Vintage Blue Bird.. Building the Swag Pad

[IanT720]

Originally Posted by Njsurf73

I was seriously considering hammered copper countertops. Pretty lightweight, and I like the look of them. And a cheap 99.00 vanity from the homedespot

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Sounds Sexy!! Will look into that...

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by IanT720

Sounds Sexy!! Will look into that...

Something like this.

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[IanT720]

Some Progress for you fellas.. I decided to tackle the worst wall, where I could visibly see water dripping in.. Yeah it was pretty gross behind there.. But I cleaned it all up, still need to find the leak.. The Flash makes it look worse than it is.. You can see the black marks on the foam where it was dripping down above the window..

[IanT720]

I also decided to yank out the sink, Stove/Oven, and the counter top.. Plan is to keep the sink but mount it under the quartz counter top, and the oven/stove is going to be replaced by a flush mounted inductive stove top. freeing up space for a washer underneath hopefully..

[IanT720]

I thought the bus looked pretty good at night... So here's some living room shots... So Plan is to remove the dinette.. It takes up lots of space.. I'd prefer table and chairs. The carpet will be removed for that piece together vinyl flooring. I decided on doing the FRP walls, with some hard foam backing.. Also the couch bed will be removed for a love seat. And the closest chair to the kitchen will be removed also. I decided I want to mount the TV over the passenger side Windshield... This bus is more of a permanent residence, so I will remove it when I decide to travel.. (Rare). Would love you guys input!!

[Rusty]

Sprayfoam is nice sign of good conversion. Did you find Coachbuilder name anywhere?

Do you like those full-length upper cabinets or are they in the way?


Bus is looking good.

[IanT720]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Sprayfoam is nice sign of good conversion. Did you find Coachbuilder name anywhere?

Do you like those full-length upper cabinets or are they in the way?


Bus is looking good.

My thoughts too.. Seems well insulated, absorbs sounds very well.. I might be able to find that out.. So I bought it from the original owner, he built it in the 80's.. His friend owned a professional van conversion business, using his friends company they built it as she sits.. I shied away from already build conversions, but this one is nicely done.. albeit dated.. PS. I do like the cabinets.. Not in the way at all... and tons of storage.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by IanT720

PS. I do like the cabinets.. Not in the way at all... and tons of storage.

Thanks for fb. everyone says "cant have enough storage". I'm trying so hard to keep it open....maybe one wall of upper cabinets or just front by seating...hmmm.

[M1031A1]

Ian,

If you were closer I'd take you up on the dinette, but oh well.....

M

[IanT720]

Whats everyones thoughts on Wood stoves? We actually have one in our parents house, so I'm used to keeping it going all winter... See I want to get a rid of propane, and only have electric.. Just an electric heater is going to suck, so I was thinking about a wood burner? This will be full time living, and I do live in Michigan.. Whats your thoughts?

Propane Cons

-I'm sure the 100gal tank is out of code, need new tank
-Since I plan to be parked 95% of the time, I do not want to move the bus to fill the tank
-Only would have to worry about installing 1 hookup for shore power, and water... 2 is better than 3..

[Oldcarnut]

My old house had portable propane tanks. Had a 120 pounder and moving it wasn't too bad . Hardest part was getting it out of my roommate's Honda trunk.
Had a copper(?) hardline that ran through two spirals then underground to the house. You could make a faux dog house or something to keep it camouflaged and easy to access yet not attached to bus.
Btw, propane is your friend. My house was 100% off-grid and it was wonderful but the generator bill was expensive on non-sunny days with the solar not at 100%.
Going tankless for your water heater is a good idea or at least keeping it on pilot until 30 minutes before use prolonged my propane use. 120 Pounder lasted 6 months used for showers and occasional stove use.

[lucasd]

I would not be too eager to ditch propane. It's a pretty useful substance. Are you wanting to get rid of it just because your tank is too old to refill? A couple mid-size, external tanks can last a long time. Just hook them up externally via an extend-a-stay type fitting. If the full size ones are too much hassle, the 30 or 40 pounders are a nice compromise. They can still fit in the back seat or trunk of a car, so you can easily take them to your local propane seller for refilling without moving your rig. I did that even when I had a motorhome that *did* have a working tank onboard - it was just easier than driving my house somewhere whenever I wanted propane.

