Warren our bus

jkronmiller · 10-16-2012, 07:46 AM

Hello everyone. Totally new to converting our bus with a ton of questions. I have spent almost a month trolling the boards to find answers to as many questions as possible. We purchased a 1998 Thomas on a IH chassis.It has the 444E engine and Allison transmission. One question I have is now that I have removed the seats and am starting to remove the rubber type flooring to get to the metal should I put foam board insulation down (1 inch) and then either 1/2 or 3/4 inch plywood down before my regular floor? Or is there a better option? Also what is the most common way to attach the insulation/plywood? Thanks for any info!

Accordion · 10-16-2012, 06:28 PM

Welcome. Everything you need to know is on this site. Keep reading about all the different methods that the people here have used.

In my bus, I put 3/4 inch Styrofoam board and 3/4 inch wood floor boards on top. The wood floor looked great for a while. It is worn now because of my two dogs. Also, it is cold on my feet in the winter. I have to use rugs on top of the wood.

I had a motorhome before my bus. It had vinyl floor. It was durable. It never got scratched by the dogs, and it was easy to clean.

There are many approaches to what to put in the bus for flooring. Keep reading all the input from the people on this site. It is a friendly place.

The link to my bus build is below. (Best Home Yet)

Remember to post a lot of photos. That is everyone's favorite thing. It is best if you use Photobucket to upload your pics. Then you can easily post as many pics as you want onto this site.

jkronmiller · 10-26-2012, 04:01 PM

I made a photobucket account but not sure how to post some of the pics here? Any suggestions? Oops - I think I figured it out - excuse the post

jkronmiller · 10-26-2012, 07:39 PM

jkronmiller · 10-26-2012, 07:44 PM

jkronmiller · 10-26-2012, 07:45 PM

Rust around the left rear wheel-well

jkronmiller · 10-26-2012, 07:46 PM

Seats are out!

ol trunt · 10-26-2012, 09:08 PM

Now the fun begins! BTW, I am convinced that the rust around the wheel wells is an engeenered occurrance-- sort of like the explosion that takes place along the top of the back seat of most cars the day you write your final payment HA HA

jkronmiller · 10-27-2012, 03:04 PM

Suggestions on repairing this anyone? Pop riviting sheet metal in or welding in some plate or?

ol trunt · 10-27-2012, 07:52 PM

Weld in is probably best but for a quick fix, chip off the rust, treat the rusted areas with rust converter, pop rivit in some light weight metal. clean patch area free of dirt, oil and loose stuff without using water and then cover the patch area (both sides) with Bondo fortified with fiberglass strands(aka kITTYHAIR). Then paint to cover well beyond the patch. This will get you down the road and will last a few years if done properly. The purists will complain about structural integrity and they are right but that area isn't the number one most important spot--unless you get hit there

My two cents worth.

jkronmiller · 10-30-2012, 05:39 PM

Yours is actually the second one that suggested body filler. I'm a little hesitant to use it due to the strength issue and having health issues and a time limit to enjoy my bus I'm wondering if it's not best to weld in some strong steel in both wells before the other rusts through. It doesn't have any holes "yet" but doesn't look healthy. So far it's the only place that has rusted through. Other places are actually shinny like new.

jkronmiller · 12-24-2012, 10:25 PM

I have a general question on placement of the house batteries. I am considering installing them inside the bus rather than under it. Making a cabinet that would have the batteries on a slide out tray on the floor (either 2 or 4 batteries). On the next shelf up the inverter and converter and then mount the main breaker box to the side of the cabinet. The cabinet would be up front in the body near the dinette, which would put it all near the bus batteries. Any suggestions? Good vs Bad idea? I know I would put a small vent thru the wall across from the batteries to vent any gas build up.

Accordion · 12-24-2012, 10:56 PM

I had four deep cycle batteries under the dinette seat of my Dodge class C motorhome. It is very important to vent the battery box area. I had a louvered vent to the outside similar to what is used for the bottom of RV propane refrigerators. It also gave me access to the batteries from the outside.

Hydrogen is very explosive.

Tango · 12-25-2012, 09:34 AM

Another welcome and a very Merry Christmas! --- As Jack noted, rust around the wheel wells seems to be a Skoolie tradition. Personally, I cut out and weld in new metal. Bondo has no structural value, nice for smoothing out minor wrinkles but never meant to carry a load. And I will also second the use of a rust "converter". Good stuff to keep around for anyone who owns a bus they want to hang onto for a while and it really does work.

