Converting a MCI bus into an RV...

[ka0tyk]

Drilling is out of the question. Itll be going good for about 20 seconds. Nice chips coming off the bit and then the sound changes to a screech and then I just get powder and zero progress. Ugh. I have 48 of these things to get rid of. An angle grinder doesn’t reach they’re buried in a channel. Sigh. First hurdle of the project.

 

[Blown Lavey]

Drilling is out of the question. Itll be going good for about 20 seconds. Nice chips coming off the bit and then the sound changes to a screech and then I just get powder and zero progress. Ugh. I have 48 of these things to get rid of. An angle grinder doesn’t reach they’re buried in a channel. Sigh. First hurdle of the project.

Cut off wheel and grind heads off Using a thin cutting blade on 4.5 or dremmel?

 

[redone76]

Drilling is out of the question. Itll be going good for about 20 seconds. Nice chips coming off the bit and then the sound changes to a screech and then I just get powder and zero progress. Ugh. I have 48 of these things to get rid of. An angle grinder doesn’t reach they’re buried in a channel. Sigh. First hurdle of the project.

Sharp blade on an air chisel? Pop the heads off?

 

[lbhsbz]

Drilling is out of the question. Itll be going good for about 20 seconds. Nice chips coming off the bit and then the sound changes to a screech and then I just get powder and zero progress. Ugh. I have 48 of these things to get rid of. An angle grinder doesn’t reach they’re buried in a channel. Sigh. First hurdle of the project.

How fast were you turning what size drill? You have have to look past Ryobi quality here...order a couple nice cobalt drills through mcmaster

 

[evantwheeler]

Can you just cut the channel to gain access to the bolt heads and then use a grinder?

 

[ka0tyk]

So taking a hackzall behind the panel and cutting thru the stainless bracket and bolt seems to do the trick. Only problem is I am burning thru Milwaukee blades like they’re nothing. This trim piece took 4 blades. So that’ll be 16 blades total to remove these stupid things.

 

[ka0tyk]

Took a break from cutting and moved onto bigger, smellier things.

Luckily it appears as though the bathroom wasn’t really used. The tank was pretty much empty and no floaters. However it’s spray foamed into place and is proving to be quite difficult to extract.

 

[ka0tyk]

Success!

 

[traquer]

Can't you come in with the edge of a 1/4" thick grinding disk and just make the head of the bolt disappear?

 

[ka0tyk]

Went to the depot. Grabbed 18 boxes of rigid vinyl flooring. Also ordered a delta 36” fiberglass shower enclosure (pan back and walls). Also picked out our ceiling material. A grey ready to go plank that will tie into the wall with another solid piece. It should look pretty good!

Spent most of the day prepping to raise the front area to the same height as the rest of the floor. This involves removing all the existing floor plywood and cleaning all the under floor ductwork since this will be the last time I can get to it.

 

[ka0tyk]

Also purchased a whole set of 12v led lights for the ceiling. 5 boxes of 6 lights should be enough.

 

[fmo24]

I bet you will be needing additional lights. I just sat here and counted 22 lights in the front area of ours. They are divided on 3 circuits. Dining, galley and living.
basically passenger side, drivers side and down the center.

 

[hallett21]

If you end up doing any LED tape light. Look into CORE lighting. Not cheap but great lights [emoji1303]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ElAzul]

Went to the depot. Grabbed 18 boxes of rigid vinyl flooring. Also ordered a delta 36” fiberglass shower enclosure (pan back and walls). Also picked out our ceiling material. A grey ready to go plank that will tie into the wall with another solid piece. It should look pretty good!

