get Victoria to start in the cold, and therefore couldn't run the heat exchangers (which I built around). I still need to somehow insulate the ceiling, I was thinking of using carpet, for aesthetics and function. Once winter is over I can really get jamming on all the small projects that make up one big bus.

I haven't been able to get too much more done on it, because it is unbearably cold at the moment, however, I am so excited that after months of searching, today I purchased the perfect sized 2-door refrigerator/freezer for $30 on craigslist. I was thinking I would need to buy a new one for $300+. This one is great, residential, I think around 11 cu. ft., all electric, plenty of room inside, I hope that using it in the bus won't cause it any problems, as I am very stoked about it .

If I can manage to bear the cold or get a good warm day, I will try to take some pictures, as Victoria looks a lot different inside from last time I posted pics. Thanks for all the advice!
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Old 02-16-2010, 11:02 PM   #89
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Re: Victoria

I have not read all your posts, but I thought I would mention that if you want a smoother ride then you might want to consider adding a set of airbags at the rear axle. I had a motorhome once that rode very rough, especially over bumps like railroad track crossings. Once I put the airbags on, it rode 100% differently. You can balance the vehicle to ride level side to side, and front to back too if needs be. And the ride smooths out, no more harsh banging over the bumps.

As for making the ride quiter, of course some insulation on the front floorboard that goes up as far as you can go towards under the dash helps, and adding foam style insulation to the bottom side of the hood helps also.
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