Bus down by the river

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

what gun were you using?

I believe I read he was using the Harbor Freight purple HVLP one.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

I believe I read he was using the Harbor Freight purple HVLP one.

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

what gun were you using?

Yes, I was using the cheap harbor freight HVLP gun. It said it consumed 6 CFM at 40psi, but even my 6 CFM compressor couldn't keep up with constant use. It was close enough to work with, though.

[inhof009]

I'm doing some more reading around here and it looks like some people have successfully used foam board and the spray foam on top for insulation. Could I put in 1" foam board and then cover it with another 1" of spray foam? R value would be a bit lower, but price would also be a lot lower. Would the spray foam still form a vapor barrier?

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by inhof009

Yes, I was using the cheap harbor freight HVLP gun. It said it consumed 6 CFM at 40psi, but even my 6 CFM compressor couldn't keep up with constant use. It was close enough to work with, though.

a compressor rated at 6 cfm doesn't deliver 6 cfm out of the air hose - they figure their cfm in some convoluted way, but it's certainly not measured where the air is needed

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by inhof009

I'm doing some more reading around here and it looks like some people have successfully used foam board and the spray foam on top for insulation. Could I put in 1" foam board and then cover it with another 1" of spray foam? R value would be a bit lower, but price would also be a lot lower. Would the spray foam still form a vapor barrier?

I'm curious about this myself. A place here in Philly sells these reclaimed 4x8 sheets of polyiso insulation that are too nicked up on the edges to really be useful, but my thinking was that you could cut loose blocks to fill up most of the space you need to insulate (maybe leaving a 1" gap all around? I dunno) and then sprayfoam the remaining volume. Seems like you would get the benefits of the sealing effect of the foam while being way cheaper for the volume.

Maybe the spray foam would work its way under the blocks and tend to pop them out? The blocks might need to be glued in first to prevent this. I'd also wonder if the spray foam would react in some weird negative way to the board.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I'm curious about this myself. A place here in Philly sells these reclaimed 4x8 sheets of polyiso insulation that are too nicked up on the edges to really be useful, but my thinking was that you could cut loose blocks to fill up most of the space you need to insulate (maybe leaving a 1" gap all around? I dunno) and then sprayfoam the remaining volume. Seems like you would get the benefits of the sealing effect of the foam while being way cheaper for the volume.

Maybe the spray foam would work its way under the blocks and tend to pop them out? The blocks might need to be glued in first to prevent this. I'd also wonder if the spray foam would react in some weird negative way to the board.

I got the idea from this thread here:
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f10/ex...tion-8468.html
that is actually incredibly useful for anyone interested in using spray foam. He mentions that it tries to lift the foam board, but it's easily manageable by pushing down on the foam board.

I priced it out and it looks like 600BF of insulation from Home Depot will cost $300 (about). So when compared to the $600 kit, it's half price. But it's still $300. We're still discussing whether or not to get 2 kits.

[inhof009]

My lovely wife has sketched up another floor plan based on some stuff she's seen on here and a recent build on reddit. With her permission, I'm posting it here for feedback:

Ignore the two rectangles sitting outside of the bus, those are from our first plot. We have 2' of storage space in the back for my tools, chairs, etc. Then the queen bed with 2x 55gal fresh water drums. The placement is not set in stone just yet, though. Next up is the wheel wells. Planning on a closet on the passenger wheel well, and my electrical distribution center (and possibly electric) on the driver's side wheel well. The bathroom will have the shower across from the toilet. Then the kitchen, and then two couches facing each other, maybe a collapsible table in the middle.

My only concern would be weight distribution. The 60-gal fuel tank is on the passenger side to maybe offset the waste water tank(s), and we might add another fuel tank in time. Would that offset it enough to prevent it from being an issue, or are we not thinking right here?

[ol trunt]

I like the way the kitchen and bath block the center isle. That will save having to have a bathroom and bedroom door but will still afford you privacy. Often the "yard" portion of a camp site will be on the passenger side while the utilities are on the driver's side. If you flip the kitchen and bath you will have a view of the yard rather than the camp hookups when you are in the kitchen. If you are using an under counter frig you will gain some badly needed counter space. You might consider moving the kitchen sink out of the corner and putting it on the outside wall--more elbow room.

After you figure your dimensions, lay out your floor plan using masking tape on the bus floor and play house in it for 24 hrs--no cheating, remember you can't step on or over the tape. If you haven't killed each other after 24 hrs you probably have a workable floor plan.
Jack

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

I like the way the kitchen and bath block the center isle. That will save having to have a bathroom and bedroom door but will still afford you privacy. Often the "yard" portion of a camp site will be on the passenger side while the utilities are on the driver's side. If you flip the kitchen and bath you will have a view of the yard rather than the camp hookups when you are in the kitchen. If you are using an under counter frig you will gain some badly needed counter space. You might consider moving the kitchen sink out of the corner and putting it on the outside wall--more elbow room.

After you figure your dimensions, lay out your floor plan using masking tape on the bus floor and play house in it for 24 hrs--no cheating, remember you can't step on or over the tape. If you haven't killed each other after 24 hrs you probably have a workable floor plan.
Jack

Jack,

She originally had the kitchen and bathroom on the passenger side, but I asked her to change it to avoid having the fuel and waste tanks all on one side. I'd be willing to flip it back to give a better view so long as it won't cause the bus to be too lopsided.

