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Old 12-30-2021, 08:10 AM   #21
Bus Crazy
 
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You talk of leaving the floor in place, and it sounds like you're also going to be adding/removing furniture in a piecemeal fashion. Would it be safe to assume that you may not have the ability to insulate as well as you'd like given these limitations? That - plus all that glass - might make heating/cooling a challenge if you're on a limited power budget. And then there's the hospital bed. I'd suggest that if you're not planning on always staying places where you can hook-up to AC power, that you definitely include a generator (and plan now for where it will go), assuming you haven't already.

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Old 12-30-2021, 11:25 PM   #22
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Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: East TN
Posts: 19
Year: 2016
Coachwork: Ford
Chassis: E450
Engine: Ford V8 or V10 Flex Fuel
Insulation and glass

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus View Post
You talk of leaving the floor in place, and it sounds like you're also going to be adding/removing furniture in a piecemeal fashion. Would it be safe to assume that you may not have the ability to insulate as well as you'd like given these limitations? That - plus all that glass - might make heating/cooling a challenge if you're on a limited power budget. And then there's the hospital bed. I'd suggest that if you're not planning on always staying places where you can hook-up to AC power, that you definitely include a generator (and plan now for where it will go), assuming you haven't already.
The bus comes out of the frigid cold of Connecticut and from where I can look, it seems to have an inch and a half of dense foam insulation in the box, including the wheelchair access door. I don’t know if the back door has it (I need to look again, this weekend). The step access door is mostly glass not much if anything there. It does a better job keeping it warmer than cooler though it can keep it cool in 96degree weather for 3-5 hours. This suggests (to me) that the floor might not be as well insulated. But I don’t know if those are good numbers or not so much. I read a couple of articles lately about some liquid silicone sealant that you can put on glass to help insulate the glass. Sounds too good to be true but I am old enough to see things developed that was deemed impossible years ago. Maybe you guys might have some opinions there. It was my intent to build window shades with reflectix and fabric covers. I have NOT given up on that but I am going to leave more windows uncovered (I think) than I had initially planned. Because the bus is fiberglass and not metal, it would not (by nature) heat up as quickly. I don’t know how I can strip it out without burning time we don’t have. I cannot believe that I said that out loud but piece meal work seems like the most logical step. If I build the unistrut bridge like it showed in the diagram, I could mount the frame to hug the inside of the bus and install insulation around and beside it and add more insulation as we go. That would allow me to build walls like I had initially planned. It might turn out that doing it in sections as we spend a few weeks here and then there will allow that. Because the clock is ticking, a lot of the things that I had planned to do is going to be a luxury we can’t afford. My biggest worry is what is under the floor and I will talk to Q’straint about installing better floors, not to mention leaving the anchors in place and if that dream is even possible. I really thought I had more time when I picked up the bus in September/October. Have I responded to everything?

Thanks for the questions. It is forcing me to think about some things that I might not have considered or had considered but mentally checked off when I thought I had found a solution. These steps are just as important as new ideas.
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Old 12-31-2021, 05:45 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maobfh View Post
The bus comes out of the frigid cold of Connecticut and from where I can look, it seems to have an inch and a half of dense foam insulation in the box, including the wheelchair access door. I don’t know if the back door has it (I need to look again, this weekend). The step access door is mostly glass not much if anything there. It does a better job keeping it warmer than cooler though it can keep it cool in 96degree weather for 3-5 hours. This suggests (to me) that the floor might not be as well insulated. But I don’t know if those are good numbers or not so much. I read a couple of articles lately about some liquid silicone sealant that you can put on glass to help insulate the glass. Sounds too good to be true but I am old enough to see things developed that was deemed impossible years ago. Maybe you guys might have some opinions there. It was my intent to build window shades with reflectix and fabric covers. I have NOT given up on that but I am going to leave more windows uncovered (I think) than I had initially planned. Because the bus is fiberglass and not metal, it would not (by nature) heat up as quickly. I don’t know how I can strip it out without burning time we don’t have. I cannot believe that I said that out loud but piece meal work seems like the most logical step. If I build the unistrut bridge like it showed in the diagram, I could mount the frame to hug the inside of the bus and install insulation around and beside it and add more insulation as we go. That would allow me to build walls like I had initially planned. It might turn out that doing it in sections as we spend a few weeks here and then there will allow that. Because the clock is ticking, a lot of the things that I had planned to do is going to be a luxury we can’t afford. My biggest worry is what is under the floor and I will talk to Q’straint about installing better floors, not to mention leaving the anchors in place and if that dream is even possible. I really thought I had more time when I picked up the bus in September/October. Have I responded to everything?

