92 Thomas International Navistar - Page 11

BurlKing · 10-14-2016, 07:31 AM

I suppose i probably should, been together 6 years.

cadillackid · 10-14-2016, 07:32 AM

wow!! that is coming along quite nicely!!!!
-Christopher

BurlKing · 10-24-2016, 08:32 PM

Finally got some time to work on the bus, one day only though. Thought we would get in all of our windows, but only have 3 of the 8 in.
There will be 3 more windows on this side, one in the kitchen, the frosted one for the bathroom, and the one with the emergency exit in the bedroom.

We used butyl rubber as the sealant, it was the same exact stuff that was on there when it was attached to the previous trailer. Also pressed these tight with rivets too, as it was just easy and on hand.

View from the inside, got the window framing pretty much done.

got some room to look over the shoulder now.

BurlKing · 10-30-2016, 09:39 PM

Bonus pic: saw this in a parking lot while we were getting supplies for the bus, had some people already gawkin' at it when we pulled up, dont blame em.

Some window framing done, mainly to keep structural integrity. 11ga square tubing, 1.75" overall and it fits like a glove. the middle here will be pretty much gone once the window is in.

l

Top beams for window frames are all in, the windows will be riveted in to these top beams as well.

Now to just cut them out.

Then seal the seam.

And the final step, fasten them in. Drivers side windows are complete.

Turning the bus around in a field drive.

This window will be going in....

...here. it was too dark to take a picture of where we left off after the weekend so this is it until the next update.

Brewerbob · 11-03-2016, 01:12 PM

Haven't read much of the text in this thread so please forgive if already covered but why did you raise the roof starting at the second window of the bus instead of immediately after the passenger door?

You had me worried when you filled the gap completely with sheet metal. What no window?!?! No way!! Then I saw the window put in; whew. If not needed for structure I probably would have made the entire center square a window.

Great build. I'll go back and read the entire thread another day.

cadillackid · 11-03-2016, 01:42 PM

im l;oving the look of this bus as its coming together!! those windows are making it look great!
-Christopher

BurlKing · 11-03-2016, 08:31 PM

brewerbob - good question, i guess i never really said why but it is because of a number of reasons, although i don't know how legitimate they are. The first two sections of ribs inside the bus are pretty much the only two on mine that are connected together at the top, the front one has about 6 beams going diagonal between them, and the second one back has the seat belt holder and we didn't want to mess with that much. as well as looking at it from the top, if we didn't start two ribs back, at least, it would've had some really weird aerodynamics because the front end cap is "bubbled up" a bit more than the rest of the sheet metal. The final reason is just preference, we didn't want it to look like so much of a box if we were to raise the entire roof together. seems like it has a good flow to it, although we're missing out on some valuable space we will see if its worth it.

couldn't find a good picture of the first two ribs for the life of me, this is the best i got. first rib section way up front you can barely see at the top of the frame, the diagonal bracing they have going the distance from drivers window to entry door, then the seat belt attachment behind it.

-cadillackid, thanks again for following along. once the work season is about over for me in a month or less this build will really get going, got every day and all winter to build, its a race against the clock right now to get these windows and sealant all done before it freezes so we can FINALLY insulate. cant wait. Bought some flood lights at a home improvement store so we can work earlier on it and later.

Just in-case we forgot to mention the white of the bus right now is only primer and will not be the final color, when spring arrives we will be ready to go on the final paint scheme.

Brewerbob · 11-03-2016, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurlKing

brewerbob - good question, i guess i never really said why but it is because of a number of reasons, although i don't know how legitimate they are. The first two sections of ribs inside the bus are pretty much the only two on mine that are connected together at the top, the front one has about 6 beams going diagonal between them, and the second one back has the seat belt holder and we didn't want to mess with that much. as well as looking at it from the top, if we didn't start two ribs back, at least, it would've had some really weird aerodynamics because the front end cap is "bubbled up" a bit more than the rest of the sheet metal. The final reason is just preference, we didn't want it to look like so much of a box if we were to raise the entire roof together. seems like it has a good flow to it, although we're missing out on some valuable space we will see if its worth it.

There's some confusion here I think. I wouldn't want to raise the entire roof; that would look weird as hell. a giant out of proportion box indeed.

Quote:

couldn't find a good picture of the first two ribs for the life of me, this is the best i got. first rib section way up front you can barely see at the top of the frame, the diagonal bracing they have going the distance from drivers window to entry door, then the seat belt attachment behind it.

Figured it was structure over the cab and around the door. Didn't think it would go that far back but then I've never seen a bus' skeleton either. There was an old greyhound (???) that had the same roof line as yours does now. I'm afraid I don't know buses well.

I'll have to go back and look at your modeling again. It's your bus so it doesn't need to suit me but I'd want more windows. Maybe not as many as it came with but more than 4. Is the other side the same window configuration?

