Betsy

[orangepeel91]

I got a little work done on the bus today. I pulled up the vast majority of the rubber flooring.
I also got 3 of the wheelchair hold down brackets out.
Don't get excited.
The floor was so rotten that the bolts holding down 3 of the brackets were completely rusted through. I pulled the rubber up and the brackets came with it!

My main work on the bus day isn't going to happen this week.

I have a wee little problem with the toilet in my basement bathroom. It's a finished basement.
The problem is the supply line to the commode has been leaking.
inside the wall.

What kind of wallboard do I put up after taking all the molded crap out and fixing the leak? This is for a full bath, not half.
I know not to use drywall.

[orangepeel91]

Original wall in the bathroom is just painted regular drywall.
Made a couple of unhappy discoveries.
I've been cursing the builders of my house ever since I discovered my interior walls use 2x2 studs. So todays little discovery shouldn't be a huge shock.
I think I'm going to have to replumb my house.
The reason for this is when my buddy was fixing the leak, he pulled on a soldered joint between copper tube and a copper fitting. It came apart in his hands. He wasn't expecting this to happen any more than I did. But since a soldered joint came apart with a small amount of force applied to it. Then I don't think I can afford to trust any of the soldered connections in this house.

The FRP is what I intend to use for the shower in the bus.

Now on to the bus.

I have a new favorite tool.

It's one of those little corded oscillating tools with interchangeable heads. the kind that's supposed to be great for removing grout between tiles.
Well it's also great for removing giant stickers that say school bus on them. The lettering between the flashing lights was one big sticker on each end of the bus. And a giant pain in the butt to remove. Until the multi tool hit it.
it will work wonders on all the reflective tape my bus is covered in too.

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by orangepeel91

I have a new favorite tool.

It's one of those little corded oscillating tools with interchangeable heads. the kind that's supposed to be great for removing grout between tiles.
Well it's also great for removing giant stickers that say school bus on them. The lettering between the flashing lights was one big sticker on each end of the bus. And a giant pain in the butt to remove. Until the multi tool hit it.
it will work wonders on all the reflective tape my bus is covered in too.

I got one in my Ryobi 18v cordless tool kit. I'll have to try it as well. Which blade did you use?

[orangepeel91]

The blade I used was one that came in the box with the tool.
It's straight edged and somewhere around 1.5" and 2" wide. Without measuring it since it's in the bus and I'm not that is about as close a description as I can give.
my tool also came with a smooth 3/4 round blade, a sanding pad and another blade slightly wider than the one I used that had very small teeth. Like a butter knife sized teeth.

[orangepeel91]

Pex is what we used to make the temp repair to the throne room. But seeing as how one of the copper tubing and solder joints came apart in my buddys hands which was never soldered properly in the first place (not enough solder and it was a cold joint) I expect I will now have to replumb the house.
I'll just be a pex expert before I expected too.
At least I was planning on using it in the bus to begin with.

Chipboard ok for the frp backing?

[orangepeel91]

Okay guys and dolls I made a little progress today.

In the scheme of things I didn't get a huge amount done but when you consider my lawn is no longer going to seed (grass was over a foot high) I went out with the wife and mother and I made a trip to Menards it starts looking more reasonable.

On to the bus.

This is for those rust free dry state people again.

IMG_20140525_180643 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr.

Notice the lack of rust in this picture. For a bus that lived it's life in the north western Chicago suburbs there is very little rust.

Now look at this.

IMG_20140525_180622 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr.

And this.

IMG_20140525_180610 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr.

This is the bottom of some of the plywood I pulled out today. The side that was against the steel floor.

Notice how one of them looks like it's still wet.

It is by the way.

This is what it has done to the floor.

IMG_20140525_180818 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr

IMG_20140525_180842 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr

IMG_20140525_181843 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr.

Most of it is just surface rust and Por 15 will solve the issue adequately.

The hole on the other hand is a different matter. It's a tossup as to what caused more of the problem, water getting passed the rubber and rotting the wood or salt coming up. That hole is directly above the left rear tires. I also have to patch the floor where the heater hoses go down and across to the other side. There are two heaters from the factory. One above the rear door and the other on the right side. I intend to move the one on the side forward and to the left side instead, that will get it out of my shower. I was also thinking of just removing the rear heater completely. Nobody is going to be riding back there when the bus is being driven and it's useless when the bus is stationary.

I have never patched metal before.
After I cut the cancer out how do I fill in the gap?
Just put a piece of 12 gauge overlapping the cut out section, properly coated so it doesn't rust out too?

This pic is to illustrate the difference between my bus and a normal TC2000. Note the gap between the rear bumper and floor.
There is an aluminum ramp in there.

IMG_20140525_180707 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr

[orangepeel91]

My lawn went to seed. Literally. Looked like wheat only green.
Wire wheel in the plan.
Hadn't thought of epoxy.
Works for me, I love that stuff.

[orangepeel91]

Finally some more progress to report!
Got the wheelchair lift out.
That little adventure took my buddy and I six hours.
There was a LOT of rust. So much rust that the steel plate on the bottom came up in two pieces.

IMG_20140712_133432 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr

This is my best friend Dan. He and his girlfriend at the time set me up on a blind date with a girl who would later become my wife. That was 23 years ago. Some days I owe him for that, some days he owes me. The really rusty plate is under the one he is standing on. The one he's on is the one that flops down when the lift is deployed to cover the gap between the ramp and regular floor. The one that rusted to crap is the structural plate that the lift arms attach too and it was the only part bolted to the bus. A big part of the reason it took so long to get out is the fact that the lift was directly above the diesel tank.

IMG_20140712_141329 by orangepeel91us, on Flickr

This is the bottom half of the plate that stuck to the floor when the rest was removed.

[big_bertha]

When I saw the plywood I thought I had you beat in the rust department, but this is crazy. That HOLE.

It seems you're not discouraged, which is good to see. In fact, I'm envious that I didn't get the opportunity to learn about patching rusty steel bus floor.

I'm also envious of the size of that handicap door. Nice big door. That'll come in handy!

[orangepeel91]

Door not as handy as you think. About the only thing it will really be good for is getting the couch in. That will still delay the cabinet going in front of it. At 30' I don't have any floor space to waste. I don't use the dining room table in my house, the last thing I want in an rv is a dinette. once it's done the only thing that door will be good for is to enclose a fold down table for outdoor use. Nat would use it as the main entry and fill in the front step well but that doesn't work for me. First I prefer the front steps. Second the diesel tank is under that door so no way to add a step well there. Outside ladders just don't strike me as being all that practical.
As for the rust, believe it or not most of it is surface. Heavy surface, but surface. The hole is directly above the drive tire. Front rust is similar. Worse above the tires than anywhere else. The actual patches may not end up being that big. Have to pull nails and cut those cursed tie down brackets out.