| Author | Message | ||
| Keith Wood (Ft6)
Registered Member Username: Ft6 Post Number: 14 Registered: 8-2008 Posted From: 71.198.253.223 Rating: N/A |
Anyone doing a conversion should read Richard Wynn's "The 2x4 Bus" -- and follow the advice. The same kind of thing is done all the time in developing experimental aircraft and even spacecraft. No matter how much time you spend on ergonomics and computer projections, eventually you have to "translate to meat" (that is, you have to see if it works with people). You would be astonished to see how much difference there can be with as little as an inch of adjustment, especially in places such as the area given to the toilet or between table and seat. Doing cardboard mockups give you the chance to adjust and fine-tune your floorplan. A couple of things that I would add: 1) Don't forget WINDOWS! Instead of whacking holes in the cardboard and leaving it at that, cover those openings with plastic wrap. Not only is this a useful psychological tool, it lets you work out how they fit into the ventilation plan. 2) Speaking of ventilation, remember those vents when you build the walls for any enclosure. 3) Spend some time living in your mockup. When you build the bedroom, sleep there for a few nights (in a row) to see if it still "fits" you. Make a partial mockup (called a "flying set") of the space around your toilet, tape this into your house bathroom and use it for a week or two, making changes as they suit you. 4) Mark EVERYTHING, shoot pics and put dimensions in your warbook. Don't be sure that you will remember what goes where, once you start building the real thing. 5) Don't forget that you have to get everything into the coach! When you think you know which shell you're using, measure the doorway and make a frame that same size. Look at your usable angles, too. Just because you can stuff it through the doorway doesn't mean you can get it turned once inside. Does the door interfere? You may need to "over-open" or even remove it while installing larger items, such as couches. You will probably need to pull the modesty barrier. Some items may actually need to come in by way of holes in the floor, where you remove decking! Whatever you do, before you buy ANYTHING, make sure that you can get it into place! 6) Once you are satisfied with the design, build your interior as a series of modules. You might want to make them so that they come apart, to be reassembled and glued once aboard. And make sure to keep notes on how to take them apart again, should the need arise! This is the time to do your electrical and water systems, too, while you have easy access to the wall sides of things. 7) Now that you've gone from cardboard to the final product, get some friends together for a bus-raising party. It really helps to have several people doing the lifting and rough positioning, even on stuff that was no problem for you to move alone when it was in the garage. I suggest that you do the final assembly module-by-module, after everything is aboard. Get everything into place before you start with the bolts, screws and Gorilla Glue. This process will take longer than you thought, but in two days you can go from empty shell to ready to roll, simply because you did all of the time-consuming work in your garage, not your GMC. | ||
| hiwaycallin (Hiwaycallin)
Registered Member Username: Hiwaycallin Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2007 Posted From: 208.98.218.205  Rating: N/A |
With bus prices being what they are today it would probably be cheaper to just buy a real bus to use as a "practice shell" than spending all that money on lumber.    | ||
| Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Registered Member Username: Buswarrior Post Number: 1340 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 76.69.141.195  Rating: N/A |
yup, we're still fooling around with temporary plywood, and will be for awhile yet. No hurry, we keep making mistakes... happy coaching! buswarrior | ||
| niles steckbauer (Niles500)
Registered Member Username: Niles500 Post Number: 849 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 71.180.67.29 Rating: |
Is this another infomercial? | ||
| George M. Todd (George_mc6)
Registered Member Username: George_mc6 Post Number: 529 Registered: 8-2006 Posted From: 207.231.75.253 Rating: N/A |
Niles, I think I have figured it out, he wants to take over Dave and Arnie's job. But what do I know? Did you happen to read all of "Benefits of 50A power revisited?" Nuff said! | ||
| Keith Wood (Ft6)
Registered Member Username: Ft6 Post Number: 20 Registered: 8-2008 Posted From: 71.198.253.223 Rating: N/A |
"Is this another infomercial?" Yep, and now you're up to $59.90. Keep shopping! | ||
| Buswarrior (Buswarrior)
Registered Member Username: Buswarrior Post Number: 1342 Registered: 12-2000 Posted From: 76.68.123.249 Rating: |
oh dear, I detect a pattern here... happy coaching! buswarrior | ||
| David Lower (Dave_l)
Registered Member Username: Dave_l Post Number: 51 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 99.249.16.254  Rating: N/A |
Keith do you look like the infomercial guy, You know the guy with the jet black hair that looks it was sprayed from a can? :-) | ||
| Keith Wood (Ft6)
Registered Member Username: Ft6 Post Number: 30 Registered: 8-2008 Posted From: 71.198.253.223 Rating: N/A |
Nope. I look more like Science Guy Nye, with short hair. |
