APRIL 25 , 2003
I'm still waiting for the power adapter for the new Digital camera to get in ... it's been driving me slightly Batty not being able to upload some pics of the projects I've been doing . So I took out the manual on the digital camera I dropped ...and read through all the trouble-shooting solutions . After that I got really technical about it , and gave the Camera a immense Whack ! That seemed to do the Trick ... it's decided to start working again .
Below are some Pics and info on my most recent Bus projects

 

OUR LADDER PROJECT
A School buses roof is curved so when I installed the Ladder on the rear of the Bus , I had to figure out whether I wanted to install it in the middle of the roof or off to one side . I figured the easiest way to go about it was to install it directly in the middle, where the curvature of the roof was less abrupt . We wanted the Back door to still be operational so I designed the ladder assembly to work as two separate pieces .

Here's some pics
The 1st one shows the door closed and what the ladder set-up looks like . The 2nd pic shows what the two ladder sections look like up-close . Those white rubber caps you see there keep you from scraping your hands and such on the bare aluminum ends of the tubing . I drilled a hole through the rubber caps and the aluminum tubing and pop-riveted them into place . The 3rd . pic shows the back door open . I feel pretty good about the assembly . It seems to be good and strong .

EXTERIOR 12 VOLT PLUG-IN
We Always add an exterior Heavy-Duty Marine Quality 12 Volt Plug-in to our buses . This gives us a place to plug-in our Macerator Pump , plus in the Summer sometimes we like to watch TV outside . Our TV's are 12 volt ones , so this plug-in really comes in handy . You'd never want to try doing this with anything other than a Marine 12 volt Plug-in . Typical Automotive ones would corrode pretty quickly outside. The Marine one we use is made out of Stainless steel completely encased in a very well sealed plastic housing . This Plug-in also has a good water resistant end cap . Most Automotive style Plug-ins are not really good for anything that requires a decent amount of amperage to run itself ....there just isn't enough interior contact areas . The 12 volt receptacle plug-in we use is a Marinco model designed to withstand a very wet environment and still keep working . And has very large contact areas .

Here's a pic of it on our bus


 

EXTERIOR PHONE & CAMPGROUND CABLE TV RECEPTACLE
Installing a set-up like this is really easy to do and comes in handy when you're staying at a campground that has Cable TV hook-ups at the Site . Not many Campgrounds have dedicated Phone lines for each site ...but, I imagine that will change in the near future.
To install this unit , you'll use the appropriate sized hole saw and drill all the way ( or part way if you'd rather ) through the side of the bus . On the back of this receptacle is a standard TV cable screw-in and a section where you'll hook up the phone wires that will run into the interior of your rig . You'll notice there are 4 color-code wires held in place by screws ...Run some of your interior phone line through the hole you made to the outside of the rig ...now strip back the insulation on your interior phone line a few inches , being really careful not to cut into the 4 wires inside it . Next you'll , strip-off a little over a 1/4" of each of the color-coded wires . Bend each section of the wires that you stripped back into little hoops...then slightly unscrew the connection screw on the back of the receptacle , and insert the appropriate color-coded wire loop under the screw ...and tighten it down . Do this with all 4 wires . It's really easy .Just remember to match the wires up to correctly ( red on red / black on black / yellow on yellow / green on green ) . Now feed through the hole your TV cable and screw it down tightly to the rear connection on the back of the unit . That's it . You're ready to screw the unit to Exterior of the rig . Here's a pic of what these units look like .

