Hello from Spanaway, WA

[AlchemyCoeur]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

Welcome! I have compiled a sort of primer for newcomers... I will be PM'ing it with some other info shortly.

Is this a free thing? your newby guide? Could I have a copy too?

[mymincave]

Originally Posted by Beirdo

Hi. I live out near Tacoma, WA, and I've been itching to start a bus build for a while now. I have some basic issues with doing a build that maybe someone around here could have some insight on...

My plan currently is to do a short-bus conversion, but I still have the mental thought of doing a full-size bus, and make the back 18ft or so into a drive-in garage to haul a small car (like VW Golf) with me when I travel...

My main problems:
1) I live in suburbia. I have nowhere to actually work on a bus. There is one option near me, a storage/rental garage place where it's actually zoned to work on your vehicle 24/7 if you wish... but a bay that's big enough for a short-bus runs around $600/month... and if I wanted to do a full-size bus, quite a bit more... So, what do others in similar situations end up doing?

2) Once I have the thing done, there's then the parking issue. I think I'd probably need to find RV parking, which is not that hard around here, but isn't exactly cheap.

3) I need to learn to weld.


Hopefully I'll have an actual desired floorplan laid out for both options relatively soon, but probably will not start a build until May time frame...

Down in Portland we have an outfit called Metalwood Salvage that does lessons. I’ve spent 12 hrs. there and now feel like I can do just about anything. Maybe give them a yell and see if they know of a similar company in your area.

[mymincave]

Also, SketchUp is a nice affordable design tool...

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

How dare they! Outta the way, we got buses to build!

Actually, it's not just holidays. I have been looking at a couple, and one, I've already gotten two email addresses for contact that have bounced back undeliverable -- interesting in and of itself. Biggest problem is, people post their ads and don't check that all info needed is there, and then they don't check their emails.

So true. The bus I was looking at seems to have dead batteries now. My current plan is to buy new batteries (which would be useful on another rig if I don't get the thing anyways), and drive them down on the weekend. MAYBE we can get it to start, and then I can look at seeing what the "odd noises" might be.

If not, There are a few others I'm interested in, but yeah, people apparently suck at selling used buses. At least reply, people... it does wonders for actually helping you make a sale.

I also found out there is a Copart less than 10 miles from my house... I am going to get all registered up in case another nice pick comes along there. They had a 2015 Mercedes Sprinter there in the last auction, but I didn't have an account, couldn't bid. *IF* they get another, I can run over there and inspect the silly thing. If I were to do a van, that would be the pick of van for me. Has the same engine as my car, basically. 3.0L V6 turbo diesel (different HP/Torque tunings).

But still haven't landed a beast to work on. Got *both* my lazy step-kids saying "why are you wasting money on something you won't ever use?"... sigh. I guess they don't get my vision of not being stuck in the house with their sorry butts when I can be at a campground "working from home"

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by Kvan77

600 a month for a bay to fit a bus is a dream. My shop is 2k a month for rent. I wish rent was that cheap here. Im in the northeast on south shore of Massachusetts.

If I run into issues with neighbors being jerks, I'll probably be giving them a shout. It's a bit pricy if it ends up unnecessary, ya know?

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by Gorzie

What are the local regulations on parking an RV? Where I live as long as it is on an "improved" surface there is no problem. I am lucky as I can walk outside and tinker on my bus throughout the day if I wish. I think there might be a law/ordinance about having it licensed too but if the neighbors don't say anything there is no way the city would know. That being said my bus is properly licensed. I am just waiting for the state to finish the bus to RV title change. It has passed all the needed inspections

Not 100% sure. I do have a parking spot reserved at my storage unit though (12x24', back-in, not parallel park). As long as I return it there when not actively working on it, I doubt I will get much flak.

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by mymincave

Down in Portland we have an outfit called Metalwood Salvage that does lessons. I’ve spent 12 hrs. there and now feel like I can do just about anything. Maybe give them a yell and see if they know of a similar company in your area.

