Meet our new bus... Mr. Beefy! - Page 13

TheHubbardBus · 12-27-2021, 05:40 PM

At this point all the OEM bus body harnesses (which we rebuilt) are all in place permanently. All the wiring running and through the ceiling is done. Anything that penetrated the roof and isn't hooked up to something yet (which is really most of the things going through the roof) have the ends sealed and are tied off to the roof rack rails temporarily to keep them from flapping in the breeze. Lots of wires & coax going to the front & rear caps is cut a bit long until we complete those areas & the items inside them. The bundle of 'data' cables running down in front of the air door needs to have a channel created around it but nothing else should need to be added. Same thing with the much larger bundle of power wiring running down between the driver seat back and first side window.

TheHubbardBus · 12-27-2021, 06:01 PM

I've pretty much spent the last 2 days straight updating this thread - which I'm entirely to blame for not keeping updated - just to get to this post.

I'm almost all caught up. This is the last thing we did. And second only to the marine air horns in terms of chuckle factor.

I kind of messed up the first one - a few small bubbles here & there - which thankfully was the back-side. I should have insisted Sharon do them both. She nailed the one that matters, though.

These are the same 3M high-intensity-grade reflective facings you'd find on highway signs, made by a company where most of their clients are departments of transportation. Their attitude gave me the feeling they regretted taking on our tiny job the second they said yes, so I can't recommend them, but at least we got what we wanted before that bridge was burned.

Oldyeller · 12-27-2021, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

I feel ya. Thankfully THE MAGIC MAN Cliff @ Firebird Truck & Auto Body here in Phx took care of our biggest boo-boos. One thing I absolutely had to outsource. And before you ask, they're actually repaired. Not 10 lbs of bondo

You left looks like my right and your right looks like my left.

snjhubbard · 12-28-2021, 04:15 PM

Ye come seeking Adventure and Salty ole pirates?

https://youtu.be/CkQoG1dFCEc

TheHubbardBus · 12-28-2021, 04:17 PM

Ye come seeking Adventure and Salty old Pirates?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQoG1dFCEc

TheHubbardBus · 01-08-2022, 07:31 PM

This is the second identical speaker box we've built. One will go in the front cap, one in the back. 10" subs in sealed enclosures, and the 6.5 full-range speakers are sealed as well (each box is one cabinet with 3 separate sealed compartments). The sub's recommended sealed-air volume was obviously documented, but we didn't know what to do with the 6.5s. We reached out to infinity and they were very helpful in giving us recommendations. Used 3/4 birch plywood for density / rigidity (and man, these things are heavy!), & 3M 540 to seal. Plus plenty of screws (only visible on the back, everything else was pocket-screwed). On two of each of the 4 interior walls of each separate enclosure, we used trimmed wooden shims (wood glue + brad nails). The idea was to eliminate parallel walls directly opposite each other, and thus helping to prevent standing waves, while still allowing the outside dimensions of the box to be rectangular. We also added some owens corning 703 on the other 2 walls per enclosure for a bit more damping.

We've tried them out - just temporarily hooking them up since we aren't ready to install yet - and even with a rough & dirty setup of gain & crossovers, and I gotta admit... they sound fantastic. Can't wait to get them & the other stereo components permanently installed & properly tuned.

Each box is 36.5"L x 6.5"W x 12.5"H. Subs are Infinity low profiles, which allowed us to make our boxes as shallow as they are. Didn't spend much time prettying them up, as they'll be behind cloth screens/covers.

TheHubbardBus · 01-08-2022, 08:06 PM

Got the top-of-the-window runners cut, treated with fire retardant, and installed. Secured using Teks screws. They don't look like much, but there was actually a lot of work involved. Not shown in the pictures is all the routing I had to do to clear the imperfections at each junction of the hat channel / window ledge, + trial & error to get it all to work. Also had to position them just right, as the roof starts curving almost immediately, so getting them square with the runner below the window was a challenge. But it was worth it... they're perfectly square with the walls, and of the same depth as the below-window runner.

