Escape hatch replacement

[slager55]

I think one of the questions asked is what kind of A/C unit is good top put on a bus1 Can some please address that question too. Thank you

 

[Scooternj]

Mine were bone dry; only leak I had was a slow drip from where the strobe was removed. The only reason I tarp'd the bus was for the winter...and with half the windows missing. But I *do* like the idea of the pet dish (assuming it's metal or heavy gauge plastic) over the exterior knobs

 

[EastCoastCB]

I think one of the questions asked is what kind of A/C unit is good top put on a bus1 Can some please address that question too. Thank you

I like the low profile Dometic units. But if you've got the money Carrier are highly regarded.

 

[Tango-SKO]

The best place to locate an A/C, roof vent or safety hatch???...

...directly over a bucket.

 

[Robin97396]

Directly over the tub would be the hillbilly way.

 

[cat.bleish@gmail.com]

I'm thinking the roof hatch doesn't need a handle on it. Why not remove the knob and seal that hole shut?

The problem is water pools on top of the hatch. If it's raining you can hear the water running off when you open the hatch. Stop the pooling of water on the top of the hatch lid and you'll likely stop the leak. That's what the snow saucer does. You could always put a garbage can lid on top of the hatch. Anything that will stop water from pooling on top of the hatch seems to work.

I think this is brilliant for us while we are parked, right now we are at a campground in Texas and are gardening so we plan to stay a few more months. but the LEAKS! I just cannot afford a $400 replacement of both right now.

 

[Robin97396]

In my neighborhood it's a three year old blue tarp with strings that blow off in the wind and collect in the neighbors trees. Actually mine doesn't leak anymore. I did step around a drip bucket for the first three months. I still step around that spot by instinct, and look for water but none to date. The water still pools on top of my hatch lid but it doesn't leak in anymore. I'd still like to find a permanent way to keep it from pooling on the top, plus I don't think there needs to be a knob out there for entry. I don't go in that way. I'd still fit but it wouldn't be pretty.
It just seems like a poor design for a hatch to be able to retain water on top of the lid. The ones that leak around the edges just have to be redone the hard way. Take it apart until you can identify the leak, clean it and fix it. Ingenuity counts, but the old fashioned tried and true ways are good too. Nobody wants to be working on it again when it's leaking.

I was thinking seriously about sacrificing an umbrella by cutting the handle off high and anchoring the umbrella, by weights, over the hatch. This is quite a windy area and that sounds like a waste of a good umbrella because about the third time that blew off the roof I would forgo that experiment. You've seen umbrellas turn inside out.
At the risk of making a bad leak worse, I really can't say without being there. I imagine the hatches are pretty much the same. I thought that was absolutely ridiculous to think that my hatch stopped leaking completely by tightening the knob from the outside, but it did. Just turning the knob about three times until it snugged up tight and it stopped leaking. The bucket was still there for another week before I'd believe it, but the bucket was actually dry and it had been raining like mad. I got rain from interior condensation but no leaks that I'm aware of. Lots of condensation around the base the water barrels which seem to loose a lot of heat through contact with the floor. Nice cool drinking water. Have you ever seen water candle in cold weather? I didn't know stuff like that existed. I guess I expected one big ice cube.

 

[EastCoastCB]

In my neighborhood it's a three year old blue tarp with strings that blow off in the wind and collect in the neighbors trees. Actually mine doesn't leak anymore. I did step around a drip bucket for the first three months. I still step around that spot by instinct, and look for water but none to date. The water still pools on top of my hatch lid but it doesn't leak in anymore. I'd still like to find a permanent way to keep it from pooling on the top, plus I don't think there needs to be a knob out there for entry. I don't go in that way. I'd still fit but it wouldn't be pretty.
It just seems like a poor design for a hatch to be able to retain water on top of the lid. The ones that leak around the edges just have to be redone the hard way. Take it apart until you can identify the leak, clean it and fix it. Ingenuity counts, but the old fashioned tried and true ways are good too. Nobody wants to be working on it again when it's leaking.