Oooh, nice pointer. I may have to give them a shout... These days with all the fun restrictions, sigh... makes it hard to learn new skills and so on.

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by Beirdo

Yeah, not TOO far... You wouldn't happen to know of places to build out a schoolie in the general area, would you? Sometimes living in suburbia sucks pretty hard.

What? Port Angeles is suburbia? Seems like it would be easy out there.

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by Danjo

What? Port Angeles is suburbia? Seems like it would be easy out there.

No, Port Angeles is more small town (last time I was there). Spanaway, however... is suburbia. We are one of the suburbs of Tacoma.

[Beirdo]

Hey Danjo. You wouldn't happen to have a sketchup model of your floorplan would you? It's a bit daunting to get started with, and it looks like your listed rig is fairly similar in size to what I'm looking at. I have a mental picture of what I want, but having something to tool around with while learning how to do it "right" in the latest version could be helpful.

I used sketchup last when Google still owned it (tells you something)...

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by Beirdo

Hey Danjo. You wouldn't happen to have a sketchup model of your floorplan would you? It's a bit daunting to get started with, and it looks like your listed rig is fairly similar in size to what I'm looking at. I have a mental picture of what I want, but having something to tool around with while learning how to do it "right" in the latest version could be helpful.

I used sketchup last when Google still owned it (tells you something)...

I didn’t. Maybe I should have.

The criteria I used:

Per the ladies it had to have a queen sized bed and it had to have a bathroom with a door. No getting around those.

It had to retain all its windows.

It should be able to boondock for 14 days without a reset.

How am I doing?

I have 600W of solar panels and 400Ah of battery. That meets my energy budget for running the fridge, lights, bumpin stereo in less than favorable conditions.

I have a wet bath with a Dometic toilet

I have 50 gallons fresh, 28 black, 35 grey

I have a 6 gallon hot water heater

I have a Wave 3 catalytic heater

I have a 2 burner stove

I have a queen sized bed

I have a 120 liter DC refrigerator/freezer

It has all its windows.

Things that I think are shortcomings:

Maybe it has too big of a bathroom. I used 2 windows worth of real estate. It’s nice, but I think my kitchen configuration suffered for it.

I only have 66 inches for a seating area. I haven’t built it yet. Seems lite it would do better as a loveseat than making a bankette. I will be asking the group for advice today.

I got too big of a fridge. I wish it were smaller, but in pure fridge mode I think it holds around 80 12 oz cans.

Keeping all the windows limits wall space for things like storage which suffers in my design I also couldn’t find wall space for a proper furnace.

Can I boondock 14 days? Mmmaybe if I’m alone. I think with two I’d have to reset in 10 days.

Things I’d do differently:

I would have gotten a smaller fridge so I could have made a battery compartment below it.

I would have made the bathroom on window wide and devised a step shower in the entry. This would have freed up space for a more functional kitchen and a furnace.

Am I happy with what I made? Yes.

I’m sorry I don’t have a build journal on here. I posted some good stuff though. I’m always happy to post more.

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by Danjo

I didn’t. Maybe I should have.

The criteria I used:

Per the ladies it had to have a queen sized bed and it had to have a bathroom with a door. No getting around those.

It had to retain all its windows.

It should be able to boondock for 14 days without a reset.

How am I doing?

Well, I'm building this for myself, and *maybe* my cat (she may not want to travel!) so I'm more inclined towards saving some space by putting in a raised twin bed. Not nearly as roomy as the king at home, but... it should do so I can escape the house for a week somewhere "nearby" in a campground with good 4G coverage. My plan is to "work from campground" a bit as I'm so sick of seeing the same 4 walls all day in my home office. I've been working from home now for just over a year, and I wanna move around some.

So yeah, depending on exact dimensions, I'm thinking twin bed along the back with a storage cabinet as a headboard (essentially), and with about 3 feet or so storage underneath that can be accessed from outside or inside.

