Clouse House Skoolie Build

[ewo1]

I knew I forgot something.

So I decided to remove this guy from the back of my bus:

Wow, I remember when I took my covers off...found a source for future leaking/rust problems. My bus is older though, 1999.

If you still got them off go take a look at post #79 in my build thread.

Not saying you will have the same issue but since you got it open might as well take a look and see!

 

[Clouse House]

Wow, I remember when I took my covers off...found a source for future leaking/rust problems. My bus is older though, 1999.

If you still got them off go take a look at post #79 in my build thread.

Not saying you will have the same issue but since you got it open might as well take a look and see!

I had actually looked through your build thread in the past, and that was part of the reason why I started thinking about removing it. Even before finding out it would allow for a larger bed. I plan on putting a piece of sheet metal behind the existing air vents with seam sealer to prevent any water from entering into the walls there.

 

[ewo1]

I had actually looked through your build thread in the past, and that was part of the reason why I started thinking about removing it. Even before finding out it would allow for a larger bed. I plan on putting a piece of sheet metal behind the existing air vents with seam sealer to prevent any water from entering into the walls there.

That for sure will help out in the future! It would suck to build and then find a leak later down the road!

Looking back, i kinda wish I would have taken out the inside covers too but I was to far forward with the skinning after my roof raise.

 

[Clouse House]

Did not do a whole lot this week. Did a small project on the power steering reservoir just to make it easier to check the level of the fluid. When I purchased the bus there were two sight glasses in the fluid reservoir so that I could see when it was full or about 3/4 full. They looked like this:



I'm not a big fan of that style of sight glass because to me, when its full and when it's empty look the same, you can't actually see the fluid since there is no light in the reservoir. Because of this even though I thought I had checked everything, when I was bringing back the bus after purchase I had some over heating issues in the mountains, after I got it home I found that the reservoir was actually less than half full. This caused the fan to not spin at full speed, hence the overheating. I replaced the hoses that I believe to be the cause of the leaks but now I'm paranoid about it.

I decided to remove those sight glasses and instead replace them with two 90 degree fittings and a short length of clear hose. 3/8NPT to 3/8 hose barb and a 3/8 hose rated for oils, 200 degrees and 50 psi. I figure the reservoir should be unpressurized and the oil should be around 170 degrees, but I'll keep my eye on it just in case. Now I can more accurately judge the level of fluid I have, as well as the color of fluid.

 

[nikitis]

That's a nice upgrade. I may consider doing that on mine as well. I did something similar on a 125 gallon Diesel tank before and it was great. Just remember to use hose clamps and I can see from your picture you did. Just a note for those reading this. Some people just pressure fit the hose but it will leak over time if you don't use clamps.



I didn't even think about doing this for my steering fluid area. Nice touch.

 

[DeMac]

Factory Modified

I had actually looked through your build thread in the past, and that was part of the reason why I started thinking about removing it. Even before finding out it would allow for a larger bed. I plan on putting a piece of sheet metal behind the existing air vents with seam sealer to prevent any water from entering into the walls there.

-------------
Ditto. I have the same intention, too.

Any RE300 builder ought to study Ewo1's Trapped Moisture discovery (#78 ) and subsequent Post #79. Very well documented. Photographs with circles & arrows.... like Alice's Restaurant.

The focus, a 'Factory Baked' leak at the rear intake.

The factory re-engineered the intake '07-'08.
(due to leaks?)

Both rivets(top) and screws(side) are tightly spaced.

The unused passenger side has a divider/support, which would have been good on the intake side, too. (vapors)

 

[ewo1]

-------------


Photographs with circles & arrows.... like Alice's Restaurant.

Shrink, i wanna kill...I mean I wanna kill...And we started jumping up and down shouting... kill...kill...kill...!!!

And they all moved away from me on the group "W" bench!

I love that movie...12 part harmony and all!

You just made my day!!!

 

[Clouse House]

Made a little bit more progress this week. Been busy with company trips, wife hit a deer on the way to work (she's okay), and Halloween, as it is the family's favorite holiday. But managed to get the bus AC units hanging back up.

Had to extend the bracket on the smaller unit, the original bracket did not reach from rib to rib. I welded on the seat brackets from the back seat of my bus to extend them. Yes I know I was running my welder too cold, I'm new to it, cut me some slack. That being said I could do a pull-up on the bracket so I'm sure it'll hold the ac unit for years to come.



To try and minimize metal to metal contact and heat transfer I attached butyl, in the form of sound dampening mats I had, to the brackets. The butyl is in-between the ribs and the bracket, washer and the bracket, and the bracket and the ac unit. I know it will probably do next to nothing to help, but I felt like I should do something.



I attached the brackets to the ribs using M6 rivnuts, I had a hard time finding the right size drill bit in my town, I needed a 9.1mm bit or a 23/64" bit. Eventually found one after checking multiple stores, and that was the hardest part about it. Pretty straight forward installation, will probably use them for the solar install as well.



Here is a photo of the small unit hanging up.



When I have the ceiling spray foamed I plan to fill the entire cavity above and behind the ac unit. Underneath the small unit will be the fridge, with enough gap to pull air in of course. And underneath the big unit will be the couch, should have plenty of head room once seated, but may be a little awkward to get up and down from.
We removed the original plastic covers with the intent to build new wooden covers when we put the overhead cabinets in.

