| Author |
Message |
Socks
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 8:03 pm: | |
Has anyone removed the floor in a MCI-9?
How much work was it?
Would you do it again or just cover over it?
I have holes where the heating duct was and the toilet do you patch this or pull up the old floor and replace it?
Or should I patch holes and then put blue board insulation down then cover with plywood?
What did you all do?
Thanks For any help or input!! |
Wayne McLeod (Milo)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 8:17 pm: | |
I pulled up the floor in my MC9, & it was a lot of work. My son used a hole saw and drilled around all the screws as most were impossible to remove. Once you remove the plywood, you are left with a bunch of plywood plugs around the screws. The screws can then be cut off with a hammer and chisel or a grinder (much easier). We also removed the stainless seat tracks with zip cut blades on a grinder. We were then able to use 3/4 in. t&g plywood cross ways for the new floor. |
marcschlabach
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 8:32 pm: | |
My floor was in good shape so I put another 5/8 in. over the top of it. I have a good solid floor now. Just my opinion. Marc |
chris
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 8:44 pm: | |
removed mine, take a torch and burn the head off the screw. It burns off so quick the plywood does not catch fire, then just pry the floor off. you will be thankfull you removed the floor when you se all the crud that is under it. Chris |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 9:07 pm: | |
I agree with chris on cleaning the mess, but I used a 1/4" cordless impact driver. It got most of the screws with the driver and a good (Craftsman) phillips bit. Did the nuts on the panel bolts from below with a socket. Only had to grind the heads off 5-6 per bus.
There's lots of potential for repair in the wheel well areas, after you clean out "ton" of fine silt that worked its way in from off the tires. This "silt" absorbs water and really hastens corrosion of some of the mild steel pieced below the belt line.
Used the lathe to make special washers so I could put a thin cut-off wheel in the Makita grinder for cutting the seat rail bolts and others.
While your at it, carefully remove the inner alu panels and switch out the fiberglass insulation. |
Bill Collier
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 1:22 pm: | |
I just removed a few pieces last week from my MC9. The plywood below the rear roof hatch had a little water damage (I left the hatch open when I shouldn't have) and was making a creaking sound. As the others mentioned-lots of crud. I drove a wood chisel on four sides of each screw head then hit the screw with a metal chisel, they snapped off quickly.
Now that I see all the space for the centerline duct run, and space around the wheel wells, I can't stop thinking how to make use of this area. Would be great for storage but that would require floor hatches. Not quite tall enough to use for fresh tankage and access is an issue after install. I had floor hatches on my Westsail 32 that worked out fine but not sure I want to have that look on this land yacht. May just use it to run my electrical conduits but that is not real efficient use of the space. I lived on my small boat exploring the Pacific for three years so storage space is dear to my design efforts.
Did anyone make use of this space?
Bill Collier |
socks
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 7:09 pm: | |
marc
Can I remove the panels I thought they were structual?
Can I remeve the seat rail on the side walls? |
Rich International Bus & Parts
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 - 10:29 pm: | |
You can remove both the panels & seat rail with no structural integrity problems.
Rich
800-468-5287 |
bill collier
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 23, 2005 - 12:19 pm: | |
I have heard from several (I believe Marc was one) sources that these panels are structural. After removing the aluminum interior wall panels I installed 1 1/2" tube steel cross braces between the vertical framing members from window sills to floor. I had to cut the seat rail to let the cross bracing pass, then I welded seat rails to cross bracing.
Marc may have said to “carefully remove panels” to allow reinstallation.
Bill Collier |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 23, 2005 - 5:46 pm: | |
You bet, structural! The seat side rails, overhead racks, window
frames, are all part of the engineered design. After taking out
the racks, seats, and side rails, I found that our '9s door will
jam if the rig's not level; Never did that before.
They engineered every component going into the old buses,
as part of the overall strength of the completed bus. That's
how to keep the gross weight down and allow for the carry
of more weight. |
Mard Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 23, 2005 - 11:35 pm: | |
Structural or Not Structural, that is the question.
tis nobler to . . . but I digress.
Consider the fact that the interior panels are attached by structural rivets. If they weren't "structural" why would they use $1.30 rivets when a $.08 non structural would do?
There's alot more to "structural" than what is imposed on the chassis while it's sitting in your shop during the conversion process. There's impact loads and harmonic issues. AFAIC, those that didn't replace the interior sheer panels are a potential problem waiting to express itself.
Hey, they may get along just fine. I, personally, wouldn't sleep right if they weren't replaced.
YMMV, and I just hope I ain't in the zone of potential danger if the unsupported capabilities of the chassis are exceeded.
I consider this significant enough that when I raise the roof, I'll be raising the window sill height and installing new, full height replacement panels. Beam Calc's tell me that this will significantly increase stiffness.
Onward and Upward
Marc Bourget |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 23, 2005 - 11:53 pm: | |
Re:
"Beam Calc's tell me that this will significantly increase stiffness. "
Didn't they engineer it to flex and twist a bit, like a bridge? |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 26, 2005 - 10:14 am: | |
No, I don't think they "engineer" it that way. The E'ers wish it were perfectly rigid but accept the fact that it will flex and twist. As a main feature of the structural "system" the E'ers will take all the strength and stiffness they can get. Increase a beam by 25% in height and gain a 156% increase in one parameter (IIRC stiffness - total strength is another calc, I think.) |
Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 26, 2005 - 11:56 am: | |
Hello JohnMC9.
The removal of those items may only be coincidence. The overhead racks just hang from the rafters.
It depends on what is removed from the side of the coach, and the condition of the rest of the structure. There is much confusion over what is/might be/is not structure in the sidewall, and what piece of non-structure was holding together an otherwise rotten/failed coach. Pictures would be good!
If the door hangs up, you have to identify why. Door? mounting? frame? structure? trim?
Has the door shifted? It may require periodic adjustments due to the ravages of time.
Have you tried heaving on it in the appropriate direction to see if it returns to clear movement?
Has the area behind the dash sagged just enough? All of these coaches love to have rot in the dashboard, and that is where the door is mounted to.
Deeper structural issues may be present that will cause the coach's "face" to sag, but those are nasty and require a significant interior stripping to find.
And do not discount some misadventure that has been inflicted by someone who hasn't told you. Children are famous for all manner of unexplained things, as are spouses...
if the busnut's personality blasts off upon the telling, there will be no truth voluntarily offered!
happy coaching!
buswarrior |