Another week of skinning, but the end is in sight! We skinned over the to-be-shower window and nicely enclosed that.
We re-installed the engine air inlet and discovered how steel paint is very unforgiving; every scratch and blemish under the paint can be seen. So we will have to do a LOT of work to get the bus paint-ready later.
Family work day
Saturday was another family work day. M worked on the wiring. The wiring to the external side and roof lights was cut for the raise. They will need to be reconnect to be road compliant, so M went around and reattached/lengthened the wires. Meanwhile, R and N cleaned the side supports so they are ready to be painted and put back.
While they were busy with that, we put the window skins at the back end of the bus in place, as well as the big horizontal piece of skin that now makes it look like the bus is wearing a hat.
Can’t even see that we had to cut off 2” length wise to make it fit. That two-inch strip we later used to cover some unused screw holes where the disability door used to be. Last but not least we mounted the corner steel, which even though amateuristic, look pretty fancy in our opinion. All in all we have covered up three of the windows by now and we think we will leave it at that.
We have now reached the point that we only have the roof transition piece left. With three weeks left in our current storage unit, we are hoping to get that completed so we can downscale to a smaller, cheaper unit. Saving $100 a month would be welcomed!
This week we continued skinning the bus. Since it is a two person job, we can only do this when we are both available at the same time. Saturday afternoon after archery and Sunday afternoon after church it is!.
First sheet going on the back of the driver’s side
Definitely a marriage builder….
As of now, we have the sheets on both sides of the bus in place. It makes it look so much better on both the inside and the outside!
Need more steel
It looks like we are slightly short of plate so we will have to get another sheet. We skinned a few of the window openings as well; one on each side of the future bedroom and one where the shower is going to be. That will leave space to install a fan so we keep the humidity out of the bus when we clean ourselves up.
We finished the door frame of the little door. Whenever we have a small sheet available we will put the extended door in place.
We welded two more bars inside of the bus to attach the top of the sheets that are covering the disability door. It all looks nicely closed up now
This week we managed to get the first few sheets of steel on the side of the bus. We figured out that all those strengthened supports now won’t take any of the said-to-be self-tapping screws from China due to the thickness of the added steel. If it’s not too thin, it’s too thick. Looks like we will be returning the screws to China.
Raise the first panel
Family work day
The girls came out on Saturday and started to clean the bus window frames so we can put everything back nice and clean after we are done with the siding. Even N helped sweep up to keep the storage area clean. Meanwhile, R dismantled some of the strengtheners from the wheelchair door that we will put back on the bus.
Getting the sheets in place is a two-person job. Blinding off the (former) wheelchair opening gave us quite some trouble. Lining up the steel without leaving gaps was not an easy task. On top of that, the adhesive sealant made a big mess on the steel as well as on us.
Luckily, we won’t be able to see it when it is all painted on the outside and covered up on the inside. The first corner transition was added at the door as well. It seems that the bending brake we bought is not suitable to bend 18 gauge steel, so we went one size smaller. This won’t affect anything since the corner sheets are merely covering the gaps and don’t really have a structural purpose. Slowly but surely, we are putting the bus back together.
We fixed the door frame on the driver’s side on the bus and lengthened the door. Hopefully it all fits when we put the door back in place. The wrong sealant was used when we put the gasket back so we may have to redo the gasket later if it proves not to be watertight.
Next, we cut back the fiberglass on top roof at the very front of the bus. Talking about a major fiber glass dust cloud! Can’t be too healthy but it was the only way to get our front transition into place. We cut back about 2 inches so we can lay the transition steel on top of it and tie it all together.
Then it was time to weld the longitudinal transition supports in place. We managed to get three of them in.
Unfortunately, because of some welding drops, we damaged the steering wheel and window washer/blinker in the process. Sigh.
Next we can start skinning! Although lifting up the AC would have been nice, we have no solution for it yet so we will have to change the order of events to make sure we don’t lose too much time
This week we finished the air inlet and the remaining insets at the back of the bus.
A few of the items completed this week:
welded a frame for the wheelchair door that will be covered up.
cleaned up the glue from the inside back of the bus and welding a support frame to put behind the AC unit.
welded the back corner supports to make sure we can fold the sheet metal around it and added brackets on the inside to make sure everything is solid and cannot move.