BurlKing · 11-07-2016, 09:22 PM

Hearth pad for wood stove update:

Never really quite knew what i was going to use to get the final look we wanted, but looked around the store for a bit and found a pretty dang good solution - clear gloss engine enamel, and its obviously somewhat heat resistant, so its perfect for this.

couple more layers, but otherwise it has that wet, washed ashore look we want.

Windows are all in.
Here is the drivers side

And the passengers side. We originally thought when we bought these windows there would almost be too many, but its fits just right.

interior down drivers side

The two big windows up front will be in the living room, the one on the right has a storage couch coming right up to the window sill, the other to the left will just be open floor to ceiling. the next two windows are the exact same and exactly across from each other in the split kitchen. The one on the left will be the one above the sink. the farther one on the left will be in the bath, this is the frosted one. The farthest window on the right is the bedroom window, the mattress will start a bit below that window, since it is raised and tanks, plumbing and other things will go below.

Also made this a year ago, A lot has changed but some has stayed the same, an updated version of the one i posted awhile ago. Just so guys have some clue what we're doing.

Brewerbob · 11-08-2016, 09:59 AM

Thx for the update.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurlKing

Hearth pad for wood stove update:

couple more layers, but otherwise it has that wet, washed ashore look we want.

Preface; the hiking world has a saying or rather acronym. It's HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike).

Same applies for buses. BYOB??? Build Your Own Bus??? With that said, you should have...

Used bigger rocks and
left them unglossy

Quote:

Windows are all in.
Here is the drivers side

The windows aren't symmetrical side to side. Your drawing shows a shelf where the "missing" window should be in the passenger side. The photos look like you're short on windows for my tastes but your drawings look ok. Can't wait to see how the finished bus looks in photos.

I still need to finish reading the beginning pages of text for this thread.
How big of a PITA was the roof raise? Why 24" (instead of 8~12")? I'm 6'2" and the floor raise and ceiling lowering on a standard 77" space ain't going to work. I don't NEED 24" but if I went to the ceiling with cabinets, it would add a buttload of extra space.

BurlKing · 11-08-2016, 07:30 PM

thanks for the input brewerbob - the 3D drawing was made before we knew what windows we were getting and where they were going, so if there's something in the way of where a window is, it will be redesigned. haha sorry for the confusion.
I don't blame you for not getting to read the whole thread, there's so much information on the entire forum that it's daunting!
Also we raised the roof 16" we had just bought 24" roof extensions so we had a 4" overlap on each side of the 16" to weld on. 16" is definitely good enough for us, but i haven't done any framing or insulating, so hopefully i dont regret saying that. The roof raise itself wasn't too difficult, it was just time consuming and had to be thought out very carefully, almost thinking 15 steps ahead what it will affect on the bus if you do this or that.

BurlKing · 12-04-2016, 06:13 PM

here is the bus finally sealed up and dry inside. there are a few spots of bare metal on the outside that we will paint tomorrow when it gets up in the 40's. The bondo and sealant work on the transition is done too. The outside and inside are both a blank canvas to work with now, hopefully it wont take another 1 and half years. haha.

EastCoastCB · 12-04-2016, 06:14 PM

I LOVE IT! It looks so great! MOAR PICS!!!

cadillackid · 12-04-2016, 07:40 PM

wow!! that riase looks great!!!!!
-Christopher

Tango · 12-04-2016, 07:57 PM

Nice job guys!

BurlKing · 12-20-2016, 07:33 PM

Eastcoastcb - thanks man, wish i had more pics of it from all sides now but two will not be accessible until spring. should've moved it down to Florida down by you, now we're stuck here for a couple months.

cadillackid - as always thanks for following, the bus wouldn't look as nice if it weren't for people like you saying it does, might have gone with the "ah **** it" attitude.

Tango - thanks, its a lot of work especially now that its getting cold. reached a "wind chill" temp of almost -40 on Sunday. but was blessed with 32 above today, felt great. haha. im keeping up with your shorty build and as always your work looks professional. cant wait to see yours done.

Got the wood stove pipe pretty much done, the only thing left to fasten down is the storm collar, not tight yet and i need to pick up high temp sealant for around the pipe and storm collar.

The Flashing is riveted down and has sealant underneath it and around the edges, we're glad it fit the curve of the roof so smoothly.

Had to test it out, and it works.

Tango · 12-20-2016, 10:09 PM

Looks mighty cozy!

Carytowncat · 12-20-2016, 10:32 PM

Oh yeah i am sitting by the fireplace as i type this; so comforting arent they.
Beautiful rock walls. Well done.

BurlKing · 12-21-2016, 01:02 PM

Tango - it's cozy 5ft from it right now, trying to get insulation in quick and it'll be better. haha.

carytowncat - thanks, the rock wall turned out great. the hours of hand picking rocks on lake superior were worth it. we got a bunch of flat ones of mixed colors and even put a couple smaller agates and quartz in the mix.

Canned Ham · 12-22-2016, 12:54 PM

Wow, what a great looking bus!! And the rock fireplace is another nice touch.

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