OCT . 4 , 2003
I finished up the framing on one side of the bus last night and today I got it insulated and put up the vapor barrier.
Tomorrow if things work out OK , I'll put up the 1/4 plywood wall
I'm not going to run any wiring through the 2 main side walls...because I hate the idea of tearing out a whole wall if something needs fixing . Instead I'll have 'trunks' of wiring going along both sides of the Bus near the floor that will be easy to get at and repair .
Here's a couple of pics

OCT . 5 , 2003
This morning was amazing !!! Excuse my 'French' but there's a Big Frigging Storm coming in . Wowser ! Here's a few pics from my Feeble camera . This is what they call 'Red Sky's in the morning ...Sailors Warning.
I also finished up the wall on one side of the Bus .

Between Squalls , I cut the 1/4 " interior grade plywood to fit the interior 4' x 8' framing sections and nailed them up .
The easiest way to put up plywood panels over Fiberglass Batting Insulation ...is to nail the top edge of the Plywood panel to the frame and then nail from the top edge downward. You only want to nail a few inches at a time across the length of the panel .
This way you can push the panel flat and nail down another few inches . The fiberglass batting will try to push the 1/4"out of shape .
Just keep nailing across the panel into the framing until you hit the bottom edge .

Before I forget , good interior grade plywood has a rough & a smooth side . Make sure you have the smooth side facing to the interior .
Once I had nailed up all the plywood ( using 'No-pull' nails ) ...I used 1-1/4 "Grabber Screws to ensure the 'No-Pull' nails would stay in place . Nails , even the 'No-pull' variety will eventually wiggle out as you drive about ...so it's really important to screw down the plywood also .
Once everything was screwed down nice & tight ...I headed out to Spenards ( our Home Improvement Store) to pick up a gallon of White acrylic paint ...to paint the walls .
I want the walls to be painted ...even though we'll Wallpaper them later . The paint will protect the plywood from moisture and also make it easier to apply the wall paper .

Here's a few pics of the finished wall .

It feels really good to start the Interior Stuff . Tomorrow I start building the framing for the other Side of the Bus ...and head back to Spenard's to order the Wallpaper.

We're going for a vinyl semi-shiny Whiteish style of Wallpaper .
 As far as I'm concerned ,Vinyl Wallpaper is the only Wallpaper that belongs in an RV or Bus. It's easy to clean and can take the moisture that builds up in any well insulated rig .

We'll wallpaper the whole length and depth of the plywood walls ...which will make thing's look nice and tidy in the cabinets and closets...plus should help protect the wood from moisture . 

 

OCT . 6 , 2003
The Weathers unbelievably Crappy so I'm taking care of some business stuff today instead of doing any framing .
Also since I've received quite a few emails asking me how I'm going to plan out the interior of the bus ... I whipped up a basic plan of how I'm going to place stuff in the Bus .



It doesn't include all the details , but it does show basically the setup/plan I'm aiming for .

 

OCT. 8 , 2003
I started to get the other side of the Bus framed ...but thankfully I realized I should get some other stuff done first.
Last week I cut out the hole for the generator compartment and started to figure out how I would build the door and frame for it ...and after checking out prices here in Sitka for steel & such , I decided it would be smarter and much cheaper to order a ready-made door from a RV Surplus Dealer.
After quite a bit of Web Searching , I found the right sized door I was looking for from Singletons RV Salvage down in Rochester Washington .
I gave them a call and ordered the Door ...it cost $52.00 including shipping . Which is about $100.00 cheaper than if I built it myself here .
Singletons RV Salvage has an amazing database of new & used RV/Bus parts . Wish I had found them sooner.
Click-here to check out their Website if you'd like
They'll ship it to me through U.S. Priority Mail , which means I should get it sometime early next week .
I want to cut the hole to fit the new door perfectly ...so I'll wait till I get that done before I frame the rear area of the Bus.

This morning I built a heavy-duty floor mount to hold our propane water heater and secured it to the Bus floor . Then I attached the Water Heater to the outside of the Bus . I used stainless steel metal screws to attach the heaters frame to the bus ...which is important when you live in a wet marine environment.
Here's a couple of pics of the mount and heater

As an added safety feature , I'll strap down the heater to the mount I built .
Basically the Water heater is ready to hook up the water & propane lines to now ...which is Cool .

I also had to cut a new hole for The Water Tanks Fill outlet because I 'Lost' the old hole placement due to the generator Door Hole.
I like the new fill location even better.

Here's a pic

I need to do some Banking and pay a few bills ...but if I have the time later I'll start building a few frame sections for the forward area of the Bus .
 
 I got all my Business stuff done and was able to partially frame the other side.
Here's a Pic


 

OCT. 10 , 2003
Yesterday was a really busy Business day for me ...so I didn't get to do anything on the Bus.
I did get to have a bunch of stuff delivered to our place though... paneling ,water-lines , fittings , plywood and assorted other stuff.
When I was out at Spenard's I ordered the Wallpaper that we want . Unfortunately it will take about 3-1/2 weeks to get here .
But I've got a lot to do before I can put up the wallpaper , so it will work out OK.

I also ordered online a good quality Water purification system from
The RV Water Filter Store

Today , I'm going to pick up our Battery Box and some marine grade 120 & 12 volt wiring from the local Marine Supply Store...and if I've got the time , I'll put up the insulation & vapor barrier on the Framing sections I built the other day.
I also need to order the Stain Glass window panel that will go in our Showers window.

This is an important place I've reached in the Conversion process . Once the main walls are up and the generator compartment is finished ...I'll start running all the 120 & 12 volt lines , water & sewer lines , propane lines , TV, telephone and speaker lines to the appropriate locations in our rig .
I really have to be on 'my toes' here to make sure I don't forget anything.

I couldn't believe it ...but my generator compartment door came in the mail this morning .
Now that's fast service !!! Thanks Singletons RV Salvage !
It's raining pretty hard here today ...but I installed the door anyway
Looks pretty good... here's a pic


 

OCT. 11 , 2003
I have to hold off on finishing the framing on the wall until the heavy-duty slides I ordered come . I'm going to mount the generator on a set of  200 lb. slides so that we can pull it out of the Generator Compartment easily . I know the slides are 20"long ...but I don't know what their width and height is. I need to know these dimensions before I can start building the interior portion of the generator box. And I don't want to frame in that area until the box is built & installed .
So I have to wait a few more days till I can start that project.
I suppose I could just "Wing it" on the dimensions....but I'd rather get it exactly right the first time.

I picked up 2 extremely heavy-duty marine Battery Boxes today from the Local Marine Parts Store and a 100 ft. spool of marine grade shielded 12 AWG 12 volt wiring .
I really prefer the marine grade wiring over the automotive type , because it's really a much better grade of wiring ...plus the +& - wires are encased in plastic forming a really strong and chafe resistant wire package. I used it on our last bus "Home" and really liked it .