When we lived up in Homer Alaska in our last Bus "Home" we had phone access where we were staying ... But the 'Phone Guy' wouldn't hook us up using a standard interior clip-in style of phone hook-up , like the one the unit has in the pic above . So , I bought a 150' coil of insulated phone line and drilled a hole through the bus and fed one end of the line inside and hooked it up to our phone system ... then I ran the cord over to the main Phone Box . Where he connected it up for us. It worked great .Only problem with it was when we wanted to move , I'd have to disconnect the phone line from the inside ...pull it out through the hole ...and store it away . Not a very efficient system . On our new bus I'll have the cord connected to the Buses phone system and stored in one of our exterior Equipment boxes ... ready to be used any time we want , without having to mess about with too much .
Even if you think you wont be staying anywhere that doesn't use the Clip-In style of phone cord ... it's still a good idea to have some way to bypass the unit that's shown above . Realistically speaking these units are not really waterproof . Moisture can and will build-up in them and rust out the tiny phone clip connections . Were setting up our system to be able to quickly disconnect our interior phone line from the above unit and plug it into the line that we have stored in our Exterior Equipment Box .

NOTE: There are Marine quality Exterior Phone Jacks you can Install . But , they cost quite a chunk of Cash , and are not necessarily the best way to go about designing a phone system for your rig. 
MARINCO makes numerous phone jacks ...that are very well designed and pretty near waterproof too. The only problem with them is they're designed to be used by a Boat who's plugged into a Marinas Phone line system .Those systems use a completely different configuration of connectors/plugs and cords then what you'd see at a campground .  
MARINCO does makes a 'pig tail' style adapter , that has a standard Modular phone Jack at one end and the marine style connector at the other end that you could use for a campground hookup . 
It's a Cool idea , but the problem with using an adapter like this is ... a household style of modular Jack is not meant to get wet . The tiny wire connections inside a modular phone jack corrode very quickly . Even if it's made from stainless steel and you install the outlet in your 'basement' storage area...it will eventually for numerous reasons rust out.  I'm speaking from experience here .
It doesn't make any monetary sense to install an expensive system of Marine style connections , only to have it fail because the modular jack , which is the 'weakest link' in the system ...got wet and shorted out . Another Big problem with these Marine phone jacks is you're just not going to find a replacement adapter for them if you're camping anywhere other than on the Coast. You'll have to call a Marine Supply Store and have them mail you the replacement. Your typical Boating and fishing supplies store wont carry these.

Even though I'm a big time advocate of using Marine quality components versus RV components in a Conversion , this is one place where I would never justify the expense. And these MARINCO Adapters and Outlets are very spendy ... the Outlets run around $45.00-$79.00 for the really good waterproof ones ...and the pig-tail adapters cost $45.00.

Realistically spending $45.00 + shipping for a replacement pig-tail adapter isn't going to send Millie or I to the Poorhouse...But , I  still wouldn't install a system like this in our bus if I had 'tons' of money.
 I have to admit I love Cool Gadgets and want our Bus to be technologically superior to the average Motor Home out there . But It feels silly to me . Why would anyone want to spend $45.00 for a replacement ,when you could just design your system to have a modular connector inside the rig ( in a nice dry place ). And then store a coil of of phone line with the clip style connectors in your basement storage... that has one end fed through a rubber bushing into the rig ...that's clipped into to the Modular Connecter . That way its a really inexpensive "Fix" when your exterior phone Clip rusts out ...just un-clip it inside and replace it with a new phone line . You can pick up a new phone line just about anywhere for a couple of bucks . 

With all that said....There are 'Many Ways to Skin a Cat' as they say. So , do whatever Works for you. We'd Love to hear from anyone who has an interesting Phone set-up ...Send us an Email and tell us about it , and we'll post it on the site . 