Now, if you have an old forced air furnace in that thing, I would definitely consider ditching that in favor of a better propane fueled system. Installing an Empire direct-vent unit, for instance, could be an option. Some marine style propane furnaces are also compact and require no power to operate.

Oil filled radiant electric heaters are still good for nice, even heat, though, so that's not a bad idea to have. I'd say use both.

Of course, if you're totally against propane for some reason, there's always kerosene or diesel fueled heaters.

[ACamper]

Keep the propane. Propane rocks.

You might not always want to depend on running an extension cord to your bus. Also you resale value will be better and more attractive with propane.

Electric water heaters are not near as good, same with electric stoves.

[84chevyguyid]

If you are keeping it parked 95% of the time, why not just get a 250 gallon tank and hook to it like a house would have? Put it on the back side of the bus so its out of sight.

[IanT720]

Alright, you guys are making sense.. Although those Pellet stove looks awesome... I'm more worried about the tank itself, its freakin huge... Its a solid 4.5 feet long I think.. looks like 2.5 feet diameter.. Guess I should measure it.. I just don't want to replace it, and I don't want to have to move my house to fill it.. But if it would last 6 months... That's good, gotta exercise the bus anyhow.. Remember I live in Michigan, the winter is long.. I do have a tankless heater.. No idea on its condition.. and I do really want an Inductive electric stove top.. Guess I need to research propane tank date codes..

[joeblack5]

A propane tank should be pressure tested every 10 years or so. the last date is stamped in there somewhere close to the valves.

Personally I do not like propane or gas in a confined space but that is me.

At home we have a pellet stove and it work nice , show a cozy fire and i pretty easy. Got to hook it up to some electric.

Nice set up you have. A lot better to modify something existing then starting from scratch,.

We lived in a vanhool city bus at a stationary location and had converted a counter top kitchen area over the driver seat. It saved some floor space.

Later J

[IanT720]

Well, guess we can table the heating discussion for now.. In other news I made a plan on the renovating! I'm starting back to front Bedroom first.. Why? Well I actually know what I'm doing in the bedroom lol. So! Lets Start!! Let the Demo begin!
I started with checking out the boxes that doubled as bed frames for the twin beds.. Turns out I have an automatic Battery charger in one, and water tank/ pump in the other.. Seems its laid out nice..
Then I ripped the walls off, best I could before I finish with some tools..
And made a mess lol..
Carpet had to go...
Nice flooring underneath! Yay!
Found a secret access panel lol..

[IanT720]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

A propane tank should be pressure tested every 10 years or so. the last date is stamped in there somewhere close to the valves.

Personally I do not like propane or gas in a confined space but that is me.

At home we have a pellet stove and it work nice , show a cozy fire and i pretty easy. Got to hook it up to some electric.

Nice set up you have. A lot better to modify something existing then starting from scratch,.

We lived in a vanhool city bus at a stationary location and had converted a counter top kitchen area over the driver seat. It saved some floor space.

Later J

Thanks! Will Look... Also that is a good idea, I think a desk would be useful to me since I'm still in school..

[IanT720]

My birthday is coming up.. So I bought myself this Compound Sliding Miter Saw! I love it.. Can't beat the price either..
So back the Bedroom... I'm replacing the two twin beds with one Queen.. Since my girlfriend and I don't live like we're from the 40's lol.. Anyway, finished my design, and bought some Lumber... Kinda fun, never did this before... Also I love having a pick up... great for things like this.. So this is one bed, I'm building two separate frames that together make a queen.. But its much easier to remove them to access the engine if I need.. Also Ideally the ply wood would be 5' wide, 2.5' for each bed... but they only sold 4x8 sheets.. Hence the gap.. shouldn't matter, I wasn't about to buy another sheet just for that..

[IanT720]

Here are the two beds installed... I'd be sleeping left to right... also! I'm psyched! My mattress is coming today!! Now I can camp out in the bus, without sleeping on those nasty old mattresses!
Here's me enjoying the fruits of my labor lol...