Arctic Family Bus

[o1marc]

Actually I was born in Doctor's Hospital in Seattle which is becoming a long, long time ago!

As far as the fixes go, when you have older equipment and almost no budget to keep them running you have to become creative in keeping them running. I never resorted to baling wire and bubble gum for permanent fixes. But there were more than a couple of fixes that involved baling wire to get the bus home!

As far as the depth of my knowledge goes, it isn't very deep. It just is really wide and covers a lot of stuff. I wouldn't even being to want to rebuild an automatic transmission or mess around with the electronics like the way some of you folks can do. I can weld about as well as I can fly by flapping my arms up and down. Finish woodwork is totally not in my wheelhouse. 50' or 50 MPH paintjobs I can do, 5" or less than 5 MPH, no way.

I suppose what I am saying is we all have our areas of expertise. I think my greatest area of expertise is in diagnosing problems. And sometimes, knowing what you don't know is almost as important as knowing what you do know.

Keep your stick on the ice. We're all pulling for you!

What do they say? "Those Who Can, Do, Those Who Can't, Teach.

My brother is a P.A. Orthopedic Surgeon at St Vincent Mary's.

 

[Biscuitsjam]

We're leaving Monday for a 9-day 1200-mile trip. North Pole to Gulkana Glacier to Wrangell-St Elias National Park to Valdez and back. We've recently done weekend trips to Granite Tors and the White Mountains, but this is a lot bigger.

We added a lot to our packing list: board games, arts and crafts, a novel for family reading time, outdoor games (horseshoes, bocce ball, frisbies, lots of other balls), a stack of wilderness guidebooks (how to build snares and emergency shelters, track animals, identify local wildlife, etc.), kids outdoor activity books, binoculars, a book on card games, kids craft stuff (crayons, construction paper, glue, etc.), rain gear (!!!), GPS and compass for geocaching. No need for flashlights here though - it's always daylight this time of year.

Most of my work on the bus has been prep stuff, like stripping decals, resealing the roof and windows (started but not yet complete), a lockable shotgun rack by the front door, and maintenance. Big quality-of life stuff includes curtains (muslin and magnets for now), electrical work (battery bank has been working for a few weeks), and now a generator (Honda EU3000IS). I'm going to add the cold weather kit, remote start, and propane conversion kit to the generator, but those will be later. This gives me a working fridge, microwave, crock pot, and white noise maker.

Before I start on the trip, I have a few projects:
1. Fix the windshield wipers - it appears to be an electrical problem, but I can't find a blown fuse or bad relay.
2. Correctly install propane stove (regulator was leaking - going to swap out this morning).
3. Add more brackets to the refrigerator
4. Finish resealing roof
5. Find the right size socket to be able to change tires - Auto Zone and Home Depot carry up to about 1-1/4 inch. Maybe I need to go to a truck stop? I think its a 1-1/2 inch socket

 

[Biscuitsjam]

It's been a while since my last update. I've been wotking on building the bus from the outside in whenever I have time available, which isn't often. I spent all yesterday working outside and plan to do the same again.

It got down to -19 farenheit. I was working underneath, finishing my propane install, putting mudflaps behind the front tires, and improving the ladder for my side door. I also replaced the top for my stove.

My strategy:
1. Lots of high quality long underwear, wool hat, and a gaiter neck.
2. Toe warmers and thick wool socks.
3. Good gloves with two hand warmers in each - that way I could warm my fingers back up every time I took them off.
4. A thick outdoor rug to lay down on.

Today, I'm going to hang some storage boxes underneath, install vents for propane heater and toilet, and remove my electrical panel so I can troubleshoot it inside.

 

[Biscuitsjam]

We're leaving Monday for a 9-day 1200-mile trip. North Pole to Gulkana Glacier to Wrangell-St Elias National Park to Valdez and back. We've recently done weekend trips to Granite Tors and the White Mountains, but this is a lot bigger.

We added a lot to our packing list: board games, arts and crafts, a novel for family reading time, outdoor games (horseshoes, bocce ball, frisbies, lots of other balls), a stack of wilderness guidebooks (how to build snares and emergency shelters, track animals, identify local wildlife, etc.), kids outdoor activity books, binoculars, a book on card games, kids craft stuff (crayons, construction paper, glue, etc.), rain gear (!!!), GPS and compass for geocaching. No need for flashlights here though - it's always daylight this time of year.

