Fiberglass shuttle - Did you remove interior walls?

[Mjohnston0729]

I ended up removing all the inner fiber glass because inside the shell was completely rotten wood and the honeycomb stuff was completely soaked with water due to leaks. I’m in the process of figuring out how to structurally support it. As on the inside of the fiberglass was just wood and no metal. I’m thinking about just doing wood and no metal for the support system, but am curious as to what you did with your bus? And then moving forward probably just using some thin ply for the inner wall. Curious on your thoughts?

[Sharee100]

My shuttle had carpet and fiberboard. The fiberboard was almost down to sawdust and the carpet was nasty and smelled bad. I did have a horizontal metal row about a foot above the floor and vertically from the floor to the bottom of the windows. The insulation was almost gone. I scraped it out. I treated the walls up to the windows the same as the floors: plywood, 2 x 3's with solid insulation, and another layer of plywood. We used self-tapping screws along the horizontal metal beams (in some areas we pre-drilled small holes first). We did have to add some self-tapping screws directly into the fiberglas shell (it is thicker than it looked).

[BeNimble]

Look at my Shuttle Bus Trailer Conversion thread. I removed the inner layer of glass and honeycomb on the walls, and installed polyiso foam and plywood, along with two 2x6 supports on the front and back, and did a roof raise too.

If the honeycomb is not rotted like mine was, just leave the walls and glue on some foam board for insulation (honeycomb is not good insulation) and put an outer layer of say luan plywood over the foam for finish appearance.

[Nant]

Here I go again 😁

Wondering if it is over-kill to strip walls and install some insulation, in most cases Fiberglass insulation to a shuttle bus that is a *already* fiberglass bodied shuttle bus???

As I do plan on being in it a few hours a day as I am converting it to be a mobile grooming unit.

I am hoping and praying I will get the answer I want and that is ... No, I won't need to 😆.

[Sharee100]

I have a fiberglass shell on my shuttle. When I removed the carpeting on the walls I saw that the foam insulation had deteriorated to almost nothing. So, yes, I removed the existing insulation and put up studs with solid foam board and plywood, just like I did on the floors. When I remove some of my windows, I will do the same thing I did to the walls (studs and foam board with plywood) and frp (I think that's what it is called), the stuff that bathroom tub walls are lined with to seal openings on outside of shell.

[Nant]

Have you been able to determine a notable temperature change in your shuttle bus since you have insulated it?

I'm in Arizona, Phoenix, which is extremely HOT. And I am concerned I will not be able to use my mobile grooming shuttle bus in the most humid and hot months, July thru September and wondering if this is possible.

Much appreciated ☺️

[Nant]

Did it make a difference in keeping it cooler?

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Nant

Wondering if it is over-kill to strip walls and install some insulation, in most cases Fiberglass insulation to a shuttle bus that is a *already* fiberglass bodied shuttle bus???

As I do plan on being in it a few hours a day as I am converting it to be a mobile grooming unit.

I am hoping and praying I will get the answer I want and that is ... No, I won't need to 😆.

Fiberglass body panels and fiberglass insulation are not the same thing. The insulation is little loose threads of glass that trap air; the panels are solid material and do not provide any better insulating qualities than does wood.

If you want to be insulated from temperatures that are much different than room temperature, you need insulation.

[Sander]

Nant,

I've seen your other posts about cooling your bus. Have you considered a Generator and a good size Window AC unit that you can vent through the floor instead of the wall or window?

[peteg59]

My apologies, up front, to the OP for a total hijacking of the thread.

If the grooming business is to be eventually conducted in the bus, insulating the inside is best.
Unless the bus is diesel powered and can sit and idle with the A/C on as you carry out your business, then you might be good as is?

[Nant]

YES! I actually have a Westinghouse 7k/8.5k a brand new one, ��. It's not an inverter generator. But, I don't believe I need a pure sign wave for clippers, dryer, shop vac, so I should be fine. I'm now trying to figure out a silencer/muffler and baffle box to quiet it down a few decibels ��

[Nant]

No, it's not diesel but I spoke to a bus seller here in Phoenix and he said the type of bus it is, being set up to idle for a while, waiting for passengers to board gives me hope that I can actually use the Carrier AC it has while bus is running, and a window unit ( 5000 BTU ) while it's not running. And using the 7k Watt generator for it.

I'm also pretty sure I will be setting up a 3000 watt power inverter to use when I need ac and a dryer going.

I just went to Home Depot and basically pleaded with them to find me an electrician to show me what exactly I needed to buy to make it all work and I will NEVER do that again. No experience needed when applying for a job at Home Depot must be stamped all over the job application, because no one has any clue there.

Thanks for your input and advise ☺️

[Nant]

Thank you for your input ☺️

[DoninTexas]

“ just go for 'livable' and actually use it rather than build it”, sounds like words to live by, unless you just really, really enjoy building bus campers.

[Nant]

AC unit vented through the floor rather than windows? Sounds interesting. What type of AC can I do that with? A portable with a hose type or ? I am currently looking for an ac unit. I just got a much quieter inverter generator predator 2000 watt. And I love it! So quiet! It should run a 9 amp 8000 btu window AC but I am trying to find one with minimal depth ( hangout amount ).
But you have me curious on how to vent from floor now. Lol.

[Sander]

Originally Posted by Nant

But you have me curious on how to vent from floor now. Lol.

Post #5.
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