The routed-out groove is 1/4" wide. We'll be using 1/8 birch plywood for the ceiling, which will fit into this groove. I started making it exactly 1/8" wide, but figured that was cutting things too close. Wish I had gone 1/4" from the beginning, as following a channel already made with a hand router was challenging (kept wanting to jump/catch). But it came out clean.

Still need to trim a couple ends where the beams 'cuz the clearance is too tight, but other than that done with this bit.

We're using 2 fire-retardant products on pretty much all our wood except for the floor. The FR Clear for everything wood that will be visible and stained (like the above), and the FireGard intumescent paint (also a waterproofer) used on everything hidden away. The Clear is a compromise - not as good as the intumescent product but still provides a class A flame spread / smoke rating for 15 mins.

TheHubbardBus · 01-13-2022, 04:33 PM

A few more things done, or that I got around to documenting:

More wire in/around ceiling. Not much change visually except a bunch more red & black. This was mostly for hard-wired alarm sensors, electric door locks, and the bathroom light I almost forgot (d'oh! Thanks to my better half for remembering).

TheHubbardBus · 01-13-2022, 04:37 PM

(starter) battery compartment finished with fuse block, neg bus post, and cabling run to interior to power DC-DC charger, amp, & stereo (plus a spare fuse for later). And yeah - on the negative post - I ran out of black heat shrink (the cable's black!)

TheHubbardBus · 01-13-2022, 04:44 PM

We're keeping the front bus A/C (there were two), but moving it over a hair. It was originally suspended by 2 brackets, both riveted into the interior sheet metal. In order to securely mount these brackets, we created two mounting points to go under the ceiling (1/8" birch). The back is a couple 1" square steel tubes, welded together & screwed into the hat channels on either end. The front is a peice of wood, the same mounted depth as our roof runners, directly over one of the two steel crossbeams that runs the length of the bus. Once our ceiling is in place, both brackets will mount over it, screwing directly into steel in multple places. Should be stronger than it ever was.

TheHubbardBus · 01-13-2022, 04:50 PM

I've found exactly two uses for silicone on this bus... both of the high-temp, red variety. On the drivers-side dash / heater console, we've sealed up the passenger duct, as there will be a wall here soon. Sheet metal + a wood block + sheet metal screws + silicone gasket maker sealed it tight. On the same console, we sealed up the fresh-air intake flapper, so air could no longer seep/leak/enter through this orifice. We could have kept it if it would seal perfectly shut when closed, but I don't see that ever happening. It's just not designed to seal that tight.

TheHubbardBus · 01-13-2022, 04:54 PM

Finally (and this is a good example of why we're on track to maybe, maybe get this done in three years)...

Our driver-side window 'lock'. The kind you'd put in a sliding glass door. You know, a piece of broomstick that should have taken 5 minutes to construct. I think I've got a half-day in this so far...

TheHubbardBus · 01-14-2022, 07:45 AM

Apparently too late to edit a post, but regarding sealing up the fresh-air intake, we may be re-doing what we did two posts up, as per this thread.

syntaxterror · 01-15-2022, 01:48 PM

Do you have more info on your emergency hatch? I like it.

jofred99 · 01-15-2022, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

Next up was our roof rack. This will support our Solar panels (one in the back, two in front of the maxxfan). We don't really have room for a roof deck and frankly we're ok with that. We'll be traveling with our fur babies and if they can't be with us then it's not as much fun. For supports we used recycled rubber strut supports common in commercial HVAC.
I didn't go back and review, not sure if we've posted this already.. but we replaced our rear emergency hatch with a tinted glass version. So we still have the emergency hatch but we can see out of it from our bedroom. With this option we don't have the excess heat coming in as it does from non-tinted options.
Also you can see our @MaxxAir fan .. that's not all dirt, some of it is the plastic covering which we'll leave on until we're ready to hit the road

The recycled rubber strut supports that you use on your roof. I'm not familiar with them and wanted to see if you had a source.

My solar setup is next in line and I've been struggling with the attachment details.

I'm glad to see the Austin bus is looking great!

