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DIY Tiny Home/Skoolie project

Bone3421

By Bone3421
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utee94

utee94 15797

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5 hours ago, Bone3421 said:

Ever have one of those why the fuck didnt i think of that...been thinking about how i was going to attach the studs to the ceiling when i star framing

Was concerned about the curve of the roof and how i would get lumber to bend with it(making a header pretty much)

Watched a dudes a video and he just used L brackets to attach studs to metal bus ribs...K.I.S.S. WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THAT

Well needless to say the framing will go quicker now when i restart...

Yup, that should work.  If you wanted a little more rigidity that a header would provide, you could also run aluminum angle or u-channel and score it every so often to make it bend to your desired contour.  But brackets should work.  When connecting wood to metal in the ceiling, walls, and floor, leave the metal bits slotted to account for differences in thermal expansion rates, as well as shifting while driving. And when connecting metal to metal I'd advise using rivets rather than screws. 

Looking forward to seeing pics of your future progrss!

 

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RDCanecutter

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On 9/28/2018 at 2:15 PM, Bone3421 said:

Took windows out and removed old weather stripping with wirebrush drill bit...now cleaning ledges and putting on new stripping

Closed cell fyi...heard thats the one to use over open cell45ded14b04757787659e95c3a8f0c67a.jpg

Great thread, impressive work. Me, I probably would have stopped right here, and filled it with stoners who wanted to ride to Costa Rica.

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ImissWallyPryor

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This is awesome.  I had a friend when I was in 6th or 7th grade in the early 70s whose family converted a school bus, but much more crudely than your conversion. His dad was a doctor and they had something like 6 kids (Catholic).  On one trip when I was tagging along, his mom got overheated in that non-air conditioned can and became the first female I ever saw remove her bra through her shirt sleeves.  She was very rude.  /csb

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Bone3421

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Finally got around to putting rest of floor down...not sure if i showed the bed area before in pic...going to redo the doors...kinda just threw those up as a test run quickly

The doors under bed are on hinges but think i might switch to a sliding style so i can put a cabinet/closet on the wall instead of having to leave it openc508499e581de64142a222cbdab40802.jpg

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Bone3421

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Yup, that should work.  If you wanted a little more rigidity that a header would provide, you could also run aluminum angle or u-channel and score it every so often to make it bend to your desired contour.  But brackets should work.  When connecting wood to metal in the ceiling, walls, and floor, leave the metal bits slotted to account for differences in thermal expansion rates, as well as shifting while driving. And when connecting metal to metal I'd advise using rivets rather than screws. 
Looking forward to seeing pics of your future progrss!
 
Just getting your attention....

Was checking out home depot today and saw i could get unfinished pre made cabinets for like 150$(5ftL 2ftw) standard height

Wanted to see what you thought of just attaching that to sidewall and then i can just build a little add on to slide mini fridge under
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utee94

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9 hours ago, Bone3421 said:

Just getting your attention....

Was checking out home depot today and saw i could get unfinished pre made cabinets for like 150$(5ftL 2ftw) standard height

Wanted to see what you thought of just attaching that to sidewall and then i can just build a little add on to slide mini fridge under

I'd think you could certainly use those if you like their design/aesthetic.  They'll no doubt decrease your build-time compared to custom stick-built cabinetry, even with the mods you'll likely have to make to fit them to your application.

 

My one concern would be their weight, compared to custom stick-built cabinetry like you see in RV applications, which tends to use pine framing and 1/4" (or thinner) ply for the fronts/sides (or foil over cardboard on super cheap installations).  Your paneling and flooring are adding a lot of weight as well, so you might want to double-check and see what your axles are capable of carrying?  This would be a major concern in a travel trailer like my Airstream, but is of less concern in a bus.  Still, it's worth thinking about, I believe.

