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Old 05-17-2019, 10:38 AM   #61
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Sometime two or three useful wires, even!
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Originally Posted by farok View Post
Hahaha Yes I plan to leave the wiring in place and just disconnect what isn't needed. There's at least one necessary wire in each harness, it seems...

Chris

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Old 05-18-2019, 09:05 PM   #62
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It was a very productive day today! The holes in the floor got sealed up, using some flashing caulk, some fender fasteners, and some reflectix. The swiss cheese floor got patched with some of the left over galvanized from the rear panels. When done, the seams on the edge were sealed up as well, and the first two foam boards were cut and adhered to the floor! Progress feels very good after 4 months of prep to start building!!
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Old 05-18-2019, 09:19 PM   #63
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Flashing caulk on a school bus is considered a felony offense.
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Old 05-19-2019, 06:13 AM   #64
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Uh oh what did I just do? I remember a number of threads talking about using polyurethane caulk for filling holes, which is the type of caulk I found, since silicone can react with galvanized steel. It is what it is at this stage...
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Old 05-19-2019, 07:39 AM   #65
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ROFL
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Uh oh what did I just do? I remember a number of threads talking about using polyurethane caulk for filling holes, which is the type of caulk I found, since silicone can react with galvanized steel. It is what it is at this stage...
Say the product, out loud, putting stress on the first word, and consider it a verb, not a noun...
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Old 05-19-2019, 07:44 AM   #66
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Hahaha

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Old 05-19-2019, 07:54 AM   #67
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Old 05-20-2019, 10:32 PM   #68
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The last two nights have been highly productive! The last two foam boards were installed, and the first two Advanteck boards. I don't know when we'll get back to it, but two more boards, and I'll finally have a floor, and an insulated one at that!!

Chris
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Old 05-20-2019, 10:43 PM   #69
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Looking really good!
(Tho maybe you need more compressive weights... [emoji6])
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Old 05-22-2019, 09:29 AM   #70
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Looking good!!!
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Old 06-02-2019, 07:41 AM   #71
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The last week or so saw the subfloor get finished, as well as removal of the rear flashers. The subfloor is 2" XPS foam covered with 3/4" T&G Advantek. They are all glued down with plenty of PL Premium 3x adhesive - good stuff!

The next step for the floor is to fill in the gap between the bus body and van cab (where I removed the original "landing"). Some angled steel from the ceiling and some more foam and scrap Advantek should solve that problem pretty quickly.

Even with that wide open gap to the road, the bus is FAR quieter, and I can have a conversation without screaming while driving now. With the gap patched and a ceiling installed, the bus will be very quiet, I'm sure! Can't wait!!

For the rear flashers, I riveted steel patches from the old ceiling on the inside, and then fiberglassed the outside to get it mostly level. It hasn't been sanded and fully leveled yet, but it's definitely making progress!

Oh yeah, and it no longer says "School Bus".

Chris
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:25 PM   #72
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A little more progress! The front gap was closed, and the two rear doors now lock!

I don't need to unlock the doors from the outside for now, so I used very basic parts to make it so the handles cannot be physically opened. I can always revisit down the road, all for the price of two small holes drilled in each handle.

For the front gap, some repurposed ceiling steel already bent was screwed into place and caulked up, then covered with foam, in progress in the picture.

Chris
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:33 PM   #73
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Looks great!!! I did something similar with my rear door to make it lock. I drilled a hole through the white guard piece and the red handle so I could put a pin through both pieces. It keeps the handle from being raised like yours.
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:39 PM   #74
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I always think about the one time I need to get out fast, is that the kind of latch you want try and open in a panic?
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:48 PM   #75
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I always think about the one time I need to get out fast, is that the kind of latch you want try and open in a panic?
The only time ours is locked like that is when we're in the football game and the bus has all the stuff in it sitting in the parking lot!!
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Old 06-03-2019, 09:49 PM   #76
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I always think about the one time I need to get out fast, is that the kind of latch you want try and open in a panic?
You're right it's not easily unlachable in an emergency. However, our plan all along has been to unlock when we're in the bus, and lock when the bus is in storage, or when we're away from it.

Chris
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Old 06-03-2019, 10:27 PM   #77
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The only time ours is locked like that is when we're in the football game and the bus has all the stuff in it sitting in the parking lot!!
Okay, cool. Fire egress can get scary.
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Old 06-05-2019, 12:07 AM   #78
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I seem to get only a half hour here, 45 minutes there, so progress is slow. However, I did sand down the fiberglass on both sides, and the first coat of Bondo has been applied and sanded. As you can see, I'm pretty bad (OK really bad) at getting a smooth surface, but I figured as much given my poor spackling ability. However, it's quick to apply and sand down, so I don't mind needing to put a couple coats on to get it more smooth.

Let me not bring too much attention to the fact that I forgot how much hardener to put into the fiberglass when I did the passenger side, and I thought it wasn't going to set up... yet it still worked out!

An auto body shop this is not! Anyway, I just added a second coat of Bondo after these pictures, and hopefully after sanding it after it dries (and the looming rainstorm passes), it should be pretty flat.

While I'm no expert (in fact far, FAR from it), I wouldn't hesitate for anyone to try the fiberglass and Bondo route to cover the holes in the front of the bus if they want it to look pretty decent, maybe even the rear of the bus. For me, though, on the rear I think I'll still just push the "Easy" button and skin over the holes.

Is there a preference to seam sealers to use for skinning over a vertical surface like the rear lights where there's no rain gutter or anything to keep the water off the seam?

Chris
This post was really helpful to me. Barbara
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Old 07-09-2019, 09:52 PM   #79
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This post was really helpful to me. Barbara
Thanks! Glad this is helping someone!
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Old 07-09-2019, 10:00 PM   #80
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The last month has left very little time for skoolie work. We have family in town now for a couple weeks, but my sister-in-law's husband is stoked to help a little while he's in town! The last two days, we pulled all the windows and resealed them all. We tested the windows on the passenger side, and found that nearly all leak through the glass/aluminum seal, not where the aluminum sashing meets the bus frame. I had lots of roof caulk, good for aluminum, and just ran a small bead at each corner of the bottom pane of glass, and that seems to have stopped pretty much all the leaks. In another day after the caulk sets up on the driver's side, we'll test there as well.

In the process, the emergency windows were relocated to more useful locations based on our intended floor plan. Speaking of which, we also taped out where things will likely go, and it's starting to look like this will actually become reality!

Another project from a couple weeks back was a trip to the "U-Pull-It" junkyard to get a co-pilot seat. We got a seat out of I think a 2000 Silverado, one with the integrated seat belt. We bolted that in place as well, and gave it a quick test - the wife is happy with the seat!

The only other project we made progress on is removal of the bus numbers, lettering, and so on from outside the bus. We probably have about half of it removed now (using a heat gun and scraper). I found the heat gun on high, but not at the hottest setting, works well to melt the glue, but not the vinyl.

I'm hoping the ceiling insulation and paint on the roof will happen soon... and I'm contemplating paint for the bus sides and front. I'm thinking Rustoleum rolled on (or possibly even rattle cans), as that's about the extent of my paint skills.

Chris
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