Monitoring your tanks can be as easy as shining a flashlight at the side of your tank to illuminate what is inside. If you want something a step up from that, you can make sure your tank has a couple of threaded fittings near the top and bottom, then install a transparent tube between them to show the level. Something like this:
Low-tech tank level indicator.
Both of those low-tech options require going outside, since that is where I put my tanks. I wanted an easy solution that could be checked from inside, at a glance.
RVs usually ship with electrodes built into the tank that make contact with the water at various levels. It is usually not very precise and they tend to fail. Since I am installing my own tank from scratch, I decided to go with something better that didn’t require punching holes in the tank for electrodes.
The SeaLevel 709-HP3W Tank Monitor is marketed as an upgrade for an RV tank level monitor, after the stock monitor fails. It requires no holes in your tank and the level is shown in a precise percentage on the display. However, it only works on certain tank materials and requires a bit of setup. Here is my video showing how I did it:
I forgot to show the LP gas install, partially because it was so easy. I bought this monitor unit to install on my tank, then just wired it up to the display. It literally just clipped into place on the tank.
At the time that I am writing this post, I have had this monitor for over 4 years. It is accurate and I love that it includes the water tanks, battery, and LP gas monitoring in one unit. In colder weather the levels may show incorrect amounts or not detect the senders, but it hasn’t ever lead to a major emergency. My fallback is to put a flashlight up against the tank and visually check the level.
The engine alternator charges the engine batteries while the engine is running. The solar panels charge the house batteries. The battery isolator sits on a circuit between the engine battery and the house batteries.
When the engine is running, and the engine batteries reach full charge, then the isolator closes the circuit and and starts sending juice to the house batteries. If the engine batteries run down too much, then the circuit opens, to allow more charge to go back into the engine battery. This way, the house batteries can’t suck up all the charge and drain the engine batteries.
The great thing about this “smart” isolator is that it works both ways. If the house batteries top up from solar, then the isolator can be turned on to top up the engine batteries as well! Therefore, the engine battery won’t run down from inactivity.
I’ve played with this system a bit and discovered that both systems can work in conjunction with each other, to a point. With the solar panels getting full sun, and the engine producing energy, both battery banks fill up rather quickly. Sometimes, though, the charge controller will get confused about why there is so much electricity going into the house batteries, and lay off the bulk charging. So, it takes some calibration.
I installed a switch, for maximum control over when the isolator can turn on or off, too.
Overall, this was a relatively inexpensive upgrade that makes a world of difference.
Good god, this project sucked. It was easily the most frustrating job in the whole project. Why? Read on.
Background
I was watching a lot of YouTube videos back in the research phase of this project, for inspiration. I came across a channel that I thought was doing a very nice job overall. Then he published a video describing an accident that had occurred due to a gas explosion in his own bus. He had a leak in the cab, and the propane smell additive in his propane had dissipated. When he sparked up the stove, he blew the windows out of his bus, with him inside it. There was a fire, he was seriously injured, and as far as I know, his bus project was never completed as a result.
So, for obvious reasons, I was afraid of propane. This was going to be a project that I would hire out. So I called some plumbers. They said they don’t work on RVs, and to check in with RV shops. RV shops either said they don’t work on custom builds, or they said that I would need to bring the bus to them. That was a problem, because the bus was not registered to drive. After a lot of back and forth and probably about 2-dozen calls to various specialists, I gave up and decided to do it myself.
With my paranoia fully charged, I was determined to not blow myself up. This meant more research to be done, the purchasing of the best tools for the job, and a lot of careful and methodical work with checks and double checks and triple checks along the way. I bought a Pipe Flare Kit to prepare the connections, and a pipe cutter to neatly cut my lines. Neither of these were tools I had ever used or even seen somebody use. I became intimately familiar with the tools over the course of this project.
Doing the Work
I did not want to do this job going into it. So the frustration of having to take my life into my own hands, plus the absolute NIGHTMARE of threading copper tubing throughout small spaces in a vehicle without kinking, puncturing, weakening, or getting dirt inside, was a recipe for a very cranky Isaac. I had to be firm with the tubing, but not so firm that I broke it. I was crawling around on my back, cramping my fingers into small spaces all day. All of the tools were very tough on my hands, too. It sucked!
In the end, I got it in place, and protected the lines as much as I could. It wasn’t the most pretty installation, but it was good enough that I could trust that I would not explode.
I learned through research that the best policy is to place as many connections and junctions placed outside the living space as possible. That way, if there are leaks, they are outside, rather than accumulating gas in the cabin. Good policy, but I also wanted to be sure nothing leaked AT ALL. I was extremely careful to test every connection for leaks, and THERE WERE LEAKS. I had to go back and replace a couple of connections and tighten several pieces. This didn’t really inspire self-confidence in my abilities. I powered forward. After testing and re-testing everything over and over again, I was finally confident that my connections were secure.