 

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utee94

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Oh, and one other consideration, you'll probably want to mod the doors/drawers to stay closed better in times you move the bus, since stock cabinets for normal home use aren't made with closures that latch tightly.  I've seen people use magnets, or just those mechanical spring-loaded roller retainers, to achieve this.

https://www.build.com/hardware-resources-rc01/s1435170?displayPLA=true

 

 

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Bone3421

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Bone, are you doing a solar install on the bus (panel, deep cycle battery, charge controller, inverter)?  If so, I wouldn't mind seeing it being done if you are in the DFW area.
I sure am....and yeah you can check it out when done

Buddy is electrician so once i save up for system we will knock it out...hoping to be soonish march/april
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Bone3421

Bone3421 716

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Not to worried though...will just have to grab one more piece next day off
Slap up gutter and buy a tank or temporay tote...then run plumbing in bus

Have cash saved up for most of solar system so that should be started probably when i get back from friends wedding in april8961f9a9e5178d3452f436b306fc5a5c.jpg7fce503e9526662592b22d6ec2eb8c4a.jpg

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Bone3421

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Finished roof and put up the gutters on the rainwater deck....water flows exactly where it should...need to plug a few screw hole misses and that will be that

About to get back to the fun stuff and the dreaded cutting holes in bus

They say the first ones the hardest...spend all the money on bus plus demo/resealing then you start cutting it up

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Bone3421

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Seems like the filter would be better close to the bottom to increase pressure and flow. Not to mention changing it out without a ladder. Also need a drain in the line to allow flushing without it going into the tank.
The filter is just to help keep tank cleaner...im getting water to tank but could be more efficient. Under heavy flow im getting back up at the downspout

As for drain it isnt needed up top because its a dry system...when it isnt raining there is no water in pipes

I will have drain later on bottom where water leaves tank...have ball valve there now until i run that plumbing to bus
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Bone3421

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I was filling up my 20 gallon trashcan in like 30mins last few storms and i really wanted to start catching some...raining tonight and all next week

Will see how it goes but already i think i need to upgrade from 1inch to 2 inch before filter...started with 1 inch for easier connection to filter

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NotActuallyALonghorn

NotActuallyALonghorn 4974

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7 minutes ago, Bone3421 said:

The filter is just to help keep tank cleaner...im getting water to tank but could be more efficient. Under heavy flow im getting back up at the downspout

As for drain it isnt needed up top because its a dry system...when it isnt raining there is no water in pipes

I will have drain later on bottom where water leaves tank...have ball valve there now until i run that plumbing to bus

I meant to have the filter just before the tank, at the lower level. That way you have more head pressure to push water through the filter element quicker and reduce backup to the downspout. If you have a drain just before the tank, with a shutoff valve going to the tank you can flush the line with chemicals for when slime starts growing in your pipe without getting it in your tank.

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Bone3421

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I meant to have the filter just before the tank, at the lower level. That way you have more head pressure to push water through the filter element quicker and reduce backup to the downspout. If you have a drain just before the tank, with a shutoff valve going to the tank you can flush the line with chemicals for when slime starts growing in your pipe without getting it in your tank.
Gotcha...maybe when i build cover for pump and pressure tank..nowhere to fasten it to currently besides deck

Its raining currently and no back up yet...but i bet it will if it comes down in buckets...only backed up tests when i dropped 5 gallons on roof
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Bone3421

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Started to seal up roof hatches today....16 gauge steel and not pictured dbl rolled butyl tape

Couldn't find a rivet gun big enough to pull 3/16 steel rivets cheap enough to warrant the limited use...so a few people online say they use screws with no problem

Self tapping exterior metal screws with the rubber washer

Should be fine...plus will throw on a few coats of elastomeric paint b674f2eeb8fca1ca31a3bd6b6a4c301d.jpgab28fc39c85cd9fdbac8e3bba8d799ff.jpg

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Bone3421

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I have also purchased my solar kit and it will be delivered end of this week or early next week

4 100watt monocrystalline panels from renogy and 40amp rover mppt charge controller plus fittings

Still scouting inverters

Will also be using 6v golfcart batteries as they are best quality vs $$$ by my research

