Wisdom in motion?

[stuartcnz]

I'm going to set up a temporary kitchen in the open shed where I'll be working on the truck. Photos on Monday.

Jim

Looking foward to seeing photo's.

[Lostranger]

Put in a long day on the truck yesterday. Spent a couple hours carrying out the last of the stuff we had moved in it and the rest of the day taking out shelves, baseboard heaters, cabinets and the like. The interior looked like this when I got all the boxes out:




I was exhausted at the end and did not get a picture with the stuff removed. I'll do that today.

Made a major decision which, in retrospect, seems obvious, but I had to work up to it. The van has a rear door on the curb side. I had planned to keep it, but I finally realized that it takes up too much interior real estate. I'll ditch the door. May use the step well area as a cargo bay with an outside door, or I may put a tank there. I'll probably put a window in the upper area of the old door space. Here's the curb side with both doors open:



Also, I've decided to keep my temporary kitchen inside the truck rather than under the open shed where I'm working. It's cold and windy here. Cooking inside will be more comfortable, and the low-pressure propane stove I'm using does not work well in wind.

Today I remove all the old shore power setup and the aluminum interior panels. I'll have more to report tomorrow.

Jim in North Carolina

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Look good

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Whatever you do with the rear door, make sure you provide for an emergency exit somewhere in the back. You don't want to find yourself in the back sometime with a fire between you and the front door.

[Headache]

Whatever you do with the rear door, make sure you provide for an emergency exit somewhere in the back. You don't want to find yourself in the back sometime with a fire between you and the front door.

I second this. I'm noticing more often in the rules of some places that your RV must have 2 exits. If you want to use the space creatively you could build some sort of shelf on rollers that hinged on one side. This way in case of an emergency you could swing the shelf out of the way and then get out through the door behind it.

[Lostranger]

If you want to use the space creatively you could build some sort of shelf on rollers that hinged on one side. This way in case of an emergency you could swing the shelf out of the way and then get out through the door behind it.

This is a good idea, and I'll think about it. It's certainly easier to leave the door than skin over the opening. I'm planning to replace the rear AC with a skylight/hatch, but it would be good to have a floor level exit also.

Jim

[Lostranger]

I finally have the teardown finished. Well, almost. I still have to remove a couple of electric boxes that were part of the complicated shore power setup, but everything else is out. The last thing to go was the carpet. The blankety-blank stuff was glued down. "Like pulling teeth" is not an inept simile. Here's a shot of the bare floor:



The white stuff on the floor is corn meal. Once exposed, the old carpet glue was so strong that I thought I was leaving my boots a couple of times. The corn meal tamed the glue.

Here's a shot of the fiberglass insulation from just the roof:



I hate fiberglass insulation. I have enough allergy to it that it impedes my breathing. I had to wear a respirator during the entire teardown.

Here are a couple shots of the interior:




I decided to update the tail lights before starting the interior. Here's a before and after:




I finally located a source for the ISO insulation board I want to use in 1-1/2" thickness. Then I had to sit down. Gonna be over $1000 to insulate the truck. I'm still going to use it, but it slows the other parts of the project. So be it. It's the best R-value in that much space.

More report in a few days.

Jim in NC

[Headache]

That's a lot of aluminum you'll be insulating. Have you considered used pink/blue board? Sometimes you can find it on craigslist for next to nothing and since you'll be taping seams anyway, taping a couple of pieces together to make a big one won't be that bad.

There is also this place:

http://www.insulationdepot.com/

I emailed them last month and got a quick reply back. They didn't have any but he referred me to another materials recycler that will also ship. I'm not ready to buy yet so hopefully when I'm ready either of them will have enough. I'm going to use 2" for the walls and basement and doubling that for the ceiling.

I'll be doing the same thing with my tail lights.

[Stealth Camper]

Don't forget the moisture condensation on the inside of that aluminum. I think I remember Mark talking about that around here. There will be water!

[Lostranger]

[quote="Headache"]Have you considered used pink/blue board?

ISO board has twice the insulating property of styrofoam. It will pay back the initial cost many times over.

Jim in NC

[Lostranger]

Don't forget the moisture condensation on the inside of that aluminum.

I'm not sure what you're suggesting that I do differently. ISO does not absorb moisture, and for what it's worth, the original fiberglass, which does absorb moisture, was not noticeably damp after more than 36 years.

Jim in NC

[Headache]

It's not the ISO itself, it's the aluminum walls on the interior that can create condensation due to the temperature difference. Moisture will be trapped between the ISO and the aluminum.

I'm going to use ISO in my super long term build. In the mean time I'm working my walls out in such a way that I'll be able to air them out once winter is over by having a small gap between the pink board(it's not Styrofoam) and the wall. Even my FRP walls will work up some condensation. Par for the course as it were.

[Lostranger]

Great news! I went to the insulation contractor today to pick up enough ISO to do the roof. The lady I spoke with last week told me they always stock it in 1-1/2" and 2". They didn't have a single sheet in their huge warehouse. Not sure why she had told me they stocked it. She also told me she would have to charge shipping on top of the huge price she had quoted me for the material if I had them order it. She then tried to sell me a product they stock called PermaTherm. It's expanded polystyrene. Styrofoam. I declined.

On the way back I stopped by the local building supply house where I had originally tried to find ISO. The salesperson I had originally talked to told me he had never heard of polyisocyanurate. This time I talked to the owner. They stock every size through 2" EXCEPT 1-1/2". They were happy to order enough 1-1/2" to to the entire truck and have it in two days. Now the best part: Their price was 54 cents on the dollar compared to the big insulation company. I'm pretty happy.

Headache: Thanks for your helpful input. I have weep holes in the floor at the base of all three walls. That'll have to do. Also, pink board by Owens Corning is made of extruded polystyrene and has an R vale of 5/inch. Styrofoam is expanded polystyrene and has an R rating of 4/inch. ISO starts out at 8/inch and degrades slightly over time to 7 or slightly less. I'm more than happy to pay for the difference.

I got the truck weighed. It read 7000 lbs full of fuel with me in the saddle. I was hoping for 1000 lbs less, but that gives me 3000 lbs to work with. The 7k includes both roof AC units, and I still may ditch one of them.

Didn't get much actual work done on the truck, but it was still a great day. I'll have more photos after I get the insulation.

Jim in NC

[Stealth Camper]

The weep holes should cover what I was going on about. Just some way to get moisture out of the space. The alternative is to spray the foam ISO as a skin coat on the inside of the aluminum before putting sheet insulation in the wall. Seals and prevents moisture from forming. But a whole lot more money.

I have been looking at that part of it very closely and I may end up drilling little vent holes in the bus floor to do the same thing.

[Headache]

Any updates?