Here's a pic of what it looks like


  It looks a bit like Romex 120 household style wiring . I paid around $60.00 for the spool , which I consider a really good deal for such high quality .

The 2 Battery boxes I picked up are made in Canada and are typically marketed to the Boating crowd ...their built like Tanks ,out of very thick chemical resistant plastic . And measure 23" L. x 13"w. x 12" h.
I'll be able to put 3-6 volt batteries in each box
Here's a pic


   They were pretty costly , at around $110.00 for both of them . But they'll last forever.
I'm going to mount the battery boxes on heavy duty slides also ...to make them easier to access .

Today , I really need to just sit in the bus for awhile ...and not do anything but think of where things will be located (wires , pipes & such ) . Plus I need to make a list of the details that need doing , before I get ahead of myself. Which is an easy thing to do at this point of a conversion.

Oct. 12 , 2003
I thought about it for awhile this morning and decided to frame the other side of our bus even though my generator slides didn't come yet.
Now that I'm basically 'laid-off' from work , I cant stand not working on the bus everyday ...and I figure I'm a smart boy , so I wont have any real problems making the generator compartment box work out fine when the slides do get here.

So , I finished all the framing and insulated and put up the vapor barrier on two sections ...and then nailed up the plywood wall on them.
Here's a few pics

Tomorrow morning I'll insulate the rest of the wall and nail up the plywood ...and paint the wall white like I did on the other side . Then I've got to head out to Spenard's and pick up a new staple gun . 
I feel like one of the 3 Stooges when I'm using my old gun ...it never fails , after about 3 staples are put in the wall , the whole gun falls apart ! Uggh !
I would have headed out there today to buy a new Staple gun and the Front & Rear Door Sets ...but I was on a 'Roll' and didn't want to stop.

Once I finish up this wall , I'll start on the rear bus wall section and the generator compartment box.

OCT. 14 , 2003
Poured down literal Buckets of rain yesterday ...so I couldn't cut the plywood sheets for the walls. There's not enough room in the bus to work on a 4x8 sheet of plywood with any precision ...so I sat here at the computer doing business yesterday watching the Deluge outside.
It started out nasty this morning , but cleared up this afternoon . So I zipped out there and got all the plywood cut . Then insulated the rest of the unfinished side and put up the plywood walls ...and painted them too.

Here's a couple of pics

First thing tomorrow morning , I'm going to clean up the inside of the Bus ....it's getting way too messy in there to work comfortably , plus I'm tripping over stuff .
Then I'm going to pull off the rear door lever locking mechanism , and replace it with a real dead-bolt lock.
Once that's installed , I can start on the back wall panels

The heavy-duty slides came in the mail today ...very solid looking slides . 

 

OCT. 16  ,2003
Yesterday I worked for over 6 hours taking the back door lever lock off and trying to get a dead-bolt lock to work right ....it never did work as good as I'd like , so I sent for a better quality one .
Today started off pretty bad with a really terrible wind storm that I guess hit the Northwest and us pretty bad and then I got some bad medical news ...but life goes on .
So I started to build the final 2 main wall frames for the back of the Bus ...then the power went out from the storm .
So , I really cleaned and organized the inside of the bus ...which desperately need doing , and waited for the power to come back on.
When it did come back on ...I finished and installed the back walls .

Here's a few pics

This is really Cool ! I finally got the main walls finished .
If everything works out weather & power wise tomorrow , I'll start building the generator compartment box . 

 

OCT. 17 , 2003
First of all I want thank all the folks who emailed me last night and this morning ... asking if they could help and sending me good wishes . 
I really appreciate you all for doing that ...this is one of the nice things about having a website like this . I get to chat with lots of folks who I consider my friends .

OK , here's what happened ... I've been feeling pretty awful for awhile now , low energy ...hard to breathe ...that kind of stuff . So , I went to the doctor last month and got antibiotics and such ...they also took a series of chest x-rays .
I 'm not sure why the doctor took so long to get in touch me ...but I received a letter the other day telling me I had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease . Which from what I can find out has no cure and eventually gets you in the end .
I was a little freaked out about it ...but I'm feeling hopeful today that "The End " is a long , long time away .
Once again many thanks to you all.
OK , enough about me
 
I built quite a bit of the generator compartment box today. The shell is made out of 1/4 " plywood glued and nailed together...then I cut up pieces of galvanized sheeting ( some stuff I had left over from the panels I put up on the bus ) and glued and screwed it into the box .

What I'm going for is a somewhat fireproof generator compartment . My Honda generator runs on gas , which is pretty flammable stuff .So I'm hoping that if a fire started in the box ...the galvanized sheeting will at least protect the bus long enough for me to dash out there and put the fire out .
One of the things I'm hoping to pick up is a fire extinguisher that has a temperature sensor , that will know if a fire is happening and set itself off . Race cars and some boats use them ... I found one on the net for sale that looks good ...but they wont ship to Alaska . So , I'll keep looking till a find a dealer that does .

Here's a pic of the completed box 

Tomorrow , I'll strengthen up the box with braces and start to add the heavy-duty slides and such

OCT . 18 , 2003
I've always hated what I consider are Goofy & useless Holidays ...and today is one of those . 'Alaska Day '.
Everything's closed today so I cant pick up some of the stuff I need to finish the generator box project .
And my wallpaper was delivered to Spenard's last night ...but I have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to get it delivered because ...it's a "holiday". Hmmmmppp !

But I did get to cut 2 pieces of extremely heavy-duty 4"x4" aluminum angle iron that I'll use to bolt the slides to ...then I bolt through the lower section of the angle iron through the bus floor . 

Since a generator does a lot of rock & rollin' while its running you really need to make sure it's secured well . The generator compartment has to be designed to take the vibrations too ...you don't want it to come undone under your bed . You might not even see that a side has split open a bit ... you don't want to worry about gas fumes , spilled fuel & such leaking through any holes into the interior . Which could be a dangerous & definitely unhealthy thing to happen.

Here's a few pics of the angle braces & our Generator

Tomorrow I'll head out to Spenard's and pick up the bolts & such to finish the box with .

I received a couple of emails recently asking me if I use plans and where to get them for building some of the things I've done with the bus so far .
I wish I could tell you where to get plans and such ...but , there's not much out there on this sort of thing. 
There's a few books that cover converting Buses in a pretty cursory way . I bought one from this 'Famous Bus Converter ' guy ...biggest waste of $40.00 I've ever spent . Most of the book was pretty useless I'm afraid .

Ben over at  RV Bus Conversions  has a nice selection of 'How-to' books that might come in really handy. He's a really nice guy who's been doing this for a lot of years.

