Rusty 87 build thread

[musigenesis]

(not counting any of the floor repair or the yellow paint; this is just from above the painted sheet metal to the plywood, inside the living space)

Plywood $90
Wood filler $42
Primer + porch paint $60
2" XPS foam board $60
Welding gas $28
Welding wire $8
Spike screws $20
Deck fasteners $50
1.25" oak dowel $100

Total $458

I saved a bit of money with Craigslist plywood and XPS, at the cost of a lot of extra time refurbishing the plywood. Assuming about $45 for a 4'x8' sheet of decent 3/4" plywood and $30 for a 4'x8' sheet of 2" XPS, the plywood would have been $315 and the XPS would have been $180, so I saved about $300 - that's like 40% off.

Using oak dowel instead of pine might have been overkill, but I had zero cases of the stuff splitting when I drove a screw into it, so I don't mind. I was pathologically unable to do simple math and realize that a 36" piece of dowel was good for only 18 of these little pieces (of which I needed around 200). I kept ordering three at a time and wondering why I didn't have enough dowel around.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by plfking

On the other hand, you may have discovered an alternative to the routing out of pex lines for radiant floor heating.

A turkey baster full of gas! I like it.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by plfking

On the other hand, you may have discovered an alternative to the routing out of pex lines for radiant floor heating.

kinda like pouring a little napalm along your pex lines. not for me

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Thanks a lot. It's pretty strange to be in my bus now after imagining this for so long.

I have of course already tripped on the edges of the sunken part two or three times. I'm reasonably certain I'm going to step backwards over the edge at some point and turn my ankle. But somehow I managed to never impale myself on one of the upright screws.

I have a temporary solution to keep you from tripping on the kitchen floor to the back or front. Build an insert of 2x4 (or whatever fits) and plywood [like an inverted half-box] that brings the floor to level while you are working. I think that once you have the furnishings and all installed, you will no longer trip on the transition.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

I have a temporary solution to keep you from tripping on the kitchen floor to the back or front. Build an insert of 2x4 (or whatever fits) and plywood [like an inverted half-box] that brings the floor to level while you are working. I think that once you have the furnishings and all installed, you will no longer trip on the transition.

That is a good idea.

[ol trunt]

Way to go Native. First we didn't get to see the bolt through the foot pics thanks to the wood dowels and now we'll miss out on the flat-on-his-back pics as well.
Jack

[musigenesis]

Seriously, Native. You are impairing the humor value of this site.

[banman]

Nice progress!

[musigenesis]

Reference pics. Starting to plan out how I'm going to attach the insulation and wall paneling to the bulkhead wall.





The adult-stage lanternflies have shown up.



There was a new tree growing in my lot right over my door; looked up today and saw those guys hanging (and lots more elsewhere). Turns out the tree is a Tree of Heaven (aka Chinese Sumac) which is the type of tree these guys reproduce on. I then noticed that the tree had sprouted off the big tree shading the back of my bus, also a Tree of Heaven. The grey-black goo that is currently covering the back of my bus is lanternfly poop; it's this high-sugar glop that attracts mold.

I'm definitely going to have to wash this stuff off, and see if my landlord minds if I chop this tree down (I'm taking out the little one, at least).

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Reference pics. Starting to plan out how I'm going to attach the insulation and wall paneling to the bulkhead wall.

Attachment 47442

Attachment 47443

The adult-stage lanternflies have shown up.

Attachment 47444

There was a new tree growing in my lot right over my door; looked up today and saw those guys hanging (and lots more elsewhere). Turns out the tree is a Tree of Heaven (aka Chinese Sumac) which is the type of tree these guys reproduce on. I then noticed that the tree had sprouted off the big tree shading the back of my bus, also a Tree of Heaven. The grey-black goo that is currently covering the back of my bus is lanternfly poop; it's this high-sugar glop that attracts mold.

I'm definitely going to have to wash this stuff off, and see if my landlord minds if I chop this tree down (I'm taking out the little one, at least).

Can you load up a pressure washer with a soap dispenser and soap/foam down the tree and your bus , let it sit for awhile then rinse it off. Maybe clean your bus, fertilize the tree (or kill it) and kill the bugs all in one swoop. Might research the soap first, cause killing the tree is probably a bad idea. I know soap is used by gardeners to get rid of some types of pests because it is considered non toxic, but I am not clear on the details or what kind of soap. Also, I would not use high pressure on the tree because it would skin up the bark and possibly kill the tree.