I was thinking seriously about sacrificing an umbrella by cutting the handle off high and anchoring the umbrella, by weights, over the hatch. This is quite a windy area and that sounds like a waste of a good umbrella because about the third time that blew off the roof I would forgo that experiment. You've seen umbrellas turn inside out.
At the risk of making a bad leak worse, I really can't say without being there. I imagine the hatches are pretty much the same. I thought that was absolutely ridiculous to think that my hatch stopped leaking completely by tightening the knob from the outside, but it did. Just turning the knob about three times until it snugged up tight and it stopped leaking. The bucket was still there for another week before I'd believe it, but the bucket was actually dry and it had been raining like mad. I got rain from interior condensation but no leaks that I'm aware of. Lots of condensation around the base the water barrels which seem to loose a lot of heat through contact with the floor. Nice cool drinking water. Have you ever seen water candle in cold weather? I didn't know stuff like that existed. I guess I expected one big ice cube.

The only fix for mine was removal/replacement. YMMV

I tried the tarps. They blew off quicker than the hatches did!

 

[Scooternj]

The only fix for mine was removal/replacement. YMMV

I tried the tarps. They blew off quicker than the hatches did!

That's why I ran four ratchet straps under my bus, staked it, and tied down to the front tow hooks *and* front inspection handle

 

[Robin97396]

That's interesting to know. I'll try to be prepared to have my hatches ripped off if I make it to FL, and that would be a real experience that I'm sure I'd remember for a very long time like probably until I got another dry bus and stopped at goodwill a few times to get homey again. I haven't figured out how to be prepared for inclement weather traumatic hatch removal yet. I'm going to have to ruminate on that one for a while. Maybe an overhead deck, even partial like a luggage rack with some planks on it would take some of the strain off the hatch. If my hatch gets ripped off I'm thinking I've got bigger problems than a wet floor. I'd probably be thinking about "will this bus float, because it sure does make a good sail for this big brick shape to be on such a tiny wheel base." It's a 26' bus on the wheel base length of a chevy suburban. You know the brick shaped ones that look like toys and they would tip forward when stopping to fast? They dip heavily in a slide which I've experienced several times while getting used to these air brakes, which work fine I might add. Apparently the stacks of steel plates in the rear of the frame probably holds the back end down. Stops the bus from doing those backward wheelies on quick stops.

But I digress.

I sure think about putting some kind of hat or sweater on the outside of this bus during the winter. It's rare for a tarp to last through a winter. A few years back I got one of those air bags that people jump into from up on a building. Sounds like fun, I know, but I didn't get the fancy fans that are needed to blow it up. It's tough material and I was going to try and cut it so it fit over the top of the bus, kind of like the old rubber swimming caps except on a bus. Yeah, that's no help to you because you probably can't get one of those air bags you jump on... for fun. I also got one of those 4000 gallon fuel bags at auction but I still can't afford to fill it up. Anyway, the air bag looks like it's going to get cut to make this skull cap for the bus. If there's someone else out there with a shorty that would like an orange skull cap for their bus one is available here. Trimming not included. And if you rig it up right you should be able to use the bus skull cap to make an emergency boat. I guess your bus sank already by that time. What are we talking about, the big flood? Oh yeah, top covers and how to keep em on. I'd say put the bus inside a shed facing away from the wind, but that's not always available. Bungees really go through a workout during a wind storm. It's very interesting to watch when it's someone else equipment. If you can't keep the tarp on tight, and you can't, it catches air like a sail. The gallon jugs full of water I used were pretty good weights, but when it froze and the wind blew those frozen jugs of water swinging around looked like one of those hazard tests on a midevil TV show. Hanging plants were surprisingly injurious during wind storms too.
I say straps over the top of the, tarp or whatever you got over your bus, attached to the body would keep the air out best and eliminate most of the pull from the wind so it doesn't become a sail. I still haven't figured out how to fix a hatch that blew off, and I have plans for some authentic key lime pie on my bucket list. If I were traveling and the hatch came off I'd probably, you know, go to duct tape and garbage bags first. In time I'd get some sheet metal and tin over the hole with some of those cheep rivets they have in hardware stores until I got home. If the replacement hatch was $400, I'd rather cut then frame the roof for a nice size skylight. Maybe in Oregon we're pretty good at roofing? Not that it rains a lot here. Pretty damn good at lighting a fire in the rain too, if you've ever tried that. You know what works best? Well... gas and oil are the fastest. And being that everyone in Oregon has a great big chain saw (even old ladies), so we also have gas and oil for those saws. After you catch on fire a few time you start getting a knack for putting gas on the fire without actually catching on fire.
So I say hook your tarp down with your bungies, then use long straps clear over the top of the tarp and to the other side. Don't use the straps on the grommets. Put the straps over the top of the tarp so air can't get inside and puff it up. It makes sense, but of course that's not the way I've been doing it.