Safety First
Still, I installed a propane and carbon monoxide alarm, just to be sure. Then, I left the space for a few days to see if the alarm went off. It did! This was not due to the propane, since the propane was not turned on yet. The batteries were the culprit. I had just topped them off with distilled water, so they were burping hydrogen. That in itself is a problem, since hydrogen is also explosive. I solved the issue by installing an active ventilation system in the battery box. After that, no more false-alarms.
Moment of Truth
Finally, the moment had arrived. I hooked up a BBQ propane tank to my propane adapter. My main propane tank was empty, so this was my only option for the final test. I cranked the handle and went into the bus, smelling around for rogue propane smells. Satisfied that I wouldn’t blow myself up I sparked up the stove. That blue flame was such a relief to see. I tested the other propane appliances, and was pleased to see that everything worked. My job was done. Good riddance!
This project was a turning point in the build. Having comfortable seating changed the whole feel of the bus from a shell to a viable living space. As in any skoolie conversion, storage was essential. So, I built bench seats that can expand into beds, with drawers underneath, for storage.
I constructed the benches in different ways. One used plywood framing, like a cabinet. The other was framed with 2x4s that were assembled into a box. In the first bench, we had to add spacers where the drawer slides go, so that there was space between the screws, and so that the front face would be a decent thickness to support the bed. We switched to the 2x4s because it would make the frame more solid, and just as thick, without having to use spacers. Either method works, though, so I love each bench seat equally.
The slide-out top is a pretty simple mechanism. It’s two interlaced panels made out of slats, so that they can expand within each other. It takes a little bit of forethought, because the support on the mobile slat piece needs to be assembled under the fixed slats. I made a spacer to be sure that each slat was perfectly parallel, and provided enough clearance for the slide to move without much resistance. I used a straight edge to make sure the front was flush and looked nice. It was less important for the rear to look nice, since it would be covered by a foldable seat back.
Once the slats were installed, and eventually the cushions were put in place, weight put on the seats would be evenly distributed.
I did discover later that the brad nails were not adequate to keep the structure solid. I added some screws later, for extra strength.
One other difference between the first and second bench was that the second bench needed to have at least 2 inches of clearance behind it, to make room for table storage. The 2×4 framing stands on its own a little better, so it was easier to assemble without relying on the rear wall. Also, the seat back utilized triangular pieces for structural support, so that the seat back would hold up on its own, without leaning against the back wall.
The plan for the shower evolved over time. Originally, it was going to be more form than function. After many revisions to the plan, we decided that we wanted the shower to stand out as a unique feature. We wanted to tile it!
I had seen other skoolies with tile showers before, so I knew it could be done, but I was skeptical about how well it would hold up over time. So, I went back to skoolie.net and started looking for some updates from builders that had done it. With very few exceptions, people reported that the shower was holding together just fine. There were some recommendations for specific grout and thin-set to use, so I took notes and slowly started making decisions.
First, we had to do some prep work. With the plumbing in, I just needed to figure out how to install a vent and a light. You can see how I did that in this video:
The process was the same for most other vents, but I did need some wiring for the fan. Overall, this was pretty uneventful. The fun stuff is what came after the infrastructure was in place and it was time to build the shower walls!
Here’s the video on how I did that:
To summarize, I put up a vapor barrier, then used Wonderboard backerboard to line the walls. I did add a few extra studs for added support. There was a learning curve, so it looked rather rough. But, most things were going to be covered by tile and other trim pieces, so I wasn’t too worried. There are other options for tile backer material out there, but I wanted something that was somewhat rigid on its own, which is why I went with Wonderboard.
After the wonderboard was installed, I added a couple coats of RedGard waterproofing membrane, and after some good advice from some kind Instagram followers, I used Sikaflex construction sealant to fill and seal all of the voids and cracks in the Wonderboard. I also added some mesh tape to the cracks for added stability and to allow the thinset to adhere over the sealant a little better.
Next came the thinset. I used stuff that was a little more expensive than average and said that it was more crack resistant. I’m not sure it actually is, but for such a small space, I figured why not? I only ended up using half a bag for my job. I mixed it according to the directions and Julene did most of the applying of the mix to the wall. She got volunteered for that part because she originally insisted on the tile. Once it was applied to the backer board, we just carefully applied our sheets of tile directly to it. We used horseshoe tile spacers to make sure the sheets were properly spaced as we went.
