With the tanks in, and the drains mostly connected, it was time to install the fresh water supply. I used PEX because I’m not a plumber, and everybody says it would be easy. So far in my experience, it has been very easy. But, as of the time I’m writing this post, I have not yet turned the water on, so we’ll see about leaks when we get to that point.

Plumbing took some research, but it wasn’t too bad compared to electricity and the external components. I did have to be careful about where to put in check valves, which are valves that allow water to flow in only one direction through a pipe. I almost made a mistake that would have caused a feedback loop of water pulling from the tank, through the pump, and back into the tank. That would have been fun.

Here is a picture of my plumbing schematic.

This is extremely close to what I actually did. I think I added one valve that I later figured out was not necessary. The check valve that I installed to prevent the feedback loop went in between the city water fill and the “T” connection that branches the city water into the main water line, after the pump and accumulator tank. It is not shown on this schematic, so be sure you don’t have an open line from your pump, into your fill line, without putting some kind of manual valve or check valve in the way. You don’t want to drain your battery by exercising your pump for no reason.

Here is a video about how I progressed through the initial stages of the plumbing:

Here is how the plumbing went under the sink:

There will be more plumbing videos in the future.

I managed to get both tanks installed on the bus. It was a hard push to get it done before the rain came back hard. I spent a day under the bus, in the dark (because it gets dark at 4:30 in the winter here), and powered through the fresh water tank install. So, now it’s on to the interior plumbing!

I installed the drain lines to the grey water tank a while back, and even connected the shower. The sink drains have been punched through the floor and installed, but they are not connected to the sink yet. In order to start that project, I needed a cabinet to mount the sink, so I could make the final connection. I powered through the cabinetry without filming because it was my first time making cabinets and I am not any kind of authority on the subject. I just watched a bunch of youtube videos, then got to work. It’ll take some more work to make them pretty, but they are solid as a rock, and I am satisfied with how they came out. I’m going to install the necessary infrastructure before I finish them. That includes the water heater, the gas lines, the water pump, the water lines, and the outlets that will be attached to the cabinets. The first major item, though, was the sink. Here’s how that went.

The vents were something I knew about, but didn’t think was a very big deal. I was going to skip it entirely, relying just on the vent to the grey tank to handle the displacement of air, until my inner perfectionist got the better of me. I figured I should probably do this now, while the bus is still in skeleton mode, so I don’t have to back track and destroy anything to fix it in the future. If I know it might be a problem now, I should just play it safe, take the extra time, and do the work. I’m happy I did. It’s one problem that I hopefully won’t need to deal with again.

Sorry to gloss over some of the work that happened between the last video and this one. I just needed to get some work done. I will post some photos to fill in some gaps, but I really don’t think you missed much. All of the other stuff I did was basic pipe-running and cabinet building. Just do what I did, and watch some other youtube videos, then jump in and give it a try. I realize that I waste a lot of time trying to perfect skills through youtube without actually trying them out with my hands. Most of the projects I do are much easier once I get my hands on the stuff I’m working with and just mess around with it for a while. I picked up how to plumb ABS in a couple hours that way. Cabinetry was a bit harder, but there are so many “right” ways to do it, you can’t really go wrong. Just be careful with your measurements.

Thanks for watching. Hopefully I’ll have a fresh-water plumbing video to accompany this one soon.

Check out Coindexter’s if you’re in Seattle and want a drink. I’m not there too often, but the bartenders usually tell me if somebody was asking for me.

The holding tanks on the bus are very important. I need a fresh water and a grey water tank. I am installing a tankless water heater, so my showers will only be limited by my own will to conserve, and the capacity of the bus holding tanks. Water tank capacity will also dictate the length of time that I can boondock. If I’m off the grid, water is severely limited. Water is likely to be the first thing that I will run out of while out on the road. So, to extend my ability to stay off the grid for as long as possible, I needed a high water-holding capacity. Therefore, I had two tanks custom-sized to fill the spaces where they will be mounted as efficiently as possible, for maximum storage. Both hold 75 gallons.

