Getting down and dirty

Today was a day of achievement and visible achievement at that! In short, the plumbing under the shower is complete. There is a question as to whether I should perhaps add a jubilee clip on each end of the pex tubing so I probably will, just to be sure.

The nuts on the cable grips were replaced with stop nuts. Getting them off was easy despite the application of Locktite Blue Thread Locker. I had anticipated a struggle given the instructions to heat the screw to 700F to release the Thread Locker. I had to do no such thing. Clearly Thread Locker is a garbage product trading on unsubstantiated claims. It was applied to clean, new bolts and the nuts installed just after the stuff had been poured liberally over the threads. It just didn't stick. This is why I trust stop nuts. They just don't vibrate loose. As it transpired, there was insufficient space on the thread for two nuts so I only had to work on one barrel. The other already has stop nuts.

The next thing was to replace the screws and clean up the excess silicone goop from when I installed the sheet metal over the schoolbus flashers. I ran out of 3/16 steel rivets. I'd been rather overzealous with my fastnings and had clearly put 27 holes in each plate. I'll get more rivets tomorrow.

It looks a little better now. A little less obvious. I didn't feel it was worthwhile to weld though soldering would have been useful had I a functional propane torch. While I was up there I replaced the broken CB aerial. This time, rather than having it vertical, I have angled it slightly in order to lessen the chance of tree branches snapping it off.

Now is getting to be the kind of weather when working under the bus is getting unpleasant. Fortunately I don't have much that is truly essental to do underneath. I had to brush off one tick, swat one mosquito, brush off some ants and a couple of spiders. Right beside the bus were a couple of anthills.

Clearly it is going to get really unpleasant soon. The good news is that I have only two things that need doing under the bus. The first is to redo the hillbilly wiring. Now for that I might just get my mechanic friend involved. As for the other, it's a case of doing the plumbing under the sink into the other barrel. For that I need to get a new sink connector and a 1.5 to 1.25 inch piping adaptor plus some 1.25 inch piping. I found my hole saw makes 1.25 inch holes so it seems better to get cheap piping to fit rather than an expensive hole saw the right size. Of course, under the bus, the piping has to reduce to 0.75 inch tubing as I have a lot of 0.75 and my junction is 0.75. I'll further need another 0.75 to 0.5 pex adaptor. The whole plumbing setup is nonstandard because of different ideas that have cropped up as I have been working.

In some places I have overspent. In other I have had bargains. I'm pleased with the hosepipe valves that I picked up for $2 in Walmart. They are way cheaper than anything Lowes (hiss, spit) had. As there will be no real pressure, they don't even have to be very strong!

I am sure my waste water system will leak though I don't know how much. Some leakage is desirable in order to reduce the need to actively dump the waste water. In actual fact, it's just soapy water used for washing. That's not really dirty. The only problem will be non biodegradable deturgents.

I have been giving thought to carrying freshwater and located a 15 gallon barrel at Walmart for $47. That's quite a bargain when U-Line sells them for $41 with $30 shipping. Either that or a 220 mile drive to the nearest U-Line suplier. At 19mpg and $1.85 a gallon, paying shipping would be cheaper than visiting U-Line. Anyway, the Walmart solution sees best. A manual pump also seems in order. Those seem to be between $20 and $60 with electric pumps coming in even cheaper. An alternative to the pump would be just to draw water from under the bus via one of those handy Walmart $2 faucets.

Right now, the goal is to obtain the supplies needed in order to complete current operations. The back door lower window needs to be replaced with something solid. That will involve welding. In fact, quite a lot of welding and some grinding in order to make it smooth. 

Finally, the front door locking mechanism needs addressing. I have encountered linear actuators that sound interesting though pricey. Currently I'm returning to an old idea using the two electromagnets I bought from China that won't repel anything magnetic. Rather than have them pushing the latch upward, pulling it upward - if they're strong enough. Placement will be ultra critical however.

On the whole though progress is painfully slow, I am happy with what has been achieved thus far. I am looking into some kind of fireproof box to keep important documents safe. By that, I mean passports, insurance, registration and citizenship documents. Sadly, thus far, all I am encountering are pretentious pieces of junk. I am seeing fire proof boxes calling themselves safes and sporting ludicrous things such as combination locks and keypads. How utterly insane! All I need is a fireproof box with a latch. I don't want to fuss about with locks or fiddly trash like combination locks. Most of those alleged safes can be picked up and carried away for later opening or can be quickly opened with an angle grinder or a can opener!

