A day of small things and big plans

Today as yesterday, the major problem was rain showers. Even with my wonderful LED lantern, it was hard to see to work. The plan for the weekend was perhaps a little ambitious. The intent was to:
1. Finish painting the countertops
2. Install the shower base.
3. Complete the window tinting.
4. Install the closet chain.
The countertops never were completed. One was as was the bathroom vanity. Only one countertop was screwed down. All the windows were tinted and now look fantastic!


The batwing doors had a second coat of white on the edges. I'll still have to touch up areas where I screwed up with the white but that's small stuff.

One of the small plans had been to paint the wood floor inside the cockpit black to match the existing floor. It just smartens things up a little. I'd bought a small pot of black paint to do this but as I tidied the countertop a little, I found a bigger pot so I used it to paint the cockpit floor. It might need a second coat. That seems to be the way of things but it's beginning to look quite tidy.

That, of course, has to dry thoroughly before I dare walk on it. It's Rustoleum black anti rust paint but it should work and be more durable than my white latex paint. Inside the galley I had put a coat of latex primer. I'm not sure whether to put a latex top coat and just lay a black vinyl mat over it as I have in the bedroom or what. I suspect the mat will be the cheapest and most durable option.

After that, I had a look at my hand basin for the bathroom. The mixer tap is quite low so it looks very much as though it's not really suitable to fill jugs, bowls or kettles. That'll have to be done elsewhere. I did check on a spare mixer assembly lying in the yard but the holes were further apart. I'm still of the opinion that hot and cold water tanks might be barking up the wrong tree and that I might be far better off with a single hand pump, a bucket and a kettle full of hot water. If my ancestors could do it then so can I!

My thought is that simple is usually best. One drain for waste water, one source for fresh water. Here's my latest idea. Under the bus I have several 15 gallon water tanks, plumbed together for fresh water and another set for waste water. I choose 15 gallon because they can't be seen underneath the bus skirt.

Rather than having an electric pump to pump water, I have a hand pump. This eliminates problems with power supplies etc. Having just one water source eliminates many sources of potential leakage too. Having a suction pump eliminates wastage through leaking pressure seals and the big bonus - its cheaper!

The water can go into a bucket from which it can be used directly or even pumped straight into a kettle. Once in a kettle, it can be heated either electrically in an electric kettle or over a fire as a camp kettle. I could even connect a 120v bucket heater to heat it when the bus is connected to the mains or via a 12v heater such as this.

Once the water is heated to an appropriate temperature, it can be used straight from the bucket or via a shower attachment such as this.

Of course, its important to realise that as with a house, every option can be changed, improved upon or developed before or after implementation. With a drop-in heated element (the one depicted is for a static hot water tank), either a 12v or a 120v element could be used.

The element depicted is of interest on the basis that I could put a small vertical tank in the bus, fill it with cold water in the morning, let the power from a solar panel heat the water during the day and have hot water for an evening shower.

This all seems much preferable to pressure pumps etc. For the moment I have painted the existing bathroom vanity top. There's nothing to say I can't just put an ordinary plastic bowl and a straight, ordinary top instead. In fact, I would consider that to be far more hygienic!

As far as 120v power goes, I can't squeeze my breaker box into the space available. The new plan is to install the breaker panel in the rear storage closet with the input socket at the back, on the passenger side. The 120v 20A wires (all four) go in a conduit from the back of the bus to the front with the conduit riveted to the body skeleton (not the chassis).

The existing hatch the hillbillies built into the bus will be retained. A new battery compartment will be built that will house two 12v 105ah marine deep cycle batteries. These will power solely 12v equipment such as 120w 12v heating coil, fans and charging phones etc. Maybe a 12v cooler unit too.

Eric suggested a 12v fuse panel from a GM Astra but the guy in car parts store didn't have a clue. Maybe I'll have to visit a scrapyard when I next visit my parents in Britain and get a couple off scrapped Vauxhall Astras (same car, different country).

My diesel mechanic is still around so I might have him change my alternator belt and fix my rev counter. With luck, I might even get him to put in some trailer wiring and a tow hook. As I said to him, we'd have to wait until the hornets are asleep as there seems to be a nest under the bus.

Starting with electrics

Today I had enough energy after work to visit Lowe's to pick up some electrical supplies. I now have a breaker box although I suspect it might be a little oversized for what I need. They were put into the bus to await commencement of the electrics. I like to be a little ahead.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of my almost cleared countertop. By the end of the weekend, that countertop will be cleared and repainted.

Today also, a surprise phonecall. This morning, Eric who's currently touring Canada rang. I didn't answer as I was otherwise employed so this evening, I rang him. We had a nice chat about the bus, my plans and electrics.

His recommendations were to go for a secondhand fridge. His opinion of the Haer dorm fridges was that they were power hogs. His recommendation was to go for a small household fridge or a 12v fridge. I think initially, I might just use an ice box.