As I stated in the beginning of this project, I don’t know how to weld. It’s not that I can’t get stuff welded if I need it. I totally can because I have friends with skills. However, when I am thinking about how to solve problems, I usually want to figure out how to do it myself. So, due to my lack of welding skills, this is how I mounted my tanks.

I’ve already had a bunch of haters tell me that they don’t trust my system, or that I did it wrong, or that I’m stupid. So, if that’s how you feel about this, save your hate for my future video titled, “Shit! My tanks fell off my bus!” In the mean time, This seems to be an extremely solid option. I did pull-ups and subjected my supports to various kinds of abuse to feel them out. But, to better understand my reasoning for this design, let’s do some quick math. Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, but I think I play one on the internet. Take this assessment with a grain of salt. I’m sure than any engineer would look at this logic and laugh in my face….but I don’t know enough to know why. Anyway, each strut is held up by 6 bolts, and there are 5 struts per tank. That’s 30 bolts holding each tank to the steel floor of the bus. The bolts are designed for holding pieces of metal together, and are 3/8 inch in diameter. So, the 35 bolts are not going to lose the struts. Here’s a link to some technical specs of superstrut. If I’m reading that right, the pullout strength of the 1/2 inch rod and nuts that I used is 2000 lbs. Each strut supports two of these; one for each side of the tank. So, in theory, if two rods were splitting an equal load, that load could top out at 4000 lbs. There are a total of 10 rods hanging on 5 struts, holding up 5 supports, and the weight of the tank. Non-reversing nuts and washers are used to lock everything in place and keep the bolts and nuts from backing out or getting loose. 1 gallon of water weighs 8.35lbs. My 75 gallon tanks will weigh 626.25lbs when topped off, plus the weight of the tanks…which I estimate is around 35lbs, but I’m pretty strong, so… let’s just say 675lbs to be safe. As I use water, that weight will be split between my tanks, but there will be times when one tank or the other is nearly full to the brim while I am in motion. Even so, the roughly 675lbs of water and tank is split between 5 individual struts, so each strut only needs to hold 135lbs, give or take. Water will slosh around, so let’s just say 200lbs per strut. I weigh about 200lbs. One strut could carry my full weight while I tried to bounce around and rip it off the bus, without any problems. It didn’t budge. It made me feel bad about myself and buy a gym membership. So, will this system hold my tanks? I am confident that it will.

Compared to other systems I’ve seen people use with success, I am quite confident! I’ve seen people online using ratchet straps from harbor freight to cradle their tanks under the bus by essentially strapping them to the under-frame. I’ve seen people tie it up under there with a couple chains. I’ve seen people build boxes out of untreated OSB and 2x4s and bolt them to the frame. My system doesn’t compromise the frame, or even touch it, and it distributes the load between 5 supports and 30 points of contact to the steel floor of the bus. But I didn’t weld it! Let me eat my words of confidence when the system fails.

P.S. I know my math is wrong in the video. This post’s math is better.

Yikes! It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this website. A lot has happened. The most important step has been the addition of a solar electrical system.

I hit a rough patch when I ran low on funds and time, so nothing got done for a while. I made this first video when I got to a point where I was losing sleep due to the stagnation of this project. I opted to waking up at 6am to pick away at it.

I bought 95% of what I needed to get the electrical system installed. After staring at it for a while, I couldn’t take it anymore, and had to get to work.