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Spent most of the day prepping to raise the front area to the same height as the rest of the floor. This involves removing all the existing floor plywood and cleaning all the under floor ductwork since this will be the last time I can get to it.
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Getting ready to do lvp is our Class A, is there a reason you went with the Home Depot lifeproof stuff? We have been looking at it but keep hearing it's not very good compared to some others but I dunno anything about lvp

 

[ka0tyk]

Getting ready to do lvp is our Class A, is there a reason you went with the Home Depot lifeproof stuff? We have been looking at it but keep hearing it's not very good compared to some others but I dunno anything about lvp

we did it in our house and so far so good. The joints are extremely tight and almost invisible. Comes with its own underlayment. We did all the bedrooms and we have yet to have any imperfections and I feel like it was a good bulletproof choice for the kids rooms.

 

[Waterjunky]

How fast were you turning what size drill? You have have to look past Ryobi quality here...order a couple nice cobalt drills through mcmaster

This, buy some real bits. Simple solution. The box store bits are all one part peanut butter, one part chinesium, all parts junk.

 

[ElAzul]

we did it in our house and so far so good. The joints are extremely tight and almost invisible. Comes with its own underlayment. We did all the bedrooms and we have yet to have any imperfections and I feel like it was a good bulletproof choice for the kids rooms.

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I remember yore thread about that and thought it looked pretty damn good. What are you planning on for subfloor? The heater trunk line running up the middle of our floorplan moves a shit ton

 

[rrrr]

Went to the depot. Grabbed 18 boxes of rigid vinyl flooring. Also ordered a delta 36” fiberglass shower enclosure (pan back and walls). Also picked out our ceiling material. A grey ready to go plank that will tie into the wall with another solid piece. It should look pretty good!

View attachment 956135
View attachment 956136
View attachment 956137
Spent most of the day prepping to raise the front area to the same height as the rest of the floor. This involves removing all the existing floor plywood and cleaning all the under floor ductwork since this will be the last time I can get to it.
View attachment 956138

Isn't it a little early to be putting down the floor?

 

[ka0tyk]

Isn't it a little early to be putting down the floor?

when its on sale (or a discount from a friend) you jump on it.

 

[ka0tyk]

Talk about a drop in the bucket. Hah! I gotta find a nearby truck stop where the pump will fill more than $100. Also I now have permanent storage where the conversion will happen over the next couple months.

 

[lbhsbz]

Talk about a drop in the bucket. Hah! I gotta find a nearby truck stop where the pump will fill more than $100. Also I now have permanent storage where the conversion will happen over the next couple months.

That should get you home.

BTW...how much monthy for 2 basement bays...Momma is starting to take down Christmas shot and I think we have 13 crates.


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[ka0tyk]

My wife has been making videos of the progress so far. Here’s tonights. We took a trip to ikea to talk to a planner to see what options there are and configurations that will work with our space and height. Also there’s some things that their little app won’t do such as ending with a dishwasher and supporting the countertop so they gave us a few tips for doing a waterfall edge and also talked about trim pieces. It’ll be interesting once we put our order in with logistics. Supposedly it’ll come in from like 20 different SoCal stores over about a month. We also learned that getting a “stone” countertop won’t be possible because they price with installation and they won’t just ship the material for a self install and they don’t install in anything other than a home. So we gotta deal with that...

Our channel. Try not to laugh.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCnRP3X46ifPzFC53Luv4CvQ

 

[ka0tyk]

That should get you home.

BTW...how much monthy for 2 basement bays...Momma is starting to take down Christmas shot and I think we have 13 crates.

Get a shipping container for your back yard. You have the space back there. Worst case slap some windows on it and call it an ADU and rent it out. hah.

 

[lbhsbz]

Go to home depot and get a few carbide toothed blades for the your sawzall...you can thank me later.

 

[ka0tyk]

Go to home depot and get a few carbide toothed blades for the your sawzall...you can thank me later.

5 or 7 teeth per inch?

 

[lbhsbz]

more TPI the better for what you're doing.

 

[lbhsbz]

And while you're there, go the plumbing section and pick up a bottle of Oatey dark thread cutting oil and few shitty brushes....Use that with your Ryobi drills for the screws. Put the drill in 1st gear, and run it about half speed, and lean on it as soon as you get through the hex portion. About 200RPMs with my body weight on it and cutting oil is where I'd run it. When you can see through the smoke dab summore oil. Wear yore mask...lots o' sulfer in it. that's why it works good.

