Sojourner - Page 3

sojourner · 12-17-2013, 08:09 PM

Hey Bansil,
The same was for us when we were doing the family travel trailer thing. It got to the point where it was a bit of a ballet (if you knew me you'd know just how funny that comparison is) with everyone doing their job. It works best that way as the sooner things are set the sooner everyone get's to start having fun!!

wmkbailey · 12-18-2013, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sojourner

Hey Bansil,
The same was for us when we were doing the family travel trailer thing. It got to the point where it was a bit of a ballet (if you knew me you'd know just how funny that comparison is) with everyone doing their job. It works best that way as the sooner things are set the sooner everyone get's to start having fun!!

Hey guys,

I'm getting for my first trip on Firday. How do you perform this ballet with one person?

I doubt I can get my dog to help.

bansil · 12-18-2013, 08:42 AM

easy, doggy sits inside where warm........you do everything by your self

I actually travel and setup a lot by myself...then wifey shows up and things like,leveling, dinner, fire and a glass of wine are ready for her arrival (just like a fancy resort........... on a parking lot budget)

sojourner · 12-18-2013, 12:06 PM

Well said Bansil!!!

sojourner · 12-19-2013, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Love the aqua farm approach. Since you have all this free time

You should come up with a skoolie sized system that we can take on the road.

Here's an idea that may work for some. Not a lot of fish production because of size, but weight would be easily handled. I built this back in 2008 on a lark. Was a cute little thing (now I see similar systems being sold on ebay and such (most have no idea who came up with the original)).

bansil · 12-19-2013, 06:38 PM

Wow that's cool as hell....ooops....heck

sojourner · 12-20-2013, 05:44 AM

Yea, aquaponics is way cool. If you're interested in it, google Barrel-ponics. I'm the guy who invented it and coined the phrase. I did not invent aquaponics (the Creator actually did that and some men discovered it later), just the using of plastic barrels to build systems. Been doing it for over 10 years now. I've even grown fruit bearing papaya trees in a half barrel of gravel. I've also traveled the globe teaching others and building systems. Maybe if there is enough interest in the subject among this community we may have to see about a rendezvous here to teach how it's done and maybe build some systems.

sojourner · 01-03-2014, 06:54 PM

I started the suckiest (is that a word?) job when owning a skoolie today. All I'm going to say is, rivets are so not fun to remove!! This is going to take a while

.

schoolmarm · 01-03-2014, 08:20 PM

Living in the North-West corner of Tennessee we do not get real brutal weather, it gets cold for sure but does not usually last for long periods of time. I am not a winter camper so it was not necessary for me to remove inner panels to install added insulation, nor do I camp where it is not possible for me to have electricity.

My bus is a 1984 chevy G-30 shorty, was a handicap bus but lift was removed before I bought it. It has a small fridge, couch, single bed, port-a-potty and a combination toaster oven with two burner hot plate. Usually go camping by myself but meet members of the camping club about once monthly.

Have not been too far from home with it as it still needs some mechanic work that will have to wait until spring.

I certainly enjoy and respect the work that a lot of you put into your skoolies.

sojourner · 01-05-2014, 07:02 AM

Yea, if this was mainly used s a camper I would not be going so deep into it nor have such large skoolie in the first place. THe plan, however, is to live in it full time so I'm going the extra mile, so to speak, and trying to make this as energy efficient as possible to reduce energy needs to run it off grid as much as possible.

sojourner · 01-05-2014, 07:07 AM

Some of the RV windows from my donor are taller than the height of the standard skoolie. Anyone have any suggestions whether I should remove the rain gutter and go up a bit to accommodate them or cut into the rub rail? I'm leaning on removing the rain gutter since I really don't want to effect the structural integrity any more than needed by removing or cutting the rub rail. Maybe lower the entire rub rail? I know I will have to remove the rain gutter and top row of rivets to blank in the windows and replace them while skinning to tie it ll together but just wondering who has experience either way and how it went.

somewhereinusa · 01-05-2014, 08:42 AM

I raised mine, but a Bluebird doesn't have a rain gutter. I did remove the entire section above the windows where a rain gutter would be. By putting the windows higher you don't need to stoop so much when looking out.

sojourner · 01-05-2014, 10:49 AM

Quote:

By putting the windows higher you don't need to stoop so much when looking out.

