Wildcat Lodge - Page 8

Wildcat · 04-07-2010, 05:43 PM

In addition to the overhead cabinet on the previous page - we got around to some outside work also yesterday. We switched to a full size fridge during the interior build out and we took out two additional windows on the passenger side. We just insulated and duct taped the outside. Here are some pics skinning the two windows.

Our opening to cover is approximately 22". Our 20 guage steel is cut to 24". We removed the rivets on the upperside of the rub rail and slipped the metal down behind and then scooted it up under the drip edge. When finished we get about 1/2" overlap on the top. We also removed all the vertical pillars between the windows and used the existing holes for the rivets to attach the skins. We took one of the vertical metal pieces and cut to fit to trim out the front of the skin.

Here are some pics.

Wildcat · 04-07-2010, 05:45 PM

We went through 2 cheap rivetors, so we splurged for the big dawg. Here are some action shots.

Wildcat · 04-08-2010, 12:33 PM

Here are some pictures of the doors on the overhead cabinet. We have used plexiglass which we will tint using leftovers from the windows. That way we can use remotes for the stereo. We will paint the whole cabinet to match the rest of the cabinets.

Stuff · 04-08-2010, 01:18 PM

looking good!

Wildcat · 04-09-2010, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty

I didn't see where you painted your ceiling, looks neat.....what did you do to it? Got a "leather" look to it

The celiling is still factory. We do plan to paint.

We worked on the sound proofing the dog house. We will be adding some dynamat under and carpet on top. We also worked on the rubber gasket around the floor of the doghouse.

We also installed the entry rail and fire extinguisher.

And our mattresses came in from http://www.campmattress.com/camp_mattresses2.html. The shipping costs were almost as much as the mattresses.

Wildcat · 04-09-2010, 07:12 PM

We also put the finishing touches on the dinettes so that they can be converted to beds.

And finishing touches on the lavatory.

Wildcat · 04-10-2010, 12:37 PM

It's amazing what a little putty, caulk, paint and trim helps with a project. Here are the upper cabinets finished.

browncrown · 04-10-2010, 05:06 PM

Beautiful job on the cabinets Wildcat. I am really enjoying the pictures of the progress.

Wildcat · 04-10-2010, 06:37 PM

Thanks BC. Here are some more pics. We installed mirrors in the bathroom today.

Wildcat · 04-10-2010, 06:40 PM

Here are some pics of the driver's area. We cleaned off the seat pretty well and did the floor.

We also put in the cove molding in the front of the bus.

Wildcat · 04-10-2010, 06:45 PM

And here are some "as is" pics. We cleaned up and made our list of things remaining:

- trim out the front windows
- tent other half of windows
- drapes
- cushions
- grey and black tank install
- fix back door - take out bottom window and skin
- roof top deck
- paint the exterior

It seems like we just keep adding to the list, although we are making progress. Y'alls encouragement helps greatly. Thanks a million !!!!

RUskoolietailgater · 04-12-2010, 04:41 PM

Wildcat the work on your bus is just amazing. It's very inspiring too, I'm sure I speak for my than myself when I say that.

Wildcat · 04-14-2010, 03:27 PM

Thanks - we're most appreciative of the comments.

We keep tinkering on the bus. Here are some shots. We got the doors painted, installed and hardware'd up.

We also mocked up the cushions. Because we used a horse trailer with living quarters as a template for the dinette, we are able to "copy" the cushions. These are the cusions from the trailer which we will replicate for the bus. We are thinking Royal blue for the dinette and brown for the front couches.

Also we got some new rubber up front. The tires on the bus were quite old and the maintenance records from the bus company shows that one of them had a scalped spot which was causing our shimmy at 65. With the new Toyo's, it's much silkier going down the road. We are waiting on four re-treds for the back with the tallest tread we could get to hopefully squease out more speed and mph (although we probably won't even notice).

Wildcat · 04-14-2010, 04:20 PM

We bought grey/black tanks from tristate rock your world. They were bigger than we wanted, but we thought we could use the sub $100 plastic welder we purchased and cut them down to size. The plastic welder is worthless, but we still went and cut up the tanks anyway. Since they are not pressurized, we just cut the end off, flipped it over, glued with abs cement, screwed it together and caulked with NP1. We cut about 1 foot off the grey tank and cut the black tank down to 2.5 feet long.

browncrown · 04-14-2010, 04:32 PM

Wild,
I've said it before but it bears repeating, everything looks super nice and just when I thought it couldn't get much better, you post more pics of your work...really impressive! Like the blue too, a nice splash of color there

Wildcat · 04-15-2010, 05:42 PM

BC - thanks for the comments.

We took the bus to the upholstery shop and are now in the hopper to get the couches and dinette upholstered. We spent most of the day working on the grey/black tank installation. The tanks are now cut down and we built a single frame which bolts to the chassis which holds both tanks with the outlets coming together in the middle. We used 2" tubing with 3/16" wall thickness which should be more than enough to support the 45ish gallons of sludge.

So to avoid 1,000 words, here are the pictures.