 

[RiverDave]

Interesting, curious why? I have never really heard anything good or bad....

Not sure. One person said the air warms up in the ducting and wasn’t cold when it reached the area..

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

My wife has been making videos of the progress so far. Here’s tonights. We took a trip to ikea to talk to a planner to see what options there are and configurations that will work with our space and height. Also there’s some things that their little app won’t do such as ending with a dishwasher and supporting the countertop so they gave us a few tips for doing a waterfall edge and also talked about trim pieces. It’ll be interesting once we put our order in with logistics. Supposedly it’ll come in from like 20 different SoCal stores over about a month. We also learned that getting a “stone” countertop won’t be possible because they price with installation and they won’t just ship the material for a self install and they don’t install in anything other than a home. So we gotta deal with that...

Our channel. Try not to laugh.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCnRP3X46ifPzFC53Luv4CvQ

Try Builders Surplus. They made me a piece of stone custom sized for my bathroom about 5-6 years ago. I just picked it up and installed it myself. It’s off the 55 and Dyer. They also have tons of cabinets.

 

[outboard_256]

Talk about a drop in the bucket. Hah! I gotta find a nearby truck stop where the pump will fill more than $100. Also I now have permanent storage where the conversion will happen over the next couple months.



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You plan to finish the build in a couple of months or you only have the storage for a couple of months and then have to move it again?

 

[DTHSTAR]

Save Yourself some agony and buy this one! 2000 Prevost Vantare 45. Detroit diesel 60 (500HP), 119k miles, 18' slide etc. $185k. Owner paid 1.3 mil in 2001! New one is 2.5 plus. Have a great New Year! Mike @ Cactus Rv in Tucson. 520-991-2242

 

[ElAzul]

Interesting, curious why? I have never really heard anything good or bad....

Never had a problem with the basement AC in our RV. This summer we were usually turning ours down when other people were bitching their rooftop AC wasn't getting the job done.

 

[Royally PO'd]

Done right , the basement air makes the o-head units archaic..

 

[RiverDave]

Save Yourself some agony and buy this one! 2000 Prevost Vantare 45. Detroit diesel 60 (500HP), 119k miles, 18' slide etc. $185k. Owner paid 1.3 mil in 2001! New one is 2.5 plus. Have a great New Year! Mike @ Cactus Rv in Tucson. 520-991-2242

Heard the guy that ripped everyone off in Havasu at the Cactus RV out here in Lake Havasu is now working over there.. any truth to that?

RD

 

[DTHSTAR]

Heard the guy that ripped everyone off in Havasu at the Cactus RV out here in Lake Havasu is now working over there.. any truth to that?

RD

Different company. I have heard that too. I think they were called cactus rv center. I believe that guy has recently passed away. We have been here in Tucson since 2012. Mike

 

[ka0tyk]

Working on leveling the front out.

 

[RiverDave]

Different company. I have heard that too. I think they were called cactus rv center. I believe that guy has recently passed away. We have been here in Tucson since 2012. Mike

I can’t even remember the guys name thst ripped everyone off.. I think the guys name who passed away was Todd, but that’s not the guy I’m talking about.

 

[RiverDave]

Working on leveling the front out.
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I am always amazed at your projects and your ability to just flat get shit done

 

[RiverDave]

Different company. I have heard that too. I think they were called cactus rv center. I believe that guy has recently passed away. We have been here in Tucson since 2012. Mike

Todd passed away. Scott the guy that’s currently working at the Tucson facility is the guy that ripped everyone off.. At least that is how I understand it.

 

[ka0tyk]

Also on the trip to Home Depot I priced out how much it would cost to do the whole ceiling in their grey shiplap planks. About $800. Which is also about how much I spent on the flooring.

