Luke,
Your bus project is very nice, and the photos and Blog are detailed nicely as well. It is very inspiring to see the progress and we all enjoy it.
It looks like you have a pretty good crew helping you, that is very cool.
After living in my van for awhile, I decided to install a Suburban heater like the one you have. Some friends and I were going to the desert to camp out, then ride dirt bikes the next day.
Well I finished installing the heater late Friday night and all the stores were closed so I wasn't able to get a deep cycle battery to power it. I had a good spare start battery in the van already, so I hooked the heater to that and went to the desert anyway. Big mistake. About 3:30 in the morning, as the battery got weak, the fan slowed down, when that happens the sail switch (safety switch) turns off the gas supply, then the heater turns off completely. I almost froze that night. I finally had to run the van heater to stay warm.
It's funny now, but it sucked that morning.
Keep up the good work.
Chuck
New bus new life
Moderator: TMAX
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Jones'n4chrome
- Posts: 778
- Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 3:10 pm
Last edited by Jones'n4chrome on Sat Apr 03, 2010 4:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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wstcstslider
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:21 am
- Location: In a Bus in Central Oregon
- Contact:
Some of you may have noticed that I am going at this it a kinda backwards. If I had a bunch of cash to plunk down when I got the bus the order would have made more sense. Ideally I would have pulled the windows I wanted to pull. Done any roof raising, frame support, and exterior paneling that needed to be done. Then insulated. Then framed interior walls. Then plumbing and electric. Then interior finish.
We started with the framing due to lack of funds to buy steel and insulation. This made it a little harder to do the metal work and insulation because the was a bunch of framing in our way. I was able to get the windows I wanted out removed and the wholes where tarped or covered in plastic to keep the weather out. The days that where nice enough to work outside had become few and far between. I focused much of the winter figuring out where lights, switches and plug ins would go and running wires threw the open walls.
This shot will give you an idea of what the work site looked like at that house that winter.
Progress was slow until the snows stopped. And even then it took a month for the piles to melt away.
With spring approaching our six month lease was coming to an end. We really didn't want to get in another lease. We decided to try to get the bus to the point where we could move into it. Then live in it while we finished the bus.
It was a mad dash to get the exterior paneling on and hang the holding tanks. Weather was much better but still pretty hit or miss so we tarped the bus to protect the holes and give us some dry space to work.
Not all that junk was mine. Just the half on the left.
I used square tubing to frame out for the rv windows I would be installing and to reinforce where the windows had been.
Some of the original supports where cut to allow room for the bedrooms large picture window.
I used 16 ga. steel because I didn't want it to warp all over the place when I welded it. I saw many people using a liter gauge steel and rivets. I have more experience welding than I do with rivets so I choose this route.
Here's a shot of the first panel up. Apparently I was pretty happy about how it went.
We worked into the night to get that side finished and the windows in.
Some of the paneling was done in the rain.
Hey, whats that smell?
Oops!
One week till move in time! What has to happen before we can live in it? LOTS! But that's OK cause I work better under pressure.
We started with the framing due to lack of funds to buy steel and insulation. This made it a little harder to do the metal work and insulation because the was a bunch of framing in our way. I was able to get the windows I wanted out removed and the wholes where tarped or covered in plastic to keep the weather out. The days that where nice enough to work outside had become few and far between. I focused much of the winter figuring out where lights, switches and plug ins would go and running wires threw the open walls.
This shot will give you an idea of what the work site looked like at that house that winter.
Progress was slow until the snows stopped. And even then it took a month for the piles to melt away.
With spring approaching our six month lease was coming to an end. We really didn't want to get in another lease. We decided to try to get the bus to the point where we could move into it. Then live in it while we finished the bus.
It was a mad dash to get the exterior paneling on and hang the holding tanks. Weather was much better but still pretty hit or miss so we tarped the bus to protect the holes and give us some dry space to work.
Not all that junk was mine. Just the half on the left.
I used square tubing to frame out for the rv windows I would be installing and to reinforce where the windows had been.
Some of the original supports where cut to allow room for the bedrooms large picture window.