First, I had to designate a place to put all of the equipment. My floor plan called for a utility closet. The size of the closet was dictated by the size of my batteries. The batteries have to go in their own vented box that is isolated from the rest of the electrical system because they can potentially vent hydrogen gas, and cause an explosion. So, the size of my closet is dictated by the size of this box, which is dictated by the size of the batteries. You follow? Here’s the video of the build of the utility mounting board and battery box that will be the interior of the utility closet:

After this mounting infrastructure was done, I installed the solar power. I started on the interior, then had many delays due to work and weather before I finally got the panels on the roof. Everything finally got wired together on the first relatively decent day of the year. It still rained a little that day, but the work got done. This next video chronicles the process of installing the solar from nothing to completed system, although I make some minor changes in the next video. I hope it clears up some questions that people have. I tried to show some of the things that were a mystery to me until I jumped in and got hands on. I don’t know why it’s so hard to find videos of people actually mounting solar panels, hardware and all…

Anyway, I learned that doing entire videos on one subject are extremely difficult and time consuming. I know that some of my subscribers were getting annoyed that it was taking so long to get an update. So, I think I will be posting more frequent, shorter videos in the future. You’re still stuck with this one, though.

UPDATE 2017/6/15: After this video was done shooting and the solar was installed, I made a couple of changes, then did some GFCI experimentation. Here is the epilogue of the solar project:

Coming up next, I gloss over the process of framing out the partitions for some walls, the shower, and the toilet. Then I get to start installing the fun stuff!

Thanks for your patience thus-far.

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Morningstar Charge Controller: https://amzn.to/2Fu7Nl9
Trimetric Battery Monitor: https://amzn.to/2J1fX5t
Trimetric Wiring Kit with Shunt: https://amzn.to/2J3BieH
Morningstar 300W Inverter: https://amzn.to/2IBTzAI
Trojan T-105 Batteries: https://amzn.to/2ICXnSf
Distribution Panel: https://amzn.to/2WZDRbr
Big Red Disconnect Switches: https://amzn.to/2WZseML
Wire Crimper: https://amzn.to/2X3jRor
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Roof Fan: https://amzn.to/2X7u3wk

Installing the subfloor took some time to complete. I had to do a bunch of research on subfloor choices. Marine-grade plywood would have probably been the best option, but I am not made of money. I went with a 3/4 inch plywood from Dunn Lumber that connects via tongue and groove. I think I made a good choice. As long as it’s not perpetually wet, it should last forever. The downside is that the ceiling is now 3/4 of an inch closer to my head. By the time I’m done with the interior, I’m guessing the height of the ceiling will be at the crown of my head. Oh well, I didn’t intend to use the bus as a dance floor anyway.

I had a guy ask me about my stud placement. He pointed out that using this method makes it much more difficult to replace the windows. I thought about this before I went this route. I concede that if the entire window must be replaced, this will be a difficult repair. However, if a pane breaks, it really wouldn’t be that difficult to fix. I could remove the broken pane from the housing and replace it with a new pane using window putty. I would probably hire a professional to do that for me anyway. In the event that I do need to make a replacement, I have faith in myself to come up with a viable solution. The worst case scenario would be using an angle grinder to rip out the window, covering the hole with sheet metal, and using an RV window in its place. That would definitely be a pain, but not impossible. Anyway, thinking this way is planning for failure.

I weighed the pros and cons of this method for stud installation. This method will allow for more space behind the wall to run wires, and makes for a solid foundation for the wall paneling. Having a slight air space behind the wall will also help the radiant barrier do its work. By having the stud beams go floor to ceiling, they stand a better chance of holding together because there will be more anchor points in the construction. All in all, I think this is the best way to go. If a window breaks, well, I’ll work on that problem when it comes up.

Here’s a brief recap of what went on with the ceiling and wall insulation. The next step is the floor, which has been primed and is ready for rigid insulation. If you click the link to the previous video, you can hear how much echo there used to be. The insulation that I am using doubles as a sound absorbing material, so the bus should be a bit quieter on the road. I can hear a big difference when I go from outside to inside the bus. In this video, the doors and a few windows are open, so you can still hear some birds. With everything closed up, it’s very quiet.

I’m confident that the leaks are all sealed up, though the new side door will still need some work. So, I got to work on the insulation. Check out the video below.

