Kazetsukai's Build

[kazetsukai]

I'm in the middle of a conversion of a 1999 International Amtran RE. Its got the t444e and I believe an Allison 545. I believe I'm at a good point for feedback and I'd like to see what others think.



I'm done with the demolition and core infrastructure. I've been thorough in remediating rust and sealing up exposed metal surfaces on the interior. I installed underbelly storage as my bus didn't come with any- but I also made sure mine didn't reduce my ground clearance.



I'm doing some elaborate electrical with three separate isolated systems. The bus electrical, my 12V workhorse system with 600W and 400Ah of AGM batteries, and my 24V system to run the higher-power AC appliances. I mounted a series of panels to the side of my rig, something I haven't seen yet:



This was done by putting up a Unistrut on the bus wall, then mounting the panels to that on hinges. I can remove these at any time and use the Unistrut mount point for virtually anything, this may or may not be a permanent setup. I have a tarp over right now to cover my e-hatches I'm in the process of deleting, and I just finished deleting all my original windows.



I have 1.5" foam insulation underneath plywood, underneath some lighter cherry wood colored vinyl floor. My layout is reverse that of a typical layout- bedroom in front, kitchen in the very back. I intend to delete the front door and use the rear kitchen entrance as my main.



I have two emergency exits- one in the rear where the kitchen is, one in my bathroom. The bathroom one is convenient- I intend to install a black tank, but if I ever switch to a composter I wont have to haul it through my living area to empty it.

[kazetsukai]

I'm in the middle of deleting my hatches, replacing them with custom-welded skylights. They'll offer light, ventillation and roof access to the deck.



The rear hatch is directly over my walk-through shower, which will act as a hallway when not in use.



I replaced the overhead of the driver's area with cabinets, still a WIP.



The electrical/automation is a focus of mine so if you're interested in computer control of stuff I may have some updates that interest you.

[calivegan]

looking good! what size storage underbelly is that and where can i find them. really nice

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by calivegan

looking good! what size storage underbelly is that and where can i find them. really nice

The underbelly boxes are 96"x18"x18", and are lockable.





I got them locally, but these are what I have:

https://www.amazon.com/UWS-TBUB-96-U.../dp/B004JASGVM

[calivegan]

How did you mount them?

[calivegan]

Also what size wood did you use for framing I'm told to use metal beams but I'm clueless as to what is best

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by calivegan

How did you mount them?

Well, for the time being I took two strips of 14 gauge metal about as long as the boxes, then drilled through those from inside the box up and into the supports holding up the cab.Because I'm not using a nut/washer, but rather full lengths of metal, the weight of the box/contents is distributed along the ceiling of the box itself.

In the long run, I'll probably weld some supports underneath. It held a couple hundred pounds of AGM batteries at a standstill as-is, but I'm hoping for at least 1000lb capacity to be on the safe side.

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by calivegan

Also what size wood did you use for framing I'm told to use metal beams but I'm clueless as to what is best

I bought 2x4's from home depot and stripped them down the middle with a table saw. Yoiu have to be careful to only rely on the original cuts for thickness if you want consistency, but its an ultra-cheap way to get the job done.

I've thought about using metal but I find wood eaiser to work with. I don't have any divider walls (perpendicular to the bus' length) in my build, if I did I might be inclined to use a few for that purpose, as it would be easier to follow the curve of the roof with a metal stud than a wood stud.

[kazetsukai]

Spent some time to finish off the front skylight today. Hatch and opening are just welds of square tubing and some of the 18 gauge sheet metal I bought. The hatch glass is acryllic from home depot. I cut it using a grinder so that it wouldn't chip.



I used a pair of 1' hinges and Henry's wet patch to seal around the welds.



Have to be careful working with the acryllic. It chips and cracks easily. Amazing amount of light coming in this way- if you aren't attached to the hatches, I'd highly recommend it.

I have one coat of Henry's Tropicool up on the roof I applied last year. I need to power wash the whole thing, then apply two or three more coats in my estimation. Its sufficient for dealing with solar irradiation/heat, but to make it bulletproof as a "paint" I need a few more layers. The original color is still coming through a little bit.

