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Old 01-02-2021, 11:04 AM   #61
FAC
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I am wanting to get rid of the light monitor too, did you get rid of all the wiring up to the header panel and just reconnect everything in the side electrical panel?

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Old 01-02-2021, 11:10 AM   #62
Bus Nut
 
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It was a process. First I labeled all of the wires, then I figured out which ones needed to be tied together for all of the necessary bus lights to work. I pulled the extra wires that went to the top lights. Then I traced the wires back to the side panel and remade the connections there.

It is not difficult, it just requires a bit of logic and methodical progression. As long as you have a basic understanding of dc electronics, it should be no problem.
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Old 01-02-2021, 11:38 AM   #63
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Thanks that’s what I’ve done so far with the door buzzers and flashers. I love how clean your electrical is now. Mine is still spaghetti and bugs me
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Old 01-03-2021, 10:54 AM   #64
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Thanks that’s what I’ve done so far with the door buzzers and flashers. I love how clean your electrical is now. Mine is still spaghetti and bugs me
Yep, cleaning up these wires was high on my list of priorities. Early in my messing around with the wires I had disabled my tail lights and wipers. It wasn't an issue since I haven't been driving anywhere, but once I had the extra wires out, it was crazy simple to figure out how to get everything working again. I have a milk crate full of the wires and components I removed.
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Old 01-16-2021, 06:32 PM   #65
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We Have Storage Bays!

Now that I have the water tanks mounted underneath the bus, I wanted to move on to our other basement additions. First on the list are our two 24x24x60 storage bays. They are taking up almost the entire space between the front and rear wheels.

Since I couldn't hang brackets from the chassis beams (water tanks in the way) I decided to drop 1/2" bolts through the floor of the bus and then hang the tanks with 60" lengths of unistrut on the inside of each box.

I had considered rivnuts set into the floor support ribs, but it didn't look like we'd be able to guarantee a secure mount. So instead I went with 5" galvanized bolts, drilled and tapped a thread through the floor, and secured with a fender washer and a screw to fix the bolt and prevent them from turning when we unmount the boxes later on when it's time to finish our plumbing. At that time, I'll also reinforce the rods on the underside of the bus (though I haven't decided how, yet).

I've never done any body work, so cutting a huge chunk of metal out of the side of our bus had me moving slowly and carefully. I ended up making 3 passes on my cuts to get them where I wanted them. At first, I thought I would tuck the boxes behind the bus side panels, but quickly realized that wasn't going to work nearly as well as I thought. I recut the opening so that the boxes would be able to stick out about 1/4" and would help keep the edge trim on the metal from slipping off.

Today we started deleting a couple windows where our closets will be. Every week, we make a little more progress.

We're not doing a roof raise (that one is beyond my current skill level) but we're making the most of what we have.
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Old 01-16-2021, 07:19 PM   #66
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Nice job. The boxes look like original equipment.
Jack
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Old 01-16-2021, 08:54 PM   #67
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Since I decided to remove the air actuator on the door, I repurposed the line that fed the system and connected it to a regulator for on-board air. I haven't tested it yet, I don't know what sort of CFM to expect, but that will come. For now, I just want to leave the system sitting overnight to see if it holds pressure. If it does, I will remove the two regulators for the crossing arm and stop sign, and cap off that second air line.

Once the other regulators are removed, I'll tidy things up, make the wires look nice, and then insulate and weatherproof the compartment. Not bad for a damp and chilly day's work!
How does your on board air work if you have used it? How much pressure does it run? Brad nailer or pneumatic wrench?
Your electrical looks real nice, I'm dreading that part but after seeing the results gonna push through it and not skip.
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Old 01-16-2021, 11:15 PM   #68
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How does your on board air work if you have used it? How much pressure does it run? Brad nailer or pneumatic wrench?
Your electrical looks real nice, I'm dreading that part but after seeing the results gonna push through it and not skip.

It’s working really well. I have an air cutoff tool that would not work off my 5 gallon compressor. That tool works great off the bus air. I need to have the engine running to keep the pressure up. But I’m satisfied that it will give me a pressurized air source whenever I need it.
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Old 01-16-2021, 11:17 PM   #69
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Nice job. The boxes look like original equipment.
Jack
Awesome! Thank you, that is much appreciated!
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Old 01-31-2021, 07:01 PM   #70
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Progress is slowing with the colder weather...

It's a little frustrating dealing with shorter days, colder weather, and the general dampness of the season, but we're still making a little headway. I have the 1,260 watt solar panel array hard mounted, while I work out how I will add the ability to tilt the panels. I'm more than halfway to a manual solution that will involve the panels being mounted on one side with gate hinges and a slide mechanism.