A/C Unit struggles
We now could lift the AC unit back into place, if it wasn’t for a small snag: The hoses that lead to the evaporator are now about two feet short. And we are not sure how to either cap or drain the freon while putting a hose extension in between.If there is anyone on here who knows how to do this –the assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Short hoses need to be replaced to raise the A/C Unit
Main door problems
Meanwhile, we also re-straightened the main bus door. Apparently, the doors were out of line to start with when we got the bus. Once we got the doors aligned top and bottom with seals closed, the locks on the doors no longer aligned. We will have to shift one up 1/4″ to be able to place the lock through it. It’s merely a small inconvenience that we can fix at later date.
Next on the job list is to fix the door frame and door on the driver side of the bus. We have to make the door and its frame two feet longer than it is now. After that we can work on welding the transition frame on the front part of the bus. Still a few days to go before we can start with the re-skinning,
This week we started strengthening the frames on the driver’s side of the bus. A little tricky around the driver’s seat since there are a lot of wires in that location and one weld drop could ruin a whole lot of electrical equipment. After noticing what grinding sparks had done to the glass of the front door, we took our time to ensure everything was properly covered.
Covered Driver’s seat
After reinforcing all the frame
By end of the week all but four frames were completed. Basically, the point where we should have been one day after the roof raise.
Completed reinforcement
Back four frames
These we had cut in the wrong place and thus the inserts did not fit. We ended up cutting the bottom part of the frame where they should have been cut in the first place. We then welded flat steel inside them to fit them back together followed by cutting the new insert to size and welding the strengthening plate on top.
Back FramesBack Frame fitted in place
Part of the challenge for fitting the back frames came from the wiring going to the air conditioning, lights and engine components. Extra care was used to protect all of the wires. Until now there has only been an insulation fire, a blanket fire and socks on fire. The last one was my own fault since I had forgotten to bring my safety shoes and was welding with Crocs on. There are a lot of holes in those but I did not want to drive all the way home to change shoes again, so I figured I’d just cover them with a rag. Don’t try that at home because it does not work…. Between insulation rash, fiberglass marks and burn marks, I am starting to look a little battered.
Meanwhile, we are slowly staring to think of a paint scheme, since once we fit the new skin on, we want to paint as soon as possible to prevent rust.
We have a little more welding to do before we are at that point though. More next week.
This week we removed the disability door frame on the passenger side of the bus. It was located where our kitchen is going to be located, so not needed. A structure will be welded in place and cover it with sheet metal to complete that side of the bus.
Disability door opening
More steel
We ran out of steel, so we went by several steel suppliers to pick up new steel. At Triple S, we picked up the new skinning steel and some square tubing. At the metal warehouse, we picked up the reinforcement steel that will go on the outside of the inserts to strengthen them. We also picked up more flat bar to put on the inside of the remaining inserts. Having disposed of 500 pounds of steel at the scrap yard the other week, we now have 550 pounds of steel to put back in place.
Then we proceeded to cover the inserts with steel plates and full vertical welds. The way we calculated it, with the flat bar on the inside and the additional plate on the outside of each support we now have 12 gauge supports where 14 gauge supports used to be. Better over-do then under-do.
Door Frame
We used the square tubing to weld a frame insert next to the door. Then we also added the door supports back in place. All back to normal. Or so we thought. Until we closed the door. Seems we are now a quarter inch off from being able to lock the door… Problem for another day I guess.
Still a lot of welding to be done. Contrary to this week, let’s hope we won’t set any insulation or blankets on fire in the coming week.
One side of the bus is complete, the driver’s side still to be done.
Following last week’s update, we continued the roof raise prep. Again, R was a great help by coming to the bus each day. When we make the roof raise cut, we need an exact measurement on how much distance each frame is raised. Measuring on the cut itself is not accurate enough since we anticipate it will likely not be straight. We used a little block of just shy of four inches to account for sharpie thickness, then marked top and bottom of the block and voila a four-inch distance was marked on each frame. Deduct four inches from the total measurement and we know how high each frame is lifted.