4 batteries wired in series and parallel will give me 12volts at 400 amp hours all for like 450$ and they can handle the charge/discharge very well

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Bone3421

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Looking up sun hours for north Texas we avg. A little over 5 peak hours a day....so with 4 100w panels i will be making on avg 2000watts a day ....most likely closer to 3000 since you will still get charge during non peak sun

From research a tv for example will use somewhere around 200 or so watts so in theory i could watch tv with nothing else drawing power for 9 hours calculating inefficiencies in

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utee94

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If you're not doing a ton of traveling then the screws will be ok.  With movement, the metal planes shift against one another, and screws tend to work themselves out.  Which is why rivets are superior.  But if you're not planning on traveling much, you should be fine.  Just check them regularly to make sure they haven't moved, and to make sure the sealant is still holding true.  

 

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Bone3421

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If you're not doing a ton of traveling then the screws will be ok.  With movement, the metal planes shift against one another, and screws tend to work themselves out.  Which is why rivets are superior.  But if you're not planning on traveling much, you should be fine.  Just check them regularly to make sure they haven't moved, and to make sure the sealant is still holding true.  
 
Yeah wont be traveling to much as in going place to place frequently...longterm goal is to have mobile enough to say drive to Colorado then stay a few months...then head to Montana for a summer, etc

But thats a few years down the road...will be stationary while i outfit it...then will have to save up and throw some $$$ on tires/engine work
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utee94

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6 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Yeah, I would have recommended "real" rivets (done with an air hammer) vs. pop rivets, but either would be superior to screws. 

Yup, those are called "buck rivets" or "solid rivets" and they're definitely the best.  The key is you have to have access to both sides of the piece in order to install, one person on the backside with a steel "bucking bar" to act as a backer, and one person on the front with the rivet gun, hammering on the front side of the work.

There are some very large, sturdy pop rivets (especially when going to steel rather than aluminum) but you can't really hand-pull them, you'd need a pneumatic pop riveting tool to install them.  They also don't seal the work in the same way a buck rivet does, so extra sealant needs to be applied carefully.

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Gil Bang

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46 minutes ago, Bone3421 said:

I was looking for rivets but with needing blind rivets( not 2 person like utee94 said) i just didnt want to drop 200$ for the rivet guns i saw to pull the 3/16 or 1/4 steel rivets for just 2 roof hatches

Really pulling this out of my ass, and there are MANY here that know more than I do about this shit, but...

maybe weld those hatch covers, at least a tack weld in the corners?  That will stop any vibration movement. 

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Bone3421

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Really pulling this out of my ass, and there are MANY here that know more than I do about this shit, but...
maybe weld those hatch covers, at least a tack weld in the corners?  That will stop any vibration movement. 
That was plan A but buddy that has welder said his was to powerful and would just burn thru the 16 gauge....i took his word for it
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utee94

utee94 15797

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If it's not in full service as a bus/RV and is just being moved seasonally, the screws should be fine.  Still gotta watch 'em and make sure they don't back out over time, or break the sealant (which WILL get old, brittle, and crack over time).

For obvious reasons, all of the interior wood framing for cabinetry and furniture in my 50-year-old Airsteam was screwed rather than riveted through the pine 1x2 framing and into the aluminum interior walls and wooden subfloor.  When I rebuilt it, after 50 years of movement, some of those screws had backed out quite a bit.  But lots of them hadn't budged at all.

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Lhorn

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17 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:


He couldn’t mig or tig it? Heck, I’d think a cheap wire welder would do it.

I think the repair as done above looks like it would hold up well, but it should be simple to weld too. I weld automotive sheet metal all the time which is 19-20 gauge. 16 should be simple and any cheapo flux core machine would get the job done cheap.  (Obviously a set up with shielding has would do a cleaner job but more expensive to buy or rent a bottle).  As Gil said HF machines are pretty acceptable.  The newer ones are a lot nicer I hear than the older models.  Hell a hundred dollar used buzz box arc welder will get the job done if you are just tacking it

Cool project 

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