Bluebird with AC questions.

[ChurchBuz]

I have a 91 bluebird all American. It has AC. I checked and it does have insulation in the roof.

Do all busses have insulation in the roof? Or is that only if they have AC?

It is not as easy for me to check the walls. Is it safe to assume that they are insulated also?

I am sure that there are seasoned bluebird people on here that know. Thanks in advance!

 

[cadillackid]

I have a 91 bluebird all American. It has AC. I checked and it does have insulation in the roof.

Do all busses have insulation in the roof? Or is that only if they have AC?

It is not as easy for me to check the walls. Is it safe to assume that they are insulated also?

I am sure that there are seasoned bluebird people on here that know. Thanks in advance!

all busses have "some" insulation in the ceilings.. 30 year old insulation is likely beginning to deteriorate and may never have been as good as moden busses.. putting the bus out in direct sun during spring summer on a day that isnt real windy.. does the ceiling get burning hot? my bluebird with factory A/C does not. my Carpenter that came without A/C does..



the biggest thing people run into is if a bus leaks then the insulation can harbor molds and mildew.. whether you tear out the factory walls / ceiling has a lot to do with what you want to do with the bus.. if it were mine and I was going to full time then id want to tear out and insulate.. if it was a weekend warrior camper and I planned to be where the weather is nicest or could choose not to be out in extreme cold or heat then id probably leave it stock..



I chose not to insulate my Carpenter that has crappy insulation.. I added road A/C to the bus and when im in it parked its a mobile office so I park in the shade.. and in winter i have a large diesel heater that keeps it quite warm inside.. on really hot day i leave it rub with the A/C on.. obviously something you cant do if camping or full-timing..

 

[ChurchBuz]

all busses have "some" insulation in the ceilings.. 30 year old insulation is likely beginning to deteriorate and may never have been as good as moden busses.. putting the bus out in direct sun during spring summer on a day that isnt real windy.. does the ceiling get burning hot? my bluebird with factory A/C does not. my Carpenter that came without A/C does.. ..

Cool info! Especially about mold.

I presume that the ceiling rivets need to be drilled out and each panel removed. Or not? That is a lot of rivets.

 

[ChurchBuz]

My plan is to keep it simple. I’m not trying to win any aesthetic awards, but it needs to be presentable.

One half will be garage, the other half living space, and they will be divided. The living area will need to be well insulated.

I do plan on extended staying and not always fair weather.

 

[ChurchBuz]

Out in the sun on a hot day found the roof to be warm, probably 80 between the ribs. The rib areas were about 10 degrees warmer!

So, yes the roof is insulated, but the heat transfer from roof through to the inside panels is pretty significant. Makes me think that re packing the insulation, or spraying foam, and replacing the panels will not be super effective in my case.

I am leaning towards putting 1/2” of insulation on the outside and Poor Man’s Fiberglass over it.

1/4” polyethylene packing foam rolls 4’x 50’ are pretty reasonable, and super flexible. Contact cement will hold it down and together until the PMF goes on.

It will keep the roof skin from exposure, and from transferring hot or cold through the ribs.

 

[HamSkoolie]

Cool info! Especially about mold.

I presume that the ceiling rivets need to be drilled out and each panel removed. Or not? That is a lot of rivets.

You can use a sharpened chisel in an air hammer and crank those rivets out pretty easily. Much easier than drilling.
We specifically had screwed in ceiling panels in our purchase requirements list when we were looking for our bus.

 

[ChurchBuz]

I do not know how to give a thumbs up, or like to posts, but thank you HambSkoolie.

If there is a way, someone please let me know

 

[cadillackid]

You can use a sharpened chisel in an air hammer and crank those rivets out pretty easily. Much easier than drilling.
We specifically had screwed in ceiling panels in our purchase requirements list when we were looking for our bus.

as long as the screw heasds dont strip.. but then again still easier than gridning off rivets

 

[HamSkoolie]

as long as the screw heasds dont strip.. but then again still easier than gridning off rivets

I think I had to grind less than 10 screws out of all the screws removed from the wall panels, ceiling panels, wall to ceiling transitions, and front and rear bulkheads.
The only screws that were a bit of a pain were the ones holding down the plywood floor. Probably a third of those were too rusty and messed up to come up so I just used the pry bar to pull the plywood off of them and applied vise grips to the shaft.
It helped that on the more reluctant screws I applied a hammer powered hand impact remover. Great tool and only $10 for the base model at Harbor Freight.

 

[HamSkoolie]

I do not know how to give a thumbs up, or like to posts, but thank you HambSkoolie.

If there is a way, someone please let me know

At the bottom of each comment there are the tabs
THANKS EDIT QUOTE MULTI-QUOTE QUICK REPLY


Just click on THANKS below the post you want to acknowledge and it will send a generic thank your for your post notice and a link to the post you're thanking them for.

 

[ChurchBuz]

Uh oh.

At the bottom of each comment there are the tabs
THANKS EDIT QUOTE MULTI-QUOTE QUICK REPLY


Just click on THANKS below the post you want to acknowledge and it will send a generic thank your for your post notice and a link to the post you're thanking them for.

I do not have but two tabs at the bottom: quote and reply.

I would very much like to thank you (and others) for their contributions, but I am either missing something obvious, or something else is happening.

Could it be my iPhone? Does the smaller format hide or not include those tabs?

 

[HamSkoolie]

Could it be my iPhone? Does the smaller format hide or not include those tabs?

YEP I just logged on with my IPhone and that's the only choices I get. You should get the other choices if you get on the forum with a laptop or desktop. Perhaps even an IPad..... if you have an IPhone you DO have an IPad right? After learning IOS, Android drives me nuts. LOL

 

[ChurchBuz]

YEP ... if you have an IPhone you DO have an IPad right? After learning IOS, Android drives me nuts. LOL

I do not have an iPad or a computer.

So it looks as if I am handicapped for liking or thanking people.

 

[HamSkoolie]

I do not have an iPad or a computer.

So it looks as if I am handicapped for liking or thanking people.

You'll just have to do it right there in the open. GASP LOL