Ludicrous Speed

[speedjunkiejp]

just read it all.. trying to talk the wife into the conversion.. tough talks lol

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Man... sorry for disappearing again guys (life and stuff, ya know). My wife's getting on me to get this stuff updated, and we have a decent amount to add! Stay tuned.

[browncrown]

Glad you're back...look forward to the updates

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Ok so some updates are in order... We have been doing a little construction each year, and the bus is starting to look a little more RV-ish.

First the frustrating stuff. The laminate flooring is still ok in the bedroom area, but the dining area it swelled and humped up, due in part to the leak from the AC (grrr).



We cut the laminate flooring out from the kitchen and dining area, which removed the worst of it, and replaced it with some heavy duty vinyl tiles. These have help up way better.



The above picture also shows another frustration... the particle board that was in the stairwell floor got really rotten due to some leakiness of the door. There are even a couple mushrooms growing in there! We dug this out and replaced with the same type of board, but I put about 3 coats of paint on it to seal it and hopefully hold off the rot while we contemplate replacing the door.

[milkmania]

don't know what the budget is, but........

particle board is not building material!
no matter what they tell ya

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Now, on to skinning the interior walls! We took 2x2s and added a piece of 3/8" particle board to match the exact 2" thickness of the ribs. I screwed these together and coated them with roofing caulk where they meet the metal so it does not squeak or rattle. Then I attached them top and bottom with small angle brackets. You can also see I put in plastic handy boxes for outlets.



Once the window level was skinned, I went on to the lower walls. I spaced these areas out a 2x2 width in order to make room for 120v wiring.



The lower area overlaps the upper area enough that I can hide wiring that runs to the outlets. I capped the top of the lower wall with some trim, and attached all of the panels with stainless screws and trim washers.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Originally Posted by milkmania

don't know what the budget is, but........

particle board is not building material!
no matter what they tell ya

I use particle board where strength isn't an issue, and where flexibility and sound damping are... Not optimal I know, but I spend a lot of time going against the grain (and reaping the whirlwind lol)

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by TheRainbowBoxer

I use particle board where strength isn't an issue, and where flexibility and sound damping are... Not optimal I know, but I spend a lot of time going against the grain (and reaping the whirlwind lol)

true particle board?
or OSB (Oriented Strand Board)?

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Up until this point, we had just used heavy ratchet straps to hold fridge in place going down the road, and once we arrived at our destination, we would use it like any fridge in a house. The short 2x4s on the back of the fridge are for spacing, as ratchet strapping the fridge in wouldn't work with the curve.

It was time to anchor that fridge for real, and put in a pantry while we were at it. I lagged some 2x2s to the floor to make a good anchor point for the walls of the pantry, similar to what I did with the bunks.



Using 2x4s and 2x2s for the wall studs, we framed the pantry. Unlike the bunks, where we made the walls thicker using the "4" of the 2x4 to allow for insulation, we built the pantry walls using the 2x4s flat. The fride was then lagged to the 2x4s. Since the fridge is the type with the coils on the back, I didn't have to worry about piercing the skin a bit. We also laid out the wall to allow for a grab handle to make it easier to climb the steps.



I then skinned the pantry outside and in, using individual panels (which took forever) so that I could service electrical or, God forbid, take the fridge out if it fails. Notice the step light, which was originally intended to be a license plate light for a car.



The fridge is anchored in several places and is a solid as a rock.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Originally Posted by milkmania

true particle board?
or OSB (Oriented Strand Board)?

Chip board, flake board, etc... Not MDF anyway.

[Tango]

Humidity above about 50% makes particle board swell up. Any real moisture and it just crumbles. Hate to say it but there's really no place for it in an RV. Same with wooden floors (as you have discovered). A little wet stuff and it goes kablooey. As much as I love real wood, Vinyl or rubber are still the best bet for floors.

PS...all my plywood is or will be marine grade for the reasons above. It also helps if it is correctly installed. i.e.,...with proper allowances all around for the expansion/contraction that naturally occurs. Most folks thing "tight is right"...not so. The OSB we used at my studio is labeled..."1/8" Ends - 1/4" Edges" regarding spacing. You need about the same for conventional plywood or don't be surprised when it buckles.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

For a while we were content to go on trips and camping just using extension cords to run everything, covering them with a carpet where they crossed the floor. But as we began to close more walls in, it became important to get the 120v wiring in place. Most the the wiring runs came from a 100ft 12 gauge extension cord I bought on sale for $70. Since 12 gauge stranded wire was going for about $1.40 a foot at the time, I saved about 50% on my wire! Score!

The electrical entrance / management center is eventually going to be where the steps from the original folding door are now.



This big bunch of wire is pretty much the main feed before the circuits scatter to the 4 corners of the bus.



I tagged the wires on both ends so I would know which circuit was which, since tracing would otherwise require I take the dining room wall panels back off.



I then put in some junction boxes under the sink to manage the wiring connections. All 120v connections are clamped in a junction box, soldered, wire nutted, and tight taped. Needless to say, I don't want anything coming loose! I also drew schematics on the junction box covers to remind me what is what.