 

PORTABLE MACERATOR PUMP SYSTEM
Having a macerator Pump to use with your Black Water System is a good idea if you plan on doing any Boondocking . They allow you to dump your tank in lots of places that don't have the more conventional Pump-outs . We didn't want to permanently attach the macerator pump to the Black water lines for numerous reasons ... so I built one that we could store away when we didn't need it . Plus I wanted a macerator pump system that ran directly from the 3" sewer outlet , without having to add a 'Tee' on my lines .
Here's how it works
We bought a marine-quality 12 Volt Macerator pump from a Marine Supply store here in Sitka . It has an Inlet that's only 1-1/2  , so in order to make it work using standard 3"RV piping ... I picked up a 'Reducer' from a plumbing supply store. One end of it is 3" and it tapers down at the other end to 1-1/2 " . Then I needed to build a set-up that would go from 1" ( which is the diameter of the pumps outlet ) down to 3/4 " ( which is the size of garden hose we'll be using ) .  I picked up a section of very heavy-duty 1" hose , 2 hose clamps , 1 -1"plastic fitting designed to have its barbs inserted into the hose and at the other end is threaded ( female) with a 1" inside diameter . I also picked up a brass Bushing that would fit into the 1" female end of the plastic fitting ...the interior threading in this Bushing is 3/4". Then I found the correct sized brass fitting designed to screw garden hoses into it , that fit into the Bushing .

We want the pump set-up to be easy to store and 'Tidy' looking too . So I picked up a hefty orange box with great hinges and a excellent snap catch on it .  I placed the macerator pump in the Box and made marks where the outlet and inlet line would go . For the inlet side I used a 2" hole-saw attachment on my drill and drilled out the plastic on the box . Next I changed over to a 1-1/2 " hole-saw and drilled out the outlet hole . Then I placed the macerator pump back in the box and pushed it forward so the inlet portion of the pump was protruding from the box 2" and using a nail made marks through the 4 pump mounting holes ( at the base of the pump ) . I drilled out the 4 holes through the bottom of the box and inserted the rubber 'feet' onto the bottom of the pump and bolted it down securely into the box ( use wing-nuts , its easier to remove the pump for servicing later ) 

Now that the pump was bolted down in the box ... I cut a section from the heavy-duty plastic hose that's approx. 4" long . Good quality plastic hose is pretty stiff stuff ...so I soaked the piece in Hot water for about 5 minutes to soften it up a bit . Then I pushed one end of it over the Pumps 1" barbed outlet and used a hose-clamp to get a nice tight seal on it ...at the other end of the hose ( which protruded about an 1" from the box ) I pushed the 1" barbed fitting onto it and hosed clamped that down . Next I used plumbers tape to get a good seal on the bushing and screwed that into the end of the plastic fitting ...then I screwed the brass 3/4 garden hose fitting into the bushing . That's all you need for the outlet side ...its ready to attach a 3/4"garden hose to it .
Next I took the Rubber Reducer and placed the 1-1/2 end over the pumps inlet port and tightened it down securely ... all I need to do now is get a small 4" long section of 3" black plastic pipe , glue a RV hose adapter to it and add the 12 volt electrical leads . Since we have a marine 12 volt receptacle on the exterior of our bus , I'll wire up the leads to be able to plug-in there. I'm also wiring it up to use battery Alligator clips too , just in case something goes wrong with the exterior outlet. I'll be able to switch over to either wiring system easily because I'm using a marine 12 volt 2 pinned male & female plug setup in the box . All I'll have to do to switch from one system to the other is un-plug one line and plug the other one into it .
We also have a cover that is designed to snap over a garden hose that we'll use to close off the outlet on the pump ... and I'll use a 'Termination cap to close off the Inlet hose . 

I was 'searching' around on the 'Net' and found a system similar to mine that used a box to store the pump and its hoses in ....I was tempted to buy it . But , The inlet & outlet hoses looked pretty Flimsy . So , I decided to build this one myself with heavy-duty parts . I can't imagine anything more miserable and embarrassing then hooking up your Macerator Pump ...turning it on and having a hose burst ....a very messy situation indeed . The whole set-up here cost us a little over $200.00 , which is well worth it we think .
The set-up measures
18" long x 10" wide x 7" high
Here's a few pics of what my set-up looks like

