Front slides looking back

The two rear slides will be as deep as the front ones so the bedroom should get pretty "roomy" too.

Now thats a big room for a bus

I can't put into words how "roomy" the front of the bus feels now.

I'm having fun now

No rust left to cut out and the customizing begins!!! Nothing but big smiles now...lol....

Outside of steel for slide out number two

Here's a view of the outside of the steel in the slide out on the drivers side front slide.

Drivers side front slide out

This slide out, just behind the drivers seat is 13 feet long and 3o inches deep. The stick of steel in the middle is just a piece of light gauge steel I tacked in to hold up the roof in the middle while I welded the roof ribs in. I wanted to bow the middle up just slightly as to allow any wind blown water that gets by the slide out toppers to run off and not puddle up. The bow is only to the inside and will not be seen once the cabinetry is in place.

The bus just got a whole lot bigger!!

This is slide out number two in its roughed in stage. Even though work is slow to none at the shop I don't seem to have any trouble find work on the bus to be done...lol...

Passenger side intake louvers

All striped down and not a brass pole in site.....lol.... They are really in good shape all thoughts considered. Just a few deep scratches and bruises to repair and they will be ready for re-installation and then.......................in a few years maybe some paint.

Intake louvers pre and post stripping

Here's the two sides side by side. I was surprised to see how well the metal had held up after 40 years of life.

Driverside intake louvers

While I was waiting on the Rust Bullet to dry on the slides I decided to strip some parts of their paint. I wanted to make sure they were worthy of re-using for the new frame.

I couldn't resist

Turning around with the camera while taking pics of the slides and snapping this shot to the rear, that is. She's come a long way now and she's just a joy to work on now without all the rust dust flying.

End of the slideout outer tube

Here's a pic of the drop off the outer tube after I cut the length to what I needed in the bus. 2 and a half by 2 and a half by quarter inch wall, for any one interested in building their own.

The big "gap"

After I get the other slide set and both of them tuned up to be perfectly parallel. I will seal weld the area between the beam in with a sheet of 1/8 steel.

Front drivers side slideout started

This slide out will be 30 inches deep and 13 feet long. It and the 60 degree weather has sure got the project rolling again in spite of the economy woes we are in in this country of ours.

Top veiw of the slide install

Here's a better view of the bolt up plates for the slides. I still have a lot of bracing I want to put in here. I just want to get the plates welded in while I can still get at them with ease.

Slide's

Here's a top view of the start of the installation of the forward slide. I divided the slide length in half and put one under the center of each half. of course the exact math is unique to each slide. I have it laid out to have 4 window openings each all the same size. There is varying sizes of tube involved so the math is difficult to explain at the ends of the fingertips....lol....

Working the newly fabed slides into the bus

Here I have started to fit in the completed slides into the frame work of the bus. You must remember that on the slides there is a downward force as well as an upward force at work here. When the slide out is retracted the force is downward and when it is extended the force is upward. Plan for both. I will be putting bracing in around here as you will see in the days to follow.

Slides (side view)

Just another angle of the slides.

Slides (just another pic)

Some of you guys have asked for these details so ....... here they are...lol......

Slides (right side up)

Here's the slides right side up and ready to be worked into the bus. These are in Dave Galey's book on slide out's. I am not sure they were meant to be bolted in but I thought it would be good to have a way to service them if needed. To separate them I would just need to extend the slide out and support it. Then it would just be a matter of unbolting them and pulling them out.

Internal rails for slides

Here's the internal rails for the slide out slides. Notice the rollers which run up against the top of the outer tube. I put a light coat of Rust Bullet on these to protect them from the rust while I finish fabricating on the slide out frame. After I finish with all the grinding and sanding I will sand all this back off and grease them up good. I know if I grease em up now it will collect all kinds of grinding dust and dirt and I would constantly be sticking my hands in it and with this project I have had it with the grease and grime....lol........

Rustbullet on the slides

It sure is nice to be able to bring something inside to paint for a change. These are the slides for the large slide out on the drivers side front. Note that they are laying upside down for those of you interested in making a pair for yourself.

Pin in roller for slideout support

In this picture I am pointing to the pin in the middle of the roller. This is after I installed it, seal welded it, and ground the weld smooth.

Action roller for slideout slides

Here's a good pic of the roller which will support the weight of the slide out. If you look close you can see the non ferrous metal bushing in the middle. I realize all this is probably overkill but I am not taking any chances here.

Mounting flanges for slides

I welded the mounting flanges on each leading edge of the slide out slides. Then I ground off the welds flush, as this mounts up to a plate over the storage bays.

Internal slide roller

I welded the steel pin in each end of the internal tubes of the slides and ground the weld flush with the tubes.

Slideout slides

Here's a closeup of the thrust rollers and of the mounting flange I fabricated to weld to it. Looking back I wish I had just went ahead and had the flange fabricated too. All I had was a drill press and grinder to do it with. I did it but it took a week of nights to do it since I had to make 4 of them (two for each slide assembly).

Slides for the largest slideout

I had a friends son who is a machinist mill out for the rollers. He also turned the solid steel rollers and pressed in a soft metal bushing for them. Now, to layout and weld on a mounting system I started with 1/4 inch by 2 inch piece of steel stock for the mounting flanges. I then drilled the elongated holes and cut out around the thrust rollers.

Powdercoat ready!!!

They were a lot of work but I can't wait to see them in powder coat. The breather will be metal flake silver and these clamps will be fire truck red.

strap clamps old/new

Here's a shot of the completed clamps next to the original ones. They are now ready for powder coating and will go into the proper pile of parts....lol.....

strap clamps

I filled in the areas around the bolts and ground down the welds. I also left the soft steel nuts on for protection till I finished welding and grinding. I used a grad eight bolt and will use the same in a lock nut for assembly.

folding and cutting off the clamp ends

I show this only to show how to make do with the tools you have. Hey, I am a Kentucky redneck and this is just how it is......lol........ If you look close at the straps on the lower part you can see the grinding I did when I joined the two parts of the clamps together. I only had 4 foot material by 1 and a half inches wide and the straps go about 5 feet.

strap clamps for breather

After sleeping on it I decided to weld in the bolts and fill in the ends to help detour the rust and debris build up.