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!

Today I have to report that my $55 RCA tablet purchased from Walmart at Christmas has ceased to charge properly. The likely culpret seems to be the flimsy little USB charging connection. Needless to say, this should not have failed with just 3 months usage. On the occasion I get it to start charging, I quietly walk away while it is charging and return to find it has not charged but rather discharged. I seem to have to hold it in order for it to charge. This is very irksome as I use this for updating my blog in the absence of a real computer.

I fully intended to buy all the plumbing parts needed in order to plumb in my shower waste water tank. I had to abandon the trip to Lowes (hiss, spit) because a whole series of really rather tiresome people kept approaching to talk to me. It seems that I am attracting timewasting people whose only pride is in their verbal diarrhea quite a bit at the moment. After the third or fourth person that broke my concentration, I gave up and headed to Tractor Supply for the bits that I needed. 

At Tractor supply I grabbed a cart intending to leave with potting soil and 4 baby chicks for m'lady but the potting soil was outside and it was raining hard. Believe it or not but Tractor Supply didn't know whether their chicks were male or female. It seems ludicrous that a company should not know what they are selling! The metal links and cable grips I needed were available but had to be hand carried despite the cart as they kept falling through the mesh of the cart. Having paid for the bits I headed across the road to Walmart but there, my card didn't seem to work. Paying for the two faucets and the cooler I'd spotted via alternate methods, I found my bank card had expired yet I had not had a replacement. All that entailed a long phonecall to the bank and a mad dash across town to an open branch. By then it was getting pretty late and m'lady was calling.

The upshot is that on the next dry day I will be able to install the barrel for the handbasin. I will not be able to do any of the plumbing but I will be a lot closer to having working plumbing. The next stage will be to reinstall the bathroom handbasin. This time I will have to fabricate mounts in order to fasten it down properly. That might involve some welding but I doubt it. It's handy to be able to weld.

Lowes wanted $8.95 for faucets yet what I got from Walmart for $1.95 will do for my waste tanks. All I need to do is to put garden hose connectors on my plumbing and it'll work just fine since there's absolutely no pressure involved. Things are looking up!

Standards aren't all that standard which is why hanging the waste barrel was so hard.

Today was the day designated to installing the waste barrel under the bus. It was expected to be a fairly swift task given that 6 holes had been drilled yesterday. It was envisaged that another barrel might also be installed on the other side of the bus. This was not, alas, to be.

Drilling the next six holes took an age, after which I decided to raise the barrel into position using my dollar store cargo straps. Problem number one was the cargo straps were so long that they could not be tightened enough without jamming the mechanism. The straps had to have the excess cut off and then the ends heat sealed with a match. This is something I'm used to doing with all kinds of nylon straps and webbing. Following drilling the holes, I sprayed the bare steel liberally with Rustoleum zinc paint. With any luck, should water get up there, this will stop rust from being so prevelant.

Next, I installed the turnbuckles on the far side of the barrel since they are the weakest link. The chain should hold 520lbs but the turnbuckles are good only for 130lbs. Full, the barrel will weigh 125lbs so there's a decent safety margin. In order to install the turnbuckles, I had to uninstall the barrel. That was about as time consuming as putting it there in the first place!

During installation of the turnbuckles, I applied Locktite Thread Locker to the threads of the cabe grips I'm using to secure it all to the sub frame. That should be pretty solid! The Thread Locker does come off but only if it is heated. I'd imagine if I needed to remove them, an angle grinder might be faster.

Let me take this time just to state how much I hate rolling around in the dirt underneath vehicles and how much in general I don't like doing DIY stuff. I am driven to it by necessity and even though I'm good at it - mainly due to being a perfectionist - I'd still prefer not to have to do DIY.

The barrel was reinstalled using the cargo straps and a length of chain held up to the assembley to see how much I needed. It turned out to be 22 links. That means my 20 feet of chain should be good for at least another barrel (on the other side of the bus) and possibly a fresh water barrel too (also on the other side of the bus - whenever I am near a U-Line supplier.

Cutting the chain was no easy task, given that I had to hand-hold the chain with a wrench while cutting it with an angle grinder. Still, I did it and the chain was cut in the right places. Installing it was where things became interesting. If you remember I made a template yesterday to drill holes for my cable grips. It turns out that not all the U bolts in the cable grips are the same distance apart between the ends of the bolt. That made installation a mix and match affair of trying the cable grips in different holes in order to find the ideal arrangement. Not a very standard standard!