OUR PORTABLE SATELLITE DISH INSTALLATION

We wanted a satellite dish that had the ability to be useable when attached to the roof of our Bus and also could be easily taken down and moved to a better location for satellite reception . So we picked a Winegard portable Dish. It's got a nice solid base that sits flat on our roof mount and also sits on the ground nicely without being tipsy . A nice detail about this Dish is it's got a Level & compass built into it's base 
 

Here's how we built a Roof Mount for the Dish
Since our bus's roof is made of steel and has a curvature to it . I wanted the Mount to be able handle the curve without throwing the dish off 'Level' too much . I went down to a metal working shop and had a 2'x2' base with two of its sides bent downward 1" and a 1" lip ( where I would attach the mount to the roof ) fabricated from 16 gauge galvanized steel . 
I drilled out 10 holes on each 'lip' and then in the center of the Mount I drilled a 5/16" hole . I turned the mount upside and applied a liberal amount of JB WELD around the center hole and pushed a large washer into it...then I inserted a 2-1/4" x 5/16 stainless steel bolt through the hole and spread some more JB WELD over the top of the bolts head  .Then I put a strip of tape over the Bolts head to keep it in place and turned the Mount up-right ...and spread some more JB WELD around the base of the extruding bolt. 
 

I turned the base up-side down again and put it in a place where it would remain level ...and left it overnight to dry . JB WELD is incredibly strong stuff and I figure I'll get a lot of use out of the Bolt before it slips . ( I did this to keep the bolt upright and in place without turning while I screwed down the wing nut ) I could have also used a nut & bolt configuration to keep it from slipping ...but I prefer using lag bolts for this sort of thing.
The next day I turned the Satellite dish over and in it's center drilled a 5/16" hole from the back all the way through the plastic to the other side .



Then I climbed up on the roof ...found center and screwed the mount down to the roof . For added safety I only used metal screws in every other hole ... in the others I used 3/8 steel rivets. Then I put a dab of Caulking over each screw and rivet head .When I had finished attaching the mount to the roof ...I placed the Satellite Dish over the bolt that was sticking up from the mount and lowered it down on it. Then I put a washer , lock washer on the bolt and screwed it all down with a large wing nut . Having this Bolt Set in the middle of the dish assembly allows you to loosen the nut a little and turn the dish in whatever direction you want ...while staying firmly attached to the roof mount . When were driving we'll be able to lower the dish and tighten up the wing nut and it will stay up there safety . For those" Just In case " scenarios ...I screwed down one small stainless steel 'hoop' on each side of the mount , where I'll hook a Bungee Cord over the dish . That should keep the whole thing really secure.
If were in a location where something's obstructing the Line/Path to the Satellite...all we have to do is unscrew the wing nut , and move the dish to a better location .  
Below are some Pics of the Mount
 

APRIL 26 , 2003
Today started out with some nasty fog & rain ...so I messed around in the Bus organizing my tools and getting the different bits & pieces together to start building the Solar Air-Heating  (TAP) panel were putting in one of the bathrooms windows . A TAP (Thermo-Siphoning Air Panel ) is a nice little piece of easy to build passive Solar technology . It works by drawing the cooler air from inside the Rig ...and circulating it through the TAP panel , where its warmed by the Sun . And then the solar Heated air is re-circulated back into the rig . 

The TAP were building is only 2' x 2' ...which is pretty small . But it doesn't take a big TAP in a rig this size to really make a difference in the inside temperature . We've used them before ...but , were still amazed how much heat these can put-out on a sunny cold day. 
Tomorrow I'll go to the Lumber Supply Store and pick up the rest of the stuff I'll need to finish the project ...Plus I'll get the 1/4" Acrylic sheeting I'm going to use for our Bathrooms Sky-Lite.

