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Old 07-26-2022, 08:18 AM   #1
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Using Assembled Furniture vs Custom Build

Hello! I am a newbie and my mission is to keep the bus as is in terms of the flooring, walls, and ceiling until I have a chance to figure out what I want to do to make it workable. So very basic renovations that I can undo if they are not working for my needs.

My thought is to purchase used furniture to work as kitchen work space and storage, an Ikea-like daybed that can be a couch and a bed and a dresser for clothes. Other storage can be added in the form of totes.

My biggest question is now to secure these items to the bus. Send me your ideas with the thought that I do not want to make it complicated but I do want it to be safe! Love that you are all out there helping the new kids on the block find their way!
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Old 07-26-2022, 09:02 AM   #2
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buy a kreg jig r3.

i use it to put anything together now..... it was the most used tool in my bus build.

i would kreg 2 boards together, kreg a board to the bus, after a while you start looking for places you can use it.

"pocket holes" for the non namebrand tools

good luck
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Old 07-26-2022, 10:26 AM   #3
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My plan for my bus was to use furniture I have on hand rather than make buiit-ins. I don't have the skills, or the time, to make furniture.

I was thinking I'd go to Home Depot and buy some superstruts that I'd attach to the wall ribs and anchor my furniture to those using the spring nuts available for the struts. That would give me the ability to anchor furniture anywhere along the length of the bus by using the moveable spring nuts in the struts.

I've also thought it would be possible to use the seat rail near the bottom of both walls and bolt your furniture to that. My only concern about that is it's so low, I didn't know if the furniture would/could be tippy with one connection down low like that.

I'd also suggest you see if there is a Habitat for Humanity Restore in your area instead of buying new furniture from Ikea.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Superstrut/N-5yc1vZ44i
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Old 07-26-2022, 10:30 AM   #4
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I would think that whatever system was used to secure seats would work for the large furniture pieces. On a conventional bus you would also have a chair rail on the wall to make attachments but I'm not sure if you have that. Maybe use the seat frames attached to the floor to mount/secure the bed etc.
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Old 07-26-2022, 02:07 PM   #5
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I don't think you can overdo the bolting and securing. My method was to place the piece of furniture or equipment in the bus, then imagine how it might move if the bus rolled over on its side or hit a concrete barrier.

My interior cabinets and wall panels are a tetris of 3/4" veneer plywood forms. The forms are biscuit-joined and screwed together with predrilled Torx screws. Then everything is either bolted to one or both chair rails, or screwed into the fiberglass wall using Torx or sheet metal screws in properly predrilled holes.

The tetris forms are not glued in place, just screwed and/or bolted. My interior ceiling and walls still have the thin fiberglass interior finish panel so glue wouldn't have made the connections any stronger. Besides, if I need to change things up or remove something to do a repair I didn't want to deal with a glue joint.

Familiarize yourself with the hardware aisle of your local store. Angle brackets, corner braces etc. come in handy.

Special attention needed for seating. My passenger seats are bolted to the floor chair rail and through-bolted through the floor deck with fender washers. I used grade 8 bolts though that might be a bit of overkill.
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Old 07-26-2022, 03:45 PM   #6
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For Turf - I am definitely looking for that thing-a-ma-jig it sounds perfect! Thank you!
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Old 07-26-2022, 05:53 PM   #7
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I wouldn't rely on screws to hold anything with any weight in place in the event of a crash. I'd find some way to bolt it to chassis if at all possible, with large fender-style washers to keep anything wood from pulling out. Like BamaBus said, the seat rails are one great example of a solid attachment point, if you can make use of them.
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Old 07-26-2022, 05:55 PM   #8
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I don't think you can overdo the bolting and securing. My method was to place the piece of furniture or equipment in the bus, then imagine how it might move if the bus rolled over on its side or hit a concrete barrier.

My interior cabinets and wall panels are a tetris of 3/4" veneer plywood forms. The forms are biscuit-joined and screwed together with predrilled Torx screws. Then everything is either bolted to one or both chair rails, or screwed into the fiberglass wall using Torx or sheet metal screws in properly predrilled holes.

The tetris forms are not glued in place, just screwed and/or bolted. My interior ceiling and walls still have the thin fiberglass interior finish panel so glue wouldn't have made the connections any stronger. Besides, if I need to change things up or remove something to do a repair I didn't want to deal with a glue joint.

Familiarize yourself with the hardware aisle of your local store. Angle brackets, corner braces etc. come in handy.

Special attention needed for seating. My passenger seats are bolted to the floor chair rail and through-bolted through the floor deck with fender washers. I used grade 8 bolts though that might be a bit of overkill.

Ditto in the extreme.
Yep, me too, Rucker. Grade 8 everywhere I could.
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Old 07-26-2022, 10:52 PM   #9
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Pocket holes makes bus construction so much easier.

i didnot frame my bus, the entire thing is 3/4"plywood. its is all boxed together from my bed in the back, to the sofa right behind the drivers seat. everything is connected to everything. it is very solid and secure.

my rule of thumb connecting things together is that it needs to connect to at least 2 other items. my dresser is store bought furniture, but it is connected to the wall, the floor, the bed and the bathroom. 4 directions. bulkheads were the hardest with only 2 connections until they got sandwiched in.

the rest of the furniture was 3/4" plywood cabinets of some sort. the more angles and pieces you have, the stronger it gets.

all my appliances are built in to their own cabinets.

i love my kreg jig. i've gone thru a few bits with it and replace as needed. their name brand screws are worth it too. for plywood cabinetry and joints, they're the best fastener out there.
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Old 07-27-2022, 08:48 AM   #10
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I like the idea of attaching things to one another. I did look up the thingy and it looks super handy and easy (relative term) to use for a beginner such as myself.

Thank you for the tips!
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Old 07-27-2022, 11:20 AM   #11
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[M]y rule of thumb connecting things together is that it needs to connect to at least 2 other items.
This is the tip of the day! Simple and effective. May I quote you? :-')
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Old 07-30-2022, 04:39 PM   #12
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Wouldn't assembled furniture from IKEA shimmy itself to destruction? I'd hit the ReStore or a thrift shop to find real furniture. You can alter the real stuff. Cut off legs to lower it. Take off the top of a chest of drawers and incorporate the drawers under the kitchen counter. Make a table out of the top.
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Old 07-31-2022, 01:01 PM   #13
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please dont cut up real antique furniture maybe figure out how to incorporate it but dont cut up the good stuff please.
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Old 07-31-2022, 04:41 PM   #14
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please dont cut up real antique furniture maybe figure out how to incorporate it but dont cut up the good stuff please.
You mean like the time Boyd Coddington bought a pristine model A survivor and cut it up and turned it into a hotrod - yea, that kind of behavior is a waste regardless of what's being destroyed.
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Old 07-31-2022, 04:59 PM   #15
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Real furniture is not necessarily antique. And antique is not necessarily valuable.
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Old 07-31-2022, 05:34 PM   #16
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the age of the specific piece is what makes it antique just like some of us.
you can use what you want and i can not stop it.
call it what you want?
when i rebuild my big bus from a family camper into my camper its might/probably will get a hoosier cabinet with the grain sifter because i own it and have taken care of it.
several other pieces that are way older than i am and some older than others posting here
like 1800's stuff i have collected.
bought many a piece from a garage sale when they didnt know what they had?
not even estate sales?
it dont have to be pretty in your eyes to not be worth something?
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Old 07-31-2022, 06:21 PM   #17
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Real furniture is not necessarily antique. And antique is not necessarily valuable.
LOL, so true. I'm old enough to be an antique but I am certainly not valuable.
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