R making the marks
Then we precut the frames at the door and driver window. Those were the most time-consuming cuts to make since it required cutting around some of the plating we want to keep intact. Next the challenge was to figure out how to cut the back of the bus, where the engine compartment and Airconditioning unit is located. It is not possible to do the planned under the window cut there which led to more dismantling. We had to remove the air intake on the driver side and a void space on the passenger side of the bus. Now that side was ready as well, we sliced the window frames in those positions in half.
Meanwhile my happy helper climbed on top of the bus to clean up the glue and tape from the top of the first panel. That way when we put the transition plate on top of it, we can weld it all together while its nice and clean.
Bracing
Thinking about all possible bad scenarios of a roof raise, we made four braces to put between the storage unit beams and the side of the bus, along which the top of the bus would slide up. This ensured if something would happen, the roof would fall straight down instead of toppling over. (As has happened to others!)
Then Monday it was finally Go-Time! What better way to start the New Year then with a roof raise
Day of Final Prep
The whole family went to the bus in the morning to help with the final preparations. The girls helped clean up, organize, and clear the work area. We proceeded to make the initial 40 ft of horizontal cuts as well.
While doing this, we noticed that the steel started to droop inward. We pushed back the roof raise assistants one hour while we fixed the problem by getting 8 pieces of 4″x 4″ and brace the bus side to side. We left the last four frames to cut waiting for our adult re-enforcement.
Lifting Time
Once our good friends arrived, we had the kids leave the storage unit to watch from outside. Just in case… We had our assistants man the farm jacks while Ivo made the final cut, meanwhile listening to the commentary from inside the bus like: “This is the most redneck thing I have done in a while”. I think we wholeheartedly concur with that statement. Stress levels started to rise once we heard the sound of the last sheet metal coming loose, time to get serious…
We checked around the bus one more time to make sure the top and bottom of the bus were no longer attached. The farm jacks were raised up one inch. We took measurements and everything seems to come up straight. Slowly but surely the top came up. Until we heard a clanging noise coming from the back of the bus….
One more cut
We checked and rechecked but could not spot any issues. Strange, but we decided to continue to raise. Until we heard alarming news from the front two jacks; they were completely loose from the hoisting beam!! We tried some emergency recovery with ratches and so on, but it did not work. Then one of our assistants went around the bus again. He discovered that two braces that had been above the air conditioning unit and initially thus could not be spotted, were still attached to the top and bottom of the bus!!! Oopsy, so that was that clanging noise earlier….
The gap between braces at the front of the bus was 3 inches more than at the back of the bus. Basically, the roof was looking like a speedboat in the water. And the only way to fix it was by cutting those two braces in the back, hoping that the entire roof would not be slamming down after they came loose.
After the participants unanimously elected the most dispensable person to make the two cuts, everyone went outside and waited. With not too much effort the braces were cut and after a nerve wrecking last snap, the top was now officially re-declared to be loose from the bottom. Lots of measurements and individual jacking of corners later, we had re-balanced the load again and proceeded with the lift.
Roof Raising time
Time Lapse of the raise
Once we hit 19 ½ inches of raise, we stopped. We were running out of usable farm jack clearance and one more click would bring us to 20 ½ inches. Then the inserts would not be long enough. We installed 21 out of 25 of the inserts, securing them in place with small screws. The jacks were secured and tied down in place.
Thank you to Cody Simmons, Tommy Higgins, and David Upp for coming out on your day off to provide your expertise and commentary!
On the drive home, the thought of the roof just sitting on jacks with only minimal insert support for the night wasn’t sitting well. After a quick dinner, Ivo went back to bolt in four inserts. It made for a more restful sleep.
Now that roof is raised…
The next day we bolted in all the remaining inserts that we could fit in place. We used a step bit to drill the holes for the bolts in the steel. For sure the most expensive drill bit we have ever purchased but it was very well worth the money!
But when we put some of the bus screws back into the frames, we noticed that the screws bent the inserts. A re-measurement showed the inserts were of different gauge then the original steel.
Not good that the new inserts are so easily bent
Calculations were made and the decision was made that additional steel was needed to reinforce the supports. The original supports seems to be 14 gauge and our inserts are 18 gauge. We added 1″ flat bar to the inside of the inserts.