I used 16 ga. steel because I didn't want it to warp all over the place when I welded it. I saw many people using a liter gauge steel and rivets. I have more experience welding than I do with rivets so I choose this route.
Here's a shot of the first panel up. Apparently I was pretty happy about how it went.
We worked into the night to get that side finished and the windows in.
Some of the paneling was done in the rain.
Hey, whats that smell?
Oops!
One week till move in time! What has to happen before we can live in it? LOTS! But that's OK cause I work better under pressure.
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wstcstslider
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:21 am
- Location: In a Bus in Central Oregon
- Contact:
I must have been too busy to take pictures that week. I hung the three holding tanks. I plumbed the black and gray tanks drains to a waste valve. I made a metal box for the hot water heater and mounted it. I cut in vents for the back of the fridge. Installed the bed and two closets. We even got some siding on the shed truck.
Here are the only pictures I had from that week.
Here you can see the casing for the hot water heater. I stuffed as much fiberglass around the tank as I could. It is at least two inches thick all the way around.
Once again the move came before we where ready and it became a mad dash to get out by the time our lease was up. Here is a shot of the new location. It was further out of town but much cheaper rent. We also had no neighbors to be bothered by our projects. However, there was also no power or water run to the site which was an obstacle in itself. This would be my first time for bus living and off grid living.
It also had quite a view. Here is one of the first sunsets at the new spot.
The next few weeks where spent figuring what was needed to live in such a remote location.
Here are the only pictures I had from that week.
Here you can see the casing for the hot water heater. I stuffed as much fiberglass around the tank as I could. It is at least two inches thick all the way around.
Once again the move came before we where ready and it became a mad dash to get out by the time our lease was up. Here is a shot of the new location. It was further out of town but much cheaper rent. We also had no neighbors to be bothered by our projects. However, there was also no power or water run to the site which was an obstacle in itself. This would be my first time for bus living and off grid living.
It also had quite a view. Here is one of the first sunsets at the new spot.
The next few weeks where spent figuring what was needed to live in such a remote location.
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wstcstslider
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:21 am
- Location: In a Bus in Central Oregon
- Contact:
Power and Water. Those became priorety at the new site.
I had a 3500w genny and the bus had one starting battery. Most electric in the bus is 12v. I did wire it for 120v but had no inverter to power the plugins from the battery. Lights, water pump, and furnace where all 12v and taxing the battery. The starting battery could run a couple lights and the water pump for a couple nights before needing charging. The only charger I had was a cheap automotive charger. This wasn't a very realistic power system for what I was trying to do.
I started watching the craigslist for used solar equipment. There's not much. I got lucky and one of my neighbors was upgrading his entire system when I moved in. He sold me his old setup which was enough to get me started. It was two 80w sunelectric panels, a 20 amp charge controller, four trojan t-605's and a 1000W xantrex inverter. This would be enough for us to run the lights longer and watch a movie if it had been a really sunny day.
Water could be bought at a store about 30 minutes away for a penny a gallon. I found a used 275 tote and used it to haul water to the bus. From there I would let the tote gravity feed into my 40 gallon fresh water tank on the bus. This worked ok but the 40 gallons would only last two or three days and I found myself constantly filling the small tank.
Here is a shot once we settled in. The panels are laying on the ground in the right side of the picture. You can see the water hauling rig in the background. By this point it was starting to get hot (it really happens over night here in the high desert) so we got a kiddy pool and pulled out the awning. We even built a small cold frame to keep some greens alive through the wind and cold.
The bus was by no means done but we had enough creature comforts to keep us happy. Life went on and progress on the bus slowed as we got busy with other things. Here are a couple of shots of the inside during the first summer in it.
I had a 3500w genny and the bus had one starting battery. Most electric in the bus is 12v. I did wire it for 120v but had no inverter to power the plugins from the battery. Lights, water pump, and furnace where all 12v and taxing the battery. The starting battery could run a couple lights and the water pump for a couple nights before needing charging. The only charger I had was a cheap automotive charger. This wasn't a very realistic power system for what I was trying to do.
