Rusty 87 build thread

[musigenesis]

Link to my question about how to install my sink.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

I really like what you did on that side door! Kudos!

Tip: Grab the hacksaw blade with vice grips and wrap a rag around the vice grips. This makes it much more comfortable to saw. The hardware stores also carry a device that is a plastic handle that will hold the blade. Those are GREAT.

Look at the "mini hacksaw" listed here: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/general...hacksaws-guide

Sounds like somebody knows how to escape from prison!

[musigenesis]

Starting my sink insulation. I'm going to glue the base of the sink to this piece of plywood; the blocks will keep the sink from shearing and hopefully lessen the stress on the glue.



They fit snugly into the base.



This base then also gives me a template that I can build the framing to, without having to haul that sink around.





I keep thinking I'm overbuilding the frame and then I have to haul the sink around and I start thinking I'm drastically under-building it.

[joeblack5]

I think there are longer threaded drains. Maybe one nut to hold the drain to the sing and then a second nut to pull the whole thing against the plywood. The square hole you cut already in the plywood is good so you can still access the first nut with sealing . Just take a large piece of metal or plywood to pull it to against the bottom of your mounting base.


Good luck,


Johan

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

I think there are longer threaded drains. Maybe one nut to hold the drain to the sing and then a second nut to pull the whole thing against the plywood. The square hole you cut already in the plywood is good so you can still access the first nut with sealing . Just take a large piece of metal or plywood to pull it to against the bottom of your mounting base.

Ah, I see what you're saying. Yeah, that would provide some downforce on the sink via the drain. Nice idea.

[musigenesis]

Some additional bracing and attachment points.



Now I just have to glue the sink to this base and it will be ready for permanent installation. Permanent, assuming the glue holds.



The box is pretty much self-supporting, but it's also anchored to the wall with 4" screws run through these blocks into the blocks attached to the bus ribs. The box is probably not going anywhere in a crash; I'm less sure about the sink.

[musigenesis]

Sigh, automotive primer in a rattlecan is kind of not rust-proof by itself. I need some good weather so I can do some external rust remediation. Unfortunately, we're getting good weather next week (60s and sunny).



Glued my sink to the plywood base last night with Gorilla Glue construction adhesive - didn't have time to wait for fancier stuff. I was actually hunting around for stuff to weight it down with until I remembered how heavy it is on its own. Shoes are there because they have to go somewhere.

I'm going to let the glue cure for a few days before attempting to put this in. I'm also a bit uncertain as to my physical ability to even do it.



Last remnant of the snow mound I built shoveling my driveway. This dude is resilient.



Started on insulating my rear exit door.

[musigenesis]

More back door work.









Sooooooo slow.

[musigenesis]

No excuses next week.

[musigenesis]

I'm shifting the latch and door handle down about three inches and left about six inches. My bed frame is going to stick out into the doorway by 5" (it's 30" wide) and be 6" below the bottom of the back window, so I can't reinstall the latch in its original position. By shifting it left and down, I can make the latch catch on a piece of steel welded to the corner of the bed frame, and swap the latch arms so they'll both still run to the corners.

I could see a bed holding a back door closed if it opened inwards, but this might be the first case of a bed holding an outward-opening door in.



These little corner wedges were very annoying, as they're small enough to split easily. Took most of the afternoon to get all four in place.



For added fun, I had to work around these corner brackets.







I feel good about how solidly this framing is attached to the original door. But I feel a lot less good about the side door now since it's attached with a lot fewer screws.

[musigenesis]

Added some more wood in the corners to support the latch arm brackets, which will have to be at odd angles for the new latch position.



Insulated the door. Because I already had plywood over the bottom window hole, this foam stuck out 1/8" too far so I had to shave it all down with an orbital sander.



How is this door taking so long? I want to die. And I still have to put the inside plywood panel on, and I realized I'm going to have to extend both of the latch arms with about 2" of flat bar so they can reach the corners. So maybe I have two days left on this, argh.

[musigenesis]

This is the inside of my latch mechanism and shows how much they leak. This wasn't even the original latch; it had been replaced at least once. I think these three-point latches are a great design, very sturdy and it's impossible for them to open accidentally, but the part that sticks through to the outside I guess is just impossible to waterproof.



Near-finished flap disk caught and exploded on me here. The nut was touch to get off and I thought I was going to have to toss another angle grinder on the pile of jammed angle grinders but I was able to get it loose, woo hoo! It's my favorite, too, because it's so light, but it also has no dead-man switch which is insane for a tool like this.



Inside panel attached and edges sanded flush.



Bed frame simulator. My frame is 30" wide and is the reason I have to shift the latch to the left.







I'll weld something beefier than this angle bracket to the corner of my bed frame when I install it.







I thought these arms (switched top and bottom from their original spots) were going to work perfectly for extending to the corners, and then I thought they weren't and I was going to have to cut and lengthen them. Fortunately I was right the first time.



The bottom one needed a notch to fit around the red handle.









Looks kind of funky, but it works. Finally finished with this door.

[musigenesis]

I built all of my interior walls in one day! That has to be some kind of skoolie record.





The top block is screwed into three furring strips with two decking screws each. It's attached firmly but I wish I had put some more forethought into this and had better structure under the ceiling for this.







