There and back again... Our future adventure transport.

bunedoggle · 06-17-2010, 12:56 PM

Love the layout. Really love it. One suggestion though, which actually was suggested to me, and now I'm passing it on:
Most campsites and most damp stations expect your dump valve to be on the driver's side. The toilet has to go directly over the blackwater tank (it drops straight in). You don't want to run a 3" pipe full of sewer from one side of the bus to the other. The dump valve attaches directly to the blackwater tank, so having that tank on the drivers side is pretty critical.

I would recommend swapping the shower and toilet to the other side.

I changed my layout on the same recommendation. I ended up relocating my starting batteries to the engine compartment so I could use the battery area for blackwater and I'm glad I did. I have my gray water on the passenger side and I ran a 1 1/4" pipe across to the dump valve.

Looking forward to seeing more of your build!

Locutus · 06-17-2010, 01:09 PM

Nice bus. I've been looking for something just like this myself. I notice from your floor plan that your toilet will be forward of the rear wheelwell, directly over the belly bin. Are you planning to position your black water tank inside the belly bin? To me, this is the achilles heel of this bin storage design. I'd rather have the bins free for other storage. Bluebird made some buses with the bins positioned further forward but they are usually smaller bins. So it's a tradeoff, I guess. Although I originally wanted a bus with belly bins, I'm starting to rethink this strategy, because if I buy a bus without these, I can make my own and position them (and the holding tanks) anywhere I want.

browncrown · 06-17-2010, 06:29 PM

Very nice bus...congratulations.

Like Smitty said, if you need to, you can run the pipe to the left side for the sewer. I was forced to put my black tank on the right because the Crown has a midship engine right in the middle and I had to work around all of the engine stuff. It's no big deal and an added plus is that the 7 foot pipe running across gives you about 2.5 gallons more of capacity for all the ugly stuff coming out of the tank

bus-ted · 06-20-2010, 09:59 AM

Not one of those "whistle while you work" people, eh? Hahaha. I had to comment on the painter's facial expression.

slideforlife · 06-30-2010, 02:38 PM

Looks like you got your hands full there.

Is that plywood standard on bus floors under the rubber? what was under the plywood?
I'd like to rip down to whatever's at the bottom before I start the bus-kote and carpetting but I don't want to rip out the bottom layer.

also if you don't mind, do know what kind of insulation (keeping heat in) you can expect from the bus-kote?

I want the inches and insulation: you know, the cake and eat it too.

awesome thread btw.

Diesel Dan · 07-06-2010, 12:41 PM

Ooooooh! Isn't it a glorious feeling to look at your freshly de-rusted and painted floor?!

Diesel Dan · 07-06-2010, 02:23 PM

I screwed mine down, and haven't driven enough to know how well that will work out. I used red rosin paper, 1/4" polyiso, and 1/2" plywood. I went with thinner materials than many people use due to headroom issues, so I hope it works out!

JakeC · 07-06-2010, 05:44 PM

I left mine mostly floating. It is only attached in the centers, and even that is minimal. I have a couple good explanation of how I did it on my thread. I haven't had any issues yet, and have been dealing with some pretty extreme heat and humidity. I'm actually very happy with it so far. I used advantech on my house and I will say it is nice stuff, but for the price I'm pretty happy with my 3/4" plywood. I just spaced 1/8" around everything.

busdriver_phil · 07-06-2010, 08:00 PM

Those with floating floors, did you do anything to secure your interior walls to the floor? I'm still in the planning stages, and have thought about doing 1x2 furring strips, screwed through the metal, to serve as attachment points for the floor, walls, and cabinets.

Also, I know it's been mentioned before, but what are the differences between polyiso and polystyrene? Which is better?

lornaschinske · 07-06-2010, 08:49 PM

Polyiso, usually the "Blue" or "Pink" foamboard is a better choice than polystyrene. It has a slightly higher R-value per inch thickness than polystyrene. Apparently polyiso isn't used a whole lot here in NM. We are used to buying in all different thicknesses in NC, SC, GA, & TN. We can only find two thicknesses of polyiso in Albuquerque (Lowes & Home Depot). We need to be able to glue paneling directly to the foam insulation board. The Dow RMax (blue... out here it's white) and Owens Corning Foamular (pink) are our preferred choices. But we can only find it in 3/4" and 1/2" (need 1").

Polyiso R-Value = 5 per 1 inch thickness
Polystyrene R-Value = 3.6 per 1 inch thickness

Seeria · 07-14-2010, 11:09 AM

I must have missed something or misread or ... gone nuts, that happens with age. Is that roof some type of sheeting or is that the paint on rubber coating stuff?

Seeria · 07-16-2010, 07:59 AM

Yes yes good score and you are sending them all to me 'cause you WUB me!

On that note, I'm off to scour the local auto junk yards. Has to be one around here somewhere.

dirtygoat · 12-04-2010, 05:05 PM

Looks good... I'm liking the carpet on the ceiling more and more...

I've noticed that I get condensation inside just where the ribs are... Anyone else notice that??? I'm thinking I'll squirt some foam in the ribs...

Seeria · 12-05-2010, 07:19 AM

Great install. Bitch with carpet is it is a great dust, bug, mite and mold hide out, so needs constant upkeep from my limited (only a year) experience. Great for sound deadening! Pain to clean.

browncrown · 12-05-2010, 12:31 PM

Glenn, Beautiful work on the carpet...you will also fine that it makes a great noise insulator

putterspitt · 01-08-2011, 10:30 PM

how are the wood strips holding up on the ceiling?

Stuff · 01-09-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seeria

Great install. Bitch with carpet is it is a great dust, bug, mite and mold hide out, so needs constant upkeep from my limited (only a year) experience. Great for sound deadening! Pain to clean.

ya my shorty is carpeted up the walls and its a dust catcher... works good to deaden the sound though.

Jarlaxle · 01-09-2011, 04:12 PM

I'm not a fan of a carpeted ceiling (or floor, acually)...rather than that, I'm planning on using an idea shamelessly taken from Cliff (GoneCamping) and what he did in his Saf-T-Liner: a direct-mount drop ceiling. Gives insulation (you could-and I plan to-stuff the area above the tiles with insulation), looks good, and cleaning is easy.

Jarlaxle · 01-09-2011, 08:18 PM

I looked at about twenty buses before finding a high-clearance model.

It cost more than I'd hoped, but it was the perfect bus: high ceiling, under-chassis bays, full air brakes, DT466 engine, and front & rear air conditioning. The only things I don't like are the automatic transmission and the Dayton wheels. I'm not a little guy, but not that tall...just short of 6', my wife is 5'8". One way I maximise the available height is by most of the floor insulation being sprayed-on foam underneath the bus.

I would never even consider a raised roof...I'm not comfortable with surgery that major on structural parts. I would never even CONSIDER selling a raised-roof bus...the potential liability is staggering.

somewhereinusa · 01-30-2011, 04:15 PM

Hi Glenn,

I like your floor plan it is similar to mine, except my front 8 feet is for computers and customer area for my photo business.I don't have the room for bunk beds since it's just the two of us. Have you thought about turning the master bed so that the headboard is to the rear? I don't know about you but I hate trying to make a bed while I'm on it. There is enough room for a queen with room on both sides.

Have you thought about putting the genny in the front on a slideout mounted between the frame rails? I have an Onan 8000K quiet diesel which isn't small and initial measurments indicate that I should have room for it. That's just wasted space anyway.

Dick

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