Questions about slide outs

[cadillackid]

true business insurance for a vehicle is different than the progressive commercial vehicle for personal use that alot of us are using for our busses... that policy is just a glorified personal auto policy that was expanded to allow non-traditional vehicles to be insured like daily drivers..

the OP's bus is going to be used for a real legitimate business so they need real business insurance.. and a few hundred bucks a month isnt out of the realm...

I looked into it for mine when i was told a "mobile software lab" would be a busioness.. however the lawyers said my use was no different than a guy sitting in his pickup truck working on his laptop since the bus is in my name and i dont actively sell or solicit business from it..

-Christopher

[gobygoby]

This is an older picture, but it shows the concept:



I built a deck on top of the original bus roof, then added a short stationary wall around the deck. I built a second roof out of wood, then covered it with sheet metal. I also built too large movable walls and attached them to the new roof. 4 aluminum server rack C channels hold the walls in place. On each side, there is an electric winch which pulls the walls up from the bottom.

The winches were controlled with wireless remotes, but the movements were not super precise so I took them apart and rewired them so I could control them manually with large switches. That's where I am right now, I will post new pictures once that project is finished. Also, I will post photos of the piano-hinge walls that fold into place to cover the large holes created when the roof is raised.



Our tiny home blog:
TheBigBusTheory.wordpress.com

[Tango]

Cool. Reminds me a bit of the jack-up roof RV that Henry Ford built back in the 1930's.

[milkmania]

I'm still kicking myself for not buying back my travel trailer from the insurance company.... After I laid it over in a 6' ditch!

It HAD EVERYTHING I need right now!!!
Slide mounts/tracks, motors, fridge, electric control panel, ducted a/c, lights, oven, windows, and a gazillion more parts!

Propane tanks, regulator, awning, furnace....even hydraulic pistons to lift the bed for storage You name it
Holding tanks, plumbing, shower, toilet, mirrors...
I could keep adding to list

Internet pic

[Adventure Bus]

https://youtu.be/lEyVdJtsR2o

Has anyone seen this?
It has some faults for sure, I would have done a big 4x4 steel square to weld into where he notched the frame, that scares me. And the 1/2" bolts holding the bearings don't seem like it would be beefy enough. I'm not sure what ever came of this. The guy has 3 vids then nothing. Don't know if he gave up or what. He does do a podcast but I wasn't willing to listen to him talk for hours to find out if he ever mentions his slides.

Full disclaimer: I probably will not do slides on my bus.. Unless I find out it's pretty easy and straight forward. I probably won't even do a roof raise, but if I was going to do slides I'd go ahead and do the roof raise. I've seen a few on this site but doesn't seem that common. It would be great to have some more living room/dining room space and to not feel so squished. It's a tempting project... But do you think the above video is onto something or is he way off the mark?

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[Adventure Bus]

Oh and Vlads slideout looks amazing so far. I skimmed it but need to go back through with a fine tooth comb and make sure I understand what all is entailed.
If (big if) I do decide to do a slide I probably wouldn't go aluminum like his just sheet steel for ease of welding. I'm still not 100% sure how his mechanisms work and involve skate board wheels and all that. If it could have the main bars below and near the frame like the video I posted it may be easier. Idk. Just dreaming for now, but within the next few week I need to actually decide how far I want to take things with this 40 ft bus sitting in my driveway. Trying to decide if I want to keep it fairly straightforward and get it done in 8 months or so or go all out and have something amazing in 2 years or so

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[Tootalltechie]

I work in the RV industry and most RV slide outs are wooden / aluminum frame boxes on large steel drawer slides. The slides are fastened to the frame with a subfloor that slides over the main floor. They use long electric linear actuators to move them in and out.
Gordon

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[dalez]

Notching the frame is a no-no.... big time

[Adventure Bus]

Originally Posted by dalez

Notching the frame is a no-no.... big time

Ya I'd say if anything notch and thoroughly weld a large 4x4 super thick heavy duty square tube in the notch. I would think that filling that cut-out with something really beefy wouldn't hurt at all. But if it can be avoided then I would.
But the rest of the design seems pretty decent and glides easily.
Just a thought. It's hard to find too many with real diagrams or something showing how it's done properly.

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[dalez]

If I remember right, most on this forum have said you shouldnt even weld near the top or bottom of the frame, because it'll weaken the metal and the bus will break it and sag.

[ol trunt]

Here we go again-----must be a reason all of the chassis upfitters don't mess with the frame. In particular the top and bottom rails. There is a ton of info on this on the net. Read it before making mods to your chassis.

[Adventure Bus]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

Here we go again-----must be a reason all of the chassis upfitters don't mess with the frame. In particular the top and bottom rails. There is a ton of info on this on the net. Read it before making mods to your chassis.

Ya. Good idea. I don't have the skills or experience to mess with the frame.

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[REDD]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

Here we go again-----must be a reason all of the chassis upfitters don't mess with the frame. In particular the top and bottom rails. There is a ton of info on this on the net. Read it before making mods to your chassis.

ALL... our tractors/trailers coming from the factory have decals on the frames.
"DO NOT CUT OR WELD ON FRAME" we drill in the SIDES of the frame rails when mounting Moffett kits [3 wheel towmotor] on the rear of the truck or trailer, never the upper or lower flange.

[Adventure Bus]

With the video I posted I was less wondering if cutting in the frame was a bad idea... It is a horrible idea, don't do it... But more wondering about the rest of his design if it's feasible or not. It looks like it guides real smooth and fairly easy to build and I just haven't seen alot more videos that show the mechanism and how it would work.

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[Tootalltechie]

Anyone know of this conversion "lemon head press" https://youtu.be/GjVfSskYJwI

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[Adventure Bus]

I was trying to figure out what his deal was too. Did like 3 videos of the bus then stopped. I posted his before on this thread. I'm guessing he got so much grief for cutting into the frame that he gave it up. I did see some of the comments saying they saw his bus on sale on ebay... I'm thinking abandoned project.

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[Tootalltechie]

Doh late to the party sorry for being a ....

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His slides were well designed.