Most of my work on the bus has been prep stuff, like stripping decals, resealing the roof and windows (started but not yet complete), a lockable shotgun rack by the front door, and maintenance. Big quality-of life stuff includes curtains (muslin and magnets for now), electrical work (battery bank has been working for a few weeks), and now a generator (Honda EU3000IS). I'm going to add the cold weather kit, remote start, and propane conversion kit to the generator, but those will be later. This gives me a working fridge, microwave, crock pot, and white noise maker.

Before I start on the trip, I have a few projects:
1. Fix the windshield wipers - it appears to be an electrical problem, but I can't find a blown fuse or bad relay.
2. Correctly install propane stove (regulator was leaking - going to swap out this morning).
3. Add more brackets to the refrigerator
4. Finish resealing roof
5. Find the right size socket to be able to change tires - Auto Zone and Home Depot carry up to about 1-1/4 inch. Maybe I need to go to a truck stop? I think its a 1-1/2 inch socket

The trip was awesome. I still didn't get the stove working before the trip but I have since. Windshield wipers still don't work either.

We went camping in a canyon at Rainbow Ridge. The rocks are red, blue, green, and every other color you could imagine. In the morning, the entire canyon was full of songbirds. We spent a long time exploring on foot, then decided to take the dirt road further with the bus, managing to drop my back wheel and crush my exhaust. Some folks driving UTVs helped me fill in the ditch with rocks and pulled me out with tow straps.

We drove up a creek bed the next day to get close enough to hike Gulkana Glacier. It was about 70 when we started and the temperature dropped to near freezing with 50+ mph winds as we got close. We took off our jackets to wrap up the kids and carried them the rest of the way. The Gulkana River pours straight out of the side of the glacier, coming through a pretty spectacular ice cave. However, boulders were tumbling off the top of the glacier and would crush anyone hit, so we didn't try to go in. We ate lunch in a spot sheltered by the wind and hiked back.

Wrangell st Elias was a long and difficult road. We were only going about 15 mph for the last 60 miles but it was very unsafe if we got the speed higher than that. There were thousands of rabbits, a lot of bears, a couple elk that tried to stare us down, and I almost hit a snowy owl (those things are huge). The kids went swimming in the pond and we spent a day exploring the old mining town, Kennecott. Then, we hiked over to the glacier, but the dog and kids were freezing so we didn't stay long. Lots of folks were ice climbing or exploring the ice caves.

We lost our keys right before leaving and searched everywhere. We managed to find someone else's keys on a trail though. Good thing we did - they had hired a private plane to fly them to Anchorage to have a new key made (500 miles?). It saved them a chunk of change. A local was coming out to hotwire our bus when I finally found our keys....

Valdez was actually a little bit of a letdown after the rest of the trip. It was merely really cool as opposed to awesome. The mountains on the road in are magnificent, and we stopped several times to explore stuff we saw along the road, like an abandoned tunnel from before the road was moved. We went on a wildlife cruise and there are an absurd number of sea lions, sea otters, bald eagles, and tons of colorful birds. The kids weren't big fans of the cruise, but we were. We went salmon finishing from shore, but didn't catch anything - the salmon were about 50 feet off shore and I couldn't cast far enough - the sea otters were stuffing themselves though.

Next summer - Kenai.

 

[cadillackid]

sounds like it was a kickass trip.. of course hopefully you'll go get more keys made now too!!


-Christopher

 

[Biscuitsjam]

Picture showing pull-out ladder and handles for emergency door. The ladder was defective when I bought it and hung straight down instead of at a 45 degree like it is supposed to. I fixed with some tek screws and a bunch of washers to make it the right angle.

You can also see one of my storage boxes. I'm getting ready to put in two more.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Looks cold!

 

[cadillackid]

does that ladder actually hang off the ground? seems like a lot of stress on the bracketry if thats the case.. iwas thinking those were designed to lean against the ground..
-Christopher

 

[Biscuitsjam]

The bottom step is about a foot up. It seems stable - time will tell.

It was about -10 fahrenheit when that picture was taken. It was between -10 and -19 this weekend when I was outside working.

 

[Biscuitsjam]

sounds like it was a kickass trip.. of course hopefully you'll go get more keys made now too!!