But be prepared to understand that most of this stuff is self-designed . You take a look at the space you've got ...try your best to figure out what goes where . Take lots of measurements and design the plans yourself .
It helps to be pretty handy at design and building stuff...but it's not absolutely necessary to be an expert at it . The internet & Libraries are great resources to find out how things are built . I spend a lot of time researching things before building them .

For any of the RV parts and system's I'm not completely knowledgeable about ...I log onto the Escapees RV Club Forums and ask the really informed folks over there how a system should be designed.

Bus conversions are a learning experience ...be prepared to do a lot of research. But it's Cool , you get to learn a lot of very neat stuff .

I've also gotten quite a few emails asking how much it costs to do a Bus Conversion and a few on couldn't you do it for a lot less money by buying stuff at the Goodwill Store & Such. 
When I'm done with the Bus I'll try to get all the sales slips & invoices together...and come up with a end cost.

But I can tell you this costs a lot of money if you do it right . There are some things you can buy used ...like my generator door . But , I don't think it's ever a smart move to buy any of your water tanks , heaters , fridge , stove etc. used . You're only buying someone else's used older & dated piece of equipment .
You might save a few bucks initially ...but you'll pay for it later . Buy New .

I don't convert buses because I'm trying to save a few bucks ...or because I can't afford to buy a more typical RV. I do this because I love building things and I want something much better built than any factory mass-produced RV out there .
I don't think 'cheapness' should be anyone's motivator in choosing a bus to convert over purchasing an RV.
 Firstly, I think a bus conversion is a labor of Love ...it should be a showcase of how much you care to do a good job .
 And equally important ... your Conversion should be safe . No one , including me wants some poorly designed rig parked next to them in a campground . I don't want to have to worry about their rig catching on fire & burning my 'Rolling Home' down , because they tried to save a few bucks and cut corners on some important system.
  
No I don't think it's a smart move to buy some beat up Stove or such at the Goodwill Store just to save a few bucks.

You only live once , what's the point of not building your 'Rolling Home' with the best equipment available . It will look better , work better & be much safer .

OCT. 19 , 2003
It's Millie's day off today and she was really nice and helped me carry our propane Fridge onto the Bus .
It's a Danby/Consul LP Gas Fridge that's supposed to be really energy efficient in it's low-consumption of propane.

Here's a couple of pics of it

We picked it up from The Alternative Energy Store online for $899.00 and had it delivered to Seattle and barged up here to Sitka...all told with delivery , I guess it cost us around $1,100.00
Here's some of the specs on our Fridge

We like it because you don't need any elec. power to run it . It's got this cool fridge light set-up where you use a couple of rechargeable batteries to run it ...plus it's a sealed unit that needs no outside venting to operate safely.
 
I'm going to head out to Spenard's in a few and pick up some of the nut's & Bolt's I need to finish up the Generator compartment.
 

OCT. 20 , 2003
I finished the actual box part of the generator compartment today ...and I think it's works & looks great . Tomorrow I'll add a couple of locks to the Generator compartment door and I also want to put some form of locking mechanism on the slide ...just in case the door flew open unexpectedly while we were cruising along . I'm a firm believer in taking a little extra care with this kind of stuff. Once the locks & such are in , I'll flash around the box on the inside of the Bus and use Spray Foam insulation to seal things up nice & tight.

The first thing I did this morning was walk out to the hardware store and pick up a bunch of nuts & bolts for the generator project ...then I headed home , only to find out they were the wrong size.
So , back to the hardware store to get the right sized stuff .

Before bolting anything together ...I used some really good Duct Tape to cover all the exterior edges of the box . Even though it's nailed and glued together , I still like that extra measure of safety that the duct tape will give us ...if a tiny gap happened in a seam from vibrations.
Then I held the appropriate section of the slide into place in the box and marked where I needed to drill out holes for the bolt attachments. I drilled from the inside of the box ...through the galvanized panel all the way through the wood part of the box .
Then I laid the box in the position it would be in the bus and held the aluminum angle iron securely to the outside edge of the box . Now I drilled through the holes I had made previously for the slides into and through the angle iron piece.
I used a nut, washer , lock washer & a nut to secure the the slide , box and angle iron piece together.
I continued using the method described above until both slides and such were secured firmly to the generator box.

Then I bolted small angle iron braces around the outside of the box for extra strength.
When I finished with that, I turned the box upright so I could get at the interior and squeezed a bead of flexible waterproof caulking on all the inside seams...to keep the gasoline fumes where they belong . Inside the box , venting outside ...not inside the bus.

Then I measured between the 2 slides and cut a piece of 1" oak plywood for the base .
I drilled through the plywood where the holes for the bolt attachments would go and bolted the 2nd. part of the slide mechanism to both sides of the plywood.
I slid the base into the box to make sure the slides met up correctly ...they did . I also added a handle to the top of the base...for obvious reasons.
I painted the base with some latex paint to keep it from soaking up spilled gas...put it aside to dry . 

And then I carried the finished box into the bus ...put into position and drilled through the aluminum angle braces ...all the way through the buses floor.
I ran bolts up from the underside of the bus and tightened it all down securely .

Once the base had dried , I positioned the Generator on it and used braces to secure it to the base.
I wobbled over to the generator door ...lugging the generator with me . ( this puppy's heavy !!!)
And heaved it up and slid the slides into place.
It works great ! I can't help it ...I'm proud of myself .

Here's a couple of pics

We received our Stain glass panels the other day that I'll use to cover the back bedroom window and one to put in the showers window and our 2 stain glass lamps for the bedroom.
I thought I'd show them to ya'all.
We always wanted to have more stain glass in our life ...it will look beautiful in the Bus

Here's some pics

When I'm ready to use the panels , I'm going to do some stain glass framing around the panels to make them fit the window area and mount them in a pretty wooden frame .

We did a lot of web searching to find these . Lot's of sites that sell stain glass ...really only sell junk that would fall apart in no time , or sell their stuff at exorbitant prices. Plus you have to be really careful that you're getting a real stain glass job on a lamp. It should be made up of many pieces soldered together ...not just a lamp shade with a design painted on it .

We found our Stained Glass pieces online at 'Second Nature Stained Glass'.
They have a wonderful variety of stained glass pieces at great prices .We went for all Tiffany inspired pieces ...but they have a really amazing collection of other artists too.
The people there are really nice and helpful . I felt really good about the purchase with these folks...they have a wonderful business and you can tell they care about making you feel good about your purchase . 
This is one of the things that's so Cool about having our own website...when we find a great business that really took care of our needs , we can pass it on to you.
Check them out ... Stain Glass will work in your rig beautifully if you mount it carefully and it will make your Rolling Home a work of Art.  

OCT. 21 , 2003
I received an email this morning from an astute guy name Sammy ...who noticed that the pull-cord for starting the Generator was facing into the generator box ...and wondered if I could change it .
I started up the generator last night to see how it acted ...it worked . But , it was a bit awkward with the pull start .

