I Stepped In It Now (or .. Howdy! From NW Penna)

[CannMan]

Howdy, y'all!
Yep, I'm another newbie. Thought I'd drop in a spell and tip my hat before looking for the Patron. (I know it's around here somewhere ...)
My Rig:
Name is Serenity
She's a 1990 Chevy 60 "Thomas" skoolie with a big block (6l) Chevy gas engine and 5-speed stick. Aaaaand that's about all I know about her as I just got her Monday morning. Hehehe OH! I do also know that she's already registered as an RV here in PA .. that saves me a bunch of hassle, time and bank.

Let's see, a little about me:
47 year old dude.
Recently single (coming up on a year now) - not by my choice, but whatever works I reckon.
Living with CRPS / RSD since 2008 - it sux but I press on.
Used to work blue/no collar, no work since 2008 (see line above) - disabled.
Was an auto tech and professional photographer. It was cool to get paid after shooting and flashing people. Don't do either any longer.
Currently in Oil City, PA (about 90 miles n/e of Pitt) but when Serenity is ready to roll, we're heading back to CenTex.
We'll be pulling Baby behind. (Baby is a 1962 Chevy Corvair Rampside truck)
I've no clue what I got myself into, but I stepped into it anyway. I need to minimize monthly expenses in order to catch up and start living life instead of merely surviving.
The plan with Serenity, for now, is to make her "livable/workable" until I can get situated in the Georgetown, TX area. Then I want to take more time and make her a nice "tiny home" for myself.
I listen to KFLR (Family Life Radio) or KLOVE.
I love God and hold Him above all others, but I don't care for religion.
Ummm, what else? Oh yeah - my math teacher in school was WRONG! Pie are NOT square, pie are round! CORNBREAD are square!
Grace and peace, y'all.
-CannMan

 

[bansil]

Welcome and great attitude, post pics or bus and corvair truck...what is time frame to move back TX?

 

[CannMan]

Lets see if I can figure out this picture posting in a forum message thing ...
I still have to upload a buuunch of images to both of these, but here's the start:

This first one is Baby ...
Baby Story by don141 | Photobucket

And now Serenity...
Serenity Story by don141 | Photobucket

 

[CannMan]

Welcome and great attitude, post pics or bus and corvair truck...what is time frame to move back TX?

Thank you, thank you very much.

I'm still gettin' used to forums. Too accustomed to the likes of Facebook I guess. I'd made an album and thought that I posted in the original. That's what I get for thinkin'. (You'd think I would know better by now.)

So, I did manage to post a couple links to 2 albums on Photobucket for anyone that may be interested. I'll see if I can get some images in this reply as well.

With finances and abilities as minimum currently, I'm praying that my outbound trip will start before this fall.
I try to make a few bucks here and there with my custom decor. (Bird houses, signage, steam-punk style lights, etc.) I call that little venture "Cann's Creations".
The idea for Serenity, for now anyway, is that the rear of the bus behind the wheel wells will be my "shop". That's where I'll set up my table saw, workbench, etc. It will be divided from the front by a partition wall so as to keep sawdust up there to a minimum.
For the living quarters, I'm not 100% yet.
I'm thinking a hammock to save space but may build a fold down bed that doubles as a shelf or ?? when folded up.
Washing facilities will be a small stock tank with a shower curtain hanging inside it.
The lav will consist of a porta-potty on a frame above one of the rear wheel wells. That will either have another partition wall around it or just a curtain, I've not decided yet.
Cooking will primarily be either a small microwave that I use in the house now or a little single burner propane cooker that sits atop a small (1lb?) propane bottle.
Much is still in the air yet and I'm pretty much just working with what I have on hand.
There are a few things that I would really like to have for the adventure so I'll try to acquire them before hand:
Power inverter - unsure of required size yet. Will need to power equipment in shop. Perhaps a generator is a better way to go?
On demand water heater. Found a small propane one w built in shower head and water hose connector that appears to be perfect for this application.
Water storage and basement storage - TBD as work progresses.

Currently I'm getting rid of the rubber flooring so I can repair any rust. The inside panels on each side of the rear door are pretty much shot up to window height. I believe I may cut them out and replace with wood.

 

[family wagon]

Power inverter - unsure of required size yet. Will need to power equipment in shop. Perhaps a generator is a better way to go?

Sounds like you're working with a skinny budget. In that context an inverter would be OK for small tools like a drill, dremel, orbital sander. But heavier stuff like a table saw is going to be more hungry and pretty soon you're looking to build a bigger battery bank (more dollars.. and how are you going to re-charge it?). A "contractor" open-frame generator like the Champion etc will be relatively cheap and easy to find, except that I read today in the news they're starting to talk about tornadoes in the middle US and storms always make generators scarce. Local classifieds may be a good source for an even lower price. This kind of generator will be noisy.

On demand water heater. Found a small propane one w built in shower head and water hose connector that appears to be perfect for this application.

Eco-temp L5, by chance? It's pretty good as long as expectations are calibrated right. I recently wrote the results of some testing of this model on another thread.

