Different Wisdom

Discussions about all things to do with buses, trucks, and the homes made within them.

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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

Furring is going more slowly than I would have hoped. Of course. I've run into a number of unforeseen details. Driver's side is almost done. Some progress on passenger side. Balance of wall insulation is all square cuts and only two layers. Should not take as long as three layer roof with radius cuts on every corner. I still have some roof insulation to do, but I've figured a system to use cutoffs from the roof work to fill between the wall furring.

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I've not conducted any wall adhesive tests yet because I've decided to try 3M 5200 first. It's a polyurethane caulk/adhesive with remarkable strength and permanent flexibility. I used it on roof leaks in the old Flx Metro before we scrapped that project. Of course our local Lowe's is too small to carry it. Have to drive 20 miles to another Lowe's to get it, and that won't happen today.

Best to all,

Jim
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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

I want it known that we have not died or dropped off the map. We've been so busy with other areas of life that it's been hard to get bus work done. I did get MOST of the wall and roof insulation done, and I got a couple of sheets of 1/4" oak plywood on the wall in the galley, but not much else to report. This winter has proven more survivable than last. That's partly thanks to better insulation, but it's mostly a factor of this dramatically milder winter. Winter is not yet over, however, and we're supposed to see single digits (F) over then next few days.

We put about 2500 miles on the bus in October, and other than the broken Vanner battery equalizer that slowed us down getting back from central Pennsylvania, it behaved like a champ. Part of the reason I'm not getting more done on the conversion is that, primitive though it may be, Sophia is reasonably comfortable. Especially at home base. We have several short trips planned over the next few months, but we're not even leaving the property until I get the wood stove bolted down. That's a larger project than it may seem.

Another reason that we're not getting much conversion done is a string of breakdowns. We returned in early November to a broken refrigerator. It's in my shop running on grid power, and it's the only cold storage we have. Took me a while to troubleshoot and fix a couple of minor problems. It also got a freon top up at a commercial refrigeration shop, but that was a less than satisfactory experience. It's working fine now.

Late in November my wood splitter quit. It was built in '75. I bought it used in '92. It attaches to, and is powered by, either of my Italian walking tractors. (A BCS and a Grillo.) Would have taken about two grand to replace it, and the old machine is still in sound condition other than hydraulic issues. A bad valve led to replacing the pump with a higher capacity model which led to serious reengineering which involved a new tractor coupler, etc., and etc. In the middle of that project, our only local tractor dealership went out of business, and there went my source for new hoses. Oh well.... I'm still splitting by hand, but I'm getting closer.

In December I spilled water on my nearly new MacBook Pro. You guessed it, warranty would not cover that. $941 and change. That would have done a lot of conversion work, but what can you do?

Three weeks ago the old Mazda sprung a coolant leak. We kept digging deeper and deeper until.... The heads are being surfaced and checked for cracks as we speak. With the head set and the timing belt kit and oil and coolant and stuff, I have about $800 in just parts. Too good a car to junk, and I don't want to replace it.

You get the picture. We've been distracted, so no bus update. On top of everything, my mother's failing heath takes ever larger slices of our time.

On the other hand, spring is just around the corner. My body and paint man is standing by to finish the paint job as soon as we get some "nice" weather. That will make an inestimable difference in the bus. AND, today I finished assembling a project that's been long on my mind. It's a large and capable garden cart. Much better than anything on the market. I made it from plans offered by Whizbang Books. Herrick Kimball is the man behind many useful project plans and an excellent blog if you happen to be into the sort thinking that I am. Check out his stuff. Here are a few photos of the cart. The cosmetic work is not yet done, and the handle is obviously not finished.

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No front panel in this shot.

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The axle is 3/4" cold rolled rod, and the tires are flat proof from Northern Tool.

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She'll look better with the cosmetic work done, but I can assure you that it already does a marvelous job of hauling firewood. I needed this cart years ago.

So, there's a little catch up. I will post more about the bus when I have a little more done. In the meanwhile, just don't forget us.

Best to all,

Jim
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somewhereinusa
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by somewhereinusa »

Good to hear from you, I had begun to wonder. Understand about the "life" getting in the way of finishing things. Cart looks great.
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by ol trunt »

Good to hear from you Jim. I hope the spring brings an end to your present woes and you can relax a bit. Jack
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

I'm wanting to build a new wood heater before next winter. I'd love to have a Kimberly, but the price puts them out of reach. I especially want secondary combustion. I've recently been studying rocket stoves, but I can't come up with a design that would work in a house bus, especially since we're not interested in adding a lot of mass.