[musigenesis]

I wonder how noticeable a void like this in insulation would be inside. It would a be a cold/hot spot for sure.







This shows I didn't really carve out the underside sufficiently to fit over the angle steel on the edge.

[JDSquared]

I ran threaded rod and nut through my floor after my xps was down. About to run some more for those tool boxes I bought. I cut a circle out of the xps around the nut and then filled it with spray foam.

That's about the equivalent r value isn't it? Esp if you didn't burn through all the way.

[Caplansail]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

This arrangement really holds the door tight, no rattling at all. This handle I bought sucks - the latch action is pretty stiff and you don't really get enough leverage with the little handle to work it easily. I think I'm going to make something using a turn wheel like what they have on submarines.]

Check Craigslist Hudson Valley post id 7146338448
A 14” chrome(?) marine steering wheel $50. Thought of you when I saw it.

[musigenesis]

The screws I used to attach these panels originally were so bad for this. These star drive deck screws work 100 times better. I'm going to redo this whole back section with them once I order some more.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

I ran threaded rod and nut through my floor after my xps was down. About to run some more for those tool boxes I bought. I cut a circle out of the xps around the nut and then filled it with spray foam.

That's about the equivalent r value isn't it? Esp if you didn't burn through all the way.

Should be about the same R value, especially because it's so small.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Caplansail

Check Craigslist Hudson Valley post id 7146338448
A 14” chrome(?) marine steering wheel $50. Thought of you when I saw it.

Ha ha, nice! I'm going to think about this one. I gotta say "destroyer style" is a nice selling point.

[musigenesis]

Lanternfly poop on the back of my roof.



They eat the sap of the tree they're on and crap out this sugary goo that a particular mold grows in. It's easy to clean off but I'm going to have to be doing this on a regular basis since the Tree of Heaven over my bus is too big to chop down.



This is the outer sill of front passenger window, which leaks but only when the bus is angled down at my parking spot. This is a shot of the seam I put in with my pinky, basically, and you can see how there's a little gap near the corner.



Testing if this is the source by using my finger to pool water in the corner.



Yup. Interestingly, I can turn the hose on this corner and there are no leaks, but just allowing a small pool to form allows the water to come through. This is why the leaks only occur when my bus is sloped forward (at my lot I have blocks to level the bus out somewhat but not completely; parked on the blocks I get a little bit of water inside, but if I park without the blocks I get a ton). At my spot the bus also leans slightly the left, which is why all my window leaks are on the passenger side.





Redid the seam using my new paintable Dynatron and a little craft brush. I'll see if this worked after lunch once it dries a bit.



Back end is still leaking from some unknown source. I thought it might be the window above, but I was able to reproduce the leaking while keeping the hose down below the window. It seems like the leak must be from one of these screws that holds on the rub rails, so we'll see if I got it this time.



My trailer-style tail lights are not waterproof and allow leaking through the hole for the wires. I'm going to need to seal these lights on the outside, but I can't do that until I paint, so in the meantime hopefully these globs of sealant with keep things inside watertight.







It makes sooooooo much sense to deal with leaks after putting in your subfloor.

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Lanternfly poop on the back of my roof.

Attachment 47498


Attachment 47508

JEEZUS! I thought the pine sap I deal with was annoying!


HA! HA! your tag almost says HeMP!


Your build is amazing, considering what you started with, BTW.



Aloha!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

HA! HA! your tag almost says HeMP!

It used to have 4/20 as the expiration date, too.

[musigenesis]

Finally fixed the mystery leak in my back wall.



The source was basically the entire bottom edge of the rub rail here. Just below this edge is the top of the sheet I welded in to repair my back corner, and water was coming in along that seam and pooling and then pouring down in one stream. I did have seam sealer over this and it looked visually like it was completely sealed, but it still leaked until I put this thicker, ugly seam all over it.





I'm going to make sure this has fixed the leak, and then I'll strip it off and re-do it in a more attractive fashion.

I think I have all the leaks in my bus fixed now (except for I think my windshield is leaking, but maybe it isn't), and I'll get a good test with the remnants of Hurricane Whatever passing by tomorrow.