Mold plug for making a fiberglass mold

Here's a view of the corner of the plug for the bay doors. Basically a big ole 2 inch chunk of fiber core cut out to the exact specks that I want the door to end up being. After I cut and routed them I took bondo and rounded the inside corners to a quarter inch to make laying the fiberglass easier. I then sprayed a couple of good coats of lacquer on them to seal them up.

Bay doors mock up

I have been thinking of these doors all year and here's a cut away of the ideal. After careful consideration I have decided to make them out of fiberglass to save some weight and make up for the slide-outs.

Last years truck project

Here's the truck I put together last year and got out of the garage just in time to get covered by the winter weather...lol...... That's a carport paint job by the way .....

Rear wall of old ac area

Its amazing how much of the clock working in these tight quarters eats up. From here on out though every piece of sheet metal is one more closer to having a weather tight bus. Not to mention the value of keeping out the mosquitoes.

Rear sheet metal for old ac area

A few quick bends and wah la.

Old ac area between fuel tanks

I am standing where the rear end is here. Time to cover this nightmare.

Drivers side boggie wheel well

The weather for December has sucked. Add my heart attack to that and you end up with no progress. We have had a lot more snow and ice this year than normal. Its run me inside to the shop making the new doors. I will put up some pics of them soon.

Front wall of boggie wheel well

Now that I am enclosing all of the frame I will have to get creative on running wiring and air lines. Its important to think ahead here but you still wonder what you've missed.

Drivers side boogie area

She needs a coat of black under coating......

Looking down in to the old ac area between the fuel tanks

Shes starting to breath life again ...lol.......

Top view of boogie wheel well

Nice and air tight for a change. The aluminum shield was not there originally and this should help to keep the road noise down and also help keep the water away from the steel frame.

No more service hatches

I will be sealing the entire floor up from the bottom other than a couple of access holes over the engine. I have will be able to access all I need from the bottom of the tunnel with various removable plates in strategic locations through out the bus.

Top view of floor pan around boogie axel

As you can see I was generous with the panel adhesive. I sealed to the floor because I will be using the marine pour foam in the floor also.

Wheel wells

Here's the top and rear of the drivers side wheel well. I am using 90 thousandths aluminum here and any where that I could have a tire gator beating the devil out of them.....lol........

Starting to pan the bottom of the bus

I figured I would start with the old Ac area between the fuel tanks and boggie axels. This is the bottom of the floor joist between the fuel tanks. I am covering the entire bottom of the bus so that I can put pour foam in the floors of the bays. I will be using marine foam for its resistance to water.

Large slideout on the drivers side

Here's a shot of the biggest slide out inside view. I am not sure I have ever shown a pic of it with the skin on it.

Im back!!!!!!!

Trying to pick up where I left off last year. This would be the inside of the drivers side rear slide out. The laminate top laying on the bed is just an old one I had at the shop that I will use as a work bench for wiring and plumbing soon.

Outside of bed slide out with skin on

Here's the outside of the slide out for the queen sized bed and night stands. The siding looks smudged from cleaning up the caulking with the acetone. For now I have shoved pipe insulation around the slide outs till I get them all skinned and can start on the trim which will hold the weather stripping and closing seal.

Out side rear bed slide out

This would be the rear of the bed slide out as viewed from the back of the bus. There's still some trim to go around the outside edge yet. Before the trim I will drill out the pop rivets around the edge and replace them with solid rivets.

Bed slide out skin

Here's a pic of the interior of the new skin on the bed slide out. I have not sealed up the joint between the tubes and the skin for the expanding foam. I figure that will be a good job for winter time.

Curb side (long view)

I stopped on the roof line rivets just short of the white Filon siding. Since the 125 Siding was discontinued and I was shy enough to do the whole bus. I decided to use the aluminum so the short piece behind the front cap is coming off and going into the bon fire too. No since have a little there. Again I am going to get the slide outs covered then I will work on the front end this fall. Hopefully I can get the front cap riveted down before winter. Then I can finish the front door inside the shop while its cold outside.

Curb side (siding)

I thinks I am getting close to really shedding the water....lol......

Roof line

I stripped the paint off the roof as far as I could reach off of the ladder as I went along riveting the gutter line down. I still have a strip about 3 feet wide to strip in the middle but it can wait till next spring as I don't have the desire to do it now....

Drivers side

The reflection of the ladder gives testimony to how flat the siding is laying and I just noticed the tree trunk going through both sheets too. I heat stretched the siding and riveted with about 500 rivets per sheet. I am happy with all but one piece on the cub side and I will remedy that one too I just am enjoying the bus being in the dry for now...lol....

Drivers Side aluminumn siding

Drivers side looking to the rear

This is the area between the slide outs.

Just a pull back on the rear of the bus.

Its pretty cool not having to deal with the tarp over the whole bus now.... makes things a lot cooler and seems to move things along faster.

Drivers side rear corner

The 90 thousandths aluminum was quite a chore to bend around the corners. I purposely did not duel action sand the outside of the sheets in order to see any blemishes or twist. So far so good....lol...... I still need to trim the bottom of the cap level around. I will do it with a 4 inch cut off wheel on the side grinder. I just don't have the desire to get all itchy yet.....

Rear panel of bus

After I get used to the ideal of the bus being in the dry I will cut vents into the rear panel. Just above the rivet line at the bottom of this panel.

Outside of camera pod

Here's a pic of the outside of the camera pod all Frenched in and a little primer on it. JC on the Eagle board (aka Eagle) gave it to me when I bought the Dash from him. Thanks JC, as you can see I did not let it go to waste ...lol....