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Old 07-03-2020, 01:06 PM   #101
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Back from the dead

Ok, I am back from the dead. We've been a little busy the past two months (having a baby, packing up our house, getting the bus ready to move to the next build location, etc.) but I'm back at it again.


I guess the biggest update is that I made it from Kentucky to Michigan with virtually no issues. I looked a bit ridiculous driving down the road with a bus, motorcycle on the back of the bus, pulling a pickup with a canoe on top and bicycles on the back of that.




I ended up with a pretty janky set up on my tow hitch but it worked for the time being. I'll be replacing it with a more elegant solution while I'm up here. I am going to be building a new hitch that will be bolted to the chassis rather than the bumper so that will help a lot. I will probably keep the supplemental "Ready Brake" system, but I wouldn't buy it again if I had to do it over. If you want to know more about why just let me know.



One disappointment has been the long term stability of my spray foam. It seems like the foam is slowly settling (and in some cases separating from the walls). So I will have to retract my unqualified recommendation of Louisville Spray Foam. I know it is probably at least partially due to my prep of the walls, but the foam looked perfect when I picked it up and I thought it was supposed to set up hard almost instantly. Not sure what happened.




Anyway, next up is running the low voltage lines and sheathing the walls.

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Old 07-03-2020, 09:48 PM   #102
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That sure sounds like a mistake in application. The company should be held to make it good. However, you have since moved from there.
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Old 07-04-2020, 05:49 AM   #103
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What kind of prep work did you do on this? I wonder if you got a fine coating of dust on the surface somehow. I'd think that if the foam didn't actually adhere to the surface, road vibration would eventually cause it to do this. I wonder if road vibration could cause this to happen even with well-adhered spray foam, in a situation where you don't immediately cover the spray foam with the new wall material (which would prevent it from sagging and coming out like this).

I wonder if maybe all spray foam jobs in buses tend to separate from the surface like this, but the interior walls and ceilings either prevent it or hide it?
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Old 07-04-2020, 06:28 PM   #104
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What kind of prep work did you do on this? I wonder if you got a fine coating of dust on the surface somehow. I'd think that if the foam didn't actually adhere to the surface, road vibration would eventually cause it to do this. I wonder if road vibration could cause this to happen even with well-adhered spray foam, in a situation where you don't immediately cover the spray foam with the new wall material (which would prevent it from sagging and coming out like this).

I wonder if maybe all spray foam jobs in buses tend to separate from the surface like this, but the interior walls and ceilings either prevent it or hide it?
For prep all I really did was use the wire wheel to try to knock down some of the remnants of the fiber insulation I took out. There was probably dust...ok, definitely dust. I didn't think it was going to be a huge deal since it is supposed to cure rock hard and once that happens it shouldn't move...hypothetically speaking. When I contacted the company he said an oily/greasy film might cause that. He offered to fix it but I had already left town. I just wanted to let you all know to do more prep than I did.
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Old 07-22-2020, 10:38 AM   #105
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update

Things are coming along now. I have the walls mostly sheathed.


Seat belts for the long couch installed

Built the short couch that will house our electrical equipment


Built the moveable portion of the couch that will pull out to be a bed

Built raceways for the wiring


And started on the kitchen cabinets

All of which made a looooot of sawdust
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Old 07-22-2020, 12:57 PM   #106
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Looking pretty incredible. Great build! Love the propane setup.
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Old 07-23-2020, 02:29 AM   #107
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Looks like you had snow inside the shop!
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Old 07-23-2020, 07:41 AM   #108
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Looking great!! You are off to a good start! Are you using a Kreg jig for your joints it looks like?
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Old 08-06-2020, 09:41 AM   #109
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Looks like you had snow inside the shop!
Just a looooottt of sawdust (or "man glitter" as I like to call it)
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Old 08-06-2020, 09:47 AM   #110
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Looking great!! You are off to a good start! Are you using a Kreg jig for your joints it looks like?
Yes, I am. I built one cabinet with a dado (groove) cut for the floor, but that was a pain since I don't have my actual dado blades here. My education in cabinet building is entirely from Youtube so I've seen people build them both ways. Not sure if there is a difference in long term durability or not.
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Old 08-06-2020, 10:22 AM   #111
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Yes, I am. I built one cabinet with a dado (groove) cut for the floor, but that was a pain since I don't have my actual dado blades here. My education in cabinet building is entirely from Youtube so I've seen people build them both ways. Not sure if there is a difference in long term durability or not.
I like working with steel... So I am also a beginner with wood... So I don't know which way is stronger. I know when I started using glue and a Kreg joint, it turned out much stronger than my previous attempts to build something out of wood!! Keep up the good work!!
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Old 09-03-2020, 06:55 AM   #112
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Electricity

We have POWER!