So this morning I ran out to Murray Pacific and picked up a trolling Block .For those who don't know....a  'Block' is a pulley housed in a casing . I wanted to buy the type that has one side open so you can slip a line into it ...but they didn't have that type.
So I cut out a slit in the Block so I could feed the pull cord into it and attached it with a large Carabineer to the rear frame of the generator .
What I'm trying to describe here is ...since the pull direction of the starter cord on the generator was facing in the wrong direction . I needed a way to re-direct the "pull" toward the outside of the box . That's where the block comes in ...all I need to do now is thread the pull cord into the block and pull towards me . Fixed the problem completely .
Thanks for the 'heads up' Sammy !

I also added chains on each side of the slide base to help hold the weight and to also keep the base from sliding all the way out if I pulled the handle too hard . I wouldn't want that big generator falling on my foot !

I finished up by drilling a hole through the top of the base...all the way through the buses floor . I then inserted an old Phillips screw driver into the hole . Now I have a safety stop that will keep the base from moving if I don't want it to.

Here's a couple of pics

OCT. 23 , 2003
The phone line in the apartment we live in burned out yesterday ...so I spent most of the day tracking down the problem and replacing the phone line.
I also went out to Spenard's and picked up some supplies to do the Buses wallpapering with .

This morning I installed a couple of RV locks on the generator compartment door .
These locks are really easy to install . You just cut out a 3/4" hole , insert the lock body in the hole and tighten down the locking nut on the rear of the locks body .
When you buy the lock , you get a choice of straight or offset locking bars to choose from . I used the offset one because it fit my purpose well.

Here's a couple of pics

I feel I really should do more on the Bus ...but I'm kinda pooped out today

 

OCT. 24 , 2003
I got some stuff done today that really need doing in the Bus .
I built the permanent bases under all the truck boxes and screwed them down to the floor .
All they are , are 2x4's laid flat in a box shape and plywood nailed to their tops to form solid platforms .
I just placed them under the boxes and then used some wood shims ...until the box was sitting flat on the base.
Tomorrow I'll use metal 'mending straps ' to tie the boxes to the wooden bases securely. And fill any interior gaps around the boxes with spray foam.

I also used plywood to cover any gaps around the generator compartment ...and then spray-foam insulated it , to make sure everything was sealed up nice & tight.
Sorry , I didn't bother to take any pictures because it's pretty blasé stuff. 

I needed to get both of these projects completed before I could start on anything else . I glad they're mostly a 'done deal '.
I'll bring out the water tanks , pump & such to the bus tomorrow ...because I think I'll start that project next.

 

OCT . 25 , 2003
I got a few good things done today that I'm happy with.
The first thing I did was build 2 -8' long x 24" high framing pieces that will be the load bearers for our bed alongside the walls.
Here's a few pics

I needed to do this before I put any thing else under the bed area ...because under the foot of our bed (facing toward the front of the bus) will be a couples of clothing Drawers .
I'm figuring on a 24" drawer depth ...so after I got the bed framing up , I measured back 30" inches and built a wooden 'Cradle' for our 2-35 gallon water tanks and glued & screwed it into the floor.
Here's a few pics of the water tanks & cradle

Tomorrow I'll pick up some water line fittings & such and start to build in the water system

OCT. 26 , 2003
Boy ! Let me tell you living on an Island in Alaska really sucks sometimes!
I had to run around to 6 places this morning to try to find some of the simplest plumbing parts in the world ! Uggh ...and most of the stores didn't have what I wanted.

But , anyways ....I did get almost all the fresh water system 'roughed-in ' today.
For the water lines I used CPVC pipe , which is rated to carry hot & cold water . Regular PVC wont carry Hot water...so even if it's cheaper , don't bother . It just wont do the job.

I usually use a hacksaw to cut tubing ...but I picked up a tubing cutter that really made the wrk go smoothly and much quicker than using a saw would have.
They're easy to use ...you place the tubing inside the cutters 'jaws '...tighten down the handle a bit and rotate the cutter around the tubing . After a few rotations ...tighten down the handle a bit more ...rotate it ...and so on ...until the tubing is cut through.

 I already basically know where everything ( sinks & Such) is going to go in the bus...so I just built the water system to match . One detail that I didn't do on our last Bus...that I did today , was to add a shut-off valve on both the hot & cold water lines at each location where the sinks , tub , hot water heater and such would go . 
That will make repairs nice & easy later on.

Here's some pics of what the water system looks like ...I still need to glue it all together and tie it into the city water feed , water pump and tanks ...but it's coming along nicely .

Tomorrow I'll try to track down some of the fittings I still need and start to glue it all together.

 

OCT. 27 , 2003
I got a few more things done on the water system today ...but spent an awful lot of time running from one store to the next looking for one part or another . I still need to track down a few more pieces tomorrow .
Here's what I'm up against ...I've got about 50 1/2" elbows in my water system ...I went to the "Big" Building supply store and wiped out their whole Huge stock of 20 elbows ...then I went to our 'Big' hardware store and bought out their stock of 11 elbows...yikes small towns can drive you nuts some times.
But even with all the troubles finding a few measly pieces...I have to admit designing a water system and putting it together is fun for me ...it's kind of like a Tinker Toy or Erector Set for adults.
Lot's of cool stuff to figure out. 

What I did today is add a Check-Valve to the water line leading to the RV Toilet . A Check-valve is designed to only let water flow in one direction . And I only want water flowing to the toilet and none leaching back to our drinking water for obvious reasons .

I also added a section of water line back to the rear of the bus where we'll have a faucet mounted outside. And started to put together the hoses that go to the water tanks .
I didn't take any pictures because it's an incredibly dark , gloomy and stormy day ...and even with the flash ...it would have depressed me too much to see them .

Tomorrow I go on what seems an endless quest to find some incredibly simple plumbing parts...and then I start to plumb up the Water Tanks.

OCT. 28 , 2003
I could have 'rushed' and gotten the water system done sooner... but I'm glad I didn't. This is important stuff to get done right ...Buses & RV's are tiny houses that need lots of careful thinking and planning 'ahead'. It's really easy to forget some important detail.

I almost started gluing up the water system last night ...then I remembered that I'm going to add a hand-pump to the sink that will allow us to access our water supply without the need for any electrical power or a campgrounds pressurized water hookup.

It wouldn't have been a big problem if I had glued up the system...I could have always just cut into the line somewhere and added a new water line later. But , I think it's a smart move to get the whole system in before gluing it up.
I like to stand in the Bus and look at a system carefully from all angles ...and try to figure out if it's going to work efficiently and make sure I didn't forget any important part or detail.

