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Old 07-08-2020, 10:32 AM   #1
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Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Illinois
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Just beginning...

If you wouldn't mind a couple rookie questions - I am 2 days into my first skoolie conversion. This will be a family travel bus - nothing to live or really even stay in aside from maybe a 1 night camp or something like that. It is a 2003 Ford E450 diesel short.

I want to do some led rope lighting around the parameter above windows. I have seen this done a lot and planning for a rustic theme, wanted to do this in wood. I have an existing covered channel running front to back on both sides which I assume is full of wires for lighting and such. So how/what are you attaching to when you are doing this? I can't screw into this existing metal channel full of wires...

I haven't attached anything to the walls yet, but do plan to build two sofa's. Any tips for making these attachments to the wall and the "studs" that are there?

I plan to leave the existing black rubber floor, cover it in foam insulation board, plywood and then carpet squares I already have. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Lastly, have anyone done anything successfully to quiet the front and engine area?

Thank you!!! I am excited to get started and I think just need some reassurance! I think once I pull the trigger and start building my confidence will hopefully grow LOL.

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Old 07-08-2020, 01:21 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Dpriddy View Post
If you wouldn't mind a couple rookie questions - I am 2 days into my first skoolie conversion. This will be a family travel bus - nothing to live or really even stay in aside from maybe a 1 night camp or something like that. It is a 2003 Ford E450 diesel short.

I want to do some led rope lighting around the parameter above windows. I have seen this done a lot and planning for a rustic theme, wanted to do this in wood. I have an existing covered channel running front to back on both sides which I assume is full of wires for lighting and such. So how/what are you attaching to when you are doing this? I can't screw into this existing metal channel full of wires...

I haven't attached anything to the walls yet, but do plan to build two sofa's. Any tips for making these attachments to the wall and the "studs" that are there?

I plan to leave the existing black rubber floor, cover it in foam insulation board, plywood and then carpet squares I already have. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Lastly, have anyone done anything successfully to quiet the front and engine area?

Thank you!!! I am excited to get started and I think just need some reassurance! I think once I pull the trigger and start building my confidence will hopefully grow LOL.

3M 5200 is a very durable, strong adhesive. Much stronger than 2-sided tape. You might install rope light clips, or the rope light itself with that.


DYNAMAT is not cheap, but it will quiet the engine noise (and heat)
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Old 07-08-2020, 09:22 PM   #3
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Join Date: Dec 2015
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If you take the engine cover of then check the floor for holes around the seal. In the junkyard you can get a uses engine cover and take the aluminum coated heat and and sound insulation out and double it up on the one you have. That will help some.. We also use a folded old heavy blanket against the floor and engine cover to help reduce the noise

Good luck.
Johan
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Old 07-09-2020, 05:18 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Phantom5824 View Post
3M 5200 is a very durable, strong adhesive. Much stronger than 2-sided tape.
I have trouble believing that this even really happened, but there was a person on the skoolie subreddit who mounted their roof deck support brackets (on the sides of the bus, no less) using 2-sided 3M VHB tape and nothing else. I couldn't convince him that this was a bad idea; fortunately the brackets came off in his hand before he could even attempt to mount the deck on them.

I used to make a joke about people gluing their roof decks on, but at least that would be better than using tape.
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Old 07-09-2020, 09:27 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dpriddy View Post
I want to do some led rope lighting around the parameter above windows. I have seen this done a lot and planning for a rustic theme, wanted to do this in wood. I have an existing covered channel running front to back on both sides which I assume is full of wires for lighting and such. So how/what are you attaching to when you are doing this? I can't screw into this existing metal channel full of wires...
Congrats on your new bus! I've got the same one and am planning to mount shallow shelves right above those channels, attaching them to the ribs. If you're talking about just the LED lights you could glue them and don't forget about magnets.

Regarding the engine noise, my only advice is to double check the doghouse. I only realized last week that mine wasn't flush and one of the clips was partially undone. Once I removed it and shoved it around so it fit correctly and reattached the drink holder it was a lot quieter (definitely still loud but less so than before).
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Old 07-09-2020, 11:06 PM   #6
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As Phantom has said 3M 5200 is an excellent product and extremely strong, so much so that 3M markets it as a "permanent adhesive" it is used extensively in the marine environment to glue wood boat hulls together and they say that the wood fibres will rip out before the adhesive will.
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