Next to that, I'm thinking a wet bath with a composting crapper... err toilet. that I can move out when taking a shower if it annoys me. Or maybe put it next to the shower. We'll see I guess. This would be on the left side of the bus (as seen from the back). Next to that, along that wall would be my fridge (looking at the chest fridge/freezer combo thingies) and then the kitchen counter with a sink and a propane stove of some description. I'd want a range hood and microwave above the stove, and HOPE I can find enough space to use my crockpot or a InstaPot... and I *must* have coffee, so probably a Keurig?? or maybe just boil a kettle and use an Aeropress.

On stage right, I'm thinking of probably a van swivel seat and maybe a half-bankette type of deal? It's primary uses would be eating meals, and working on the laptop...

I would definitely be wanting to put on as much solar as I can muster, and use deep-cycle batteries and/or LiIon (haven't decided). I might even go back and finish the custom MPPT design I started like 4 years back. Depending on the size of the alternator on the bus, I may use a battery isolator plus an MPPT controller, and who knows, I might even craft up a wind turbine setup (not sure where to store it though!).

I may also decide to go the loveseat route along there instead of a bankette, especially if I can get a decent deal on one of the double-recliner types. Table would be the tricky part then, I'd have to think about it.

Oh, and my general plan would be to get a solid-fuel stove designed for sailboats... I may need to manufacture a wee basket for the wee stove to hold pellets should I want to use them...

https://www.amazon.com/Dickinson-Mar.../dp/B007PS3GGU


That would be my general vision of it all... But you know how it goes... until it's all built, it can (and likely will) change.

And of course, the millennials living in this house are telling me I'm wasting *MY* money, and that I should just buy them crap instead... so I may not have much help to start with. I'm betting that once I have a viable bus to go camping in, they might get more interested in getting one themselves... but meanwhile, I plan on building in stages.

First is demo, put up insulation, floor, outer walls, ceiling...
Then add the bed, and probably the bathroom... at that point it totally qualifies as an RV in Washington from what I read... until then, I plan to have it registered as a passenger van (once the seats are out). I can bring my portable propane stove for cooking while I go "rough it" in the "cold" for a bit, then I can adjust plans and start adding the rest.

Or so goes my current line of thinking.

[Danjo]

I like your shower with (cartridge?) toilet idea. That’s a pretty good space saver.

Up around your neck of the woods, consider tempering your solar expectations a little. Unless you’re going to sunnier places. Is there more sun on the other side of the cascades in winter? Well, the instapot and kerig might need to be a pressure cooker and coffee cone. The alternator charging addition might come in handy. At any rate, spend time doing your electrical budget.

Crock pot! I did it last week, with low winter sun and a shorter sun-day because of a mountain, I did a 5 pound roast and veggies. I will say that even though it worked, it really ate the electrical budget so maybe the pressure cooker would be better in the long run.

Your plan to have a bed and toilet to get up and running is smart. It puts the fun into the project and lets you spend time on it which helps visualize things.

Good luck with your project

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by Beirdo

But still haven't landed a beast to work on. Got *both* my lazy step-kids saying "why are you wasting money on something you won't ever use?"... sigh. I guess they don't get my vision of not being stuck in the house with their sorry butts when I can be at a campground "working from home"

Some people just never will quite grasp that they might be the reason you do something, whether that's a good thing or not.

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by Danjo

I like your shower with (cartridge?) toilet idea. That’s a pretty good space saver.

I hope it ends up not being tooo much of a pain though.

Originally Posted by Danjo

Up around your neck of the woods, consider tempering your solar expectations a little. Unless you’re going to sunnier places. Is there more sun on the other side of the cascades in winter? Well, the instapot and kerig might need to be a pressure cooker and coffee cone. The alternator charging addition might come in handy. At any rate, spend time doing your electrical budget.

Agreed. I can't depend too heavily on solar in Western WA, but I should be able to pull SOME power from the sky overall. I wish I could figure out a way to make a waterwheel run off the rain

I can live without the instapot easily enough, and go old school pressure cooker. That's actually not a bad idea, come to think of it. The Keurig is easily replaced with a kettle and Aeropress though. I have one somewhere in a box that came home from work, but they are really cheap, and make VERY good coffee.

https://www.amazon.com/AeroPress-Cof.../dp/B0047BIWSK

Originally Posted by Danjo

Crock pot! I did it last week, with low winter sun and a shorter sun-day because of a mountain, I did a 5 pound roast and veggies. I will say that even though it worked, it really ate the electrical budget so maybe the pressure cooker would be better in the long run.