I got the idea for this method from this website. That site is documents a very good conversion, in pictures. I’m stealing quite a few of that dude’s ideas, actually.

Unfortunately, Bonded Logic, the manufacturer of the denim insulation that I am using for the inner and outer layers of my insulation sandwich, doesn’t seem to make the double-foil faced insulation in large rolls anymore. You can only get it in small sheets, probably for small car applications. Still, I was able to purchase some with at least one foil face. In the end, the radiant barrier will still be pretty present and effective.

As we were installing the insulation, I realized that we didn’t need to use as much glue as you see in the video. The rigid insulation holds the denim insulation in place pretty well. As we perfected the method, I started using just a little bit of glue around the perimieter to hold it in place, and used the rigid insulation for a more permanent hold. Hopefully, this will help the insulation radiate heat away from the bus a little better. Radiant insulation works best if there’s an air gap. There should at least be a little bit of a void to allow it to work its magic. Also, I intend on using white Bus Kote paint on the roof to help with radiating heat away from the bus. In the end, I think the final product will do just fine. As for keeping heat in the bus, that should also work out well. There will be an air gap built into the walls when I install the studs that will be the anchors for all of the rest of the installed bus features. There shouldn’t be any thermal bridges once the inside paneling is put in place.

I don’t have any specific videos to show you where I am at the moment, but I wanted to give you an update about what has been done and where I’m going next with this project.

Right now, the bus is still a shell. It’s a bit behind where I had anticipated it would be at this time, but that’s because the stairs took so long.

Once the stairs where done, I had to deal with a leak in the door. I bought some weatherstripping to put around the outside of the door and it took a lot of trial and error to get the door sealed. Until I had it figured out, there would be water pooling down on the bottom step whenever it rained. It looks like that’s been dealt with, though.

As you saw in my prior video, I replaced the crappy stock fans in the bus with some nice RV ceiling fans. It was a little bit of a trial to get them installed, but eventually I completed that project and sealed the fans with roof sealant. I waited a while to let it rain a few times just to be sure there are no leaks.

I’ve been extremely paranoid about leaks because, other than the obvious “leaks are bad” reasons, I intend to use recycled denim insulation. The insulation I have selected is made for a variety of applications, but especially RV and automotive applications. It also dampens sound, so hopefully this will make the ride quieter. The insulation is supposedly designed to “breathe” and won’t hold moisture, but I honestly don’t trust that. The stuff is made from recycled denim, and I’ve seen what happens when jeans get wet. Anyway, I think it’s best to prevent moisture as much as possible. I got the idea to use this stuff from this blog, which features one of the best conversions I’ve seen, in terms of construction quality. Anyway, Whenever I find a leak, I do everything in my power to make it go away, then leave time to test to be sure it’s been dealt with. At this point, I am positive that there are no more leaks anywhere in the bus. This water-tight seal will be further reinforced once I paint the thing, which will happen when the weather gets consistently nice.

I already bought the rolls of insulation. They’re in my basement. I intend to use contact cement to attach the foil side to the outside of the bus, then add a layer of styrofoam insulation after that, then one more inner layer of the radiant recycled insulation on top of that, with the foil facing inward. Like that blog that I linked to above, I intend to fill the gaps with spray foam insulation.

Today, I cleaned all of the tools out of the bus and vacuumed it. Then, I sprayed the underside of the new stairs with truck bed liner. I also sealed up some floor holes that I found. So, once that stuff is done drying, I will put the insulation out in the bus to do all of the cutting and fitting from there.

Sorry this video is so long. I thought this would be an easy task, but nothing ever is. Half of this video is devoted to my clash with the wasps that had taken up residence in the old rear fan.

Even after I replaced and sealed up the new fans, I keep finding wasps returning to this spot. They take shelter under the cover of the new fan now, so I have to keep sweeping them out. They aren’t making my life easy. Eventually I will kill them all, though. So far, no stings.