I was pretty sloppy with my tile application. There were a lot of places where the thinset squeezed through the cracks and got on the tiles. After letting it dry that way, I was forced to scrape the excess away with a grout removal tool, to make room for the grout. That part was TERRIBLE! As you can see in the video, we used tiny little tiles, so the entire wall was covered in gaps and grooves. It took hours and hours of labor to get it scraped out, and not all of the tiles made it through the process in one piece. I definitely chipped a few tiles in the process, which just made me mad and frustrated. It was also exhausting and made me worry that the grout wouldn’t come out okay.
Luckily, my hard work paid off. After the thinset was set and cleaned up a bit, I mixed up some Pewter-colored non-sanded grout (since the space between my tiles were pretty narrow) and again drafted Julene to spread it on. For the most part, it covered all of the bad parts and made the walls shine!
The hardware store also sells silicone sealant that is meant to go in the cracks and match the grout that was used. I also used it around the shower to touch up certain rough spots, and it just kept getting better!
It’s important to note that I have never done tile work before. I simply did the research and trusted the process.
Once everything was dried and cleaned up with cheesecloth, I put my shower mixer valve trim on, installed the shower head that I had been keeping in storage for 3 years, put the trim around my fan, installed the light, stood back, and admired my work! Later, I put aluminum angle trim around the outside and that really made the shower look “Finished.”
I used thin tongue and groove knotty pine for the ceiling because anything thicker would force me to duck whenever I stood in my bus…I already instinctively catch myself ducking anyway.
ANYWAY, the thin knotty pine looked lovely when it was installed, BUT I installed it when the weather was in the 80s and 90s. In that heat, the metal of the bus was hot and expanded. When the temperature dropped in the winter, the metal frame and body of the bus contracted. The thin panels of pine are not structural, just decorative, so the entire ceiling started buckling. It wasn’t a good look, and I thought I had ruined my ceiling.
However, as soon as spring hit, the ceiling ironed itself out. So, this is apparently just something I am going to have to deal with as the seasons change.
If I could do it all over again, instead of drilling the boards directly to the metal ribs of the bus, I would have attached wood pieces to the sides of the ribs, then screwed into those. I saw all of the posts about avoiding creating a thermal bridge by drilling directly into metal, thus creating a conducting path of metal from the exterior of your bus to the head of your screw, but I figured the heat transference would be negligible. From what I can tell, it is. But, having the boards directly attached to the ribs means they are totally at the mercy of how the ribs expand and contract. Putting a wood piece to the side of the ribs might help only because my theory is that the wood may flex a bit more with the weather. But really, the only way to truly avoid this situation is to use thicker boards that wouldn’t bend so easily, then leaving ample room for expansion and contraction.
Then again, as I state in the video, maybe this is one project that you should skip my advice on…
As I started working on the ceiling, I reached a point where I would either have to put the ceiling in first, then add some walls over it, or do the walls first. I was not interested in lowering my head clearance any more than necessary, so I opted to do the framing that I had been putting off.
This included figuring out how I was going to put a door on my bathroom. I had grappled with this idea for several months and went back and forth about how I was going to do it. I saw another youtube skoolie guy create a pocket door that rolled on the ground, on roller blade wheels. I thought the idea of a pocket door was nice, but I didn’t want to do wheels. I wanted my door to be firmly attached to the frame of the bus and sturdy enough to give a proper sense of privacy. A skating door wouldn’t cut it.
The second lightning bolt of inspiration came when I attended the 2017 Seattle RV Show. Some RVs had these god awful doors that slid on heavy duty drawer slides and didn’t really close right. Most were just mounted to the interior wall adjacent to the bathroom, and when closed, would expose the drawer slides on the inside of the door and on the wall. Some of the “nicer” models had the pocket door in the wall, but again, it was just one panel that would expose the drawer slides to whoever was inside the bathroom. It took some mental gymnastics, but I eventually figured out how I was going to do it better. The Secret Compartment mechanism idea was my jumping off point.
Basically, my design is two of the fancy panels attached together so they would slide as one. The order of operations for the build would take some planning, but the end result was well worth it.
Space in the bus is precious. It’s hard to justify putting big bulky things into the bus that don’t serve a practical purpose. So, as I was thinking about how to divide the living space from the driver’s cab, I had to consider what to do with the armrest. What better use for what would otherwise be a dead space box than a secret compartment?
I thought about this one for a long time. Ultimately, it came out better than I expected!
The video does a pretty good job of covering it. Obviously this is an easier project to do before the cabinet is completed, so you can build the faces around it. Also, if you’re installing flooring after the compartment, be sure you leave space for the floor so you don’t block your drawer from sliding.
I hope this inspires somebody to improve upon my design.