Just had mine running for about 36h in the house. Man that chili is one of the best batches I've made in a while. It absolutely will tax the power budget pretty hard though if you let it. Of course, depending on where I am, I can always run a generator for a few hours in the daylight potentially. Hehe. Worth it for a big batch of slow-cooked roast or chili, etc, though.

Originally Posted by Danjo

Your plan to have a bed and toilet to get up and running is smart. It puts the fun into the project and lets you spend time on it which helps visualize things.

Good luck with your project

Thanks. The other good part is that it would let me show the bus-haters in the house that I actually AM going to use the thing more than the stupid techie toys they want me to actually waste money on.

Now hopefully it all goes well this weekend and I have a suitable bus in front of the house (or parked nearby at the storage unit) quite soon. I'm itching to get started, but not at the cost of an engine that might just not be working right.

There's another candidate bus down in Oregon that is fairly similar, but has the Ford 7.3L Diesel... but the seller says it has noticable blow-by... and that kinda scares me a bit. And the tires look ready to be replaced too, but at least van-based tires run only in the $200-250 range from what I've seen so far... still.. 6 new tires isn't something to sneeze at. So I'm hoping this "Chevy" Detroit Diesel 6.5L is actually in good condition. There are things to do to avoid their biggest problems, apparently, but if it's already too late... well... pass. I figure if I get it, I'll probably be dropping at least $1k of parts in there, and being a van, I shudder to think of how much labor will be if I can't do it. Doghouses are for dogs, not engines.

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

Some people just never will quite grasp that they might be the reason you do something, whether that's a good thing or not.

True, true. My step-son's fiancee is seemingly willing to help though, so hopefully she can successfully guilt him into helping too. I'm sure he'd actually enjoy the demolition part some!

In the end, I can see the two of them wanting a bus that they can go out in on their own (without me...) and eventually I want a full-size rig to take on really long trips, but I don't want to start big... that might get too daunting. Better to get a wee one under the belt first, and then build on that success. Or that's what I'm figuring anyways.

Long term though, I *really* want a Prevost coach.... Just not right now. And that will require some serious learning too, I'd want to get official CDL training before tackling a 40+ ft bus. It might be a good "retire to bus" scenario eventually though.

I had to laugh... the local transit authority (well one of them) has two articulated buses on auction right now. 60' buses? Hard pass. It would be fun, but no thanks. I think I'd rather look at a double-decker if I'm going ridiculous. Or something in the ocean.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by Beirdo

I had to laugh... the local transit authority (well one of them) has two articulated buses on auction right now. 60' buses? Hard pass. It would be fun, but no thanks. I think I'd rather look at a double-decker if I'm going ridiculous. Or something in the ocean.

I'm used to 70 feet. LOL

[Beirdo]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

I'm used to 70 feet. LOL

Yeah, fair enough. I'm not Having ridden the articulated bus type in question, I do think it would make an interesting conversion, but that's kinda WAY out of my comfort range to drive.

Basically think of it as two 30ft buses with an accordian-like attachment pivoting in the middle. Be nice and spacious!

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by Beirdo

Yeah, fair enough. I'm not Having ridden the articulated bus type in question, I do think it would make an interesting conversion, but that's kinda WAY out of my comfort range to drive.

Basically think of it as two 30ft buses with an accordian-like attachment pivoting in the middle. Be nice and spacious!

Oh, I've seen them, and wouldn't mind trying my hand driving one, although I can understand your assessment of

[ljean]

I have a friend you might want to contact - send a text to Joe 253-228-8806. He is just outside Spanaway. He already had someone park at his place and do a bus conversion. He does body work and other car restoration - so might be helpful also.