Bonnie Blue

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by matthews2001

I too could not use my hand rivet gun on stainless rivets, for the d hooks I put on my roof to strap my kayaks down. Saw this that goes on your drill, worked like a charm!

Thanks I'll look into this. I wouldn't have thought there was a tool like that.

[Free Bird]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

I've been trying to figure out off and on where the water is coming from after it rains. I would find water pooled on the edge of the bus, or sometimes just water stain on the primer. The windows would look dry so I figured it was coming from the emergency exit hatch.

It started raining on me while I was out there so I waited and waited. I never noticed it dripping but I saw these puddles. But they're not under the roof hatch. The wall cavity was collecting water but not from the window. I thought for a minute that I had a hole in the side of my bus.

I finally realized it's dripping from the rivet holes in the hat channel. Those channel's still have insulation in them. So it looks like it's coming all the way down inside the hat channel and into that cavity and then seeping into the bus on the floor.

Attachment 41596

Stories like this are a common frustration.

It is entirely possible that the water is not coming through the roof.
It might just be condensation.

You could test this theory by sealing rivets on a few of the offending hat channels and see what happens. It may turn out that your problems won't go away until you insulate.

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by Free Bird

Stories like this are a common frustration.



It is entirely possible that the water is not coming through the roof.

It might just be condensation.



You could test this theory by sealing rivets on a few of the offending hat channels and see what happens. It may turn out that your problems won't go away until you insulate.

No it's definitely rain. I'm out there in the mornings before work a few times during the week. I can watch the condensation start from the front of the bus as the sun comes up. The whole ceiling gets wet (it's bare metal right now still) one section at a time towards the back of the bus. That doesn't drip though, just dries out within a half hour or so.

It dripped on to me yesterday as I was looking up. came out of the rib through a rivet hole. It was still raining this morning I was out there and confirmed. The rain stopped so I got on the roof to look around. It all looks good but definitely one or two rivets from each rib that are rusty along the edges.
It's clear tomorrow but rainy most of next week. I figure I'll wait until next week to paint the roof. I don't want to rush washing and cleaning and painting and curing the Henry's all in one day.

[JDSquared]

All my LEDs showed up today!
Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?

My spotlights didn't get here though. I got LEDs for the tail lights blinkers and reverse lights. As well as all new clearance lights. The old ones are in bad shape. Also got new screws for everything. I figured why not.

[JDSquared]

Bonnie Blue thinking she's Barbie Pink.

[JDSquared]

I forgot i have 7 windows left to reseal before setting the rest of the insulation in place. Going to be chilly tomorrow, but I have the weekend (mostly) to work on the bus.

Decided on a 75 gal fresh water tank from Class A customs. Best fit under the bed for the price. Drew up a plumbing plan, seems too simple. Then I realized i will be paying more for the plex connectors than the cost of the tank lol.
Let's see if this drawing uploads correctly.

[JDSquared]

Close enough. In case anybody is trying to interpret it, Im showing a vent and a drain out the side of the tank. Then a gravity fill and a city water supply. That bypasses the tank and the pump. Joins together before the water heater. Check valve on the feed from the tank and the city water before they join.

Instahot heater (I don't think I want propane, even though I will be using a propane stove. Don't want to vent it) and pump and the pex lines should be along the wall, I just drew them out in the middle for clarity.

The bed will be above all this I think. Heater may or may not be higher on the shower wall. Water tank is 18" tall, I am going tomorrow to measure how tall that makes my bed. I wanted the 100 gallon tank because it's only 12" tall, but for double the price (I've been looking everywhere) it's not worth it to me.

Am I missing anything?

[JDSquared]

Got me a $15 grey water tank

[JDSquared]

I don't want to work tomorrow. Six hours on the bus today. Productive. I got 4 more windows resealed. Also fixed the front window that got curved. Beat on it with a hammer lol. Surprised I fixed it! I got to to the emergency window and remembered I had some aluminum to cut away first, but my angle grinder is still broke. So I had to divert my energies. Three windows left to seal.

