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Old 03-10-2012, 07:31 PM   #41
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

...

So, after getting home I had some daylight to burn and wanted to jump in and get the deadbolt installed.

Boy did I FUBAR that puppy. After such a good day shopping, I feel really bummed that I ended on such a sour note.

I read the instructions and realized the hole saw I bought was too small. Grrr. So I thought maybe I could just drill the holes for the lock mechanism to fit through.


However, that wouldn't work because of the long support structure at the bottom of the lock. While shopping earlier in the day I found a graduated drill bit in Harbor Freight. Luckily I picked it up and started drilling into the door.

The inside was a little crooked.
The outside wouldn't let me do more than half the size...


Looking inside the hole, I could see why:

That's the solid metal wall of the support tube that the graduated drill is having to scrape away.

<~sigh~>

... more ...

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Old 03-10-2012, 07:41 PM   #42
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

...

Feeling a little frustrated, I had to walk away before I did more damage. So instead I took apart the little bench over the heater in front of the cage.

And took a window out just to prove to myself how easy it was to do so.


Looking down the track, I could see why I need to be aware of possible leaks.

Not much in the way of weather stripping or sealant in there!

I really need to take that inner wall off and make sure there is not damage. But... OMFG, what was the bus manufacturer thinking when they made this puppy?!?!?!?!


Were they hoping to use the inner skin as the foundation of a hurricane proof vehicle? Or since this was a prison bus, were they afraid the prisoners would pry the thing apart from the bottom-up, so had to be extra careful and put these things...

EVERY EVER-LUV'N-INCH!!!

WTF???



I want to take the wall down, but... damn! The more I look at it, the more I'm thinking I'm gonna be lazy and just caulk the hell out of the windows and build over the top of them like everyone else.
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Old 03-10-2012, 08:20 PM   #43
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by TygerCub
I looked under the bus this morning before leaving for the RV show and spotted a couple of things that look like filters, but somehow doubt they are the filters I'm looking for...

These don't appear to have any relief valves under them to release water from the filter.

I'll get out and look again tomorrow.
That long filter is (IMO) the lube oil filter, that shorter one would be your spin-on fuel filter, and it's between the fuel pump and your injection pump. You should start at the fuel tank and trace out the fuel line from the tank to the engine. If you have a water seperating filter can, it should be there somewhere before the engines fuel delivery pump. Good luck & YMMV.
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Old 03-10-2012, 08:30 PM   #44
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Since you are going to cover the walls anyway, why not just cut some access holes (panels) in them so you can get a good look. If they are bad, you could just saw cut above the rivots and repair any damage necessary... just a thought, not necessarily the best one.
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Old 03-10-2012, 09:55 PM   #45
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by thommassey
Since you are going to cover the walls anyway, why not just cut some access holes (panels) in them so you can get a good look. If they are bad, you could just saw cut above the rivots and repair any damage necessary... just a thought, not necessarily the best one.
I am seriously considering just taking the whole wall down with the angle grinder. I had to do that on my last bus, but only because the top was the area of difficulty.

I may bitch and complain, but in the end I do enjoy working on this stuff. Once in a while my girlie-girl side shows up and freaks over the craziness of things.

on another note...

One thing I did figure out at the RV show is I will put all my various tanks, electronics (the inverter, wire travel paths, etc), water heater, etc... under all the cabinets and drawers so they sit higher. After bending over to peer into a dozen or so RV cabinets and kitchen drawers, I realized I wouldn't want to do that on a regular basis. So everything that must be reached every day shall be set at a foot or more above the floor.
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Old 03-11-2012, 09:48 PM   #46
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Mine was constructed the same way... it took forever, but really glad I removed them... It's making it a lot nicer to install everything else...
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Old 03-11-2012, 11:34 PM   #47
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Kinda happy I got a 'Bird, because the way they make the window openings they naturally shed the water. Only at the corners of the sill could they leak, and a couple of dabs of chaulk takes care of that. Damn the eyebrows, though. I'm at the stage of construction where I'm doing as little as possible. Over budget, out of time.
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Old 03-12-2012, 11:18 AM   #48
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by bus-bro
...Damn the eyebrows...
LOVE THE EYBROWS!!! Since we kept a few of the original windows, I can open them a few inches while raining. I can leave the windows cracked open an inch and not worry about driving rain blowing in the bus. We aren't going to be in NM forever... at some point we will be back someplace where it rains more that a tenth of an inch twice a year.
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Old 03-12-2012, 08:47 PM   #49
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

My mother's BF, Dave, and his brother Rich came over tonight and helped me jump-start the bus. Dave also gave me a volt meter and the battery charger/jump-starter for my birthday! Yay!
Thanks guys!!! You both rock.

They then helped me re-park the beast better in the driveway. Now it's actually sitting squarely on the wheel blocks instead of halfway into the mud. This is good since it's supposed to rain again tomorrow!

