Looking for general advice on how to proceed forward

[Thetireddad]

Hi everyone,
Looking for advice. I have gotten most of the ceiling out and the floor up. I am about to remove the ceiling from the front of the bus which has the mechanics for the door attached to it. I then am going to remove the heater and try and loop the piping back into itself for the antifreeze. When I took the floor up I discovered much more rust than I thought. In the pictures where it shows rust it is rusted through. After I get the two things I first mentioned done I was thinking about going at the rust like this:
1. Get underneath and fully detail how bad it is.
2.cut off the badly rusted parts
3. In places where actual structural things are bad replace that first
4. Weld in new patches to seal the floor( some places are fairly large inside the bus)
5. Get under the bus with an abrasive sand attachment for a power washer if I can reach and get the rust and crud off
6. Rust convert the underneath of the bus
7. Spray with oils or whatever is recommended for preventing further rust
8. Clean up and then convert the inside floor
9.relax for 5 minutes

Is this a reasonable approach? I have no welding experience or much experience at all...but one foot in front of the other I guess. Also if anyone has info about removing the door mechanics or heater I would welcome any advice. I have hit a rut in motivation and feel as if I’m starting to get really banged up. Thanks

[Native]

To inspect the floor and other areas for rust damage, get yourself a welder's hammer with a pick on one end and a chisel on the other. Use the pick to tap at the floor near the rust and see if the pick leaves holes or noticable dents. The areas where the pick changes the floor contour are weakened and should be replaced.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by Thetireddad

Hi everyone,
Looking for advice. I have gotten most of the ceiling out and the floor up. I am about to remove the ceiling from the front of the bus which has the mechanics for the door attached to it. I then am going to remove the heater and try and loop the piping back into itself for the antifreeze. When I took the floor up I discovered much more rust than I thought. In the pictures where it shows rust it is rusted through. After I get the two things I first mentioned done I was thinking about going at the rust like this:
1. Get underneath and fully detail how bad it is.
2.cut off the badly rusted parts
3. In places where actual structural things are bad replace that first
4. Weld in new patches to seal the floor( some places are fairly large inside the bus)
5. Get under the bus with an abrasive sand attachment for a power washer if I can reach and get the rust and crud off
6. Rust convert the underneath of the bus
7. Spray with oils or whatever is recommended for preventing further rust
8. Clean up and then convert the inside floor
9.relax for 5 minutes

Is this a reasonable approach? I have no welding experience or much experience at all...but one foot in front of the other I guess. Also if anyone has info about removing the door mechanics or heater I would welcome any advice. I have hit a rut in motivation and feel as if I’m starting to get really banged up. Thanks

too much #9 and it will never get done - lol - there have been pictures posted of floors in much worse shape than yours that were restored - take heart, it can be done

[magnakansas]

yea get under and and poke around especially where the bus body sits on the frame, if that rusts away the body starts fall down on the frame ... take a poky thing like screw driver and see if you can poke through check all around. Then decide if you are up to the challenge... If you can afford a good mig welder, not a crappy one, miller, hobart, licoln less expensive 110v models. I know this is a buch of work. start with step one. report back with lots of pictures, get a thousand opinions and decide what you want to do.

william

[Thetireddad]

William,
I also plan on building a deck roof and likely doing a roof raise...in your opinion the 110v mig welder would be adequate?

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

yes but if it were me i would use the argon gas instead of the flux core wire.
just a cleaner weld all around.
in experienced with flux core wire will leave you questioning the welds and alot of grinding because you are questioning yourself but with the gas and wire its alot cleaner and you can see exactly what your welds look like without any cleaning.
once you are confident with your welding you can switch to flux core wire if you want but most dont once they see the difference in the two? plus everytime you change different types of wire you have to rest the wheel and tensioners in the machine but its not hard.
about 2 to minutes experinced but will drive a newby crazy unless you read the instruction manual

[o1marc]

Check with your insurance first on whether they allow roof decks, most won't insure you with one.