I started watching the craigslist for used solar equipment. There's not much. I got lucky and one of my neighbors was upgrading his entire system when I moved in. He sold me his old setup which was enough to get me started. It was two 80w sunelectric panels, a 20 amp charge controller, four trojan t-605's and a 1000W xantrex inverter. This would be enough for us to run the lights longer and watch a movie if it had been a really sunny day.
Water could be bought at a store about 30 minutes away for a penny a gallon. I found a used 275 tote and used it to haul water to the bus. From there I would let the tote gravity feed into my 40 gallon fresh water tank on the bus. This worked ok but the 40 gallons would only last two or three days and I found myself constantly filling the small tank.
Here is a shot once we settled in. The panels are laying on the ground in the right side of the picture. You can see the water hauling rig in the background. By this point it was starting to get hot (it really happens over night here in the high desert) so we got a kiddy pool and pulled out the awning. We even built a small cold frame to keep some greens alive through the wind and cold.
The bus was by no means done but we had enough creature comforts to keep us happy. Life went on and progress on the bus slowed as we got busy with other things. Here are a couple of shots of the inside during the first summer in it.
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Dennis The Bus Dweller
- Seasoned Nomadicista
- Posts: 1875
- Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2004 9:33 am
- Location: Southold N.Y.
- Contact:
Luke, I saw in another thread that you are mentioning the drafty school bus windows that you left in your bus. I too am planning to leave most of my school bus windows for the "school bus feeling". I plan to make plexiglass "storm" windows to go on the inside, once I get to that point. I was thinking that might help hold out alot of the draftiness. Just an idea, and I am sure you can come up with something - you are quite talented.
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wstcstslider
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:21 am
- Location: In a Bus in Central Oregon
- Contact:
Ginger, bus windows don't do much to hold out the elements. They are single paned and don't seal very well. I get most of my draft from either side of the window. The top and bottom seal pretty well. You will see how yours are sealed when you pull the ones you have to pull. I used some of that winter time window plastic to get us through the winter but your storm window idea sounds like a good one. If you don't do something to get the double paned effect the condensation in cold climates can be terrible.
Back to the desert. It's hard to down size from a large house to a bus. It's also hard to work on a place while you are living in it. I don't suggest combining the two unless you like a good challenge. For us it was the only way we could come up with the money we needed to finish the bus.
As the temps started to climb into the 90's it got uncomfortably hot in the bus. We had chosen an area with no shade because of the view it offered. Although the view was amazing the direct sun was cooking us. We decided to paint the bus white to reflect as much heat as possible. We also made some heavy curtains to keep the light out. We had no AC or power to run one. We could run some fans with the energy we where getting from the intense sunlight. This was just enough to keep it bearable.
Filling the 40 gallon tank every couple of days got old so I made a small insulated pump box that held a surflow RV pump and a small pressure tank. The 275 gallon tote fed the pump box giving us "city water pressure".
No pictures of the pump box. It was UGLY, but it worked.
The solar system was getting us by but we where having to really conserve. If we where going to be able to use it to run power tools for the bus conversion we where going to have to upgrade. Used panels are hard to come by but if you widen your search area you increase your chances of finding what you want. Within one week I found two 40w panels in Christmas Valley, two 40w panels in Eugene, and a tracker in Corvallis.The first two panels where labeled ARCO, the second two said Charrizo Solar. They looked almost identical except the Charrizo panels had some browning. I later learned that the brown panels where from a dismantled commercial scale solar plant that failed back in the 80's down in Cali. The company ARCO had assembled the cells from the plant into 40w panels and sold them off. The two I got that match the brown panels but have no browning must have been produced after ARCO ran out of stock from the Charrizo plant. And get this, the tracker was designed to hold four of the exact panels I had found. Vintage solar, and it all fit together and worked great.
The increased wattage was a little too much for my little charge controller to handle. I got a used Xantrex C-40 from a friend which could handle what I had and left room for expansion. The C-40 also had the ability to equalize the batteries which hadn't happened once in the two year life of these batteries.