Finally I've stumbled onto this thread: http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/sho ... php?t=9391

Please look at this thing and see what you think. I would need to build mine smaller, but that's not a problem. I've written to the guy to see if he has any more info, but I think I can tackle it on just what is presented.

Our little stove has done pretty well, but it leaves considerable room for improvement. One of the most frustrating problems is that it uses too much wood and turns too much of it into charcoal. The excessive outside smoke would be an issue if we ever need heat in a campground or at a festival. We have no close neighbors to complain at home base, but I'd love to be generating dramatically cleaner emissions. Secondary combustion is the key to all these issues and more.

Stay well and warm.

Jim
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Stealth Camper »

That looks interesting. I particularly like the idea of burning chips...I have a source available for those that is pretty much infinite. City green waste where they take all the trees. Can take as much as you can carry! Gonna need a really big truck - there is always a pile 15 ft tall, 20 ft wide, and 100 to 150 ft long. Lots of chips!

We plan to use some as compost material, but would love to be able to use the chips to burn!! May have to do some sorting/cleaning, but never have to pay for fuel again. How cool would that be...
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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

Hey Stuart, I just spent two hours building an update with about 30 photos, and when I hit preview, I got a message saying that it was an improper form. When I hit the back button, everything disappeared. Any idea what I did wrong?

Thanks,

Jim
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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

Hey Guys, I had a good, newsy update worked up, but it was lost in translation. I'll try it agin in the morning. Sorry it's been so long.

Jim
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

Take Two:

We spent the winter absorbed by necessities. My mother's failing health has been a major factor. Lately, however, I've gotten a little bus work done. The first thing was covering a bit of bare wall. The paneling is a good grade of 1/4" red oak. The finish is Minwax Clear Polyurethane semi gloss. It's warm without being dark.

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No Idea why some photos insist on turning sideways. I've tried everything I know. Turn your screen if needed. I apologize.

Most of this paneling will be covered by cabinets. The little bit that shows will be get a third coat of Minwax. The few exposed sections of seam will have solid oak trim.

I'm gonna post this segment lest adding photos was the cause of me losing a much longer post last night. I'll do it in sections this time. Next section involves a kitchen cabinet.

Jim
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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

We've desperately needed more storage, and I also needed to prototype the cabinet design, so....

This is made of shop scraps. The case is 3/4" fir plywood that came in our 1976 step van. Part of the original conversion for classroom use. The face frames and door frames are radiata pine. The flat panels are 1/4" oak plywood falloffs.

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Of course this cabinet is temporary, but I'll easily find a place for it later. The permanent cabinets will have 3/4" oak plywood cases with solid maple face frames and raised panel doors. All finished natural.

I realize that pocket screws are the rage in case joinery, but I still like biscuits. Part of the prototype process was figuring ways to get good use of my new Shopsmith biscuit joiner. As I suspected, a couple of outboard roller stands gave me tremendous cutting accuracy on those five-foot sections. Some of my cabinets will have tops, bottoms and strong backs nearly eight feet long. I now know how to handle them.

I used cheap, hidden hinges from the big box store. A couple of draw catches on the bottom edge keeps them closed for travel. Final project will use good Blum (or comparable) hinges. All upper cabinet doors will hinge at the top, and these still need lift supports. I'd love to have suggestions on hinges that have enough built-in support.

A new bus nut friend suggests that I include mother of pearl inlay work in the bus interior. He was holding one of my banjos at the time and remarking on the fingerboard inlay. I've latched onto that suggestion, and I'm considering ways to implement. He was thinking specifically of the dash, but I think I may also do some on a few cabinet doors. Might even have a few contrasting raised panels — possibly walnut — to make that white pearl or green abalone pop.

I have a little more update, but I'll put it into a separate section.

Jim
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somewhereinusa
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by somewhereinusa »

Hey Jim,

Looks like you are making progress, I admire your woodworking skills. I was just wondering just the other day if you had survived the winter. :)
I looked at a biscuit joiner for my cabinet doors, but in the end went with a beadlock loose tenon jig setup. The test pieces came out nice.
I especially like your sink faucet, I've all the pieces to make a steam punk fixture out of copper that is somewhat similar. I spent the last week straightening up, putting things away and building temporary storage so that I can go on a trip at the end of April. I seem to make large messes and get generally disorganized during the winter months. The list of things to do seems to be getting longer instead of shorter. Are you planning on any trips this year?