The Sun came out so here's a pic of the Bus I just took today ... The Square piece of steel sheeting you see attached to the bus in the lower left-hand side is a temporary cover that I placed over the Hole I cut for the Generator Compartment ...up on top you can see the portable Satellite Dish I installed the other day 

APRIL 29 ,2003
A truly Horrific situation has developed ... I've run out of Cash for some of the larger projects that I have to do next . It's a 'god awful 'shame ...but I have to go back to work . So ,tomorrow I start working at a Tourist Shop here in Sitka . Boo-hoo ! It could be worse I guess ...but not much . 
As anyone who's done a Bus conversion already knows ...these Babies cost a fortune to do the job right . And I really want to do a great Job on Latcho Drom .
I got laid off from my Job in January and have been living off the money I put aside & 'Un-employment 'to work on the bus and such . Plus Millie's a manager of a store here ... with her additional 'Pay-check' coming in things were working fine .But , I really need some 'Big ticket' items ...to make the Bus Super efficient . So , it cant be helped I'm afraid .   

UGGH! I wish I'd win the Lottery or something so I could stay home and work on the Bus fulltime.

You'll notice a new 'look' to my website soon ...I'm doing a little changing and organizing so that things are easier to find . This is a REALLY large website that's growing all the time ...so I want to make it a bit more efficient .

I'll still be working on the Bus on my days off and will keep adding Info & pics as I go along.

 

MAY 1 , 2003
Well ...I made it through my second day at my new job . It's almost not as bad as I thought it would be . 
But, anyway ...I'm going to work on the site here for a few days when I've got the time. I'm reformatting the whole thing , so it will take some time to get that done . Then on my days off I'll work on the Bus . 

 

MAY 7 , 2003
I'm still busy re-working the Website and working at my new job ... So once I get the Site revamped I'll get back to work on the Bus . I'm looking forward to getting back to it soon .
Today's going to be a Busy one at work . 11 Hours of Cruise Ship Tourists ! UGGH !

 

MAY 18 , 2003
WHEW! Finally finished working on the changes of this 225 page ( and growing ) website . I ordered the 4 steel underbody truck boxes that we'll need yesterday . Two of them are for our horizontal propane tanks ... the other 2 are for storing sewer stuff & such . Unfortunately it's going to take awhile for them to get here . I also ordered another gray water tank and fittings . I'm 'Itching' to get back to work on the Bus ...but until I get the boxes & tank there's not much I can do on it . I cant wait till all this exterior stuff gets done so I can start working on the interior . Doing the interior Cabinetry is my favorite part of a conversion ... that's when I feel like the process is coming to an end .

I've been seriously tempted to build the TAP panel I mentioned previously ...but I'm not sure where I want to locate it . Or what size I want it to be . I hate cutting holes in the Bus that might not be located correctly ...once you cut them you're stuck with them . So , after Work I've been walking around the Bus with a measuring tape trying to figure this out.

 

JUNE 6 , 2003
Well ...I haven't fallen off the ends of the Earth . But , I feel like I have . Between working at my new job and building 2 new web sites for some clients .... I'm feeling a little spread thin . I'm hoping things slow down a bit so I can get back to the Bus. 

The underbody Truck storage boxes should get here soon ...knock on wood .

JUNE 29 , 2003
Well I'm Back in the saddle again ...at least for today . I got a few things done on the Bus I really had to . I wasn't going to connect the exterior plugin's & such until I got the Bus painted...But it's been raining almost every day for the whole month , and waters been leaking into the bus . 
So , I used Putty Tape to waterproof the back of each item and metal screwed them down tight to the Bus . I bought a bunch of Universal Vent Installation Kits from Camping World just for this . They're made to waterproof an RV's roof Vent and such ...but I like using the Putty Tape everywhere there's going to be an inlet into the bus.