 

[ol trunt]

With all due respect, I think you need more practice with your welding before you "count" on it to do the job. You'll probably be OK with the welds in the pic but if it is possible to add a bolt and nut where the pieces overlap it would be a good insurance policy. You might want to practice with a bit more heat and a little less wire and then dial it in. Utube University might help as well.
Jack

 

[Clouse House]

With all due respect, I think you need more practice with your welding before you "count" on it to do the job. You'll probably be OK with the welds in the pic but if it is possible to add a bolt and nut where the pieces overlap it would be a good insurance policy. You might want to practice with a bit more heat and a little less wire and then dial it in. Utube University might help as well.
Jack

Oh I know they were terrible. It my first time using this welder, first time MIG welding, a lot of firsts here, and pretty bad firsts at that. The welder is supposed have an "intelligent design" where you input thickness of materials and thickness of wire and it sorts out the speed and amps. I relied to heavily on that this time. Lesson learned.
But I bolted it up and hung from it for a bit and bounced. The overall bar bent rather than the welds breaking so I figure if it can hold up my 230lbs self it'll do alright with the 60lbs evaporator.


There's a reason I've been putting off welding my water tank mounts.

 

[cadillackid]

the big issue isnt continuous torque, its impact.. much like you often cant loosen a bolt by putting a ratchet on it.. but when you hammer on the ratchet it breaks loose..



in your bus, forces arent gentle weight being applied.. its running over potholes and expansiopn joints.. and god forbid those low drain manholes that give the bus a good jarring.. since the ceiling has been torn down to be replaced with a nicer ceiling, the bus is likely to flex a little more from rib to rib than it would with the hard metal panels.. those air conditioners arent terribly weightey so you likely will be fine.. just something to think about as far as what welds have to go through ..

 

[Clouse House]

if it is possible to add a bolt and nut where the pieces overlap it would be a good insurance policy

the big issue isnt continuous torque, its impact.. much like you often cant loosen a bolt by putting a ratchet on it.. but when you hammer on the ratchet it breaks loose..

I'll probably end up drilling a hole through where they overlap and installing some bolts like Ol Trunt said. I have several m6 8.8 bolts and washers left, and even if it looks ugly it'll be covered in spray foam anyway. I rationalizing leaving it alone to myself thinking that if it were to break it would only fall on the fridge, but it was only a matter of time before it bothered me enough to fix it.

 

[Clouse House]

I put up my battery box and started working on the water tank mounts the past couple weeks. The battery box is a Buyers 18"x24"x36" underbody box. It's interior measurements are large enough to fit four of the 48V 100AH Batteries that I plan on using for this build. It should have plenty of room with 6" both above and in front of the batteries.

I overdid the support for the battery box quite a bit, I made it the same way that I plan on making the water tank mounts. So the battery box was like my test run. I learned:
1) leave some wiggle room. 1/8" on all sides to aid in installation, a shim can always be added after
2) find a better way to lift it up and hold it while securing it

Here's some photos:

Design is copied from Chuck Cassidy's Water Tank Installation Video



It is essentially a two piece angle iron cage. The top section is like a four-legged table. Angle iron all around with flat bar legs, with some square tubing on top of the whole thing for mounting. The bottom section is a rectangle made of angle iron,(one side is just flat bar because of the way the box opens) with mounting holes that allow it to be bolted to the legs of the top section.



The frame just barely fit under the side skirt of the bus when I was testing the fit but it did manage to fit. That's good news as my water tanks are actually shorter than the battery box so they won't be an issue at all.



I'm installing the battery box where the rear AC condenser was, so the hole isn't an exact fit and I'll need to add some metal in if I want it to look pretty.



I used six M8 rivnuts in the ribs underneath the bus to mount the upper section of the frame. Capable of holding 29,100lbs, I feel like they should handle the 600lbs of frame, box, and batteries just fine.



Here is the frame very loosely put in with some spring clamps to hold it up while I line up the holes to bolt it in place. You can see more of the frame and the square tubing on top.



Holes were cut in the bottom of the square tubing to allow for the socket to fit through the tubing and bolt it in place.



And this it what it looks like looking up into the hole after bolting it in place.



My boys were a great help retrieving tools for me that were just out of reach and they wanted to see if they could fit inside. Yes they can.

 

[Clouse House]

I test fit the fresh water tanks to see how I would mount them. I know I wanted them inside the frame but wasn't sure if I'd have enough clearance to actually lift them up into the frame or if they would have to hang just below it.



As it turns out they fit perfectly between the frame which unfortunately means they'll have to hang just below it as I won't have room for the support structure if I raise it up into the frame. This gives me about a foot of clearance under the tank. If only they were a 1/2" skinnier I could gain an extra 3-5" of clearance.



I imagine that I'll have to be careful around railroad tracks but I should be fine on most roadways. What do you guys think? The Gray/Black water tanks will be 6in higher as they are outside the frame so not much concern for the drainage pipes.

The mounting cage for the water tanks will be much the same as the battery box. Though the bottom section will be made of 3" x 3" x 1/4" angle iron instead to account for the heavier weight that it will be holding.