Tomorrow we are supposed to pick up the skinning steel, which was delayed due to production at the steel supplier as well as 2 1/2″ strips of 14 gauge steel for reinforcing the outside of the support.
Seeing is believing
For those wondering why we went to all this trouble, here’s a great side by side of before and after. It really opens up the bus and makes it much more comfortable to be in when completed.
After the removal of a portion of the roof last week, we started to cut the front part that will stay where it is, from the back that is getting raised. We removed window bracket coverings and then cut the horizontal roof support bracket on the driver’s side. Once it came loose, the front windshield compartment moved forward about 1/8 of an inch. Oopsy! We realized that the front window, as well as the entry door, would stand all by itself if we would cut the other side the same way. This is not a good situation since worst case the entire windshield and door could fall forward without being able to stop it!
So we installed two braces. One in the center of the bus, holding the front window compartment from falling further forward and one brace on the side to keep the door in place.
With that all secured, we figured that we might run into another issue with the roof buckling once we raise because there will be no support underneath the side door openings. So, with help from R and N, we shored these up with 2×4’s and connected the door frames. Problem solved.
Now to the back of the bus
We proceeded to the back and unfastened many more screws to take off the side support rails at top and bottom. Next up was removing the back windowsills. We did a little extra useless work removing door screws before realizing they should stay. We want to keep as much of the structural integrity of the bus intact as possible when we raise. Fortunately, R has been helping out at the bus a lot. Otherwise there was surely no way to make the roof raise deadline.
Christmas surprises
And then Christmas happened. Lo and behold what a treat! The one thing that all internet skoolie converters seem to have that we did not have – shiny DeWalt tools that you don’t have to fix twice a day! We have been messing around with screwdrivers that had insufficient power, saws that stop halfway during the job due to overheating, oscillating tools that start smoking after cutting one bolt and drills that don’t have enough punch to make a hole in a sheet of steel.
Santa surely pulled her magic! Ho, Ho, Ho, we have just become professional bus converters! Thanks Santa!!
Sides of the bus
After all that excitement, we measured the bus to see how much steel we need to order to re-skin the 24 inch gap we are about to create.
Two quotes later, we seem to be able to do it all for about $500. All we need is a fire blanket, steel snips and a steel bender and we are good to go. Fortunately, that can all be bought at harbor freight as rental cost more than the tool.
A few more cuts to make and roof raise here we go!!
Last week we finally managed to get all the remaining chairs disassembled so we could get some of the inside roofing and chair frames to the scrap yard. A small trailer load of 500lbs of steel gave us a whapping $30.- of income…
The last of the scraps from the back yard
Final driveway prep
Later that week we brought the bus into the driveway to pressure wash it for storage. We also grinded some of the roof rivets off. We then marked the cutting line so we can determine what exactly needs to be dismantled for the roof raise.
Sunday was finally the day we have been waiting for; our enclosed storage unit was ready! Now we have two months to get the roof raise as well as the skinning done before storage get too expensive. We loaded the bus up with all the tools and material we will need, including the raise insets and raise supports that have been in our bedroom for the past six months.
Prep work is underway
We had some happy helpers this week. R started to take out the windows while N collected all the screws, bagged them and marked them. The driver side window took us a while to take out since we have not done that before. In the end, we did get it out
We took off the doors, which were much heavier than anticipated. After that, the door jams were removed.
Then we removed the emergency roof hatches and dismantled the air conditioning from the roof.
Learning all sorts of new skills
We placed the floor jacks with the premade frames to make sure they will work.
Cutting has started
Then it was time to take out the front section of the roof. This will become a transition section. Even though we measured, once we started cutting, we noticed we had hit the fiberglass of the front roof cover. Can’t really change our minds at that point so we completed the entire cut. Now we have a little less than two months to figure out how to mount the transition piece without creating leaks. It’s a future problem.
Transition panel at the front of the bus
We figured that when the rivets were grinded off and the front cut was made, we could just easily lift the top section off. That was not the case. It took hammers and crowbars to get the roof section parted from the glue.
Now at least we are sure that any leaks we had were all related to the rivets and not the caulking cracks of the adjacent roof sections. It will take a while to clean all the glue remains off so we will have a proper welding surface…
For the coming days we have more dismantling to do, followed by measurements so we can get the skinning steel.