So I finished cutting my insulation pieces. I have the floor finished and the walls finished. One piece on the floor isn't glued down because it will be under the water tank, so I will be beefing that up with plywood instead of just the foam. A final piece under those last few windows isn't glued either until I pull them out and reseal them.

I should have taken pictures. I drove down the road for a lunch break and picked up that 30 gallon barrel. Threw it under the bus and remembered my exhaust is under there where I was going to use it as the grey water. I guess it's going on the passenger side like I was talking about in some post earlier. I also think I need two. I guess a 55 gallon would fit, but this one is hidden under there. And I can work around the wheels with two. Still thinking about it.

At home tonight I ordered my fresh water tank. I ordered a water inlet box. I ordered a plumbing kit with the tank. I ordered a hot water heater. And a pump and pressure tank. All set except for the PEX! I can lay it all out I hope, not sure where the water heater is going, and not sure if I can fit my 36x36 shower between the bed and the wheel and still keep a queen size mattress. Pretty sure I can but I didn't order the pan just yet. Might switch sides to stay over the grey water that has to go on the other side. Or divert my exhaust. Somebody on here did that and made it look easy.

The shower is planned behind the rear wheel well butting the bed. I step out of the shower or out of bed onto that access panel on top of the gas tank. The floor flexes there. And it flexes even worse over the filler door for the tank. This is my drying off and getting dressed area. I am trying to avoid adding a plywood subfloor. I used 1" insulation and have a thin piece of plywood on top of that, planning for some vinyl flooring on top of this plywood. Through the middle of the bus it's good. It's soft but I like it, sort of like walking on bamboo or cork flooring. But it's popping in this spot, and there's no way to reinforce it. Well, maybe Musigenesis has a thought, he's got his pretty open there right now. And half inch plywood would be sturdy enough, I can switch out to some 1/2 inch insulation there and keep the same floor height.I'm planning on setting the shower pan on 1/2" flooring too, so I can get under the shower head a bit better.

Just rambling and thinking here I guess. The plan tomorrow was to buy another angle grinder and spend the day grinding on rust and getting a look at this weak spot (and the two other spots I still need to reinforce). BUt I don't feel like working. I'm still drinking coffee at 11:30 pm so we'll see if I get up or not.

edit: I also wired in my light fixture connections. Sort of. I'm not sure on final location but I left enough wires hanging so all my splices are permanent now at least. My spot lights I ordered from EBAY; the arrival date switched from Feb 26th to April 21st. LOL they're still in China going to get here carrying the Coronavirus. Seller wouldn't refund me, told me to refuse shipment when they get here.

[JDSquared]

I guess I didn't have to pull all my wires because I just reran them all through again to my invisible electrical closet. I had a large box full of the pulled wires that is about 2/3 empty now.

I thought I was going to use a lot more 24v fixtures but it looks like everything is 12v. Guessing it's still better to use the batteries in 24v and step it all down. I've got to recalculate everything.

[JDSquared]

It's like Christmas morning

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

I thought I was going to use a lot more 24v fixtures but it looks like everything is 12v. Guessing it's still better to use the batteries in 24v and step it all down. I've got to recalculate everything.

I did 24V for my main bank and stepped down to 12V/up to 48V (both 480W transformers). The step down on the 12V side helps keep voltages consistent, but I do have to remember the limitations of the converter if I go crazy with it. I think with all 26-ish LED puck lights in the ceiling on I was looking at 40W-90W draw so I should have lots of room as it is. I'll have to test again.


I ran three, 4-wire subpanels to the rear to support both 24v and 12v service, only the 12v is used right now. I might use the 24v run to step back down to 19V for my laptop chargers in the office area- that way I'm not overwhelming the 12V circuit and don't have to turn on the inverter.

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

I did 24V for my main bank and stepped down to 12V/up to 48V (both 480W transformers). The step down on the 12V side helps keep voltages consistent, but I do have to remember the limitations of the converter if I go crazy with it. I think with all 26-ish LED puck lights in the ceiling on I was looking at 40W-90W draw so I should have lots of room as it is. I'll have to test again.