The 1000w inverter I had couldn't run my larger power tools. It also developed an annoying squeal from the cooling fan. While researching inverters I realized that some are designed to much more than invert DC to AC. I ended up finding a used Xantrex RV2012 which is a 2000 watt inverter, 100 amp three stage battery charger, 50 amp AC transfer switch, battery monitor and has generator start capability. It is modified sine wave which is suppose to be a less friendly AC current than sine wave. But it has the wattage to run my larger power tools and it acts as the brain of the electrical system. It also allowed us to use the generator to charge the batteries safely when there wasn't enough sun.
Before we knew it summer was replaced by winter and our thoughts went form cooling off to warming up. Until this point we had done very little insulating. The walls where still open which allowed us to insulate them. We carpeted the bedroom and had some insulation under the purgo flooring in the living room but the floor was still very cold. The bus is only 6'4" floor to ceiling and I am 6'1" so wasn't going to sacrifice any head space for insulation. I ended up spraying the undercarriage with a closed celled foam. It is weather resistant and has a very high R value per inch. I also made a plywood skirt for the bus to keep the wind from blowing under it. Once again it was bearable but if you didn't throw a lot of heat at it would get cold fast. It would have been a much harder winter without the wood stove. It added more than just heat. It made it really feel like a home.
While it was hot out we had been showering outside. With the change in weather, finishing the shower became the new priority. I had saved the shower pan from the old trailer. It had to be framed up a few inches off the floor to allow room for it's drain. For walls I used a tub surround kit meant for turning a bath tub into a shower. It had to be chopped up a bit to fit but in ended up working nicely. The shower curtain rod is bent at a 80* instead of a 90* to give a little more elbow room. It is surprisingly spacious.
The bathroom vanity is tight unless the shower curtain is open. But the way the shower wall drops at the vanity it becomes spacious when the curtain is open.
It's cold and rainy. I'm going to make some cookies
Back to the desert. It's hard to down size from a large house to a bus. It's also hard to work on a place while you are living in it. I don't suggest combining the two unless you like a good challenge. For us it was the only way we could come up with the money we needed to finish the bus.
As the temps started to climb into the 90's it got uncomfortably hot in the bus. We had chosen an area with no shade because of the view it offered. Although the view was amazing the direct sun was cooking us. We decided to paint the bus white to reflect as much heat as possible. We also made some heavy curtains to keep the light out. We had no AC or power to run one. We could run some fans with the energy we where getting from the intense sunlight. This was just enough to keep it bearable.
Filling the 40 gallon tank every couple of days got old so I made a small insulated pump box that held a surflow RV pump and a small pressure tank. The 275 gallon tote fed the pump box giving us "city water pressure".
No pictures of the pump box. It was UGLY, but it worked.
The solar system was getting us by but we where having to really conserve. If we where going to be able to use it to run power tools for the bus conversion we where going to have to upgrade. Used panels are hard to come by but if you widen your search area you increase your chances of finding what you want. Within one week I found two 40w panels in Christmas Valley, two 40w panels in Eugene, and a tracker in Corvallis.The first two panels where labeled ARCO, the second two said Charrizo Solar. They looked almost identical except the Charrizo panels had some browning. I later learned that the brown panels where from a dismantled commercial scale solar plant that failed back in the 80's down in Cali. The company ARCO had assembled the cells from the plant into 40w panels and sold them off. The two I got that match the brown panels but have no browning must have been produced after ARCO ran out of stock from the Charrizo plant. And get this, the tracker was designed to hold four of the exact panels I had found. Vintage solar, and it all fit together and worked great.
The increased wattage was a little too much for my little charge controller to handle. I got a used Xantrex C-40 from a friend which could handle what I had and left room for expansion. The C-40 also had the ability to equalize the batteries which hadn't happened once in the two year life of these batteries.
The 1000w inverter I had couldn't run my larger power tools. It also developed an annoying squeal from the cooling fan. While researching inverters I realized that some are designed to much more than invert DC to AC. I ended up finding a used Xantrex RV2012 which is a 2000 watt inverter, 100 amp three stage battery charger, 50 amp AC transfer switch, battery monitor and has generator start capability. It is modified sine wave which is suppose to be a less friendly AC current than sine wave. But it has the wattage to run my larger power tools and it acts as the brain of the electrical system. It also allowed us to use the generator to charge the batteries safely when there wasn't enough sun.