The best way to go about planning any system is to draw up a system's plan first. It really helps.
I did that for our water system...but things put on paper aren't always the most efficient way to go about something in the real world.
A plan is necessary for helping you figure out how much pipe and such you'll need ...but once you get in there and start the actual building part of the system , you're going to find all sorts of things that need changing from the plans.
Staying 'flexible' is really important with this sort of thing.

Today , I made the line for the hand-pump ...added a line to the rear of the bus for an outside faucet and glued up the whole system .
The gluing part was pretty easy ...but I got a bit messy with the purple primer. But , that doesn't matter because I'm covering the floor with some really nice Vinyl Flooring later on...which will hide any of the nasty bits.

To glue the pieces of CPVC pipes & fittings together ...first you use the purple primer/cleaner to wipe all around the joint and the inside of the fitting .Then you use Glue made for CPVC , that you apply to the outside of the pipe where the join will be...and also a little inside the fitting. You want to use enough glue so that when the fitting is pushed into place ...a small bead of glue will have formed outside the fitting on the pipe...making a good seal.
Now you push the fitting onto the pipe ...approx. 1/4 turn from where you want the fitting to be when finished ...and twist it to the appropriate spot .
Piece of Cake !
But remember to wear Eye Protection and rubber gloves...the glue is very caustic.
It's also extremely flammable and the vapors are harmful ...so open a few windows and don't smoke or run any electric stuff.

Here's a few pictures of the pipes all glued up...and our new outside faucet.

When I got done gluing up the water pipe system ...I got the majority of the water tank hoses and fittings put together.
here's a pic


Tomorrow I'll finish up the water tanks and hook up the 12 volt water pump ...then hook up the outside water feeds ( City pressurized and Tank Fill )

OCT. 29 , 2003
I did it ! Whoo-Hooo !
I got the whole basic water system installed today .
First, I added a water tank drain pipe system ...to empty the 2-35 gallon water tanks . Then I hooked up the city water lines and tank fill lines to the system.
And finished up by installing the 12 volt pump & accumulator tank 

Here's a few pics of the system

The first 3 pics show the new tank drain valve installation .
 What I did was hook up a line to both of the water tanks at 2 of the bottom outflow holes . When you get a water tank ...usually a number of tank fittings are included . So , I picked the correct sized screw-in fitting with a barb on one end ...applied some plumbers tape to the threads and screwed it into the hole at the bottom of the tank . And tightened it down securely .
NOTE: Never over-tighten the plastic tank fittings . It's very easy to either break them or strip the internal tank threads.
Plumbers tape is a very thin piece of Teflon tape that's used to help make a good seal . It comes in a roll ...all you do to use it , is wrap the tape a few turns around the fittings threads.

Next , I used the correct sized Barbed Elbow & Tee fittings , hose clamps ...and some food-grade plastic water lines to attach an outflow line to both tanks .
At the end of the outflow line I attached a barbed 1/2 " screw-in fitting that would fit into the 1/2 CPVC line.
Once everything was hooked up right to the CPVC Fitting ...I fabricated a line with a valve along it . Then I used a 3/4" Circle cutter attachment on my drill ...and drilled all the way through the floor to the outside.
And fed the CPVC Line through the hole.
I crawled under the bus and cut a 3/4 hole that was in line with the CPVC Line & Elbow ...through the side of the Bus and fabricated the rest of the outflow system.

The 4th pic shows the the 12 volt pump , Accumulator tank and the check-valve I installed to protect the water pump line and to make sure that no pressurized city water could flow into the water tanks and blow them up.
The Shurflo Check Valve I added to our system ...has 3 inlets/outlets .
One side is designed to be tied into the line that feeds out of the City Water pressure regulator.

Note: Always use a pressure regulated city water feed on your rigs . You can destroy your whole water system if you don't.
The pressure regulator controls the amount of water pressure coming into your rig...and keeps the flow & PSI at a safe rate.

One of the other outlets on the check-valve is designed to be plumbed into your water system.
You can tell which outlet should be plumbed into your water system...by looking on the side of the check-valve. You'll see an arrow imprinted on it.
Just , tie it into your water line with the arrow pointing toward your water line system.

The final inlet is a barbed one ...this is where you'll attach the hose coming from the outlet side of the accumulator tank/water pump. 

I was told it really wasn't necessary to add a check-valve to the system ...because our Shurflo 12 volt water pump already had an internal check built into it .
But, I'm a bit on the paranoid side...and figured an extra check-valve couldn't hurt.

The 12 volt Shurflo pump and Accumulator Tank was really easy to install...just follow the easy instructions that come with the tank and pump and you'll do fine.
What's an Accumulator Tank ?
It's a device that's designed to keep the flow out from the pump at a steady & somewhat pressurized state. Without one ...you can run into the pump , sometimes cycling ( running) on & off all the time.
It's a good thing to add to your water system.

The final Pic shows the lines leading to the inlets for "City" water ( anytime you rig is hooked to a faucet somewhere ) and the Tank fill line with the tank vent hose duct taped to the top of the fill hose.
You must get that vent hose up higher than the water tank . It doesn't have to be 'way up' there. But you should at least try to get it up as high as I did.
The reason for this is...when you fill a water tank ...you don't want to create a vacuum. The water going in needs to displace the air in the tanks in order to flow.
Without a vent...you'd only get a couple of gallons of water into your tank before the air-pressure in the tank would create a pressure barrier and stop the flow of water.
That's where the vent hose comes into play.

For my city water outflow line , I used a stainless steel braided hose ( like you'd use under a sink to attach your Faucets to water line )...with flared fittings on it's ends .
    

Tomorrow , I'll clean up the inside of the bus...scrub the floor a little , and then I'll use 3/4" Emt cable clamps to attach the water pipes to the floor and walls .
I'm going to have to wait a few days to test out the water system...because I added a few new fittings and such today .
It's starting to get a bit on the cold and damp side here in Sitka Alaska...so I want to make sure the CPVC glue is completely cured before I run any water through the system.

When I'm done attaching all the pipes and such securely...I'm going to start on the propane lines/system . Since it's almost winter here...I want to get our propane Catalytic heater running , to warm up the Bus and make it easier to work .Plus the heat will help glues & such to dry quicker.
I was originally planning on starting the electrical system next...but the propane system installation is a smarter next step in the conversion .

 

OCT. 30 , 2003
I had a few obligations to take care of this morning and afternoon ...but after taking care of stuff I started on the first part of our Propane/LP system.
First I started by cutting a hole in the front of one of the truck boxes that were going to use to carry a 7 gallon LP tank in...then I placed a vent over the hole and screwed it into place.

Here's a pic
 

Then I placed the propane tank into the box and made a few marks where I would attach 2-1"x1" aluminum angle-iron pieces...that would hold the tank from moving back & forth while we traveled .
I drilled out holes in the angle irons and used 'Liquid Nails' on the underside of the angle irons to hold them in place ...and to make a seal against propane gas leaking through any holes into the bus.
I then drilled through the holes I had made in the angle irons through the bottom of the box...and used metal screws to hold it all in place.