Thanks for the questions. It is forcing me to think about some things that I might not have considered or had considered but mentally checked off when I thought I had found a solution. These steps are just as important as new ideas.
I don't have much time now, and I can't type, I peck with 1 finger, so I'm slow.

I started going back over your posts (didn't even finish the first one) and trying to put together a list of your criteria and bus specs to get a better idea of what you want/need and wound up putting down some of my thoughts, but I need to go to bed now (after 04:45, my time), long day tomorrow. Please look this over and add to it.

8.5' ceiling - needs to be verified

Fleet bus - maintenance records?

Front loading wheelchair lift - crucial design element to allow 2 beds to be adjacent to each other - easy, quick access within easy hearing distance for monitoring husband for health care reasons and don't need to have a wheelchair accessable aisle the length of the bus. Also makes for quicker loading/unloading when out and about and allows the entirety of the back of the bus for living quarters.

Fiberglass body with flat roof and tinted windows the length of the bus. Not much vertical support on the walls because of extensive windows, but the roof could probably hold solar weight easy enough, but need a structure built for the gantry system. It appears that the seats attach and were held up by a "chair rail" on the lower wall so there must be some structure in the lower wall. Need more and better pics of every thing for more detail.

Looked at the pics yesterday.

The overhead hand rails appear to only have 3 hanging locations each (not capable of a heavy load) - seems to indicate minimal structural support built into the roof? not like a school bus. Remove screws and see what type of threads, may tell more about the roof support material (wood, metal, bolt threads). A lot of fiberglass work has wood or metal supports molded in.

Put a ladder up and look at the top of the roof. Can you walk on it? Any seams, pentrations, vents, heavy objects? Take lots of pics.

Pics of the bottom of the floor structure. Is the floor substrate wood? metal? How thick? What type and spacing of supporting cross members? How are the retaining discs fastened and to what? Pics of the fasteners can give us a clue as to what it is being fastened to. Can e-track (cheap, strong, quick, easy, and available everywhere) be installed on the walls or floor? Will the walls/floor hold #10 or #12 3/4" wood or sheet metal screws? E-track is great for strapping crap down, temporary or permanent, lots of accessories available. Used by truckers for strapping down heavy loads everyday. My handicap bus uses them in the floor for wheel chair tie downs



https://www.homedepot.com/p/SNAP-LOC...T32G/314415938
https://www.harborfreight.com/automo...s/e-track.html
https://www.amazon.com/e-track/s?k=e-track





You keep talking about time running out. Maybe you should make some quick window coverings, tie down a bed, load some neccessities and tools, head south where its warmer and gather a little experience and figure out if your plan really suits your expectations/needs before you invest too much time and cash. Experience is valuable to designing what will actually work best for you. Have a little fun.
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Old 12-31-2021, 09:21 PM   #24
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@ kid Harris - Thank you!

I really appreciate you going through my posts and filtering out but highlighting redundancies. And you gave me a list of things to better help get a handle on working on this. Things were moving in the background and I was doing a lot of thinking out loud. He has been hospitalized several times this year and three times in December. I was back and forth from the hospital and seeing specialists (with him) so the clock kept speeding up. His disease has moved so gradually that I expected at least another decade. He was sick enough this past month that I began to suspect that his time might be less than I thought. Then yesterday, his hospitalist ( who also works in Hospice) told me that we need to get on the road sooner rather than later. I did not realize that I had said it several times but was mentally processing the changes while going through what I want to do NOW. So the piecemeal build I mentioned became ‘I will get as much ready made as I can’ so I think that just tossing stuff in and go is becoming a better choice. I will get on the list you gave and I have a better camera to take pictures with. Thanks! R
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Old 01-17-2022, 11:30 AM   #25
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Check out Cobbtown Acres in Cobbtown Georgia. They have a place where you can stay while working on your bus, letting you use their tools. Here is the summary from their Facebook page:
"If you are looking for a place to park your bus van or any other vehicle you are converting and work on it. I have over 3 acres with 3 220-50amp outles and one 220 30 amp outlet and several 110 outlets. I have a garage with sharable space with welders. Grinders bench grinder bench vice and covered from weather to fit two buses at one time. I have enough room for over 50 buses. All come together and help each other with-our builds. My price is $100.00 a month plus electricity when needed. We are open now and accepting buses. We are located on 16877 Ga hwy 129’s Cobbtown Georgia. 30420. 912-687-1471 john."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/630436625005986