We had originally laid out the floor plan with masking tape on Saturday. Immediately we found out that it wasn't going to work, so we went back to the drawing board and came up with this!

[inhof009]

Spent a few hours today finalizing pulling the wires apart. Once that was done, we fired up the bus and confirmed that all of the lights worked, and they did! Save the reverse light that I think has a broken socket. Then, the fun began!

I had coiled up all of the loose wires I was removing, so I had my wife sit on the inside and call out each wire to me. Then I found the end and removed it.

Before:

After:


Bonus is the last includes the ignition interlock device that I re-wired to never prevent me from starting my own bus whenever I wanted to.

[ol trunt]

Go for the best of both worlds--perfect balance, best view. Move the tank to the left side.
Jack

[inhof009]

Wasn't able to work much the past few weeks due to the latest round of "career defining" standardized tests. The last picture I posted was after removing the wires in the control panel. Since then, I have installed a keyless entry system:


And trounced around the local junk yards pulling RV stuff. I wound up getting all of this in 3 trips:
4x windows (5, but we decided not to use one)
Kitchen sink
Bathroom sink
Toilet
Water pump
CO and LP sensors
Stove+oven
Water hookup
Water heater
Converter
Battery isolator
AC/DC panel (50A)
50A cord with 30A adapter

Maybe some other stuff that I'm forgetting, but we basically stocked all of the necessary hardware for very reasonable prices.

Then today, I finally cut out the holes in my beautiful siding:


I have one more window to place on the other side, which is larger than the area I skinned, so I'm going to have to cut down some. I'm also going to have to repaint due to the rough nature of cutting out the window holes.

On a side note, the rubber trimming on the exterior of the windows is in rough shape on most of them. Does anyone know where I can get some replacement ones? It should I just pull them off and seal with silicone?

[o1marc]

The windows most likely have a weatherstripping. I didn't like it because it keeps the window from sitting flush against the body. I removed the weather stripping and just used sealer around the edge.

Make sure that upright window won't collect rain water in that position. Pull the rubber plugs and replace them in the correct place.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by o1marc

The windows most likely have a weatherstripping. I didn't like it because it keeps the window from sitting flush against the body. I removed the weather stripping and just used sealer around the edge.

Make sure that upright window won't collect rain water in that position. Pull the rubber plugs and replace them in the correct place.

This is the rubber I'm talking about. It sits on the outside, between the glass and the frame:


Per your suggestion, I went and looked at the vertical window. You are correct, it will pool water with how it is currently, but it is fixable. Thanks for pointing that out!

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by inhof009

This is the rubber I'm talking about. It sits on the outside, between the glass and the frame:


Per your suggestion, I went and looked at the vertical window. You are correct, it will pool water with how it is currently, but it is fixable. Thanks for pointing that out!

Ah, you meant the glass gasket, not the window gasket. Replacing it with sealer sounds like a messy job.

I had a window like that, if I mounted it one way it would leak, if mounted the other way the window wouldn't stay up when open. Had to shelve the idea.

[dgorila1]

Originally Posted by inhof009

This is the rubber I'm talking about. It sits on the outside, between the glass and the frame:


Per your suggestion, I went and looked at the vertical window. You are correct, it will pool water with how it is currently, but it is fixable. Thanks for pointing that out!

Check some local glass shops and maybe an industrial supplier like McMaster Carr for gasket material. I’ve seen a variety in McMaster when I was looking for a certain type for equipment repairs at work.

[Ronnie]

Just a note about silicone sealer, it is hydroscopic. I would talk to a glass shop they will likely be able to get the gasket and or sealant.

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

Just a note about silicone sealer, it is hydroscopic. I would talk to a glass shop they will likely be able to get the gasket and or sealant.

Ronnie, could you elaborate and what "hydroscopic" means?

[inhof009]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Ah, you meant the glass gasket, not the window gasket. Replacing it with sealer sounds like a messy job.

I had a window like that, if I mounted it one way it would leak, if mounted the other way the window wouldn't stay up when open. Had to shelve the idea.

Originally Posted by dgorila1

Check some local glass shops and maybe an industrial supplier like McMaster Carr for gasket material. I’ve seen a variety in McMaster when I was looking for a certain type for equipment repairs at work.

Thanks to you guys, I did some searches using "glass gasket" and found a sample kit of different types of gaskets:
https://www.pellandent.com/Sample-Kit
Looks like either H009-344 or H009-643 will fit my window, so I might just buy the sample kit for $4 and see if any of them work.

[inhof009]

Had to cut more holes in my beautiful walls today. Got the water heater and water hookups installed:




Two of the 3 windows are now sealed and riveted in. Sealed as in around the connection to the walls; we still have to fix the "glass gasket" issue.

The water heater is temporarily supported by a bit of 2x4 right now, but it's empty so it's not a big deal. The current plan is to install the LP stove/oven above the water heater. At counter top height (36"), the water heater will be about 1" from the floor and it's about 13" tall. The stove/oven is 16" tall, so that's 30" total, so we'll have about 6" of room above the water heater. With this setup, I only need to run very short propane lines!