Bailey Bus Bunedoggle

[lornaschinske]

... Most dump stations are set up for RV poo tanks on the left sides of RVs, generally towards the rear of the vehicle...

In our current campground, our dump is pretty much under our RV, and the water hook up is on the right side of the site. We've been in campgrounds that had 2 sites sharing the hookups, so one is on the "wrong" side. I've been in campgrounds, rest stops and truckstops that had double dump station lanes set up to handle RV dumping on the left side and RV dumping on the right side.

Putting dump valves on both sides would be a nice, handy idea.... Adding a macerator pump would also be a very nice idea.

 

[lornaschinske]

... Most dump stations are set up for RV poo tanks on the left sides of RVs, generally towards the rear of the vehicle...

In our current campground, our dump is pretty much under our RV at the back end (we have 2 sewer hoses connected together to reach), and the water hook up is on the right side of the site. We've been in campgrounds that had 2 sites sharing the hookups, so one is on the "wrong" side. I've been in campgrounds, rest stops and truckstops that had double dump station lanes set up to handle RV dumping on the left side and RV dumping on the right side.

Putting dump valves on both sides would be a nice, handy idea.... Adding a macerator pump would also be a very nice idea.

 

[bunedoggle]

Busy day today. The weather was great and I took advantage. I got the windows covered and insulated on one side. Tweeked the bed framing a little. Welded together a new floor where the wheelchair lift used to be and removed the hydraulic pump.

I'm happy with the way the windows came out. Tomorrow I'm covering one more on this side and 5 windows on the other side.

Here's a photo of the windows:

 

[bunedoggle]

I was pondering how I would hold the sheet metal in place while I drilled and riveted it. I decided I would screw a couple angle brackets to the bus to hold it in place. I figured it was worth adding four small holes to make sure the window covering came out right.

I put silicone on all the flat surfaces around the windows then pushed the sheet metal up under the eyelid over the windows. Then I could just set it on the brackets and push it against the pillars. My wife drilled the holes from the inside while I pushed on the outside with a section of 2x4.

Then I pop riveted it in place with aluminum rivets.

Afterward I removed the brackets and put silicone in the holes the put the self tapping screws back in.

Here are the brackets before I removed them:

 

[bunedoggle]

iI was going to use some foam insulation I got at Lowes for the insde of the window, I think it's 3/4" inch thick, but it wasn't think enough. I have some big pieces of 1 1/2" thick styrofoam from a bathroom vanity I ordered. I had saved them from 2 years ago and now I'm glad I did. The fit in the windows perfectly.

After running a bead of silicone around the inside, I put some liquid nails on the sheet metal. Hopefully that will keep it bonded to the foam insulation so it doesn't rattle.

Here's the result:

 

[bunedoggle]

Here you can see my recycled seat frames I used to patch the floor where the lift was. It worked out pretty well. I was planning to put the black water tank here also. Now I'm debating whether to put it on this side or the other side.
The tank can still go here. If it does, I'll weld in a frame to hold whatever tank I end up buying.

When I took out the welder I found that I had left the gas on (DOH!) the solenoid value in the welder leaks so when I leave it on, it empties itself

I swapped in the tank from my beer keg. It's straight CO2 so it's not as nice to weld with as CO2/Argon but it works in a pinch.

 

[bunedoggle]

Oh, and one last thing, here's a great reason to wear safety glasses: While I was cleaning the metal for welding, one of the wires from the wire brush let go. Those suckers are moving pretty darn fast! It lodged itself in the knuckle of my pinky. Afterward I was thinking I was glad it wasn't my eye ( I was wearing my safety goggles). Ouch.

 

[lornaschinske]

Ouch!

 

[baadpuppy]

Is galvonic reaction between the steel of the bus and the aluminum pop rivets a concern?

I love your progress, it is looking good.

jim

 

[bunedoggle]

Is galvonic reaction between the steel of the bus and the aluminum pop rivets a concern?

I love your progress, it is looking good.

jim

Good question. According to Wikipedia:

Often when design requires that dissimilar metals come in contact, the galvanic compatibility is managed by finishes and plating. The finishing and plating selected facilitate the dissimilar materials being in contact and protect the base materials from corrosion. Harsh environments, such as outdoors, high humidity, and salt environments, fall into this category. Typically there should be not more than 0.15 V difference in the "Anodic Index". For example; gold - silver would have a difference of 0.15V being acceptable. For normal environments, such as storage in warehouses or non-temperature and humidity controlled environments, there should not be more than 0.25 V difference in the "Anodic Index". For controlled environments, in which temperature and humidity are controlled, 0.50 V can be tolerated.