Here's a Pic of what the Putty Tape & Kit looks like


Here's a pic of the various stuff I waterproofed & screwed down today


I also cut out the hole and installed another 120 inlet/outlet port at the rear of the bus. Since we'll be towing a small Sandwich Shop trailer , I want to be able to plug the trailer into the bus at campgrounds . ( This is so we can work inside the trailer ). We'll just Plug the Bus into the Campgrounds Electrical power and run a 50 amp cord from the Bus to the trailers Elec. Inlet port . ( We'll also do a similar arrangement with a water line leading back from the Bus to the trailers system )

Here's a pic of the new outlet port


Works been taking up a lot of my time ...and building another really big website for a client is taking up the rest of it . But, I'm going to try to find at least a little time to work on the Bus . 
It's been a little depressing looking out the window at the Bus with the realization of just how much I'll need to get done before we get to move into it . But things will get better soon , I hope . At least the 4 Underside side Truck Boxes will get here next week sometime . They're sitting right now in a warehouse in Seattle waiting to be loaded on the barge. Cant wait to see what they look like !

I also ordered a propane furnace and a Microwave from Camping World that should get here in a few weeks . I was just going to heat the Bus with a propane Catalytic heater and the little Dickinson woodstove ...but decided to be 'Safe' and put in a furnace also .

 

JULY 4 , 2003
The truck boxes arrived yesterday ...and they're Beautifully made ! Well worth the wait . 
I ordered them from Highway Products Inc. down in Oregon . I didn't expect such high quality when I phoned in the order ...but let me tell you ; these Truck Boxes are built like Tanks ! Below is a couple of pics of the boxes

I got all 4 boxes with shipping for around $1000.00 ...which I consider for such high-quality pieces amazingly cheap . Can't wait to crawl around under the Bus to figure out how I'll attach them. 
The 3 big boxes measure 36"x 18"x 18" ...the smaller one is 24"x 18" x 18"
Here's the link to Highway Products Inc. website. They have a bunch of different sizes available.

JULY 6, 2003
I measured & re-measured the boxes and have decided not to hang them under the bus as I first planned... instead I'll cut out holes and insert them into the bus interior with the doors facing outward . The reason for this is the boxes would hang approx. 6-1/2 " below the bottom of the bus . This isn't a big problem because I'd still have about 14" clearance from the ground ...but I wouldn't want to drive over a curb and knock a box off ( especially the ones containing the propane tanks ). So , I'd rather lose some interior space just to be safe .
This is why you really have to be 'Forward Thinking' when it comes to doing a decent job on a bus conversion ...things change all the time. But that's what fun about doing something like this .
In the spaces where I was going to hang the boxes originally , I'll fabricate smaller boxes to hold some of the various bits and pieces that won't fit easily inside the Bus 

 

JULY 10 , 2003
The other day I went out to the local building supply store and bought the " Prolay Underlayment" flooring for the bus and some other stuff . Since I'll most likely install the 'Truck' boxes inside the Bus ...I want to have the Floor in first . I'll also lay down the Vinyl flooring before installing the boxes , because I want the whole interior floor to be covered ( under bed & cabinets ) for water resistance ... in case a water-line or such lets go . After I get the Buses interior done I'll use vinyl tiles to cover the areas that we'll walk on and will be visible ...which will cover any dents and such that occurred during construction on the vinyl flooring.
I also picked up the beveled siding and framing I'll need to cover the external galvanized window panels . I chose a a nice looking Behr Spruce Green exterior Stain to paint the siding with and 'Cherry' Stain to paint the edging around the siding .
I'm leaning toward a Victorian Green for the Buses Body with muted purple & Gold highlighting ...should look great .
If I've got the time after work today , I'll go to Spenards ( our local building supply store ) and pick up the vinyl flooring and glue .

 

JULY 12 , 2003
It's my 'Day Off ' from work so I emptied the bus of all my tools & such ...and swept up the dirt , dust & other bits so I could lay down the Prolay Floor . I used waterproof caulking to fill all the holes in the floor ( from the seat hold-down bolts ) ...and then cut each sheet of the Prolay to fit the Bus . Prolay is a very fine & dense particle board designed to lay Vinyl Flooring over .
Here's a few pics  . The first one shows the caulked holes and the next two show the Prolay flooring
 

Tomorrow I'll level out the flooring and screw it down to the Buses plywood floor. I also bought the Vinyl & glue from Spenards today...they'll deliver it here on Tuesday . Sometimes I wish I had a old pick-up truck or something ...so I could just drive the stuff home myself . O well .