Eventually, as thunder was beginning to rumble and the sky darkening, I installed the barrel and tightened the turnbuckles then removed the cargo straps. This seemingly simple task had taken all day. In fact, it took several days. The waste barrel on the other side should be much easier!

Two little footnotes. One is that I'm going to leave the plumbing as it is but will connect the barrel with the outlet and a faucet using flexible PEX piping if I can get it big enough. The second is that I need to get a marginally longer socket. It was only just biting on the nut and my deep sockets were so deep that I couldn't get the socket and the wrench in place to turn the nut. I might loosen the chains and slip the barrel an inch or so to the right but I'm not bothered. I think it'll work just fine.

The flexible clear overflow and breathing tube dangling down has been fastened to the barrel in two places with plastic zip ties. I'll trim the excess that hangs below the skirt. Speaking of hanging below the skirt, you'll doubtless be delighted to hear that a 15 gallon barrel placed thus is an inch above the bottom of the skirt. In other words, Joe Public cannot see it and have no reason to believe that this is not in fact a bus.

The beautiful thing about thinking is

That it's absolutely free. In the intervening days between working on the bus and my last entry and subsequently I have come to several realisations.

But first let's return to the exciting events of the other night. No believable news has been forthcoming about events next door. The loud truck has not returned. Some guys in jeans and black tee shirts were seen climbing all over the cabin. Other than that, there has been a complete lack of news. It's one of those things that will forever have to remain a mystery!

I thought about the plumbing system and realised there are two issues. The first is that if the tanks are installed crosswise then there will be a lot of strain placed on the fastenings on acceleration and braking. The second is that breaking fastenings could be disastrous. This has prompted two new lines of thought.

The first line of thought ties in with something else I have read about. Somebody posted that a composting toilet really stinks if urine is introduced to it. Thus, one thought was to reinstall the small handbasin in the bathroom that I removed and plumb it to a tank installed underneath the toilet side of the bathroom. The handbasin is an ideal height to use as a urinal! Having one tank under each side would mean more distance between the ends of the chains used to fasten the tanks and the tyres or the fuel tank. That's a bonus in that a broken chain is less likely to damage a tyre or the fuel tank.

The second line of thought is to put wedges in place so that the tanks can be aligned longtitudanally. Now I have seen people using plywood wedges but to be honest, having seen the hillbilly plywood, I have no intention of using plywood. Perhaps plastic or steel would be a better bet.

A further thought was a method of emptying the dirty water tanks. As I often park on sandy ground, an electrical valve that allows me to empty the tanks without actually getting out to open a valve is very tempting. There are some systems that allow that but they're mostly 24v. 

The important things to complete are the plumbing, the electrical breaker box, the ventillation, the 12v system and the front door unlocking system.

 Just thoughts.

My first meal

Today, just as dawn was breaking and the cock was crowing there was a power cut in m'lady's household. That, for her means no water, no light and no cooking. The water is pumped via an electric pump from a 100 feet deep well. Cooking is electric as if everything else.

Thus, to the rescue came my little Coleman gas cooker. It made tea and cooked breakfast. I notice the gas cylinder is lighter now so I'd imagine an 8.8oz cylinder might last a week. That's really not too bad though I might be well advised to look for a better gas cooker and a way of slinging a gas tank underneath the bus. 

Actually while in the land of Nod last night I was thinking about improvements. I suspect a 12v 100ah deep cycle battery will be all I will reasonably need. That could be charged from the alternator and feed into the starting circuit when the bus batteries are low.

Thoughts aremulling around in my head most of the time. Right now, the immediate tasks are to get the shower curtain installed, insert drawer partitions, complete my 120v power inlet and hang some waste-water tanks together with a release faucet.

This weekend looked like being a great weekend to do this but I have to work on Saturday so I shall be unable to work any day bar Sunday. Sunday - with luck - should see the welding on the side of the bus done and the power inlet installed. 

New ideas keep hitting me!

Two members of the genus Sasquatch strolled past as, wrapped up against the arctic cold, I stepped into the freezing outside world. The aim today was to work on the breaker box compartment with a sub aim of marking the steel to cut to infill the rest of the hillbilly hole.

Last night, as I dreamed of things to be, things that might be and things that couldn't possibly ever be, I had an idea. Why not add brackets to the back of the box in order that extra securing points may be employed. Thus, the first order of the day was to locate some suitable steel, which I derusted manually, welded into place and sprayed with rust killing spray.
While I was at it, I re-welded the seam that was a bit loose that I'd welded yesterday. Yesterday I tried using my welder at the lower amperage setting since I was using thin rods and having a problem of burning through steel. That kinda-sorta worked. 40A was too low to be really useful. 70A is a bit high because extreme care needed to be taken that the rods didn't burn a hole in the steel.

