Flooring Thoughts

[mangus580]

So my bus is going to be set up a bit different than most. Mostly I am building a 'mobile ham-shack' and essentially will have a desk or two, some seats/couches/benches and some storage units (shelving mostly)

I am not really interested in chasing random leaks, have no plans to ditch the bus windows, etc.

With that said, I do want to replace the plywood flooring, mostly as the rubber puke mat is coming up in spots. Again, not wanting to find the few small leaks I have that seem to come in behind the dash (likely windshield) and under the drivers window, I am looking at an idea that would work around that.

I am thinking about painting the metal with a good rust proofing paint (rustoleum, or chassis saver), and then using the 'Dri-core' panels like this - https://www.lowes.com/pd/DRIcore-Sub...ent/1000510831

On top, I was going to just put one big long continuous sheet of Linoleum.

The thought is, for the most part, any leak will sit on top of the linoluem, but if something does get beneath, it will sit in the space that the dricore creates, and will eventually (Maybe??) evaporate.

Looking for opinions on the concept here, and keep in mind, if my puke mat wasnt damaged, I would likely just leave it as is!

[Hutchy]

I'm using horse stall matts from tractor supply, the ones that have raised circles on one side and smooth on the top. Not sealing up any holes so the water has somewhere to go temporarily until I get motivated to pull out and reseal the windows. It works great to quiet the ride too you can just bolt or bungee stuff to the seat rails so it won't fly around when you're driving

[Albatross]

Sometimes, I think the best way to catch a leak is to plan to never have one.


But I also think that if, while you're tearing it up, you throw down some Killz and you caulk like crazy, you could probably get something halfway passable for many years. But I would still worry about a leak popping up, and not finding out about it until you start to notice some mold showing up in random places.


It's an interesting concept, and I think it's got a fair chance of working positively for a little while, but then again, all of the dumbest mistakes we ever make seemed like a good idea once upon a time.


I've never heard of those panels before, but it seems interesting, and I'd ask you to keep us updated at some point in the future.


Beyond that, I'd just ask how you're planning to rig up the antennae, and how you're thinking of dealing with the bus body's effect on transmission. Planning on using it to throw longer in the direction you're facing, or are you going to try to compensate for it? What bands do you normally operate on?