So... happy thoughts! It's all good.
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Old 03-13-2012, 08:31 PM   #50
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moshart
Not sure if they're the same but we used the Lowes equivalent to Rustoleum on the inside of our bus and its holding up really well.
Do you know if it can be tinted? I'll probably do mostly whites with bold jewel tone accents inside to keep it light, yet visually interesting. Outside I want it kinda sedate. If the Lowes faux rustoleum can be tinted, that would be awesome.
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Old 03-13-2012, 10:29 PM   #51
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by TygerCub
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moshart
Not sure if they're the same but we used the Lowes equivalent to Rustoleum on the inside of our bus and its holding up really well.
Do you know if it can be tinted? I'll probably do mostly whites with bold jewel tone accents inside to keep it light, yet visually interesting. Outside I want it kinda sedate. If the Lowes faux rustoleum can be tinted, that would be awesome.
It probably can. I know that ACE Hardware's Rust Stop can be tinted. That is what we used on the exterior of our bus (they said they could tint it any colour in their fan deck). The stuff I got is a "deeptone base".
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Old 03-14-2012, 09:08 PM   #52
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Ace Hardware! I completely overlooked that place. We only have one in the area, but it's definitely worth looking into now

On another note, I finally got the deadbolt key face installed on the door. That was a bunch of cursing, drilling, swearing, and grinding! Not fun. I'll take some pictures tomorrow after work. My next step is to bolt a reinforcement piece on the door to make up for the welds I cut through, and a 1/4" riser plate for the latch side to attach to. I think this will work really well once everything is installed.

Wish I had more to report, but I have 3 other projects going on at once, so can only work on the bus a little at a time. Good news is I can hopefully have the driveway installed before the end of the month. Bad news is, I'll have to leave next weekend to go help a friend, and don't know when I'll have a chance to get back to the bus.
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Old 03-14-2012, 09:44 PM   #53
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

sounds familiar! I have state farm too.. My agent told me that they would only sell me a 6 month policy untill the conversion was done. Then they wanted me to send them photos to show them that the seats had been removed. Then i asked them what they required before they considered that the conversion to a motorhome was done? The lady said, "oh, cabinets and plumbing and bed and stuff like that" I asked here was she just making this up from the top of her head or if there was an official list somewhere? she said there was no list... So what happens when I talk to another agent? do they just arbitrarily decide to add more the list? I then called GMAC and was given a polocy for 1 year for the same price that state farm wanted for a 6 month polocy. Also GMAC didn't require photos or progress or anything. I'll bet you can guess who I went with!
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Old 03-14-2012, 10:01 PM   #54
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

After doing some internet research, I came up with the following scheme for the solar panel setup:



The terminal block may come right after the panels to feed into one controller, or I may have 2 controllers that lead to one terminal block. Not sure which yet.

I am also not certain if the voltage monitor should be on the solar side of the batteries, or on the inverter side where the draw will come from.

The only thing I am very certain I'll do is buy one of the Northern Tool 1000W inverters. It seemed like a good middle-of-the-road size for the price. I am also considering installing a disconnect switch somewhere along the line to totally kill the draw on the batteries when I park the bus at the house. That may seem like overkill, but it works for my truck and its fantom vampire battery sucker, so why not do the same on the larger bus?
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Old 03-15-2012, 12:37 PM   #55
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

The voltage monitor shows the health of the battery bank. It doesn't really have to be in-line as shown in the diagram, but just wired to read the health of the batteries.

I agree, a way to switch off all loads is a must, as well as a switch downstream of the panels.
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Old 03-15-2012, 04:28 PM   #56
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moshart
Yep, it can be tinted to pretty much any color they have in the same brand of sample colors on the wall. If you go to the gallery, you can look at the MULTIPLE colors we had mixed and painted on the interior of our bus.
Would you provide a link to your gallery? I tried searching on "Moshart", "Ace", and "Hardware", but couldn't find an entry for your particular bus. I'd love to see the colors you chose.

I also went to our local Ace today after work and was very impressed with their wide variety of metal paint! Huge selection compared to Lowes or Home Depot. I'm definitely going back to them when it's time to paint. Thanks for reminding me of Ace!
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Old 03-15-2012, 09:23 PM   #57
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

So... I struggled with the deadbolt a little more today after work. This weekend I was actually able to install the key set, but wanted to reinforce the 1" tubing that framed the door before continuing. So I got a couple of "L" brackets and screwed them into the areas where I cut through the welds. Works great.

(The holes are left from the old handle that was originally installed... have no idea how to patch those, and the handle can't go back because it will interfere with turning the key)

Now the only problem seems to be whenever I install the actual latch portion, something is binding. I think the level difference between the bare metal where the keyset penetrates the door is causing the latches to bind where they push up against the door's rubber seal.

So it was back to Lowes for some material. I picked up some Lexan, which should be easy to cut into shape, would be mostly invisible against the door, and is pretty close to the thickness of the rubber seal. Maybe tomorrow I can finish that portion up and finally lock my door like a normal home owner.
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Old 03-16-2012, 09:28 PM   #58
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Ah the best laid plans of mice and women.

Picked up the Lexan and started to cut, shape, and drill the stuff to back up the lock...


The stuff cut real easily with the fine-tooth jigsaw blade.


I lined everything up, marked the holes for the screws, and rounded off the uneven areas of the lexan.


I was drilling the last hole... the big one in the middle of the plate where the key-set extends into the back of the bolt assembly, and the damned thing bit into the lexan, sending it spinning uncontrollably, slicing my hand. It's not super bad, but damn it stings!


I tried a couple more times, but with the same result. I'm going to have to try another tool since the drill bit over X size grabs that stuff and just GOes with it. So... try again tomorrow...
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Old 03-17-2012, 12:23 AM   #59
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

Ouch! I've accomplished the same thing trying to hold small metal parts. I finally invested in a clamp for my drill press after drilling/slashing a few holes in my hands & fingers.
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Old 03-17-2012, 10:46 AM   #60
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Re: 2012... The Year of Renewal

looks like ya got a little ketsup on your meat...
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