Hunting around, I found my white paint. I set to and gave the assembley a white topcoat, hoping that it really won't matter much that some of the undercoat got burned off by the welding process. As rain is forecast for tomorrow, I placed an upturned planter over the assembly.
Then, looking at the sheet steel I placed behind the hillbilly aperture, I realised that it would probably support the edge of the compartment. I also realised that by being very careful I could probably stitch weld the steel into the hole after it's cut to size.
At least I found a use for the duct tape I had in the bus. It was well on the way to not being at all sticky! The steel for this operation was donated by a seat back from the bus that the hillbillies had not removed. Those with longer memories will recall that I removed it and the handrail that was attached to it in around April.

I sprayed around the perimeter of the aperture with orange paint in order to make an outline for cutting. Then, mindful of the fact rain was forecast and this is probably not galvanized steel, I sprayed inside with white paint.
The loose breaker box and cable are resting on top of an upturned trash recepticle underneath the bus. I must admit they look a load better since they were taken out of the nasty environment of rotting wood. Speaking of rotting wood, I did find some light surface rust where the wood had been in contact with bodywork steel. I treated it with anti-rust spray.

The next step will be to mount the breaker compartment in place and secure it from the front and the back. I had planned to drill holes in the tops of the sides but there isn't room to get the drill inside the box to be able to drill vertical holes. That's as of right now. In the future I might find a smaller electric drill and be able to do it.

If I put the steel infilling behind the bodywork panelling then I could weld it to the edge of the flange on the compartment and it would act as a support. I could rivet the steel over the front of the aperture too. That would solve the problem and old vehicles do have patches riveted over them. This bus is a splendid example, what with all the patches I've rivetted over hillbilly foolishness. I could butt-weld the whole patch into the aperture with the aperture (albeit with a cutout for the breaker compartment).

As far as locating the inlet box, that could be placed under the compartment or to the side. At the side, it could point downwards or go out through the side of the bus. The advantage for going out through the side is ease of access. The downside is it looks like a power socket. On the other hand, from 20 feet not many people would really notice anyway - particularly with a grey vehicle.

The paint is definitely peeling in places. I did read that somebody prepped their bus by wiping down the paintwork with paint thinner. That sounds promising and I might try that where the paint peels off. In fact that sounds easier than brushing down to bare metal, priming and painting. I can try it and if it doesn't work, I can try something else. It's not as though it has to be instantly perfect. It has to be comfortably livable inside - which it will be when the shower curtains are in place and it's all cleaned up.

12v electricity is a long-term project that will be installed at some future point. After infilling the hole in the side and installing the breaker compartment I might move on to installing the waste water barrels. I have considered various options and come to the conclusion that nylon cargo straps are the way to go. There seem to be three ways of securing barrels. I have seen some ideas that use plywood cradles but that just seems nuts having seen the way plywood under the bus just rots. 

The three ways are to use chains anchored to the skeleton and wrapped around the barrels, to use nylon cargo straps and to use plumbing strap. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Cargo straps are pretty universal, easy to install and easy to obtain. Chains are equally easy to obtain but harder to tighten and install. Plumbers strap probably needs a special tool to apply that I don't have. 

Discounting plumbing strap, I'm left with chains or cargo straps. Chains are excellent and very strong but only as strong as the weakest link. As the tanks will be pretty close to the back wheels (unless I can situate them further forward) then there is a possibility that the chain could drop down and get wrapped around the wheel with catastrophic consequences. Nylon straps would just snap at 300lbs pressure. They'd also be kinder to the plastic barrels. Thus, catastrophic failure is not as likely. Some question how well the straps will last but protected from UV and kept dry (the only wet will be road spray) there is no reason why they should not last a good long time. Doubling them up would add extra security. The attachment points for the straps could easily be steel plate with a hole drilled in it that's simply riveted to the body skeleton.

Tomorrow, if it's raining as promised, it's unlikely I'll be able to do much outside the bus. As far as I know, the rivnuts and screw eyes I ordered on Friday won't be here tomorrow. Those will complete the shower curtain attachments. Another thing that could be done is to work out some way of raising the 3 gallon cooler that forms the basis of my shower in order to increase the efficiency of the impeller pump.