Rusty 87 build thread

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Thanks, it does look so much better. The downside is that I've run out of places in the bus where I can cart gloppy stuff like paint and gasoline and seam sealer around; need to rig up a box behind my seat or something. Suddenly I need to actually care about where I put stuff.

I totally understand. I had to stop using ours as a mobile painting booth.


I now have a 5'x3'x3' wooden box we picked up for free off CraigsList which holds all those pesky (and potentially messy) things, plus a whole lot more.

[musigenesis]

[Native]

Are you going to cut curved pieces of XPS for that wheelhouse?

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

Are you going to cut curved pieces of XPS for that wheelhouse?

No, the insulation will be squared with that box over it. I thought about ways to make the whole structure conform to the curvature of the well, but it would have been extra work to utilize two small, inconvenient spaces.

[Native]

You can always toss in all the little bits and pieces from installing the rest of the XPS.

[musigenesis]

Lot of work with the table saw here.




Not doing that again. Easier to stick in a piece of 1.5" thick XPS and then glue a larger piece of 3/4" on to the outside to create the flange.




Various curved pieces and wedges glued on the inside. These don't have to support any weight or anything, they're just meant to keep the XPS pressed against the outer panels (once they're in place).





It occurred to me at this point that it wouldn't hurt to pack this empty space with fiberglass insulation. I don't have any, though, except old stuff I could pull off the walls in my garage attic. Decided to just leave it be.



Realized as I was putting this piece in that this is the last time I'll ever see that wheel well (barring a catastrophe of one variety or another). I've done so much work on all this stuff and it will be like it never existed.







This piece of plywood will form the bottom of a cabinet which I'll build on top of it. I'm going to have a slide-out trash can here with an opening in the counter above it so I can prep food and push the garbage through the hole.




This piece goes over the extra 1/8" galvanized plate that I screwed onto the last two ribs waaaaay back after I first demoed the bus. At the time, I thought the rear end of my bus was in danger of collapsing since the chair rail had entirely rusted through; this was meant to replace whatever structural strength the chair rail had been providing. Which it probably does, but it's probably unnecessary even so.

[musigenesis]

Whelp, my goal for today was to complete the insulation and framing on the driver's side. Can't say I almost made it, because this closet box is going to take some work - and even worse, some thinking!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

You can always toss in all the little bits and pieces from installing the rest of the XPS.

It's funny, I have generated an enormous amount of XPS dust from the table saw in my shop and I think it would be pretty effective as insulation if you packed it into a cavity and blocked it up - as long as it didn't settle over time and create voids, which it probably would.

As I mentioned, it occurred to me that I could/should have packed this box with some fiberglass insulation but I don't happen to have any at the house. The whole box is 2" XPS so it's as well-insulated as the rest of the bus, but it wouldn't have hurt to be slightly better insulated here.

[Native]

Your build is looking more like a construction site every day.


It is bitter-sweet to cover up a piece of work knowing only you know what work is under it. At least you do know.

[musigenesis]

The beveled hole is so my electric and water lines can cross over underneath the lip of the back floor. Not sure it will be big enough, but I should only have one line for water, a couple of AC lines and a few DC lines.



Ran out of gas and also I need some fishplates to these pieces together - the sill and and the smaller piece are basically just floating on the XPS and I don't yet have a good way to tie them in structurally.



If you're thinking "but it's so tiny", me too. I knew this was going to be the final dimensions with insulation (19" x 15") but somehow I imagined it being a little bigger lol. The closet above it will be larger (something like 30" x 22") and not all my clothes are long enough to hang down into the box, so it will be OK.

[Native]

It may look tiny, but if it does what it is supposed to do, then it is the right size.


I noticed that all your work on insulating the box raised the temperature 10 degrees!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

It may look tiny, but if it does what it is supposed to do, then it is the right size.


I noticed that all your work on insulating the box raised the temperature 10 degrees!

Well, that and the space heater. I'm getting this guy for Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VT24CLK/ so we'll see how much toastier it can get. I just need to get an AC->DC transformer now so I can power it up.

I am ashamed to say I bought a 15-amp inlet. It was only $20 and an extension cord is probably all I'm going to see for a few years at least.

[musigenesis]

............

[peakbus]

If I didn't spend so much time reading all your posts, I might actually accomplish something on MY bus! But then again if I didn't look at all your pictures, I wouldn't feel nearly as inadequate about my skills
Good job!

[Native]

Aw ... now that is a great Christmas gift to yourself.


With regards to the 15A circuit ... you gotta do what makes sense at the time. Changing it at a later date should the 15A service not be sufficient will be simple enough.

[JamesKS]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Well, that and the space heater. I'm getting this guy for Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VT24CLK/ so we'll see how much toastier it can get. I just need to get an AC->DC transformer now so I can power it up.

I am ashamed to say I bought a 15-amp inlet. It was only $20 and an extension cord is probably all I'm going to see for a few years at least.

I am one more trusted review away from pulling the trigger on one of those too! Please keep us updated and I appreciate you taking the time to document this.

[musigenesis]

Can't do any more of this box-in without figuring out exactly where the tub is going to go.



And that means it's time to chop it. I probably stood there with the circular saw in my hand for a good five minutes before I went ahead and cut. This tub was almost $200.



Not too bad and I can easily clean up the cut.



This is where it will be once I excise about 6" and connect the two pieces. I'm going to glue them, then weld with a soldering iron, then glue and weld a reinforcing strip of acrylic on the back side, then finally some Dynatron-570 (the white variant) over the seam on the front side. It will definitely be visibly a seam, but I think it will look OK.



I'm going to finish the tub framing and then I will reconnect the tub pieces so I can be sure the tub ends up the right size.



Framing all screwed in place. The batten here is to keep everything aligned while I fit the XPS - the opposite side is slightly off because I didn't do this and once I tried to align everything with the plywood, the wedged-in XPS didn't allow any more shifting.



This may be my last post, since we have a snowpocalypse rolling over Philly tomorrow. Calling for 12"+ of snow.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

Aw ... now that is a great Christmas gift to yourself.

Actually, my parents are getting this for me! Per my instructions, of course, and with my Amazon Prime account. So I guess it actually is to myself.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by peakbus

If I didn't spend so much time reading all your posts, I might actually accomplish something on MY bus! But then again if I didn't look at all your pictures, I wouldn't feel nearly as inadequate about my skills
Good job!

I guess I'm doing you a favor, then!

Thanks for the kind words, makes me feel less inadequate about my skills. Now if I could just manage to do this stuff quickly ...

[Native]

Re the tub: At least the piece you are to glue and solder is not a water HOLDING portion of the tub and is a watershed portion instead.


Re your skills: They are indeed top notch and your speed is incredible. I wonder every day how you can keep up with the thread, let alone the actual construction.