Don't know if this will help you or not, but thought it might since you need to be on the road quickly! Good luck to you, and I am proud of you for taking this on for your husband, you ROCK!!
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Old 02-08-2022, 10:35 PM   #26
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Year: 2016
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Been busy

The last communication that I can find on this topic was that I was going to post more information on the “anchors” I am using and will use so that you would have a better understanding of what I am working with and how useful (or the opposite) that they might prove to be. Then I “fell off” for a bit. Husband has been (and still is) in the hospital and that is my current focus. I am unsure of just how much time he has left and worry that we waited too long. Maybe we didn’t, I don’t know. But I wanted to stick my head in the door and explain why I disappeared). I will return when I can again focus on the bus which shouldn’t be too much longer. Frankly, last time I brought him home from an appointment, I laid the keys down in some less obvious place. Do you think that I can get replacements from Ford? How would that work?

Anyway, I didn’t jump in to ask about keys, but to explain my absence. I have 4 unused anchors that came with the 4 straps I use to secure the wheelchair. As soon as I have time, I will take a picture of them, out of the box, as well as a page of mounting instructions and the securement straps as well as anything else you would like me to include.

Thanks!
Rebecca
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Old 02-09-2022, 10:44 AM   #27
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Best wishes to your husband, and you too.
Hopefully you can get back on track with your project, and be able to use it together!
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Old 02-09-2022, 04:38 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maobfh View Post
The last communication that I can find on this topic was that I was going to post more information on the “anchors” I am using and will use so that you would have a better understanding of what I am working with and how useful (or the opposite) that they might prove to be. Then I “fell off” for a bit. Husband has been (and still is) in the hospital and that is my current focus. I am unsure of just how much time he has left and worry that we waited too long. Maybe we didn’t, I don’t know. But I wanted to stick my head in the door and explain why I disappeared). I will return when I can again focus on the bus which shouldn’t be too much longer. Frankly, last time I brought him home from an appointment, I laid the keys down in some less obvious place. Do you think that I can get replacements from Ford? How would that work?

Anyway, I didn’t jump in to ask about keys, but to explain my absence. I have 4 unused anchors that came with the 4 straps I use to secure the wheelchair. As soon as I have time, I will take a picture of them, out of the box, as well as a page of mounting instructions and the securement straps as well as anything else you would like me to include.

Thanks!
Rebecca

when I lose my keys I always check any coat pockets, pants pockets, etc of everything that I might have worn, including the dirty clothes hamper. It is amazing what I find in old coat pockets and furniture drawers that I haven't used in a while.


Hope your husband pulls thru ok. Good luck.
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Old 05-02-2022, 09:25 PM   #29
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Location: East TN
Posts: 19
Year: 2016
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Chassis: E450
Engine: Ford V8 or V10 Flex Fuel
Starting over

I was gone, much longer than I intended. The one hospitalization turned into 3, back to back with one a few weeks long at the VA, immediately followed by the local teaching/med school/trauma hospital. When he finally made it home, he resigned on the spot. I promised not to send him to another hospital, EVER. He stayed home, his boys, his friends were in and out- grown men crying like babies and they didn’t care (neither did I). Daughter moved in the last few weeks to lend her Mom a hand (and to be near her Father Unit. He is gone, as of this last Thursday and I will take him home one last time in a few weeks. The dust has settled, there are still a few more machines to pick up and they destroyed all his medications (damnit). Kidding. Kind of. Daughter is still here and will stay a bit longer and may be that is why I am not moping around and am behaving badly.