As for floor treatments, there are as many choices as there are opinions. If you ever plan on spending any time in "cool" zones (anything below 50?), some insulation will make a big difference but remember that it is a trade off for ceiling clearance. If you have lots of room overhead, lay down as much as you can. In my case, the roof is already so low I am severely limited and will be employing a space-age insulating paint additive in conjunction with a quarter inch of traditional insulation. I'll probably top that with half-inch marine ply and some Pirelli type rubber tiles. Had the same in a loft I built a few years back and it is really tuff stuff. Pricey, but hey, I only have about 70 square feet to deal with so why not go with the best.

Like I said, many options, many opinions. Just take your time, read up, think about how & where you want to travel and build it to meet your own needs. That's the great thing about Skoolies...they are all custom fitted to their owner/builders. No "one size fits all" here. The good news is that you've already found the best place on the planet to gather information and pick experienced peoples brains.

Once again...Welcome...and keep the pix coming!

Diesel Dan · 12-25-2012, 03:26 PM

My batteries are inside the bus, and vented to the outside with the additional assistance of a small fan that comes on when they are charging. It seems to work out fine, but if I had more time and patience and money I would probably put them underneath the bus. Mainly just because I like to keep "dirty" or toxic things outside my living space. But it is likely much easier and cheaper to put them inside because you can build an enclosure out of wood rather than building a metal box and perhaps even installing sliders to have the batteries mounted underneath.

Tango · 12-25-2012, 08:41 PM

One more thought...

Quote:

" On the next shelf up the inverter and converter and then mount the main breaker box to the side of the cabinet."

You don't ever want to put anything else, especially electronics, in a space shared with batteries. Even "sealed" batteries. They might not outgas much, but they will always present a highly corrosive environment that can destroy just about anything in very short order.

Diesel Dan · 12-25-2012, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango

One more thought...

Quote:

" On the next shelf up the inverter and converter and then mount the main breaker box to the side of the cabinet."

You don't ever want to put anything else, especially electronics, in a space shared with batteries. Even "sealed" batteries. They might not outgas much, but they will always present a highly corrosive environment that can destroy just about anything in very short order.

I have my breaker box and inverter above the batteries, but in a separate compartment. I probably should do a little more to make sure there is no air flow between those two compartments though... thanks for reminding me!

Accordion · 01-20-2013, 10:56 PM

Hydrogen and a little spark = Big Bada Boom!

jkronmiller · 04-09-2013, 11:59 PM

Thanks so much for all the input. There is such a huge amount to learn with a conversion. It's been a bit of a rough winter here. Really cold and a lot of snow. Add two unexpected surgeries on one arm (made things worse) and nothing has been done on the bus. I was starting it every week but as soon as the temps dropped below 30 the batteries gave up. Even slow charging them didn't help. So put two new ones in and she fired right up. Tried to move it a few feet forward and backwards but the shifter would not come out of neutral. Called a local bus guy and he was not surprised at all. Seems the cable that runs from the shifter to the tranny has a nasty habit of corroding and freezing up. Called and ordered one today for almost $60.

Now that we are getting warmer temps (and rain) I plan on getting busy finishing stripping the insides and getting the floor done. After I give it a good sanding and before I put the new flooring down I plan on painting it with rustoleum paint with the ceramic beads added. Hopefully that will help in the winter with heat loss. May take a while doing it one armed but it will be nice to be working on it again.
Oh yeah - I managed to purchase everything inside a 38 foot camper with the exception of the fridge for just $25.00! I had to tear it all out but was able to get a furnace , stove/oven, water heater, cabinets, complete bathroom, tanks and more. Guy and his wife lived in it the past year saving money to buy property and just wanted it make a car hauler out of the frame. Every once in a while we get a break!

jkronmiller · 04-15-2013, 08:28 PM

Had a beautiful day today so spent it working in the bus. Removing more of the hundreds and hundreds of screws and then doing a lot of grinding on the floor rust. The wheel well area is the worse of it. Quite a lot of missing floor next to them and the side rail is rusted through. Going to need someone to do some welding it looks like.
What I find odd is all the post I've read about removing the old floor talks about how difficult the old plywood is to remove. BUT on my buss once I removed the rubber flooring I was at the metal bed. No plywood at all. Is that normal for some buses? I'm not complaining, it saved a lot of work but at the same time it allowed a lot of moisture to get trapped and eat the floor up.

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