This was a project that I wasn’t sure I was going to end up doing myself. Originally, I wanted to simply buy a butcher block countertop, or even a granite countertop that was pre-cut to my needs. However, pre-made butcher block countertops are expensive. Granite is expensive, heavy, hard to work with, and inflexible, which are problems for a bus. So, I researched everything from making my own butcher block top, to re-purposing kitchen tables, to hiring a fine woodworker to just do it for me and get it off my plate.
Ultimately, I settled on the idea of a wood slab countertop. I had built my own walnut slab desk prior to starting the bus project, so the concept was familiar, at least. I’m not going to pretend that the desk had come out perfect. I’d describe it as “passable.” This next go-around would be better. The original plan was a Walnut counter covered in bartop expoxy, but that was crazy expensive. Also, I couldn’t find any slabs that were nearly the size I needed, unless I wanted to pay significantly more than it would cost to buy a custom butcher block.
I searched for weeks until providence smiled upon me and I discovered that Second Use Salvaged Building Materials had some massive slabs in their warehouse that matched the dimensions that I needed. I grabbed a measuring tape and ran down there. What I found was an enormous raw slab of Doug Fir that had some mold growing on it and the bark still on. It cost a fraction of the price of what a nice Walnut slab would be. I stared at it for a solid hour, measuring and re-measuring and considering the possibilities.
The slab came with a slew of problems. It was too big for me to move on my own, and especially too big to fit in my vehicle. It had a concave curve to it that I did not know how to deal with. I had never worked with Fir before, so I didn’t know if it was even feasible to use it as a countertop. If I did go through with it, my cuts would have to be extra precise, because I would only get one shot at it. If I managed to cut it to the right size, I had no idea how to finish it for my purposes.
I put the slab on hold with Second Use and did some research. I found that fir can be used as a countertop and that, when finished properly, it can look stunning! I contacted a local wood shop and asked them if they could plane the slab for me. They said it was too wide for them to do it with their power planer, but that I could come in and use their tools to plane it with a router and sled. I had seen videos of people doing that, and I knew it was no easy feat. Also, to do it at the shop, it would cost an estimated $400 for time and materials, not counting the training they required to use their equipment. I almost gave up on the slab then and there. But, after mulling over the math, and coming up empty on alternatives, I came to the conclusion that nice things are worth working for. I passed on the $400 shop assist and opted instead to buy a $300 router and rent a trailer for $65. Sure it was expensive, but at least I can keep my tools when I’m done!
I had some friends volunteer to help me move the slab, gave my money to Second Use, and set a pickup date.
On pickup day, I met my friends at the warehouse with a 12 foot rental trailer attached to my Subaru Outback. I showed my friends what I was picking up and they immediately started having second thoughts. The slab was 12 feet, 6 inches long, and nearly 3 inches thick. My friends started offering helpful alternatives until I put my foot down and insisted that this was happening. The shop was kind enough to call down some burly dudes to load the slab into my trailer for us. From there, I drove it the 1/2 mile home and put on my gloves.
My friends helped me heave and maneuver this log from the trailer, to the back yard, down into my basement, and onto my ping-pong table. I thanked them, tossed them some cash, and contemplated next steps.
The slab was HUGE. It barely fit in the basement and was much longer than the ping pong table. I was in over my head, but that is a great place to learn. I did my research on how to make a decent sled jig for planing, and that is where my video begins:
This project was huge. It took a ton of energy and patience to get it right. The countertop ended up becoming the centerpiece of the bus project and inspired me to make take some more risks in the future. I believe that somewhere along the way in this portion of the build, I fell in love with woodworking. Because the countertop came out so beautifully, I decided to make an effort to do more things the hard way.
In order to fill the water tanks, I needed to install a water hookup. It’s basically just a box where you connect a hose to fill the tank. The one I got gives me the option to fill from a pressurized hose, or to gravity fill through a wide opening. It also has an air vent that releases displaced air in the tanks so they don’t explode from water pressure. So, that’s three hookups in one box. The box needs to be mounted to the exterior of the bus for easy access, so I picked a spot to cut, measured out a hole, and got to work.
While I was at it, I cut a hole for the exterior shower (an extra luxury) and the hot water heater. The hot water heater install ended up being pretty ugly because the install got rushed. The temperature started dropping as I was working on it, and I was freezing my hands off, so I just wanted to get it in and sealed. After managing to get it into the hole, I just slathered it with sealant, including parts that didn’t really need sealant. I regret how it came out. It’s a highlight of the trials and issues you deal with when trying to adapt RV equipment to a school bus. The rub rails were especially troublesome and severely complicated the cutting of the hole for the hot water heater. I wish I had more time to work on it, but it is what it is. All told, it could have been worse.
Documenting my school bus conversion from people mover to viable home.