I have been on the phone for 5 days straight. At 6pm, I turned it off. If there is a family emergency, they will call daughter. Anyone else will have to wait. They will be okay. Not a TV watcher, not a Facebooker or a Twit and was thinking about the bus. So am checking in. I did a few things with the bus, OH! I did a ton of measuring, ordered supplies for magnetic insulated window covers and am going to crawl under the bus and measure the floor height and then drop the lift and measure the height to the floor again. The difference will tell me if I have a false floor, which would offer secure and hidden storage as well as storage for off season clothing and the like. If there is no false floor, I will be ripping up the black rubber flooring and dealing with any rust I spot. Then I will paint on and put down a water barrier, insulation and a floor. I started to build while he was at the VA Hospital as no one is allowed on the patient floors and I couldn’t go up. I had been living in a bubble. The price of wood was appalling! While it has drifted down a trickle but plywood is still offensively expensive. Someone offered some old splitting and wet in past plywood sheets for $40 apiece. A year ago, this kind of wood would have been out at the street with a free sign. I gave my daughter a tablesaw because the guard was not locking down and she “accidentally” took the new one, right out of the box with no attachments. No blade cover, no guard, no I don’t remember and no permission. What do you think? Has her help this last 3 weeks been enough to pay for the saw? I still have a headache from holding the top of my head down and to keep it from exploding. Okay, yes, I am short tempered these days. Okay okay, the last few years. But only when someone rips me off. Grrrr. I told her to bring it back as she would not be able to do much with it if she tried to keep it and she might want to take the one I GAVE HER before I sold it and eliminated her name from my last Will and testament. She wasn’t impressed so I turned the screw one last time and said “if you take anything else before I am gone, your brother will get all the family jewels and I will make him promise to wear the pearls and pile everything else on the grandbabies for any family gathering she might attend. She is irritated. I expect to see the table saw back this week and I hid the box and attachments in the meantime. Or her brother gets the jewels, the china and most of the antiques. I will put some in the bus just to make her crazy.

I should behave, I won’t but recognize that I should. I need to go through my book of notes and see what needs to be changed. I am sorry he won’t be going with me, sorrier that he is gone but I stood right next to him holding his hand when he left and am fairly confident that he is no longer in pain. He was ready to go when he did and I am busy avoiding dealing with it. For as long as I can. If husband is not going, I will make room for grandkids and everyone gets a summer adventure until granny gets BORing. Or parents have an episode of temporary insanity and decide that THEY would like to keep the kids one summer. I will make a point to be at the southern tip of the Florida Keys, Nova Scotia (PEI?) or Vancouver Island. Someplace too far to come to the rescue when they come to their senses. They are in Michigan.

All joking aside, I apologize for disappearing but I stayed pretty busy and then I didn’t want to type “he is dying “. So I will get back to work in earnest, in addition to emptying the house and getting it on the market. And I need to practice doing things by myself. Any loners here? Can you have as much fun by yourself?
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Old 05-03-2022, 12:22 AM   #30
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Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Golden Valley AZ
Posts: 1,036
Year: 1993
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Engine: need someone to tell me
Rated Cap: me + 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maobfh View Post
I was gone, much longer than I intended. The one hospitalization turned into 3, back to back with one a few weeks long at the VA, immediately followed by the local teaching/med school/trauma hospital. When he finally made it home, he resigned on the spot. I promised not to send him to another hospital, EVER. He stayed home, his boys, his friends were in and out- grown men crying like babies and they didn’t care (neither did I). Daughter moved in the last few weeks to lend her Mom a hand (and to be near her Father Unit. He is gone, as of this last Thursday and I will take him home one last time in a few weeks. The dust has settled, there are still a few more machines to pick up and they destroyed all his medications (damnit). Kidding. Kind of. Daughter is still here and will stay a bit longer and may be that is why I am not moping around and am behaving badly.