Before we knew it summer was replaced by winter and our thoughts went form cooling off to warming up. Until this point we had done very little insulating. The walls where still open which allowed us to insulate them. We carpeted the bedroom and had some insulation under the purgo flooring in the living room but the floor was still very cold. The bus is only 6'4" floor to ceiling and I am 6'1" so wasn't going to sacrifice any head space for insulation. I ended up spraying the undercarriage with a closed celled foam. It is weather resistant and has a very high R value per inch. I also made a plywood skirt for the bus to keep the wind from blowing under it. Once again it was bearable but if you didn't throw a lot of heat at it would get cold fast. It would have been a much harder winter without the wood stove. It added more than just heat. It made it really feel like a home.
While it was hot out we had been showering outside. With the change in weather, finishing the shower became the new priority. I had saved the shower pan from the old trailer. It had to be framed up a few inches off the floor to allow room for it's drain. For walls I used a tub surround kit meant for turning a bath tub into a shower. It had to be chopped up a bit to fit but in ended up working nicely. The shower curtain rod is bent at a 80* instead of a 90* to give a little more elbow room. It is surprisingly spacious.
The bathroom vanity is tight unless the shower curtain is open. But the way the shower wall drops at the vanity it becomes spacious when the curtain is open.
It's cold and rainy. I'm going to make some cookies
luke's bus
hello Luke and lady did not catch her name in post, new here myself, love what yaw are doing out there, I have alot of (junk to some) prized possesions that you could use, if you could get to NW Louisiana that I would be willing to part with for say, a cup of coffee or a cold beer according to the mood that day, that I have been saving for this or that project, started out with a 81 gm school bus bought at auction, bought a 37' teton w 2 slides just let go of a few month's ago, presently in a 64 gm 4106 bus (old greyhound) that I purchased (stole) a few months back already converted to a motor home, I am presently dejunking my life so I have more room and time for other new projects (computer new to that, 66 jeep, upgrading to a nicer boat, and alot of other projects already underway. just had to add my 2 cents worth I love seeing what other people are doing on projects (MRSHARKEY is great) hey maybe we could get him nominated ( on independant ticket of coarse) to run for president!!! we deffinately need some help here with a passion for doing things just a wee bit different. I am looking for me a handout myself now, I want some kind of stimulous package or other give away program that I can prosper off of. well enough for now later and peace be with you james
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wstcstslider
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:21 am
- Location: In a Bus in Central Oregon
- Contact:
We made it threw the winter and temps are warming up. With the nicer weather we have been able to finish the wood work on the inside of the bus and get the outside painted.
Wired in charge controller and inverter under the buss's control panel. The original battery compartment is just under the inverter accessed from the outside. It holds the 4 trojan t-605 batteries. Keeping the distance between the batteries and the inverter very short kept me from having to run huge wires. I think it's a 4' run done with 2/0 wire.
Here is a picture of the cockpit. Inverter covered and drivers seat back in.
The painting was a real learning experience. I started out rolling and brushing because I didn't want to buy a gun and tape off the whole bus. After struggling with the first coat and not getting a good finish I decided to go ahead and tape and spray the final coat. It's not a perfect paint job but it's not yellow anymore. We plan to eventually get more creative with the paint job but that and several other "wants" are just going to have to wait a while...
The inside trimmed out nicely. The paneling is ruff sown dug fir with a satin finish polyurethane. The darker trim is mahogany with a dark stain.
The AC breaker box and DC fuse panel are under the frig. There are also two DC to AC converters down there that where bypassed when I got the Inverter/charger.
The living room turned out pretty roomy. Above the dining seat is the thermostat for the suburban furnace. To the left of that is one of the two 6x9's installed in sealed boxes that are built into the cabinets.
The cabinet doors hinge up and are held up with magnets. We choose this route so the cabinet doors wouldn't be on your way when they where open.
The surround for the wood stove is 1/2" durarock with about another 1/2" of dyed mortar smeared on it. It works well as a thermal mass holding the heat from the stove hours after it has gone out. I don't know if it will stay put with the flex of the bus body but it has for the first few drives since installation.