After that was done ...I put the tank back into the box and found the right point where I would attach the steel strap that's made to hold a LP tank in place in RV's.

I picked up the tank retaining strap from Dyer's RV online for around $6.00 + shipping.
Dyer's is a great resource for all the hard to find bit's & pieces that you'll need to do a quality job of converting your rig...Their shipping fees to Alaska are outrageous ...but they have stuff that no one else has , at good prices.

I drilled through the strap through the back of the box and used a nut & bolt set to secure it tightly to the box.
Here's a pic


After I took this pic ...I spread a copious amount of liquid nails around all the bottom edges of the angle irons and on top of the screw heads to seal the seams up good .
Here's a pic with the LP tank installed


Tomorrow , if the weather holds I'll get the other box that's going to hold our other LP tank finished ... I still want to get the interior water piping secured too.

OCT. 31 , 2003
Happy Halloween Folks

I got up early this morning and got the other propane tank compartment box dealt with.
It was the same as yesterday , construction wise .
But I did forget to mention a few details on how I did a few things on the boxes.

First the vent I used for the boxes is a Soffit vent ...they're made out of galvanized aluminum with a piece of screen on the back to keep the bugs out. You can pick one up at any building supply store for a few bucks.

Another really important detail is... I used my grinder to round off the edge that is exposed on the aluminum angle irons I'm using to hold the tanks from moving back & forth. This is a mandatory thing to do...you don't want to have any sharp edges that will cut a propane hose or such in your tank compartment.

Here's a couple of pics of the details

When I got done with the box ...I moved into the Bus and used EMT Conduit straps to secure all the water lines to the floor and walls.

Then ...I have admit , I was a little scared to do it ! But , I ran a hose to the city water inlet ...turned it on and made a dash for the inside of the Bus . I half expected to see water spurting out all over the place...but it worked great .

All the pipes & fittings held the pressurized water like it's supposed to ...no leaks. 
Very Cool...boy was I relieved .
Since the system is brand new with all the valves in a closed position ...I had to open a valve a little to allow the air out of the line ...and a spurt of water.

I left the water turned on full for around 45 minutes while I cleaned up the Bus from the water line and propane box projects...so I could check on the fittings every once in awhile and look for leaks or seepage.
I'm happy to say , nothing leaked .
I also marked the Hot & Cold water lines 'H' & 'C' to make it easy later on when it will be important to know what line is what when I hook up the faucets.

Here's a couple of pics of the water lines secured to the floor. The EMT straps are a little hard to see...but you'll get the idea.

After I got the Bus cleaned up , I went to the Local propane service dealer and had a nice chat with a really nice guy about what would be the best and most safe way to go about our LP/Propane line system. 
Monday I'll head out to the local steel guy and buy some Black pipe & Fittings for LP lines.
And pick up a few valves and such too.
Then I'm going to pay the Propane Service guy to put the pieces together for me .
I know how to do a lot of things ...but I'm not at all comfortable working with a flaring tool . Especially when a mistake I made could cost Millie her life....so I'll pay the $73.00 an hour fee to have a Pro do it.

He wont be able to come over to our place to work on the Bus for at least 2 weeks ...so I'll do a few things in the interim.
I want to start to wire up the phone lines ...run the speaker wires . And hopefully install the Gray & Black Water tanks.

This is Cool...things are moving forward on the Bus in a positive way.

 

Nov. 3 , 2003
I was pretty sick Saturday and Sunday ...so I really didn't get much done.
Although I did get up Sunday afternoon and cut out a few underside Bus braces that were in the way of where the Black & Gray water Holding tanks will go.

I used the Grinder to grind off the rivets that were holding the braces in place. The Braces I took off are not really absolutely necessary to the buses strength...so it wont be a big problem . They're there to keep the lower portion of the steel from getting compressed in ...if you backed up over something or such. Which I have no intent of doing ...Knock on Wood.

Here's a pic of the braces I'm talking about

  Today , since the Sun was out ...I cut the hole where the Vent for the propane stove will be .
After the hole was cut ...I installed the exterior vent . 
It was just your basic drill a hole & use a metal screw operation , other than... I did add a piece of plywood on the top edge of the vent to bring it to a more vertical upright position because of the curve of the buses roof .
I used Butyl tape caulking on the insides of the vents lip to keep things nice & dry.
When the vent was screwed down tight ...I cut a piece of galvanized steel to make a rain runoff ledge above the vent .
Because a buses roof has a pretty pronounced curve to it up there ...you really need little details like this to keep the rain from getting into places you don't want.
The vent itself should keep the rain out ...but it's better to think ahead in situations like these.

Here's a couple of pics of the new stove vent outlet

After I got the vent installed ...I brought our 12-volt 'Ventline' stove vent/ fan unit outside to warm up in the sun for awhile.
And then spray painted it white to match the other appliances were using.
I used a paint that's designed for appliances ...made by Rust-oleum .
Here's a pic


Tomorrow ...if I feel up to it , I'll head out and start shopping around for the stuff for our Propane/LP system
 

NOV. 6 , 2003
Finding the right parts to build the LP/Propane system ...has been a bit like the water system was.
One place has the parts you want ...but the clerk/expert tells you , " You don't want to use that ! You'll Blow yourself up"....the next place you go , another 'expert' tells you, "Don't listen to that guy ...he's full of it".
But, even after all that ...I think I've muddled through all the good and bad info , and come up with a safe system.

I'll be using steel 'black' pipe , that's rated for LP systems... for the main lines coming from our propane tanks . With brass ball shut-off valves at each appliance.
I was tempted to go for Copper lines...but black pipe is stronger and you don't have to worry about accidentally dropping something on it ...and breaking it. 

Tuesday afternoon I called one of the local steel dealers and ordered sections of steel pipe and asked them to thread both ends...
Yesterday morning I walked out to their shop to pick up the pipe...only to find that the job they did on threading the pipe was horrible. Lot's of broken and crushed threads...basically it was useless and unsafe to to use. So I told them I didn't want the pipe and headed to another shop...where they did a great job of threading the pipe. But the guy forgot to taper the thread enough for a fitting to really fit the way its supposed to...so I waited around for them to get back from lunch and had it re-done right.

I've been 're-thinking' my idea of having a propane service guy build our system ...and decided to do it myself.
For a number of reasons ...I think it's better that I do it.

First, it's not 'Rocket Science' . It's really no different than building a good water system . You want a completely leak-proof , well thought out and safe system.
 I can do that.

Second ...and what I feel is most important . Is I like things done right . 
I don't want some 'nice' service guy...mucking around in my bus , making decisions about what's going to work for me. Decisions that might work fine in a house...but not in a home that's designed to move about.