 

[bansil]

im'd you
check your bottom pictures, the address seems off

 

[CannMan]

im'd you
check your bottom pictures, the address seems off

Got it, thank ya!
I'll try to get them all straightened up here.

 

[CannMan]

Trying this image thing again.

This is Serenity ...



Most of the seats were already removed, though there were a few things left from the previous owner ...



She appears to be in reasonable condition for the year and location ...




And this is Baby, my '62 Corvair Rampside truck that is "in process" ...

 

[wauto]

Nice bus and ranp side. Keep the pictures coming. She sure is rust free.

 

[CannMan]

Sounds like you're working with a skinny budget. In that context an inverter would be OK for small tools like a drill, dremel, orbital sander. But heavier stuff like a table saw is going to be more hungry and pretty soon you're looking to build a bigger battery bank (more dollars.. and how are you going to re-charge it?). A "contractor" open-frame generator like the Champion etc will be relatively cheap and easy to find, except that I read today in the news they're starting to talk about tornadoes in the middle US and storms always make generators scarce. Local classifieds may be a good source for an even lower price. This kind of generator will be noisy.


Eco-temp L5, by chance? It's pretty good as long as expectations are calibrated right. I recently wrote the results of some testing of this model on another thread.

Howdy! Thanks for the comment. I actually wrote out a big ol' reply to this yesterday but since I'm a newbie yet, the system thought I was trying to spam the forum and wouldn't let me post.

You're correct, my budget is somewhat to moderately emaciated. Much of this project will need to be either DIY, barter, trade or scrounge.

I am considering a generator for her in addition to a small inverter. Currently there is only a single 12v auto type battery there. I have another to add from my "daily driver" that just died and was scrapped, but neither are deep cycle. (Which I know I'll need soon enough) For now, during the base build, I'm still in my house. So I have access to standard 110 to run my tools, keep batteries charged, etc.
What I want to avoid when I do get on the road is alienating other campers with the obnoxious noise of a generator or a table saw. I may need to limit their use to when I'm alone or certain hours - perhaps install some soundproofing. I'm still thinkin' on those things yet.

As for charging the batts, the primary would be from the engine alternator. I'm looking at solar as a possibility or perhaps using one of the auto alternators I have here mounted to a removable mast and install a prop on it for a wind-powered battery charger. I actually have a couple original Corvair generators, too. I'll have to see what the spec's on those are. Either way, I want to avoid the appearance of Clark Griswold's cousin Eddie. I don't want to go giving Skoolie Dwellers a bad name. (Or worsening the public perception.)

You're correct also about the water heater, that is the model I was looking at. I will certainly go check out your review on that unit, thanks in advance for sharing it. I used to sell tankless heaters on eBay (many moons ago) and I know that they can be very limited. I assumed that with my minimalist beginnings in Serenity, I'll probably be showering like a submariner at least for a while. So I won't need to steam up the bus nor need many gallons of hot water. Just enough to do what's necessary.

There are other pie-in-the-sky ideas that I'm rattling around like rainwater collection/use, aquaponic window gardening (or vermiponics, not sure yet) and more. Trying to be as self sufficient as possible.

 

[bansil]

Whatcha talkin 'bout Willis? You got a problem with cousin Eddie? He is a good father/husband and all around great guy, he would give you his shirt to keep you warm( don't mention being cold around him tho' )

You could go ol skool.....a hand saw, file, scraper and sand paper....this country was built before electricity..... Of course there wasn't home improvement stores then

 

[bansil]

Yeah, why not move over to the conversion area and start a thread? Or I can move this one and clean it up.....you figured out the pictures....we can clean up intro or you can cut and paste, just let me know if I can help

 

[family wagon]

It sounds like you have some great ideas about what you will or may do with the bus. It'll be fun to see the progression.

[...] What I want to avoid when I do get on the road is alienating other campers with the obnoxious noise of a generator or a table saw. I may need to limit their use to when I'm alone or certain hours - perhaps install some soundproofing. I'm still thinkin' on those things yet.

As for charging the batts, the primary would be from the engine alternator. I'm looking at solar as a possibility or perhaps using one of the auto alternators I have here mounted to a removable mast and install a prop on it for a wind-powered battery charger. I actually have a couple original Corvair generators, too. I'll have to see what the spec's on those are.

That's the problem with generators: typically they're unbearably loud, or unbearably expensive. Personally I think it would be kind of fun to see a guy with his mobile wood shop in a camp ground, but then again I appreciate my neighbor's wood working hobby even when I hear his table saw running at midnight. To me it's the sound of industry and creativity; hearing the neighbor's TV/movie/stereo in the same way drove me to move out of my last house!

If you're planning to move around often, charging from the alternator may work out. If you'd be parked in one site for a while, though, probably not so good. Also keep in mind run-of-the-mill auto alternators are intended for low duty cycle operation -- they'll run heavy for 10 minutes or whatever to recharge a the starting battery, but it might bring on early death if the alternator is asked to spend long periods of time charging a well-depleted house battery bank.

 

[bansil]

Mount gennie on roof with 4 plywood/foam board walls with open top notice goes to the aliens