The dining table is made from scrap mahogany soffit material. It was a 3" tongue and grove board. My brother milled it down and made the glue up. All hardware was salvaged from the Komforts dining table and transferred to the mahogany glue up. The table will fold down or extend out another foot with a third piece. Thanks bro!
Kitchen.
Sink, stove, range hood, frig, tank monitor, and water pump where all salvaged from the Komfort.
The counter top is a green spider marble with a white travertine back splash. I have to give all the credit of this to my dad. He furnished all materials and did the entire installation. It went in before the paneling and trim and really set the bar for the interior finish. Thanks dad!
Toilet room/ broom closet. We salvaged a blower fan from the rear heating unit and used it for the fart fan. Two stage blower fart fan!
Shower and bathroom vanity. The shower stall is cut out to give room room to the vanity area. The shower curtain extends into the vanity area to give more elbow room in the shower. Sink was salvaged from a resale store. I suggest use household faucets over RV faucets whenever possible. Most of the RV faucets I got from the Komfort leaked and where replaced with house faucets.
The paneling that surrounds the vanity area is high definition tongue and groove clear cedar. I acquired it while siding some high end homes that would always use either clear cedar or mahogany for there exterior soffit. Anything less than 3' was trashed at the end of the projects.
Wired in charge controller and inverter under the buss's control panel. The original battery compartment is just under the inverter accessed from the outside. It holds the 4 trojan t-605 batteries. Keeping the distance between the batteries and the inverter very short kept me from having to run huge wires. I think it's a 4' run done with 2/0 wire.
Here is a picture of the cockpit. Inverter covered and drivers seat back in.
The painting was a real learning experience. I started out rolling and brushing because I didn't want to buy a gun and tape off the whole bus. After struggling with the first coat and not getting a good finish I decided to go ahead and tape and spray the final coat. It's not a perfect paint job but it's not yellow anymore. We plan to eventually get more creative with the paint job but that and several other "wants" are just going to have to wait a while...
The inside trimmed out nicely. The paneling is ruff sown dug fir with a satin finish polyurethane. The darker trim is mahogany with a dark stain.
The AC breaker box and DC fuse panel are under the frig. There are also two DC to AC converters down there that where bypassed when I got the Inverter/charger.
The living room turned out pretty roomy. Above the dining seat is the thermostat for the suburban furnace. To the left of that is one of the two 6x9's installed in sealed boxes that are built into the cabinets.
The cabinet doors hinge up and are held up with magnets. We choose this route so the cabinet doors wouldn't be on your way when they where open.
The surround for the wood stove is 1/2" durarock with about another 1/2" of dyed mortar smeared on it. It works well as a thermal mass holding the heat from the stove hours after it has gone out. I don't know if it will stay put with the flex of the bus body but it has for the first few drives since installation.
The dining table is made from scrap mahogany soffit material. It was a 3" tongue and grove board. My brother milled it down and made the glue up. All hardware was salvaged from the Komforts dining table and transferred to the mahogany glue up. The table will fold down or extend out another foot with a third piece. Thanks bro!
Kitchen.
Sink, stove, range hood, frig, tank monitor, and water pump where all salvaged from the Komfort.
The counter top is a green spider marble with a white travertine back splash. I have to give all the credit of this to my dad. He furnished all materials and did the entire installation. It went in before the paneling and trim and really set the bar for the interior finish. Thanks dad!
Toilet room/ broom closet. We salvaged a blower fan from the rear heating unit and used it for the fart fan. Two stage blower fart fan!
Shower and bathroom vanity. The shower stall is cut out to give room room to the vanity area. The shower curtain extends into the vanity area to give more elbow room in the shower. Sink was salvaged from a resale store. I suggest use household faucets over RV faucets whenever possible. Most of the RV faucets I got from the Komfort leaked and where replaced with house faucets.
The paneling that surrounds the vanity area is high definition tongue and groove clear cedar. I acquired it while siding some high end homes that would always use either clear cedar or mahogany for there exterior soffit. Anything less than 3' was trashed at the end of the projects.
-
Dennis The Bus Dweller
- Seasoned Nomadicista
- Posts: 1875
- Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2004 9:33 am
- Location: Southold N.Y.
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