-Christopher

No keys yet... somehow my to-do list keeps getting longer. I never remember to bring them to the hardware store with me.

I plan to post pictures of a storage box install if I can get off work early enough to finish the job today.

 

[Biscuitsjam]

The first challenge was finding a place under the bus to mount a box. I figured out a 24 inch wide box would fit just in front of the back tires on the driver side, a good size for storing my house batteries.

I used the frame to support it. As you can see, there is already some hardware mounted to the frame, with bolts and such sticking out. The yellow tube is corrogated stainless steel tubing for my propane on-demand hot water heater.

I mounted the first metal bracket with 1/2 inch bolts. It took a while to drill through the thick hardened steel of the frame. I then found I was about 1/16 of an inch too high to fit the box, so I wobbled the bit in the hole a bit to make it just a tad bigger.

I cut off several bolts holding an interlock device (without cutting the wires until I test it out). The bracket was much more difficult to install on this side because of how close the air tank is to the back of the frame, making it hard to hold the nuts on the back side of the bolts. I might have gotten some minor frostbite in my thumbs holding metal tools in my bare hands (it was -17 fahrenheit).

I then marked and cut out the hole for the box. I cut it as close to the exact size as possible with a metal cutting blade on my angle grinder. I took this picture when I decided to take a break because it was 9 o'clock and I was likely aggravating the neighbors by being loud.

When I started again two days later, it was much warmer (0 degrees) and lightly snowing. I finished cutting the hole then I put a grinding blade on and smoothed everything out, widening a couple tight spots so the box would fit.

I slid the box back on the brackets and it fit perfectly. The box sits a little forward on the bracket, but it is well supported.

Here you can see the box installed. When it's time to paint, I can fill in the 1/4 inch or so around the edge of the box.

And, here it is with the door open. After this was taken, I added 4x 1/4 inch bolts through the bottom of the box to the bracket, adjusted the latch, and took the label off.

 

[Biscuitsjam]

Shotgun mount above windshield. It's stable and doesn't rattle or damage the finish. I can also mount an AR, hunting rifle, etc.

As you can see, I've done little to finish the interior so far - I've been working from the outside in (other than some basic bedding, electrical, seating, storage, and fridge/oven/food prep area).

 

[Biscuitsjam]

Another project completed this weekend:
Mud flaps for the front tires. I have a fair bit of hardware under the bus, so I bought a set of mud flaps.

The mud flaps are only about 3 inches behind the tires, which makes me a little nervous, but the wheels don't rub even when I turn it all the way. (It looks closer in the picture thsn it is). I have not driven yet since installing these.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Good idea on the mud flaps. They can head off a host of issues and make working under there much less of a hassle.


On my rear duallies...I have flaps behind AND in front of the tires just to limit crud buildup on parts & tanks & such.

 

[Biscuitsjam]

I was mostly worried about rocks hitting my propane lines or the regulators getting clogged up. The underside has managed to stay pretty clean so far, despite a lot of offroad travel and even driving up creeks a few times. I've probably been fortunate not to come across sticky mud or clay.

Did the mud flaps in front of your tires make a big difference?

 

[Tango-SKO]

Still pulling this old rig together so no road report yet. But...it should certainly limit the buildup in front of the tires. I cleaned out a lot of mud, crud and debris that had been thrown forward.

 

[Iceni John]

That CSST propane line directly above the tires makes me nervous. I strongly suggest you protect the CSST inside something else - it's not intended to withstand stones being flung at it at 60 MPH, something that normally doesn't happen inside a house. I put my ProFlex 1/2" CSST inside 3/4" EMT conduit, and where it runs next to the front wheels to the generator in the front I also put it and the EMT inside some thick-wall stainless steel pipe - nothing's going to damage the CSST there! You can't be too safe when it comes to propane.

John

 

[cadillackid]

Tires can and do fly apart with a lot of violence... tires also have metal belts that can cause sparks if they fly apart. Flammable lines anywhere near open moving parts is a bad idea in my opinion.
Christopher

 

[EastCoastCB]

I've got a wheel well that's destroyed from a flat tire. its pretty gruesome.

 

[Tango-SKO]

What they said. Personally, I wouldn't want anything but black pipe carrying gas under there and definitely clear of the wheels. The flex stainless is fine for household use but will not stand up well to vibration.