From Eric's travels, the 30A socket was the most common at campgrounds. This means that I've way overdone it with my breaker box. Really, I want each socket on a separate breaker but the box is a bit big. I'll have to see if I can fit it or whether I should exchange it for a pair of smaller boxes.

On the 12v side, Eric recommended hunting for an Opel Astra fuse box from a scrapyard. Apparently GM built a copy of the Opel Astra that was identical on all levels. Another recommendation was some kind of smart relay that could be used to make cabin batteries charge from the alternator.

It was such a high speed conversation that I missed a lot of what was said. Really I need my bus and Eric to meet. I think he'd have a blast redoing bus wiring, wiring in trailer lights and so on. That's unlikely to happen until next year though.

I did a lot in the toilet!

Not because I had a dicky tummy though. I spent yesterday getting supplies and cutting wood for my bus toilet. Today I started construction.

The late start didn't help for it was a full 3pm before I started. I had been so excited about the closeness to the end of major construction that I didn't find it easy to get off last night. Indeed it was almost midday before I woke! Then I had to tend the wolf pack while m'lady went to the doctor.

It was another day of 115f in the bus and my first problem was my 1\4 inch drill was not long enough to go edgewise through my 2x4. Thus was addressed by drilling half inch recesses in the wood to make allowance for the heads of my lag screws. Between that and putting the top and bottom of the toilet frame together, I was busy.

I need to cut another cross member between the poo bucket and the cat lit bucket but that's a task for another day. I should also put some form of bar in behind the poo bucket to stop it sliding back. That's something that needs to be in place to catch descending goodies.

Having run out of lag screws I found I needed four more and if I install the other two supports then I'd need another 8 on top. I have a feeling that I've over engineered the toilet to the point it'd hold an elephant. That's fine though. The last thing I want to do is to fall into a pot of freshly steaming nastiness or even worse, stale, whiffy nastiness.

I bought some plywood yesterday with the intent to make a top for the toilet. This will hinge forward to allow access to Hersheys Pot of Gold. This might be necessary if I have to put a lid on the pot between uses. Cutting two holes, the first was easy - its the hole from which to scoop cat lit. Thanks for the idea, Eric! That was easy to cut - I simply lowered my circular saw in place and cut the square then finished the corners with a straight saw. The oval hole is trickier. I started by cutting a square out then started using a jigsaw. Oh boy, that took forever and the light went well before I finished. It looks like I'll be working on the toilet for a couple more days!

The plywood will hinge forward. I'll put a back, sides and a front on the toilet. There will be a hinged lid on the access to the cat lit. I'll have to wait a week or two before painting as the wood is rather wet still. There is no bottom because I want easy access to clean inside and to clean spills off the floor. I probably won't bolt it down. It's heavy enough that it likely won't slide much. If necessary, I'll find some way of bolting it in place with easily removable bolts.

Pretty much a nothing day

Today I trimmed the fridge door to a closer approximation of the size needed. It needs further trimming however. As it had sat out in rain overnight, the already cut edges were rusty and had to be cleaned. Cleaning them took next to no time at all. After that I slapped a coat of white Rustoleum on one side. As that had not yet dried by nightfall, I slid the cut and painted door under the bus, rested on a plastic bucket.
As I slid the bucket, I noted tiny ants wandering across the paint. Ants are a major pest in the yard. I've seen them in the bus though not an infestation yet. Someday soon I shall have to fumigate the bus to eliminate any critters. This is one reason why almost all of my wood is pre-treated.

Now the reason I didn't do much was I went shopping. I'd run out of paint - well, white semigloss topcoat anyway. Thus I bought more primer, more topcoat and a nice purple topcoat. The plan for tomorrow is to touch up where I missed with the roller in the angles with primer, to prime the cabinet tops on the unpainted sides and maybe roller the ceiling again. There are also several planks that need white paint that will be used for drawer runners.

If the white is dried in time, I might put a coat of purple. I'm not worried about drips as I have plenty white I can use to cover up. To be honest, I didn't get a problem with drips when I did the bedroom!

One thing I cannot find and I've hunted high and low is the latch plate for the doorframe for my cockpit door catch. I know I had one but I'm blowed if I can find it! I guess I'll have to sit down and make one.

The bus is feeling more complete now I'm going to paint the dinette\kitchenette. I know there's stuff still go do in the cockpit, bathroom and bedroom but I'm seeing progress.

In Lowes today, I chanced on 10x24 screw eyes. At 2 inches they're a bit overlong but should hold a chain quite satisfactorily to the ceiling. The chain I bought has a maximum weight rating of 35lbs though supported every foot of so, this should not be a problem. Hey presto, I have a closet rail! The chain will hang along the ceiling.

Now, as luck would have it, I am out of 10x24 rivnuts. I'll have to order some. I would have used M5 screw hooks but for some weird reason, they're horribly expensive!

It's all getting quite exciting now!

In other news, I doubt my bus will be ready much before August and since my job starts back about August 15th, I might have to forgo my planned trip to Canada to see Eric! I haven't seen him since we attended a wedding some years ago.