[o1marc]

Acrylic (polycarbonate) won't chip or crack. You can drill it or use a band saw. Plexi is what you're referring to.

[joeblack5]

That is an impressive amount of stuff in one post.
Are you planning to use the solar panels on the side as an awning?
Nice storage .


good luck, J

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Acrylic (polycarbonate) won't chip or crack. You can drill it or use a band saw. Plexi is what you're referring to.

Ah yeah, you're right. I confused the two.

Originally Posted by joeblack5

That is an impressive amount of stuff in one post.

There's alot more that went on that I can't even recall at this point. The hardest work is design.

I agonized for months on where to place the heater blowers, how to run the coolant lines, where to face them, etc. Same with the positioning of the electrical panel. Once a decision was made it was easy- cut wood, drill holes, screw down, done.

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Are you planning to use the solar panels on the side as an awning?

I've thought how I could accomplish this- basically I need to seal up the gaps between each panel and then divert the water at the Unistrut. Its high enough off the ground for someone to sit underneath in a lawn chair.

[kazetsukai]

A word of warning for others: the blue plastic fittings at Home Depot aren't good enough to run engine coolant through them. They warp and leak.



Use brass.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

A word of warning for others: the blue plastic fittings at Home Depot aren't good enough to run engine coolant through them. They warp and leak.

Attachment 22913

Use brass.

those are probably schedule 40 stuff.. 140f is generally the accepted max temperature for schedule 40.. your coolant can reach 200+. even higher if you get the bus hot for some reason.. but even on a normal day its going to be 180..



there are plastic automotive grade coolant heater fittings... I buy them all the time and they hold up well..

-Christopher

[kazetsukai]

First real window in... Shed windows for $38 a piece.



Fills a window bay, had to drill holes for drainage in non standard mounting orientation.

[Iceni John]

Solar panels need to face the sun: Optimum Tilt of Solar Panels Unless you're in Alaska in mid-winter (where vertical panels work well), they won't produce much power. Remember, it's not voltage but current that charges batteries, and vertical panels in lower lattitudes won't produce much of the latter. Zephod, a previous contributor here and the BCM forum, also tried it . . .

There's good reason why all my eight panels are A) on the roof, and B) hinged so they can face the sun as best as a vehicle's roof allows. It was a lot of work to do it that way, but I did it because the payback is worth it.

John

[Iceni John]

Originally Posted by kazetsukai

First real window in... Shed windows for $38 a piece.

Attachment 22924

Fills a window bay, had to drill holes for drainage in non standard mounting orientation.

The picture appears to show the sliding half of the window on the inside! What sort of glass do they use?

John

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by Iceni John

Solar panels need to face the sun

That's my secondary solar power system. The panels are on hinges:



This lets me clean these easily and my roof is free of clutter for the 3000w to follow them.

Originally Posted by Iceni John

The picture appears to show the sliding half of the window on the inside! What sort of glass do they use?

These were meant to be mounted with the glass going side-to-side, not up-to-down or down-to-up like I have. Again, I had to drill additional holes to so it will drain properly this way, I also added some foam to better seal it and I cut off the original mounting bracket - I'm using the J-channel as the mount point.

I'm not sure what kind of glass they use, but regardless I plan to have plexi or acryllic cut to size to cover them from the outside. Very happy with the result:

[ol trunt]

With all due respect, you'll need to reverse those windows to get the slide part towards the outside---they'll leak like a sieve the way they are. BTW, I used the double glazed tempered glass version of the same windows in my little bus. Jack

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

With all due respect, you'll need to reverse those windows to get the slide part towards the outside---they'll leak like a sieve the way they are. BTW, I used the double glazed tempered glass version of the same windows in my little bus. Jack

See previous posts... The windows are made of vinyl. I've looked carefully at how water will behave in this window- there are drain holes located where water is going to flow and pool and the holes lead to the bottom of the J-channel.

In my case, I mounted the window in a vertical-slide orientation (up = open at bottom). This placed the drain holes on the side of the window. I drilled new holes in both channels of the new "bottom" of the window as well as in the J-channel for water to escape.

I could spray this window with a hose all day and the water is just going to go out. I''ll give it a shot tomorrow before I install the second one.