Galvanized steel and aluminum are .25 apart. Additionally, the rivet is mostly in contact with paint and the interior steel. Hopefully I won't have any issue.

In a galvanic reaction the anode is the first metal to corrode. In this case I have galvanized steel, aluminum and whatever steel the bus is made from (presumably some mild steel). The zinc being the lowest index will have the highest propensity to corrode I guess.

 

[BUSBOZO]

Hey, great progress Brian!! That sheetmetal came out great! Should have called me. I would have come over to give you a hand. I was working on my skoolie all day saturday as well. Got some interior paneling cut and installed.

 

[bunedoggle]

Hey, great progress Brian!! That sheetmetal came out great! Should have called me. I would have come over to give you a hand. I was working on my skoolie all day saturday as well. Got some interior paneling cut and installed.

Yeah, I should have, I certainly could have used a hand.

 

[BUSBOZO]

Whats your skoolie schedule look like for the rest of the week into the weekend? Maybe I'll stop by and check the progress.

 

[bunedoggle]

Looking at waste tanks. The prices here seem decent: http://www.mobilemart.com/class.aspx?d=05&c=506

I'm thinking 30-40 gallons each for both my black and my gray water tanks.

I'll have 50 gallons of fresh water, I think.

Anyone have a cheaper/better source? What should I know about waste tanks before I drop a few hundred $$?

 

[bunedoggle]

My plan is to have a black tank that is higher than it's broader, so when it's full and ready to be dumped there should be a vigorous flow of No.1 and No.2 out of it. Let gravity do the dirty work of draining the tank. I also noticed that this company sells gadgets to help the process of emptying their poo tanks - if the tanks were better shaped in the first place, one shouldn't need these gizmos to effectively dump their contents.

My suggestion is to fit the biggest tanks that will fit and that you can afford. You may not need all that capacity most of the time, but sometimes you may be very thankful to have it. I plan on having a 65 gal poo tank, so I could go a long time before taking a dump (so to speak).

Ya know, I wanted to get a rectangular tank for the waste tank but looking at the black water tanks they have kind of a taper toward the poop shoot. I figure this is to encourage the solids to drain. With a big rectangle, I fear the solids might build up in the corners.

Actually, now that I'm writing about it, maybe it would make sense to mount a regular rectangular tank at a slight angle toward the drain end, that would help. If work has taught me anything it's that **** flows down hill.

OK, so let's say I'm buying a big rectangular tank for my waste. Where are people sourcing those? I saw some on ebay and a bunch at plastic-mart.com that are intended for potable water.

 

[dennis-SKO]

Couldn't you just install a macerator pump?

$126.99 @ Defender.com

 

[bunedoggle]

Couldn't you just install a macerator pump?

$126.99 @ Defender.com

Sure. However I feel this would add unnecessary complexity and expense. Maybe I'll think differently the first time I have to deal with a clogged poop pipe.

 

[Seeria]

Might try this gent for barrels as tanks? I've a few from him (some come cleaned, one came needing a cleaning). http://stores.ebay.com/Reusable-Barrel-Company

 

[bunedoggle]

More progress over the last few days. I've haven't posted much cause I've been too busy on the bus

All the windows I plan to cover are now covered. Here is the passenger side. One panel is a different color, but I plan to repaint the window covers when we do the final paint scheme.


The drivers side windows are done too, but this is the only picture I have of that side and two are not done yet in this photo.


I insulated the individual openings with some 2" styrofoam I already had and some 1 1/2" foil backed styrofoam from Lowes. The 1 1/2" fit much nicer but at $18 a sheet I decided to use up what I had of the 2". Then I put strapping horizontally at 16" on center.

 

[bunedoggle]

I put 1/2" foam R3 insulation between the strapping. This was cut from a 4'x8' sheet. Much easier to cut this stuff that the styrofoam.


Finally I got to put some panels over the strapping. I ran the panels horizontally from just below the wire chase to the chair rail. I'm not planning to cover from the chair rail to the floor since this area will be covered by closets and bunks and whatnot. I figure I'll use this space as a chase way for wiring. I also left a gap at the top so I can unscrew and remove the wire chase at the top. I'm not sure if I'll need/want to remove it, but I will cover that area with molding to finish it.


Lastly, I've started framing the bunks on this side. Framing inside a bus is definitely challenging. Things are not square, true or level. This is what I have so far but I'm thinking now I'll need to rework it, we'll see. The wheelchair anchors where in the way so I had to grind the heads of them and pry them up. I planned on doing that a while ago, but until they were in the way I was putting it off. Only took 5 minutes.


One thing I always do when I'm framing is to use screws. That way when I make a mistake (not IF but WHEN) I can take it apart and try again.

That's it for now. Next step is to seal up the side door.