I used pvc conduit to run under the bus so we don't have to have extension cords across the aisle anymore. I used more of my favorite roofing caulk to seal the places where the floor is breached against water and bugs / rodents.



Here is where the wires come back up into the bus for the fridge, microwave, a couple dining room outlets, and....



A skirt / outdoor outlet!

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by Tango

PS...all my plywood is or will be marine grade for the reasons above. It also helps if it is correctly installed. i.e.,...with proper allowances all around for the expansion/contraction that naturally occurs. Most folks thing "tight is right"...not so. The OSB we used at my studio is labeled..."1/8" Ends - 1/4" Edges" regarding spacing. You need about the same for conventional plywood or don't be surprised when it buckles.

I needed that advice, since I was planning on using real ply as well, instead of OSB.

As for flooring, I was thinking of using this:

Wood grain anti-fatigue mats

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by Tango

Humidity above about 50% makes particle board swell up. Any real moisture and it just crumbles. Hate to say it but there's really no place for it in an RV. Same with wooden floors (as you have discovered). A little wet stuff and it goes kablooey. As much as I love real wood, Vinyl or rubber are still the best bet for floors.

PS...all my plywood is or will be marine grade for the reasons above. It also helps if it is correctly installed. i.e.,...with proper allowances all around for the expansion/contraction that naturally occurs. Most folks thing "tight is right"...not so. The OSB we used at my studio is labeled..."1/8" Ends - 1/4" Edges" regarding spacing. You need about the same for conventional plywood or don't be surprised when it buckles.

I removed all the marine grade plywood from my ski boat, and replaced it with HDPE Sheets.... no mo wood in my boat





even marine grade plywood has a short life span in wet environments

so, I fought off mother nature!

[TheRainbowBoxer]

So... on to the bunk room walls! We cut 2 regular 24" doors to a height that would work in the bus and started cutting out wall board to match that blasted roof curve. I love my curved roof for looks and lack of water pooling up top, but its a real pain to match it with the wall board lol. Here is the door and one wall mocked up.




Insulated the walls of the bunk room with foil faced fiberglass. The intent was as much for sound deadening as for retaining (or keeping out) heat, but it did a great job of keeping the bunk room toasty on our most recent trip.




Finished the wall between the master bedroom and bunk room!



Looking good if I do say so myself!



And with 7 foot long bunks, even us tallish guys can take a break!

[milkmania]

looks great and it looks like a lot of work going on too!!!

Originally Posted by TheRainbowBoxer

So... on to the bunk room walls! We cut 2 regular 24" doors to a height that would work in the bus and started cutting out wall board to match that blasted roof curve. I love my curved roof for looks and lack of water pooling up top, but its a real pain to match it with the wall board lol. Here is the door and one wall mocked up.




Insulated the walls of the bunk room with foil faced fiberglass. The intent was as much for sound deadening as for retaining (or keeping out) heat, but it did a great job of keeping the bunk room toasty on our most recent trip.




Finished the wall between the master bedroom and bunk room!



Looking good if I do say so myself!



And with 7 foot long bunks, even us tallish guys can take a break!

[EastCoastCB]

REAL marine grade plywood is 'spensive!

Marine Plywood Grades and Specifications

Boat Builder Central - products

OP- Nice to see pics of folks living in, and enjoying their buses.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

Up until now we had been using a folding table in the middle of the dinette for food and games... but it was a real bear to get around and wasn't big enough to really do much with.



I measured the seating area in about every direction you can imagine, and mocked tables up with cardboard etc. to make sure we wound up with tables we would be happy with.

I bought a couple recessed table bases and 27 1/2" legs. We already had table bases from the old camper, and I figured they would work fine for the underside of the table tops.

After verifying I wasn't going to cut into anything vital under the bus, I had my son Sam use a cheap hole saw to cut through the vinyl flooring and subfloor.





I then drilled little holes all the way around the hole and cut a starter hole through the galvanized steel with the one carbide hole saw I own. After that I used a jigsaw to finish the hole.




I then put a bead of, once again, roofing caulk around the hole and pressed in the base. I screwed it to the floor using stainless screws.




We bought a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood with a nice birch veneer and cut it into two table tops.



We had a friend route the edges and radius 2 corners on each table to make exit from the dinette easier. I had the (in my humble opinion) brilliant idea to edge the plywood with plastidip... the paint you dip tool handles into. It worked awesome and wasn't terribly expensive!



The tables were a little wobbly, so I attached a piece of angle bracket, sourced from a garage door hardware packet I saved, onto the wall side edge of each table, and used recessed "T" nuts and thumb screws to attach them to the wall, and still allow them to be removed. Finished product!



I also added a couple of RV style lights above the dinette, as the led domes are a little too dim for gaming.

[TheRainbowBoxer]

We have taken the bus in various states of completion to several places...

Multiple trips to the annual Steel Soldiers military vehicle off road rally in Southeast Indiana, where we also play around with our modified race/offroad lawnmowers.





Several camping trips with family and friends!




To Niagara Falls in Canada with another couple for an early 20th anniversary trip!





And many other trips! We are getting our money and sweat's worth out of our bus!

[EastCoastCB]

Very awesome!