This is an interesting problem that I've run into doing the conversion . Even though you can use 99% of the stuff people use in building a house in a Bus conversion ...you really have to make sure everything is built stronger and fits better than what is considered 'OK' for a house.

One of the service guys told me yesterday ..." It's not a problem if your threads (on the pipe) have a bunch of dings in them ...just use a lot of plumbers tape on it"...another guy told me , " It's only necessary for the pipe fitting to take 1-11/2 turns on the black pipe...that's plenty tight enough for an LP line ...we do it all the time in houses"
What they said might be OK for a system designed to be put in a house...although I have some serious doubts about that. But, I wouldn't want to try any of that ( even if they're right ) in a 'Home' that moves.

A Bus , traveling down some dirt road somewhere ...heading to some pretty boondocking site . Is going to be bumped and rattled about quite a bit...I don't want any weak lines that can come undone.
It's been interesting dealing with some of the 'experts' around here . Most of them are extremely nice and supportive folks , who truly want to help.
 But a lot of them just don't 'get it'...that your 'home' moves, rather than just sits on some foundation...and needs to be built differently.

I'm sure some of them think I'm being over-cautious and a bit silly to be so demanding that I want perfect threads and such ...and you'll most likely run into the same attitude in your conversion job.
But, don't get intimidated about it...'Stick to your Guns'. Be demanding ...make sure everything fits perfectly to your specs. Not just some well meaning service guy's specs.

Finally , what really set me on the road of doing the LP system myself ...was I got this Great and very supportive Email from a guy named Bill.
Here's some of what he said...

"Michael with all the things you can do, piping in the gas should be a snap. Yes you do need to be careful for Millie and your sake, but the man you’re paying to do this can mess up just as easy as you. You have thought out every part of your bus and have paid good money for the best and safest items; it would be a shame to not know for yourself that every point felt right when tightening it. This is the time to learn, when it in the stage it’s in now. Not after your bus is built, packed, and 200 miles from the nearest repair man."

Thank You Bill...

Here's a pic of some of the bit's and pieces that I'll be using in our LP System

I got the main Black LP Line system finished today... first I brought all the pipe sections & fittings into our Apartment this morning , to warm up a bit.
Then I spread something called Leak-lock on the threaded pipe end and inside the fitting and started putting the system together.
You use this Leak-lock stuff to get a good seal on the pipes & such.

Since my black pipe system is made up of bunch of fittings , nipples & pipe sections...all having right-handed threads ...I use 2 pipe wrenches to get the system put together . 1 wrench to hold the pipe secure and non-moving ...and the other to twist the fitting or nipple on .
You have to use 2 wrenches in an operation like this...because if you couldn't hold the pipe from turning ...it would loosen up at the other end , while you're tightening up something.

I put a ball shut-off valve on each appliances line...so that we can still operate the other LP/Propane Appliances while I work any one of them.

After I got the 'Lines' all put together ...I carried them out to the bus . And used a 1" hole saw to drill through the propane compartment box .
Then I fed the end of the LP Line through the hole...and hung the line to the wall , using EMT straps.

Here's some pics of our main LP lines
 

After I got the lines installed ...I headed out to Sitka Plumbing and asked them to make me a couple of sections of flexible LP lines.
There's this new stuff that's made up of a stainless steel tubing core covered by yellow rubber.
All the Plumbing guys say it wonderful stuff ...and it's covered under "Code" to use inside a dwelling.
I'll use one of the sections to cover the distance from the propane water heater to the black pipe ...and the other to go to the Catalytic Heater.

For our Stove & Fridge I'll use the same material set-up as flexible Appliance lines.

Early tomorrow I'll head out to the propane service guy I spoke to the other day and have him make up the black rubber hoses & such for the regulator .

 

NOV. 7 , 2003
I was looking back over the progress on our Bus this morning...checking out my pics & such .And realized I think I forgot to mention something early on that's kind of important.
If you can do it...paint your Bus first before installing things like the elec. access ports, exterior lights & such.
It will save you a lot of time & effort . I'm going to have to cover and tape up a lot of stuff before I can paint the Bus.
In my situation, for a number of reasons it couldn't be helped ...time , weather ...available cash .
So, after you install any of the main exterior components ...that you'll paint over (exterior compartment doors etc.)
Stop right there ...and paint your Bus. 
It will be a lot easier ...and look nicer too.
I'm going to go through some serious suffering when I paint my Bus next year .

Well here's how the rest of my day went...
I headed out very early to meet up with a propane service guy who's going to make the rubber 'pig-tails' and the POL section that screws into the propane tanks...so, I left him my regulators and let him know what sizes of hoses I'll need.

Then things went downhill in big way.
After I dropped off the regulators , I headed out to the Local plumbing place where I've been getting all the fittings and pipe for our LP system...to pick up a couple of Bushings I need to finish up the Black pipe section of our System .
So , I go up to the counter and ask if they have anymore 'Leak-Lock'...and the clerk tells me they're out of it.

Here's where the Fun part starts . I hear someone say from down the aisle "Didn't you buy 2 tubes the other day ? What do you need more for....you could plumb up 3 houses with those 2 tubes"
And out walks the head plumber who had been away for a couple of days...So I tell him , well ...I asked one of the guys here who said he was a plumber how to use the Leak Lock and he told me to spread a lot of it around the threads & bunch inside the fitting .
Guess what ?
WRONG !
The plumber tells me that's the last thing you want to do in an LP line ...because you don't want bits of the stuff flaking off and gumming up the system.
According to the Head Plumber ...you only want to smear a small amount of the stuff on the first couple of threads.

So....now I have to take it all apart and redo the whole thing . Which is going to be a hernia popping experience . Because the leak lock has had enough time to really harden up .

I'm really pissed off about this ...I'm an intelligent guy who knows how to ask questions and am very good at listening . I went into this LP project appropriately nervous ...and asked a bunch of questions to people who said they knew what they were talking about before doing anything on it.
Ughh ! I can't wait to see that guy who works at the plumbing place who said he was a plumber ...and give him my 'what the hell are you telling people your a plumber for you jerk ' speech.

I'm going to have to buy all new fittings for my system ...because it's silly taking chances with then now that they have hardened bits of Leak lock in them.
That's going to cost me another $50.00 +

But all things considered, I'd much rather find out about this now...rather than later when I have a bunch of cabinets and such covering the LP pipes.
Even so ...it really sucks when you go to a store that's supposed to have the best parts and the best people...ask the clerk a question ...he says 'I don't know...but one of our plumbers will '...gets one of these alleged plumbers .
Who in the end doesn't know squat ...and sure as hell shouldn't be telling people he does.
Geez Louise

 

NOV. 9 , 2003
Saturday , I headed out and picked up all new Black pipe fittings and some pipe threading compound ...to redo our LP system.