I'm so happy to get something done on the Bus again !!! Once I get the Vinyl floor down I'll cut out the holes in the Bus to insert the big truck boxes  

 

JULY 13 , 2003
Today I attached each sheet of Prolay with only 2 screws , so that when I lay down the Vinyl ( hopefully on this Tuesday ) the floor will 'Float' even with the glued down Vinyl . When it's really dry I'll secure the Prolay & vinyl to the Buses floor more securely. 

I would have preferred to secure the Prolay sheets completely today ...but our buses floor has some serious uneven spots which would have made it extremely difficult to lay the vinyl down correctly .

I also built the 'Box' frame for our Sky Light today ...it's going to be a 2 ft. x 2 ft. skylight , which should throw a lot of light around the Bathroom area . After I'm done laying down the Vinyl on Tuesday I'll head on out to the Glass Shop and have them cut me a piece of Safety glass for the Skylight .

Here's a pic of the Skylights Box frame


I used 1" x 6" spruce to build the skylight frame ...then secured it with exterior carpenters glue and 3" 'grabber' screws . Skylights have to be really well-made (especially for vehicles ) because you don't want them to leak all over your rig .
I used 'Spruce Green' Behr wood Stain/Paint to cover the box

JULY 15 , 2003
 I got the Vinyl Flooring laid today . When I ordered the Vinyl the other day ...I had them cut 3 pieces . Each one was 7-1/2 feet by 12 feet ... so , first I swept the buses floor really well . Then using floor glue (designed to lay vinyl ) ...I spread it it about ,covering every inch of the plywood Prolay . It's really important not to leave any spots of the flooring un-glued . Because otherwise you'll get bubbles in the Vinyl floor .

Starting at the rear of the Bus ...I applied the glue ( a thin layer ) all the way across the width and approx. 3 ft. forward . Then I took the roll of vinyl and set one end into the glued area ( squaring it up well with the floor )... As I moved forward , I would apply more glue to the floor ...and unroll some more of the vinyl to fit the newly glued area . I kept doing this until I hit the end of the roll . Then I started on the next section using the same technique as mentioned previously .
When I came to the Wheel Wells , I just cut out the Vinyl to fit around them. 

When the whole floor was covered I used a special Roller that's designed to flatten out the vinyl and take out any air bubbles . It weighs around 100 lbs. , and does a really good job of it. I got it from Spenard's when they delivered the Vinyl . They were really nice to let me use it for free for my project . I just got home from returning it to them .
You basically just roll it back and forth over the vinyl flooring until everything's nice and flat

It was a pretty easy project , other than the Glue is very sticky stuff . I started out wearing gloves ...but they kept sticking to everything , so I used bare hands for most of the project . I hear the Glues a bit caustic ...so I imagine gloves would have been a better idea .

Here's a couple of pics of the Vinyl floor & the Roller

You need to let the floor alone for at least 12 hours ( preferably more ) before walking on it or laying anything on it . The glues needs to cure .

I didn't mess about too much with making sure all the squares on the vinyl matched up, because like I mentioned before ... this is only an under-flooring .
If I'm not too tired after work tomorrow I'll trim off the excess Vinyl and wash off any glue stains on the floor .
To clean-up any spilled floor glue , just use warm soapy water and a rag.

Later tonight the Glass Dealer is delivering the 1/4 inch Safety Glass for our Sky Light ...I'm really looking forward to getting it installed on the bus . Should really make a difference on dark rainy days .

I also think I've finally figured out how I'm going to build the TAP ( Thermo Siphoning Air Panel ) for the buses bathroom ... It's really nice to be working on the Bus again !