Dick
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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

Back home from the rally and back on dependable broad band. Maybe I can finish posting.

The last thing I've done lately is minor improvement to plumbing and electrical systems. Specifically, I've put in what I believe to be (nearly) final shore connections.

My shore electric has been a hard-wired, thirty-foot cord that I ran out the door. Since we seldom use shore power, that was no big inconvenience. No way, though, was I going to show up at Palmetto Cove with a power cable hanging out the door.

I've been back and forth on this detail, but I finally decided to use the Marinco 50 amp connector that's been sitting in a box for years. I never got it installed on the old bus, but Kramden had a different shore power arrangement.

A few guys on another BB have complained about Marinco connections working loose, but I don't see anything about mine that concerns me. Any screw "can" work loose in a mobile environment. I used some anti corrosion paste and adequate torque. This thing will be coming off when we paint, and that will happen as soon as weather cooperates.

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The cable is a Marinco brand that I snagged on eBay over the winter. It's 50 amp to 30 amp adaptive and fifty feet long. I'm wiring the bus for 50 amps, but since I don't run AC, we'll seldom need the higher capacity. I'm mainly thinking of running big power tools at instrument building workshops.

I thought I had a complete set of hole saws up to 4", but I've discovered otherwise. This hole was 2-3/8". I was lucky to find one locally. The 1-3/16" for Blue Sea 12v power outlets had to be ordered. On the subject of hole saws, I've learned that it's best not to use a drill bit in the saw mandrel. My friend at the local plumbing supply house told me this. Drill a separate, 1/4" pilot hole and replace the pilot bit in the mandrel with a piece of smooth rod. This results in a major hole saw performance improvement and eliminates breaking those expensive bits.

While searching for a good connector for our cable modem, I discovered that Marinco makes their 50 amp inlet in stainless steel with a round cover. A matching cable inlet is available. I'm ordering one of each, and that will do away with any plastic shore connectors other than the Valterra dump valve.

After long consideration, my shore water connector is the simplest possible. It's a brass, 3/4" swivel female hose connector on a brass nipple that runs through the wall. I showed my water manifold setup more than a year ago. It works wonderfully. Inlet water passes through a ball valve, check valve, and pressure regulator before hitting the whole-house filter with carbon element. All the valves and regulator are 3/4" brass. Downstream of the filter is the cold water manifold. Everything shuts off at one point, and my valve for filling the 100 gallon tank, as well as the line from the pump, are included. I've had to put a ball valve on the tank vent to keep it from overflowing while filling. I will move that valve to the same area as the manifold so I can do all the filling from one spot.

Both the hose swivel and the nipple through the wall will be replaced with SS after the paint job. Those will be on my next McMaster Carr order.

Here are a few shots from Palmetto Cove:

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Several "traditional coach" guys toured Sophia. They all found at least something nice to say, and most were astounded at the amount of interior space. All in a nine-and-a-half-foot-high package, not counting the chimney. We were encouraged to return for the fall event in October, and we plan to do so.

And one more photo. This was taken around 9:30 Saturday morning. Happened to be my birthday. We call it: "Too Early for Margaritas?"

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Last edited by Lostranger on Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:17 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Lostranger
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Lostranger »

somewhereinusa wrote: I especially like your sink faucet
Hey Dick,

Thanks for responding. Always great to read your input.

That faucet got more comment than any other item at Palmetto Cove. We'll replace it when I build a permanent counter and install the full size sink, but not because the current setup does not work. Except for not having an aerator, it works perfectly. I could easily rig an aerator, but it would seem like time and a little money wasted. I'm still thinking of building our final faucet from brass fittings and gate valves. It would have a high cool factor, but DW is not yet keen on the idea. I may do it anyway and see if she likes it. I know I would, and she is certainly flexible.

Jim

P.S. On a related note, I'm someday gonna publish a booklet of old adages in the RHV. That's Revised Huskins Version. Such as: "While a compliant equine may be manually directed to a source of dihydrous monoxide, subsequent consumption is not an enforceable conclusion." The pertinent saying regarding my faucet is: "Necessity is a Mother."
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by ol trunt »

Hey Jim. Glad you all had a good meet and thanks for the report and pics. Would that fuel was a bit cheaper because I'd sure like to meet up with you east coasters! Oh well, maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket and get lucky :lol: . Please be sure to keep the pics coming as you continue to perfect your rig. Jack
Last edited by ol trunt on Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Different Wisdom

Post by Dusty »

Thanks for the great update , it's wonderful to see all the pictures of progress.
58 Bedford House
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