Skoolie in the UK!

[SamDee]

That doesn't look too bad - you mean the little slightly bent rust tab underneath the trim, or the bottom of the floor above?

I mean the day light coming through!!!! Supposed to be solid

 

[musigenesis]

I mean the day light coming through!!!! Supposed to be solid

Sorry, I'm confused by the context of the pic. Do you have a pic of that gap from the inside, showing where in the bus it is? I see a strip of white metal with two screws sticking out of it, but I'm not sure where this is.

 

[SamDee]

Try this...

 

[SamDee]

My index and middle finger are on top the floor. My hand is through the floor between the two skins
And my little finger is through the wall below floor level lol

 

[musigenesis]

My index and middle finger are on top the floor. My hand is through the floor between the two skins
And my little finger is through the wall below floor level lol

You mean this gap is in the base of the floor behind the chair rail? So it's awkward to get at from above?

 

[SamDee]

You mean this gap is in the base of the floor behind the chair rail? So it's awkward to get at from above?

Yehhhhh! Believe that’s right tho. Its hard to explain!
Ideally social media would be easier I could send vids etc etc

 

[musigenesis]

Yehhhhh! Believe that’s right tho. Its hard to explain!
Ideally social media would be easier I could send vids etc etc

I've got an email address, lol. Skoolie.net is as close to social media as I get. If there was such a thing as antisocial media I would have signed up years ago.

I have a couple of gaps behind the chair rail like this in my bus, too. I attempted to fix one by welding a patch on from the underside, very difficult because it was hard to get my head with the welding helmet on into a position where I could see, and I suck at overhead welding (really all types of welding but that one, too). Even dropped a gob of molten steel onto my thigh, giving me a permanent scar. The job looks pretty bad but the patch is on strong enough to hold seam sealer, which is all that will really matter.

A better way might be to cut a piece of angle iron and drop it behind the chair rail (so that the vertical part of the angle is up against the inside of the chair rail) and then connect it to the chair rail either by running screws from the outside (i.e. through the chair rail and into the angle steel) or bolts from the inside (i.e. through the angle steel and then through the chair rail, with nuts on the outside). This latter thing is a little tricky but not too hard: you can get the bolt down inside the little gap and out through the holes by using a vice grips.

 

[musigenesis]

This shows what I mean about the angle steel:



(red line is the gap where there should be some floor, blue is piece of angle steel, green is the fastener, either a screw from the outside (I mean the outside of the gap but the inside of the bus) or a bolt from inside the gap.

Then seam sealer all around on the underside. I've thought about buying a 200 board-foot kit for spray foam to fill just these gaps behind the chair rail. Not for insulation purposes since it would be pretty much useless there, but to seal the gaps off and prevent water from getting into them either from inside or from below.

 

[SamDee]

This shows what I mean about the angle steel:

View attachment 43390

(red line is the gap where there should be some floor, blue is piece of angle steel, green is the fastener, either a screw from the outside (I mean the outside of the gap but the inside of the bus) or a bolt from inside the gap.

Yes! Exactly that haha so your blue angle is what is supposed to be there! But mine has rotted out haha that’s not a bad way to fix! I like it. Iv drafted in an old friend who is a competent welder so that’s good news!!!!

 

[musigenesis]

Yes! Exactly that haha so your blue angle is what is supposed to be there! But mine has rotted out haha that’s not a bad way to fix! I like it. Iv drafted in an old friend who is a competent welder so that’s good news!!!!

No, the blue angle is what you can put in to fill the gap and fix the problem (if you have a welder and he/she is good at doing something like the patches from below, that's a better approach). Here is what a healthy part of your bus should look like:



The bit that the blue angle steel would be replacing was originally part of the chair rail, which is an unusual multiple-bend beam sort of thing. At least it's this way on an International - I've never chopped up or even seen a Thomas and there are some differences in how they're constructed, but I think the Thomas chair rail is the same.

 

[SamDee]

So that’s how my Thomas walls are built lol! Very strange

 

[Native-SKO]

View attachment 43398
So that’s how my Thomas walls are built lol! Very strange

Are you sure about this?


On our bus (a 2002 Thomas), the bottom is OPEN ... there is no blue piece. It is to allow for any water in the walls to drain down and out. I have used this gap to bring in my 50A electrical cord.


I have no graphic to show you ... but I may be able to get a picture.

 

[Native-SKO]

Okay, I just got back from under the bus. I must retract my earlier statement. It happens that the gap is present only at the battery box. The rest of the wall is as you described, SamDee!


At least I did remember correctly about the lack of that metal at the battery box ... mainly because I know what it took to snake in the power cord through the gap and then through a hole I drilled in the inside wall. We all live and learn.

 

[Native-SKO]

I have been thinking about this a bit. If the "blue" metal piece is rusted out you have a very consistant leak. One real problem with the buses is that they leak ... we all know this. However, the designers put in the fiber fill with holds the moisture and promotes rust. As long as there are drainage holes, the water will drain out and rusting will be held to a minimum.


SamDee, it may behoove you to examine ALL of your "blue" metal and note where it is rusted. This may help you locate the leaks.

 

[Native-SKO]

Ah, now the little flap pieces that y'all think are poor repair jobs have a purpose. They are located at the ends of the "blue" metal runs, directing the drainage water down and out of the channel formed by the "blue" metal and the two walls (outer skin and chair rail).


I knew there was a purpose for them!!!

 

[SamDee]

Hahaha! I’m glad you see the craziness I see! So which my poor repair job there isn’t any floor between the walls? Also the ribs of the bus section of each little window portion so it doesn’t make sense to have drainage on a couple sections of the bus?! All my leaks are window based.

We’re binning they windows in replacement for double glazing �� it rained today and the bus was crying from under every window pain haha

 

[Native-SKO]

There is no "floor" between the walls, only that piece of metal placed between the inner wall (the chair rail metal) and the outer skin. It is BELOW the level of the floor so that any water in the walls (in theory) stays in the walls and does not venture out into the floor.


Your windows are indeed the most likely source for leakage. The windows are usually poorly sealed after so many years. The way to fix this is to remove the windows, scrape off all of the caulking fro the windows and the window sills, then put the windows back in and apply new caulk. Use a decent sealer like Loctite PL-S40 (or equivalent) or Dynatron 550 (well, any color). Both of these seal very well and can be painted.

 

[timbrass]

Hi - I assume you haven't got DVLA plates yet or gone through DVSA approval.....have a look at Buying, importing, converting and registering an American School bus as a UK Motorhome - Home - Skoolie in the UK which documents the process I went through to get approval for a US School bus in UK to M1 Motorhome approval. Tim (Oxfordshire)