Gathering the materials for the build...

[dbhost]

Okay so the plan at this point is...

#1. Hard to describe, but I am looking for a short / medium bus. Either on the smallest side a cutaway 5 row, on the longest side an FC 8 row. That should keep me under 30'. I have picked 30' as the target honestly for driveability / parks access concerns... Not to mention storage. It should be noted, I am NOT planning on full timing, at least not in my first build.

#2. I have much, but not all of the materials needed, and of course the size of bus will impact this, but so far I have...

• Tongue and Groove Bead Board. 1/4" thick 6" wide and about 100 linear feet
• 8 4x8 sheets of 1/2" cabinet grade plywood
• 20 Southern Yellow pine 2x4s
• 12 R-Max foam board sheets 4x8.
• Coleman 2 burner camp stove
• Coleman Camp Stove Oven.
• 5 Cu Ft low draw B&D 110V fridge.
• Mr. Heater Portable Buddy heater
• 1/2" black iron pipe
• 1/2" PVC, and CPVC pipe / fittings galore.
• 2 recent 2 lb propane tanks, (2017)
• Zodi instant hot shower propane,
• 4 @ 7 gallon aqua tainers
• Unused single bowl kitchen sink, stainless
• Unused king memory foam mattress
• Row of used / pull out plywood cabinets. Not MDF. These came out of a neighbors house during a remodel a few years ago...
• 100 bd/ft of 4/4 pecan, maple, walnut, and red oak lumber.
• Unused (new in box) Glacier Bay pull down sprayer kitchen faucet.
• Box of electrical outlets, switch plates, switches etc... Need boxes and wire.
• Pull out 60 amp Square D breaker box, and breakers. 60 amp main, 4 @ 15 amp branch circuits, ground block etc...
• 8K BTU Window Unit A/C. 110V lightly used.

To at least the Zodi, I am seriously considering upgrading to an Ecotemp. I didn't know about the Ecotemp when I got the Zodi (the company was almost brand new then...), and I am REALLY liking the L5. I can plumb that into the bus. Main issue will be venting, which can be done with a roof jack.

I am not sure about flooring, toilet, shower fixtures / how to accomplish that is going to depend on the end size of the bus we get...

I am not married to having a sofa or dinette, would prefer swiveling captains chairs and TV trays... (I'm big and need the room). So I will be scouring the wrecking yards for some pull out swiveling captains chairs from a conversion van.

I am pretty sure I am going to want to sheet metal over the windows, and swap in some more energy efficient, probably tinted windows, and at least one, more than likely 2 Fantastic Fans.

What else do I need to get the build done?

 

[Thomas1985]

Sounds like all you're missing is beer and smoke.

 

[dbhost]

So a couple of items I am considering, and have mentioned in the plumbing section...

#1. I have little to no interest in a permanent mount toilet as I am not planning on going full time. However if that changes, I will want a proper toilet / bathroom. Should I just bite the bullet and plan for a full bathroom per se. If I do it will likely be a wet bath of some sort to conserve space. A big one, but a wet bath none the less... I should also note, I have no qualms whatsoever doing fiberglassing.... It's really not that hard to do...

#2. The more I think about it, I have loved having the Zodi, but the in / outlets on it are tiny 3/8", and the pump isn't exactly high flow. It takes 20 minutes or more to empty out a 4 gallon container, so flow is about 1/5 gallon / min.

#3. I haven't given much though to gray water storage, and swapping between 7 gallon aquatainers works, but not ideal...