I have been on the phone for 5 days straight. At 6pm, I turned it off. If there is a family emergency, they will call daughter. Anyone else will have to wait. They will be okay. Not a TV watcher, not a Facebooker or a Twit and was thinking about the bus. So am checking in. I did a few things with the bus, OH! I did a ton of measuring, ordered supplies for magnetic insulated window covers and am going to crawl under the bus and measure the floor height and then drop the lift and measure the height to the floor again. The difference will tell me if I have a false floor, which would offer secure and hidden storage as well as storage for off season clothing and the like. If there is no false floor, I will be ripping up the black rubber flooring and dealing with any rust I spot. Then I will paint on and put down a water barrier, insulation and a floor. I started to build while he was at the VA Hospital as no one is allowed on the patient floors and I couldn’t go up. I had been living in a bubble. The price of wood was appalling! While it has drifted down a trickle but plywood is still offensively expensive. Someone offered some old splitting and wet in past plywood sheets for $40 apiece. A year ago, this kind of wood would have been out at the street with a free sign. I gave my daughter a tablesaw because the guard was not locking down and she “accidentally” took the new one, right out of the box with no attachments. No blade cover, no guard, no I don’t remember and no permission. What do you think? Has her help this last 3 weeks been enough to pay for the saw? I still have a headache from holding the top of my head down and to keep it from exploding. Okay, yes, I am short tempered these days. Okay okay, the last few years. But only when someone rips me off. Grrrr. I told her to bring it back as she would not be able to do much with it if she tried to keep it and she might want to take the one I GAVE HER before I sold it and eliminated her name from my last Will and testament. She wasn’t impressed so I turned the screw one last time and said “if you take anything else before I am gone, your brother will get all the family jewels and I will make him promise to wear the pearls and pile everything else on the grandbabies for any family gathering she might attend. She is irritated. I expect to see the table saw back this week and I hid the box and attachments in the meantime. Or her brother gets the jewels, the china and most of the antiques. I will put some in the bus just to make her crazy.

I should behave, I won’t but recognize that I should. I need to go through my book of notes and see what needs to be changed. I am sorry he won’t be going with me, sorrier that he is gone but I stood right next to him holding his hand when he left and am fairly confident that he is no longer in pain. He was ready to go when he did and I am busy avoiding dealing with it. For as long as I can. If husband is not going, I will make room for grandkids and everyone gets a summer adventure until granny gets BORing. Or parents have an episode of temporary insanity and decide that THEY would like to keep the kids one summer. I will make a point to be at the southern tip of the Florida Keys, Nova Scotia (PEI?) or Vancouver Island. Someplace too far to come to the rescue when they come to their senses. They are in Michigan.

All joking aside, I apologize for disappearing but I stayed pretty busy and then I didn’t want to type “he is dying “. So I will get back to work in earnest, in addition to emptying the house and getting it on the market. And I need to practice doing things by myself. Any loners here? Can you have as much fun by yourself?



Sorry to hear that...... Guess you will need to redo your floor plan and life plan before you can get on with the build. good luck....




" Any loners here? Can you have as much fun by yourself?".... not really, but you can try. once again ...good luck, the build will at least keep you busy. Maybe let your daughter keep the saw on the condition that she learn how to use it by helping you with the build, win win for you both. An extra hand every now and can be really "handy".


Who knows, you might wind up building 2 skoolies, one for you and one for her family if she catches the bug/
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Old 06-09-2022, 02:25 PM   #31
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Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: East TN
Posts: 19
Year: 2016
Coachwork: Ford
Chassis: E450
Engine: Ford V8 or V10 Flex Fuel
Oops


I don’t remember posting that last message and came in and said much the same in 1/4 the space. Trying to delete this but I could only find a way to edit it. This entire post is a Roseanne Roseanna Danna “Never Mind “

But I am wondering if anyone know what type of ribs a shuttle has (wood vs metal vs .) and how to find them without ripping everything down
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Old 06-09-2022, 02:36 PM   #32
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Old 06-09-2022, 05:20 PM   #33
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 1,349
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas 4 window w/lift
Chassis: G30~Chevy cutaway
Engine: 5.7/350 Chevy Vortec
Rated Cap: Just me and my "stuff"?
Condolences to you on the loss of your husband.
There are many folks in your situation travelling and living life to its fullest, solo.

A good place to learn more on solo travelling on youtube is Bob Wells many vids that detail likeminded folks living it up in vehicles of all types:
https://www.youtube.com/c/CheapRVliving
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