Yea this is what I was thinking as well. Since I'm going to have to do new rivets in places I couldn't see the value in having a rain gutter since there's going to be far less windows than stock.

On another note, is there any disadvantage to removing the bottom seat mount rail? If this can come out without creating structural issues it would eliminate the removal of most of the rivets required to simply remove the inner side panels.

somewhereinusa · 01-05-2014, 11:29 AM

I did add a rain gutter to keep so much water from cascading over the top of the new windows, a potential leak spot.

I left the chair mount rail in. It is a handy place to mount things to (one of the few truly straight and level places in the bus) I kind of use the space below it to run wire and water pipes in.

sojourner · 01-16-2014, 05:20 PM

Thanks guys for the info. Yea, we're gonna keep the chair rail and work around it. I don't want to remove any possible support. I finally got to taking out the lower inner panels. Trashed out my air hammer. It was, after all, 30 years old, RIP. Guess you could say it went out with it's boot on. Anyhow, I found one rusty place that had rusted through from the inside (result of that nasty insulation they use in these things, what were they thinking?) which should be an easy fix when I get my epoxy out.

I did have one causality in the process. Gotta love an air hammer in the close proximity of window. No problem though, I decided not to use any of them. just too much air can come through them for a full time kinda thing.

Now, when I get some time, to drill out the headliner rivets!! Oh joy!!

bansil · 01-18-2014, 05:49 AM

I really admire the folks stripping to the core and going for the fulltime status... Right now if I decided to full time in ours(wife thinks I am whacked out of my mind) I would have to winter way,way south.....and then snow bird it north in the summer

Insulation and thermal breaks make the biggest difference

Great job so far..keep it up

sojourner · 03-09-2014, 04:53 PM

OK gang,
IT's been a while since I last posted. Been real busy around here getting plantings and our small farm ready for spring. I haven't laid aside our project in the least, just need to get some things done so I can devote some time to it. I'm currently working on designing the frameworks to hang dual fuel tanks. I have a couple semi truck 115 gallon tanks that I have to slice off lengthwise to make them fit. They are 26" diameter and 53" long. I'll fit them in a 20" x 29" cavity under the floor just outside the frame rails. It'll give me about 90 gallons each tank with a range over 1800 miles. I'm going to remove the lower skirt panels and replace them with lower ones with storage boxes. This will still leave me 16" ground clearance the full length of the bus except for the axles. The only place where something will hang down will the the water tank (55 gallon drum) between the frame rails behind the differential. The front fuel tank frame will also be the mounts for the forward stabilizer jacks. The rear ones will be incorporated into the rear bumper mounts. I said all this to ask a question. The muffler hangs down a bit lower than I'd like and I would personally like to remove it and go straight pipe all the way and exit just forward of the right rear wheel. Anyone done this? If so, what were (if any) the issues?

Thanks,
Travis

sojourner · 03-09-2014, 06:16 PM

Hey Nat,
I'm not going all the way back. Gonna make a turn and go out just ahead of the rear wheel (eliminate some really weird unnatural bends). I know Diesels aren't quite as loud as gassers either especially with bigger pipes (mine looks to be 3-1/2"). I want to keep things as simple and trouble free as I can and that huge muffler is heavy and just in my way.

Tango · 03-09-2014, 09:25 PM

Just a note --- It is my understanding that in most states, diesels are not required to run mufflers and can run straight pipes. That's what I'm planning on doing. Saves on money and backpressure. And as you noted, with large diameter pipes, they aren't all that loud.

sojourner · 03-14-2014, 04:58 PM

Been spending a lot of time under the bus looking at ways to hang tanks, change exhaust and such (it's what you do when short on cash, obsessed with the project and want to do something!!). I'm looking over the cooling system and the rear heater hoses. They sure do make things complicated on these things. Is there a source out there that shows a good diagram of the heater system so I can make a good strategy as to what needs to come out, what needs to get re-routed as I make changes. Needless to say, when I'm done this thing is going to be much easier to work on and much simpler all around. I'll bet there's 100 feet of useless hose (dry cracked to boot) and 1000 ft. of wire that's coming out of it in short order!!

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