 

[cadillackid]

I like the low profile Dometic units. But if you've got the money Carrier are highly regarded.

im not sure about their RV units, but carrier stopped making their Transport A/C systems.. I think they were sort of absorbed by ThermoKing..

-Christopher

 

[nattyp]

My hatches were a little leaky when I first bought the bus. But on my first road trip (Colorado to California) they both blew off in the Utah wind outside Moab! And I was headed straight towards a wall of rain... Praying that the storm would stay north of I-70. Lucky for me I avoided an indoor flood, and was able to put together a temporary fix with cardboard, blue tarp, and a ton of duct tape.

Planning to install skylights as a replacement and want to be able to open them up so I can vent from the top, too, both for air circulation in the heat, as well as for cooking. Anyone do any DIY projects that include both a skylight and vent? Or I may go with something pre-fab from a boating or RV parts shop.

 

[Mong]

roof hatches/skylight

My hatches were a little leaky when I first bought the bus. But on my first road trip (Colorado to California) they both blew off in the Utah wind outside Moab! And I was headed straight towards a wall of rain... Praying that the storm would stay north of I-70. Lucky for me I avoided an indoor flood, and was able to put together a temporary fix with cardboard, blue tarp, and a ton of duct tape.

Planning to install skylights as a replacement and want to be able to open them up so I can vent from the top, too, both for air circulation in the heat, as well as for cooking. Anyone do any DIY projects that include both a skylight and vent? Or I may go with something pre-fab from a boating or RV parts shop.

I'm wondering about hatch type skylights also. I've looked for a few but we settled on a 14x14" crank vent w/ screen. Had to make a word frame then sheet metal, then lots of silicon and flex seal. Hoping to put on elastomeric paint.

 

[spenceronehalf]

Same question re my bus


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[Jusbikerz]

Did you ever try the snow sled idea on your bus? I’m trying to decide if that is a feasible replacement for my busted hatch covers.

 

[Robin97396]

Someone recently found a marine hatch that was 24 x 24 and worked quite well as a skylight at about three hundred clams each. I do not remember the link to the thread, sorry. But it's here within the past couple months.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Did you ever try the snow sled idea on your bus? I’m trying to decide if that is a feasible replacement for my busted hatch covers.

A piece of 20 gauge will be fairly cheap and will cover it nicely and eliminate the leaks. Can also insulate under it.

 

[Robin97396]

I'll bite, what is the snow sled idea?

 

[Juicifer]

Here's my boat hatch/skylight install. One thing to note I had a fairly flat surface to install this on.

 

[o1marc]

Building in major flight path are you? SS hardware is more brittle, so were they snapping when they set or before that? You need to slow down when they get close to tight. SS has great benefits when it comes to rust but they aren't the strongest hardware out there.