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.

Strap clamps for breather (filter canister)

Here's the clamp end before welding it together. I'm kicking around welding in the bolt and sealing the sides in for more support. I made the straps about a 1/4 inch longer to allow for a thin strip of solid rubber for anti-rattle control. Metal to metal eventually leads to a rust spot and we don't want to have anymore of that...lol..

Strap clamps for breather (filter canister)

I then set my sights on the funky ends on the strap. I have to bend them long and then I will cut off the excess when I get them completed.

Strap clamps for breather (filter canister)

Bent the ends up at the proper length.

Strap clamps for breather (filter canister)

I started by cutting the length of 3/16 by 1 1/2 length for the assembly base.

Strap clamps for breather (filter canister)

Someones poor repair job on them years ago. Since rusted away.....like everything else.

Strap clamps for breather (filter canister)

As you can see these have done their job for 40 years but they won't make it another forty. I will make two new ones.

A pair of new clamps

Cant buyem anywhere I know of.....lol........

Old vs new

Here's one of the new clamps beside its original one. remember its upside down. I was not even able to get the nut off of the old one while it was still mounted on the bus. The other side is rusted nearly through itself. These clamps hold the copper tank to the bus so after they are welded and painted in place I will line them with a thin piece of rubber to keep the two different metals apart. The rubber will also be good to protect from vibration noise.

One clamp for coolant tank

Here's the first one ready for welding the bolts in. You can see the lower part of the clamp I made out of 1/8 inch thick steel. That leaves' it flexible enough to get onto the bolts. This is same as original plan. The thicker half is on the top and welds to the bus frame.

Hardware

Here's the hardware for one clamp. The soft steel nuts on the left are to use to hold the bolts in place for welding and then the next nuts are grade 8 non locking for mock up and finally the nylon locking nuts are for final assembly. All 7/16 th

Bits and pieces

Now that the main part of the frame is completed from front to back. I am going through it one more time and making all new weld on mounting tabs and hanging brackets such as this. Sorry I have not posted lately as I needed a short break last fall and now the pictures are flowing again. The old part of frame you see here is the original stretcher just above the engine access door. Mater of fact, it IS the part of the frame that the engine access door bolts to. It is laying upside down in this picture. I have all ready replaced it and kept the old part till I had these clamps made. The clamps are for mounting the coolant fill tank for the engine. The tank mounts parallel to the ground and just above the top of the door. Here I have bent (with a hammer and anvil) the 3/16 thick upper half of the clamp and drilled new holes to weld the new mounting bolts into.