 

[ka0tyk]

I am always amazed at your projects and your ability to just flat get shit done

thanks. I stay pretty busy. I don’t post any of the stuff in between the projects. Like assembling this play thing for the kiddo for christmas. A billion pieces and this crazy shape with China instruction. No words just arrows.

 

[gqchris]

I am always amazed at your projects and your ability to just flat get shit done

Me too. Getting it done and I love watching the journey. I am tired just watching. I love mini projects but this is on a whole nother level!

 

[warpt71]

I am always amazed at your projects and your ability to just flat get shit done

Me too!

I have to explain to people all the time how I don't have time to even watch tv most nights, let alone attempt to start a project.

@ka0tyk you have all of our attention, keep the updates coming

 

[ka0tyk]

The bus has some pretty crazy tech in it. There’s an area near the driver called the “jbox” which houses a lot of the electronics but then there’s these relay modules that switch a LOT of the systems in the bus. It’s crazy the amount of wiring.

 

[merc_400r]

Working on leveling the front out.
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Wouldn't you want to make the floor supports out of metal?

 

[ka0tyk]

Yesterday’s video.

Wouldn't you want to make the floor supports out of metal?

I’m following a couple and they did similar on their 04 j4500. If I had a shop with access to a bunch of stainless to match then yeah... but this is what I got. I thought about where the majority of traffic will be and tried to ensure that the loads in that area were directly placed on something nice and sturdy. I just gotta clean everything up, glue it down, bolt it to the existing frame and slap the plywood down with more adhesive and screws. I ordered two 100 gallon baffles tanks for fresh and grey. Then a 50 gal black tank. Also some water filters, pump.

The big problem I’m having is the shower didn’t fit. I looked at the specs from delta and the walls measured 72 high but I didn’t realize the pan is another 5 or so putting it at just shy of 77” high. At the corner of the bus we have about 72. So I need to find an enclosure that’s only 72” high. I cant seem to find a decent enclosure that’s 36 or so in width, 34” deep max, and less than 72” high. Grr.

 

[evantwheeler]

Yesterday’s video.


I’m following a couple and they did similar on their 04 j4500. If I had a shop with access to a bunch of stainless to match then yeah... but this is what I got. I thought about where the majority of traffic will be and tried to ensure that the loads in that area were directly placed on something nice and sturdy. I just gotta clean everything up, glue it down, bolt it to the existing frame and slap the plywood down with more adhesive and screws. I ordered two 100 gallon baffles tanks for fresh and grey. Then a 50 gal black tank. Also some water filters, pump.

The big problem I’m having is the shower didn’t fit. I looked at the specs from delta and the walls measured 72 high but I didn’t realize the pan is another 5 or so putting it at just shy of 77” high. At the corner of the bus we have about 72. So I need to find an enclosure that’s only 72” high. I cant seem to find a decent enclosure that’s 36 or so in width, 34” deep max, and less than 72” high. Grr.

Why not just cut the walls to height and then trim them out around the perimeter to seal them up?

My Foretravel used 1/2” thick corian as the shower enclosure walls. That would be an easy custom height solution.

 

[ka0tyk]

Why not just cut the walls to height and then trim them out around the perimeter to seal them up?

My Foretravel used 1/2” thick corian as the shower enclosure walls. That would be an easy custom height solution.

while I could cut at the top, I’d reeeeally not want to. There’s a bend and that gives it all its strength as well as mounting holes. I suppose I could 5200 some wood at the top and mount via that....the whole point of just doing a fiberglass pan and walls would be to not have to deal with possible water leaks.

 

[zhandfull]

Just watched the YouTube videos tonight, interesting project you have going. The wife is doing a nice job on the videos too.

 

[LHC Kirby]

while I could cut at the top, I’d reeeeally not want to. There’s a bend and that gives it all its strength as well as mounting holes. I suppose I could 5200 some wood at the top and mount via that....the whole point of just doing a fiberglass pan and walls would be to not have to deal with possible water leaks.

I like the idea of cutting the top, no water leaks up there. seems like an easy fix.