bequito
New Member
Salutations skoolie scholars!
Couple of noobs here with our first bus. She's a 2003 Chevy Express 3500 6L V8 with a 2004 Bluebird 5 window shell. Bought her partially converted in March of this year and have been starting to customize things to our needs. So far we:
Raised the bed for extra storage
Customized blackout curtains for each window
Added shelving around the ceiling perimeter
Put in a bench for the big dog (w/ storage below)
DIYd a sink basin from a hotel pan and some pipes
Installed a marine grade foot pump to propel the water
Installed a lock on the front door
And we have planned:
A cabinet off the bathroom on top the bench for more storage
An extension that slides out from the countertop
The previous owner purchased a bunch of stuff for a solar set up that they included in the purchase, but the components were never set up or tested. We have been trying to research but it's a mess of information for some total novices. Hoping someone here might be able to help us along... Here's what we've got:
One 200w solar panel
Two 12v BiMart auto batteries
One 11a controller
One 400w inverter
One 3000w inverter
Is this enough for us to get some power? If so, how much power might we be looking at? If not, which of these components could we use and what should be replaced/acquired? And probably the most embarrassing question, how the heck do we physically connect some of these things? There are so many unfamiliar ends that don't appear to directly fit with the next thing it's supposed to attach to... We really just need to run something to keep our food cold (unit TBD in part by how much solar we can manage). It would be amazing if we could run something to help keep the environment cooler for our dogs.
Which brings me to the environment...
The folks who converted our bus did not insulate anything. We had to leave her in an unshaded parking lot for a whole day of 90°F heat and the ceiling was hot to the touch. Learned our lesson there! We've been doing a fair amount of research on these forums about insulation, and wanted to toss it out here for any input: to insulate or not? We're leaning toward not in the interest of cost, both monetary and physically, especially since we won't be treking in the snow. Thoughts? Suggestions on keeping cool without insulation?
Overall, hope y'all enjoy a little peek into our first go at our first bus. We were thrilled to learn there's such a dedicated community behind these fun rigs; we had no idea!
Ps. Sorry pics of the batteries are so poor, the tray recently jammed...
Couple of noobs here with our first bus. She's a 2003 Chevy Express 3500 6L V8 with a 2004 Bluebird 5 window shell. Bought her partially converted in March of this year and have been starting to customize things to our needs. So far we:
Raised the bed for extra storage
Customized blackout curtains for each window
Added shelving around the ceiling perimeter
Put in a bench for the big dog (w/ storage below)
DIYd a sink basin from a hotel pan and some pipes
Installed a marine grade foot pump to propel the water
Installed a lock on the front door
And we have planned:
A cabinet off the bathroom on top the bench for more storage
An extension that slides out from the countertop
The previous owner purchased a bunch of stuff for a solar set up that they included in the purchase, but the components were never set up or tested. We have been trying to research but it's a mess of information for some total novices. Hoping someone here might be able to help us along... Here's what we've got:
One 200w solar panel
Two 12v BiMart auto batteries
One 11a controller
One 400w inverter
One 3000w inverter
Is this enough for us to get some power? If so, how much power might we be looking at? If not, which of these components could we use and what should be replaced/acquired? And probably the most embarrassing question, how the heck do we physically connect some of these things? There are so many unfamiliar ends that don't appear to directly fit with the next thing it's supposed to attach to... We really just need to run something to keep our food cold (unit TBD in part by how much solar we can manage). It would be amazing if we could run something to help keep the environment cooler for our dogs.
Which brings me to the environment...
The folks who converted our bus did not insulate anything. We had to leave her in an unshaded parking lot for a whole day of 90°F heat and the ceiling was hot to the touch. Learned our lesson there! We've been doing a fair amount of research on these forums about insulation, and wanted to toss it out here for any input: to insulate or not? We're leaning toward not in the interest of cost, both monetary and physically, especially since we won't be treking in the snow. Thoughts? Suggestions on keeping cool without insulation?
Overall, hope y'all enjoy a little peek into our first go at our first bus. We were thrilled to learn there's such a dedicated community behind these fun rigs; we had no idea!
Ps. Sorry pics of the batteries are so poor, the tray recently jammed...