The real reason for mounting the panels now was to get them out of the way of my 30" undercarriage storage boxes. These are also 24" tall and 24" deep, and will go on the driver's side behind the front wheel. One will be for the generator and the other for our propane tanks, plus some tools. The boxes need to be installed before I can put in a subfloor.

We did manage to work more on insulating the ceiling and walls, plus deleting 2 windows on each side. We're now at the point where we have furring strips that provide an attachment point for our plywood ceiling panels. Since we'll be adding the ceiling before we frame our walls, I went ahead and ordered a bunch of led lights that we'll install in the ceiling, and run the wires down to the sides, so that we can hook them up at a future date. The lights are 3 watts and 300 lumens, so I'll run them ever couple feet from front to back in pairs wired for 24v. We'll probably have 4 switches for lights, with each switch controlling 6 lights.

If I can get those undercarriage boxes installed soon, we can insulate the floor and start framing. That's when things start gettin real! It's hard to believe we're at the 6 month point in our conversion. Yikes!
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Old 02-01-2021, 10:09 PM   #71
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Getting closer...

I had a chance a couple weeks ago to cut out a section of the bus wall for additional storage bins. These are for the generator and propane tanks. I was surprised how quickly this went compared to the first pair. I guess knowing what you're doing ahead of time really does make a difference!

Yes, they are mismatched. It's hard to pass up a good deal. I actually like the contrasting colors but they'll both get painted when we do the entire bus. Now, maybe we can move onto the subfloor!
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Old 02-06-2021, 11:13 AM   #72
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Looking good! Great progress!

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Old 03-12-2021, 10:28 AM   #73
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Roof Raise!

It’s been a few weeks since I added an update on our project, and the big news is that while work was paused due to a week of winter storms we found a fellow skoolie builder with welding and metalworking skills who waned to gain experience doing a roof raise.

We raised the roof below our windows, adding 12” to the overall height and taking the street height of the windows to 7’ at the bottom, adding privacy and giving us a panoramic view when moving about.

We had a 10 day window with no rain in sight so we scrambled to get as much done as we could, working around my business schedule. At this point we have 7 working days into the project with a 9-5 schedule and taking an hour break for lunch.

We have the bus skinned at this point, and remaining work includes welding in flanges for riveting the new side panels, converting the 2 piece entry door into a one-piece door, and finish work to make it all look nice before moving the project back home so we can add the subfloor and then frame and insulate our new walls.

We are currently at a stopping point while some stormy weather rolls through. The timing works for me because I just got the 2nd dose of the Moderna vaccine today and I’m feeling under the weather. It should blow over in a day or two based on what others have experienced.

Here are pics of the progress so far:
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Old 03-12-2021, 11:03 AM   #74
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Wow, looks amazing, great job so far! I like raising the windows to seven feet, do you mind me asking what size the square pieces are that fit perfectly inside those channels, looks like a real solid job.
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Old 03-12-2021, 11:39 AM   #75
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Wow, looks amazing, great job so far! I like raising the windows to seven feet, do you mind me asking what size the square pieces are that fit perfectly inside those channels, looks like a real solid job.
If I recall, that is 1.25" stock. We have some 2" angle pieces we still need to attach to each vertical so that we can then secure the side panels to the vertical ribs.
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Old 03-12-2021, 01:20 PM   #76
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Excellent work! I especially like the extended side door, that will be very handy with the extra height. I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that before.
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Old 03-24-2021, 11:31 PM   #77
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So many rivets!!!

We're still finishing up the details on the roof raise, installing rivets where they lend integrity to the shell, as well as a more finished appearance. I think I counted 467 rivets installed on Monday alone, and another 60-70 today while working on the details around the front where we added metal to bend around to the sides.

Anyway, I think a few more hours of effort and maybe the rivets will be done, then we can focus on cleaning up the lines on the bodywork. I think we're going to invest in some bondo to clean up the overlaps of metal and a bit of butchering with the air chisel.

Here's our concept for how we plan to paint our bus once the body work is finished. Do you like it?
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Old 03-24-2021, 11:35 PM   #78
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That paint job would be fantastic! Go Jackalopes!

Ted
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Old 03-25-2021, 08:01 PM   #79
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Very smart roof raise. Very nice

Johan
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Old 03-25-2021, 10:25 PM   #80
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Very smart roof raise. Very nice

Johan
Thanks! We're pretty excited about it, though it did throw us at least a month back on our anticipated build schedule. We're not stressing, though. We had plans to make a trip in early July, but if we can't be flexible, skoolie life is not for us.
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