TheHubbardBus · 01-15-2022, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syntaxterror

Do you have more info on your emergency hatch? I like it.

@syntaxterror, we got it through Unity Bus Parts (https://www.unityparts.com/). We contacted them directly (email), told them we needed a tempered glass emergency hatch, and they sent us back a response detailing the dimensions we needed to provide them. Fit in just like the old one we removed. Note we did not shop around, so no idea on if you can get a better deal elsewhere. Also, it's not an unobstructed view... just like the regular hatch the handle mechanism takes up some space. Here's a view from inside:

TheHubbardBus · 01-15-2022, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jofred99

The recycled rubber strut supports that you use on your roof. I'm not familiar with them and wanted to see if you had a source.

My solar setup is next in line and I've been struggling with the attachment details.

I'm glad to see the Austin bus is looking great!

Thanks so much!

I'm not sure if you want to copy us on our roof rack (lol). Just to be clear it's just for panels only, def not a deck. I'm not displeased with the result - it works as intended - but if I had some welding / metal working skills at the time it went up I would probably have done something different.

FYI we used 1/2" grade 8 bolts upside down (coming up from the interior), then secured each on the outside using a rubber washer/fender washer/lock washer/nut combo, forming studs. Then these supports were placed over the studs (had to enlarge the holes slightly), superstrut over them, and another set of washers/nuts to lock them down. So if we ever need / want to remove the struts/support down the road, we can pull them off the studs without worrying about opening up holes in the roof.

Also worth noting is due to the curvature of the roof, the strut sections are not exactly square with each other (just a tiny bit off). We'll be using strut sections at right angles to these to mount panels, which will be notched to allow them to lay flat and interface with these lengthwise runners as they should.

If you're still not disuaded, this is what we got & where we got them (they're rated to support 500lbs each if I remember correctly):

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Cooper-B...rt-4-x-6-x-9-6

Tejon7 · 01-15-2022, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

Finally (and this is a good example of why we're on track to maybe, maybe get this done in three years)...

Our driver-side window 'lock'. The kind you'd put in a sliding glass door. You know, a piece of broomstick that should have taken 5 minutes to construct. I think I've got a half-day in this so far...

That's the kind of broomstick you can be proud of, though!

TheHubbardBus · 01-16-2022, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tejon7

That's the kind of broomstick you can be proud of, though!

I am! I used almost every powered wood-related tool I own making it lol.

TheHubbardBus · 01-17-2022, 12:19 PM

Last few days have kind of stimied our forward progress, but at the end of the day they're minor problems. I realized (thanks CaddilacKid) sealing up the fresh air intake was a bad call. A whole day was spent fixing that error (I don't half-a$$ anything, including mistakes). But now it's working great, with new insulation sealing it, & a new cable assembly to actuate it.

Was also preparing to re-install our driver-side heater (feeds the defroster), which is the only heater on the bus. This is the only thing keeping us from starting the bus back up (it's been a while), so I was really looking forward to it. But the more I looked at it, the more I thought... what if it leaks? The big problem here is I don't remember ever testing it before pulling it (big mistake). The valves feeding it in the engine compartment are closed, and I can't remember if I closed them, or if they were closed when we first got the bus. I know it wasn't dry when I pulled it, and I know there wasn't a huge pool of coolant underneath. But seeping... I might have overlooked that. And if it wasn't under pressure, then something I never noticed might become a problem when it is. It's obvious to me there's been (some) leaking around the control valve. Is there leaking elsewhere? I dunno. But I do know if it was to let go, a little or a lot, it would cause all kinds of problems I don't want to deal with once the interior is fully converted.

Without even starting to price shop, a new control valve is <$100, and a new core is <$200. So for $300 I can have a brand-new everything. I know I could pressure-test the core, but that's not 100%. And I could replace the o-rings in the valve, but those aren't the only potential sources of leaks. So I think I'm going to bit the bullet here. This is one of those items I really don't want to be having hassles with in the near future.

Tell me what y'all think. Am I wasting my money, or is this a good call?

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