Today I got in there and redid the LP lines right ... Knock on wood.
Here's a pic showing the shorter run of the line . At the bottom right of the pic you'll notice a tee with a small piece of black pipe facing downward.
This is so you can clean out the LP line . From what I've been told , sometimes excess water & such can gather in the black pipe...and you need a way to clean it out. 
It's capped off at the end...of course.

 

Tomorrow , I'll check to see if the propane guy made up our Hoses & such ...and if he did , I'll finish up the propane system.

 

NOV. 11 , 2003

UPDATE !
Sorry for the website being down for awhile ... I've been having some pretty serious 'navigation' issues with the site .
It's a very large website...with lots of stuff going on . It was getting out of hand.
So , at nights... for awhile now I've been building a completely new Website.
Yesterday afternoon , I wiped out the original ...and started up-loading chunks of the new site.

This is it , The new improved Mobile Homestead ...it will take me some time to get everything up & running correctly . So you'll find lot's of pages "under construction" for awhile.

I tried to keep the page names the same as the old site ...to make it possible for anyone who 'bookmarked' them to view them on this new site ... but some of the pages are named differently . So, I'm sorry if your Bookmarks don't work...but I had to do it.

I tried to design this newer version of The Mobile Homestead a bit easier to navigate & find stuff .

Well , Back to work ...only 200 more pages to go.

P.S. I'm heading out to the propane guy to pick up the new LP hoses this afternoon ... I want to get the LP/Propane system done ...so I can get on with something else.

NOV. 12 , 2003
I called the Propane place yesterday to find out if my Hoses were ready to pick up ....They weren't , because they forgot to make them. So, I asked them to give it a go again .
This morning I called them ...and they were ready ...so I picked them up.

Here's a pic to show you what you get for almost $200.00 here in Sitka



Not only did this puny set-up cost almost $200.00 ...part of that $200.00 was me having to buy extra parts/fittings because the guy who put the tubing together ...did it wrong.

After I picked up the yellow Flex LP Lines ...I headed out to the other propane place to pick up my regulators with the POL fittings & such...
Only to find out that one of the guys who worked there , threw out the bag with my 2 LP gas regulators that I had left there the other day to get outfitted with the rubber hoses.
So , I was nice about it and all ...but I did tell the guy I didn't appreciate this in the least.
So , he said he was sorry about and gave me a couple of replacement Regulators ...and made up the hoses for them.

Here they are


My original Regulators we're allegedly made for RV's ...I not sure what that means . It could just mean they charged me more money for the 'Approved for RV use' tag.
Hopefully these new ones are alright .

At first I wondered if I was having a run of Bad Luck ...or maybe my 'Stars' weren't aligned right for building LP systems .
But , it's much simpler than that I'm afraid .
It's just Unbelievably BAD Service we get these days . People just don't give a flying you know what about doing a decent job.

That vent I installed the other day has been leaking like a sieve. I was a bit suspicious of it when I
 installed it ....it's got some pretty big vent slits in it . The rain ...goes right in it.
Some of this RV stuff makes me wonder sometimes....just what kind of drugs the designers were on when they came up their great ideas for RV parts.

This is the vent I'm talking about
 

So yesterday I went out to Spenard's and bought a Household style of vent , designed to do the same thing ...but obviously thought out by someone with half a brain.

Here's what the vent looks like


The Vent as is ...is a bit too big in it's exterior depth ( the portion that sticks outside ). 
I worried that the 4-1/2 depth might bring me close to max. legal vehicle width issues ...so , using some Yankee Ingenuity ...I came up with what I think is a great solution to the problem .

I marked out on the outside portion of each side of the vent some lines to use as a guide.
Then used my Jigsaw to cut out the vents metal . Once I had a triangular piece cut out of each side ...I bent the front of the vent downward  .
And drilled through the lip I had left on the vents side down through the body of the vent.
Then I pop-riveted the 'New' sides together.

After I got that done...I went inside the bus and measured the depth of the hole I had cut for the original vent. I drew out lines on the portion of the vent that sticks into your walls ...in my case 2 inches . Then I cut off the extra with my Jigsaw.

Here's a couple of Pics of what the new vent looks like now

Not too Shabby !

Then I pulled off the leaky vent and installed the new one in it's place.

Here's a pic of the new vent on our Bus. The picture quality isn't that great because it was raining pretty hard when I took the pic...not as hard as when I installed the vent though .
 

Tomorrow I need to take care of some pretty important business ...but afterwards , I'll try to get the rest of the LP Line system hooked up.

NOTE :
I've gotten a few emails lately asking me for a schematic drawing of our fresh water system .
Here it is ...it's not at all to scale . But it does show the basic setup.
Click-On Pic


 

NOV. 13 , 2003
O NO !!!
Winters coming on fast here...it snowed a bit last night .
Here's a pic of it creeping down the Mountain toward my house
 

I've run into another snag on our LP line system ...it seems the flexible LP appliance cords I picked up might not work for me.
I was reading the little tag on the cord , and it said "Do Not use in an RV or Trailer ". I'm not sure if it's just a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo designed to protect the company ...or some Real issue.
So, I'm going to do some research on this before doing any more on the LP system.

I know the Black Pipe and valves are fine to use in a moving Home...but the Flex Cords have me worried.
Speaking of the Valves I used...they're Ball Valves with a OWG rating . This means they're OK to use for Oil , Water & LP Gas. Make sure any valve you use in your conversion has 'OWG' imprinted on it . Otherwise you will be in big trouble...the blowing yourself up kind of trouble.

I need to get this LP system done soon ...it's driving me batty . I don't want to start on anything else , until I get this figured out . This is way too important not to get done right .
Uggh , it's getting awful cold in the Bus to work without heat.

NOV. 15 , 2003
I've been really busy hitting the Bus Converters Chat rooms and forums...trying to get a straight forward answer on my LP system . So far ...not much to tell ya.

I can say 1 of those pieces of yellow propane hose that I spent almost $200.00 for , isn't going to work . I'll have to use copper hose instead .
I may just go with copper hose pieces to all the appliances for now ...and when we get back to civilization I'll have more stores and options to switch the lines to something else.

About 1/2 the answers I'm getting in the chat rooms is to use the same rubber hose I used for the propane regulators for the Appliance hoses .
The other 1/2 says don't do that you'll blow up .
 
 

NOV . 17 , 2003
I haven't given up on the Bus or anything ...just felt a little sick for a few days.
Tomorrow I'll pick up some Copper Tubing and a Flaring Tool ...and start practicing making the Flared Ends.

I'm hoping the store where I picked up the Yellow Propane Lines will give me a discount on the copper . I think they should , because I asked a Licensed guy if the Yellow Hoses were up to code for RV use ...and he said yes . Turns out he was wrong . 
I think he should have known this and told me it wouldn't work...before I spent almost $200.00 for something that's useless.

Ugghh...It started Snowing here today

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