My on-demand water heater will be mounted at the top of this wall and the plumbing lines will run up inside this wall, so I need to notch out this beam to allow the lines up from below. I have to remember to cut a matching notch in the plywood with the sink glued to it, since it will be almost impossible to do it once it's installed.



Some ugly plywood but it will be covered by the shower wall.



There will be some additional framing in here once I buy my water heater and figure out where everything will go. I briefly thought about mounting it on something that would pivot so I could have easy access to it either from the sink or from the shower, but that's orders of magnitude more complicated than what I need.

This looks a lot more like a pinball machine than I was expecting.



I wanted to do this whole piece as a single for strength but didn't have the stock. Oh well.



All my walls built in one day. Amazing!

And I have to say: I hate it. I hate having walls anywhere in this bus. I accept that I need to have this one, but even this tiny half-wall blocks a bunch of light and makes it more claustrophobic inside. I might have to put little windows in this thing.



Rubber for shock absorption for the sink (I'm hoping).





Rubber glued in with Gorilla glue construction adhesive (I'm also hoping this works on this rubber but if not it will be held down by the sink anyway.



Tomorrow I'll be able to install the sink, if I can line up some carrying assistance, and then I can see how it holds up under driving.

[musigenesis]

Got my brother to help me get my sink into the bus. Realized as we were putting it in that my plan was to angle screws into the top towards the outside edge - but that's difficult to do when there's a sink in the way, which is why I shouldn't have glued the sink to the plywood ahead of time.



Fortunately this angle-drilling attachment saved my bacon. It can get in at the edge and still angle the screw outwards. Handy gadget to have.



I also ran screws up into the plywood through these angle blocks.



Was only able to get a few screws into the back side, but it should be enough.







Some attachment straps for my bed frame.



Haven't welded anything for a while.



A grinder and paint ...



Straps on the head end of the frame are angle steel. I'll add one more hole through the frame itself so each will have three screws.







Ran out of gas to get this installed tonight. First thing tomorrow for a lovely 70° day.

[musigenesis]

Test fitting.



I forgot that bed is square, wall is not square. It's only about 1/4", which actually helped with the latch stop.



I was originally going to support the front corner with a single post, but I didn't want the full weight of it pressing down on the plywood floor with no support underneath it other than the XPS. This frame will also let me anchor the drawers underneath the bed on that side.







Middle post is temporary, but there will be something like in the end. Behind it will be my fresh water tank and pump, ahead of it will be three drawers. I'm not sure what size and dimensions of tank I'm getting yet, so I don't know how wide the drawers can be. There's more storage space underneath the bed than I was thinking there would be.



Three 2" #14 wood screws for each bracket. Hand-screwed with much pain but I can't seem to drive them without stripping them in any other way. I really need to buy an impact driver.





This space came out narrower than I was thinking it would be. I was going to have something like a slide-out vertical drawer, but it will be easier to just have shelves accessible from the closet side.



Side straps have two #14 wood screws each.



Since the bed frame had a 1/4" gap with the back wall, I was able to weld the latch stop onto the back.







After some more welding horror, I decided to try, for the first time, wearing my eyeglasses. And I could see the puddle! Pic is too dark but the inside corner of this was actually a pretty nice bead.



Gusset on the underside for reinforcement.



Feels very solid.



Home & Garden shots.

[musigenesis]

Tried out the mattress. Feels a bit weird to be lying at window level, but you can't really see inside with the tinted windows, especially when they're doubled up like this. I didn't want to go any lower to maximize storage space underneath.



Latch is well away from the mattress. My original plan had the mattress bumping right up against this at its original position, which would have led to perpetual grease stains.



The view from my hammock - about half the time while swinging.



Had a nice little nap here. With all the windows open, you feel even tiny breezes.



Fan helps with breezes, too.



I think I've reached the milestone of being able to quarantine myself in my bus if necessary, given an extension cord from somewhere. And wifi.



Only bummer is that this has been my bed for more than a year now in my house. I have to build a new one now.

[johnbloem1974]

Man, this is really coming along nicely! I love following the progress!



John

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by johnbloem1974

Man, this is really coming along nicely! I love following the progress!



John

Thanks! It's a strange experience seeing this starting to become an actual habitable space. Even for me it's kind of like watching somebody else do it.

[musigenesis]

So, I drove off for the second time with the extension cord still plugged in to my inlet. Realized it as I sent the trash can flying, and when I got back after dropping my bus at the lot, I found that the cord in the garage had shifted my freezer a few inches and left the lid completely open. I really really need to make a checklist.

The good news is my sink survived its first drive over lots of potholes. It's still firmly glued down. This might actually work!

[musigenesis]

Figuring out where my stove is going to go.



Temp platform to get it up to 36", although I may actually use it permanently.







This piece of countertop will be hinged in the middle so it folds down to cover the cabinet I'll build behind it. The hinged part will be suspended by a cable from a hook on the ceiling.



This piece of countertop will be 30" from the front side and will work as a kitchen table. On the back side it will be 33" from the dropped floor, which is better than 36" for me for some tasks, will also be handy for setting stuff on from the stove etc.

One of the unanticipated benefits of the dropped floor is that it puts the kitchen stuff 3" lower so it obscures less of the windows.



Plenty of room behind for the propane lines.



I was going to make an angled bit of wall here, but it occurred to me that it's a perfect spot for a fire extinguisher instead.