A lot of non-standard wiring going on here...but it all works...




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Old 09-03-2020, 07:10 AM   #113
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kitchen updates

I had to get the bus "livable" for a two week trip that we had to do for work so I temporarily mounted my sink on supports, built a countertop out of scrap plywood, and installed the refrigerator



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Old 09-03-2020, 07:23 AM   #114
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mini split install

...Also, our temporary window AC hanging out one of the emergency windows was not cutting it in Kentucky...ick


Thankfully I know an AC technician and he helped me get the mini-split installed!
Here are the brackets I built to support it under the bus. I debated about putting it on the back of the bus versus under the bus and ultimately decided that under was the way to go (I'll just have to do a good job of closing it up and protecting it for the winter).




I was working by myself to get the components installed so I used some ratchet straps to lift the unit off the ground and get it onto the brackets




Then my friend came over and we got started on running the lines

Then we did a nitrogen pressure test and vacuum test. This was the part that I felt like I needed a professional for. It isn't that complicated, but you do need some specific equipment that is quite expensive.



Got the indoor unit installed and fired it up...

Great success! It works! The only problem we had was that the condensation drain was not angled properly and started leaking on us in the middle of the night. Once I re-routed it out the back of the bus I have had no issues with the system at all. I think this 12K Pioneer will be fine for us since we plan to avoid hot weather in general by staying north, but if you are one of those unfortunate souls that lives in the south you will probably need more (or find better shade...or take out more of your original bus windows...)
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Old 09-03-2020, 08:32 AM   #115
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many of these inside units have 2 drain pipes in the tray.. only one is typically drilled open to the outside.. several peoiple have alleviated the water drip issues by opening that other hole and having two drain lines. as that way even if your bus is parked tilted the water will drain properly..
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Old 09-08-2020, 10:08 PM   #116
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Electrical system

Any electrical wizards out there want to trouble shoot my electrical plan???

My 120V AC panel and 50A shore power are already installed and working well. I have purchased four Valence batteries off of Ebay. I think I am pretty well set on the Victron inverter/charger. The stuff that is still a little fuzzy to me is what fuses/breakers are really required. One diagram I saw indicated that there should be a pre-main breaker between the shore power and the inverter but others did not show that. Does anyone else have one? Also, the Victron Multiplus has the capability to charge a secondary battery bank (in this case the bus batteries), what kind of fuse should go between the Multiplus and the bus batteries?

I won't be doing the solar side of things for another month or two so I've got more time to get that ironed out.
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Old 09-08-2020, 10:58 PM   #117
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water heater



I am getting close to installing my tankless water heater, but I have run into a bit of a snag with the vent. The vent termination pipe that it comes with is just a straight piece of pipe with some holes around it at the end. The problem is that it will stick out 10 inches from the side of the bus. This is both ugly and likely to get damaged. I have been trying to find some vent caps that are streamlined and don't look ugly but haven't found anything yet. Has anyone else installed an Eccotemp i12? How did you vent it?
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Old 09-08-2020, 11:24 PM   #118
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Is there a preference to a water heater made by Suburban (6 gallon) Vs going with a larger unit like above?
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Old 09-09-2020, 01:14 PM   #119
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Is there a preference to a water heater made by Suburban (6 gallon) Vs going with a larger unit like above?
The preference is a tankless, or on-demand, heater vs a tanked, 6 or 10 gallon, heater. The advantages of the tankless is you will not run out of hot water. If you are like my teenager, you will want a 110* shower for 45 minutes. The advantage to the tank heater is he will run out of hot water in 4-5 minutes! I'm going back and forth on the water heater only because someone gave me a NOS 6 gallon heater. That's a lot cheaper than buying a tankless heater.

I have used a 6 gallon heater in a RV before. The benefit of it being small capacity is it regenerates quickly. I don't remember having to shower in cold water, but I do remember my showers needed to be as quick as possible. One drawback is you have water sitting in there constantly being kept hot, wasting whatever resource you are using to heat your water.

There are some pretty inexpensive on-demand units on the market, $150 or less.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078M9VYRG...v_ov_lig_dp_it
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Old 09-09-2020, 02:06 PM   #120
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Is there a preference to a water heater made by Suburban (6 gallon) Vs going with a larger unit like above?
There are RV specific tankless options as well like this one.

I have heard good things about this brand, however, it only puts out 42K BTU VS the Eccotemp i12 which puts out 80K BTU I believe. Your requirements depend on your environment (how cold your ground water is). If you plan on staying in warm places then it will probably be fine. If you want to take a hot shower after a long day of skiing the backcountry then it probably won't be the best choice.
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