I ran three, 4-wire subpanels to the rear to support both 24v and 12v service, only the 12v is used right now. I might use the 24v run to step back down to 19V for my laptop chargers in the office area- that way I'm not overwhelming the 12V circuit and don't have to turn on the inverter.

You posted in another thread about having a panel on the front of the bus. I just finished running all my wires and wondering why I didn't do that LOL. But I forgot about my diesel heater getting power. So I think I'm going to pull a couple of wires and reorganize it with two fuse blocks.

Even if I ran everything a 12-volt, it's still better to set up a 24 pack isn't it? And step it down?

[dwood443]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

Got me a $15 grey water tankAttachment 41811

How are you going to mount this? I have one I can use as well but thought it might hang too low?

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

You posted in another thread about having a panel on the front of the bus.

Three in the back, one up front. My main is in the center.

Originally Posted by JDSquared

Even if I ran everything a 12-volt, it's still better to set up a 24 pack isn't it? And step it down?

It depends on your needs. Lets say you have a 40A MPPT solar charge controller. Well, typically the amperage rating is not only an input restriction, but an output restriction. This means with a 12V bank, regardless of the voltage of your panels, you're only going to charge at 12V*40A = 480W. Same controller on a 24V bank (assuming it supports 24V battery configurations), 960W is your max.


I have a 150V/100A charge controller, and plan to have 2500W+ of panels on the roof. 12V*100A is only 1200W, so I'd either need another controller or higher voltage bank. Additionally, even if I have the equipment to support 2500W at 12V, that's (2500W/12V = ) 200A. Two freaking hundred amps. Since higher amperage means thicker cable requirements, going higher voltage can save you money and headache.

The drawback to a 24V system (specifically- 12V batteries in series) is that you will have to balance your battery bank. Also, most DC appliances are 12V. These are two of the many places 12V systems have their advantages, including simplicity and ease of use. But I think those looking at solar setups for serious use cases (running big appliances rather than just charging stuff) are much less likely to go 12V due to the above limitations and high-amperage requirements for big systems.

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

Three in the back, one up front. My main is in the center.



It depends on your needs. Lets say you have a 40A MPPT solar charge controller. Well, typically the amperage rating is not only an input restriction, but an output restriction. This means with a 12V bank, regardless of the voltage of your panels, you're only going to charge at 12V*40A = 480W. Same controller on a 24V bank (assuming it supports 24V battery configurations), 960W is your max.


I have a 150V/100A charge controller, and plan to have 2500W+ of panels on the roof. 12V*100A is only 1200W, so I'd either need another controller or higher voltage bank. Additionally, even if I have the equipment to support 2500W at 12V, that's (2500W/12V = ) 200A. Two freaking hundred amps. Since higher amperage means thicker cable requirements, going higher voltage can save you money and headache.

The drawback to a 24V system (specifically- 12V batteries in series) is that you will have to balance your battery bank. Also, most DC appliances are 12V. These are two of the many places 12V systems have their advantages, including simplicity and ease of use. But I think those looking at solar setups for serious use cases (running big appliances rather than just charging stuff) are much less likely to go 12V due to the above limitations and high-amperage requirements for big systems.

My plan has been for about 1500w and an 80A MPPT. I don't know why but I thought the max air fan were 24 volt. And a fridge. But it's all still 12 volt. The rest are LED lights and usb chargers. But 24v and a good inverter will help with the 120 appliances, even if I use them once in a while.

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by dwood443

How are you going to mount this? I have one I can use as well but thought it might hang too low?

I don't know yet lol. This is a 30 gallon barrel. A lot smaller than the typical 55 gallons. Fits well between the chassis and the outer wall. I'm guessing some threaded rod and angle iron or unistrut to frame around it.

Not sure yet how to fill it or drain it either. But I'm not skeered.

[dwood443]

A 30 would probably fit good. Thanks for the idea

[JDSquared]

It's starting to look like a water supply.

[JDSquared]

They didn't send the key with the box. So that's in the mail.