Wednesday - Overhead Cupboard Well Underway

Today I achieved that which I set out to, namely finish the framing for the overhead cupboards. I didn't feel well again today, but I'm making myself get on with this project. Today I also ran out of 42x19mm pine for the second time, and also used the last of a box of 500 screws. S0 far I reckon I've used about 700 screws in the framing and too many metres of pine.

The cupboards down the right side are all framed up, just now waiting to be lined and panelled. The side cupboards are about 25cm deep and the back ones are 35mm. I had thought originally about making then over bench cupboards 30mm and the others 40mm, but it would make it difficult to see all of the work surface and probably result in me hitting my head each time I sat on the lounge. I think there will be enough room nevertheless.

Anyways the following pics sum up today's efforts.

This shows how I've doubled up the framing for stength. Each of these frames is screwed and glued to the wall plate and then glued and screwed together. As you will see in the following pics, this allows for each cupboard to have a 42mm face for the doors to fix to.

This pic shows the completed side over bench cupboards with their faces fitted. The rear side cupboard is 710mm wide and the over bench cupboards are each 555mm wide. This allows for 4 cupboards spread evenly over the full length of the kitchen bench. One of these will accomodate the rangehood flue.

This is the almost complete rear cupboard frames. This has to have a divider in the middle and some framing across the base of the cupboard. I would have done it today, but I ran out of timber. Anyway, so far so good. Now I have to tackle the cupboard over the cab and the shelving that will run from where the over bench cupboards end to the over cab cupboard. The over cab cupboard will house the LCD TV/Video and have storage behind. Thanks for reading, more tomorrow I hope.

Tuesday - Overhead Cupboards Begin

One of the greatest mysteries to me when I was planning the conversion was how I was going to build the overhead cupboards. The problem is that there is a secure place to fix them to just above the windows, but nowhere to to 'hang' them from the roof without cutting the roof lining.

After a lot of sitting and staring at the problem, I've solved it. The three pics below show today's progress and how the overhead cupboards will go together.

This is the framing around the bed/lounge that I mentioned yesterday. I have to leave these uninstalled until after the hotwater system and plumbing are in, but you get the idea. These will be fixed to the walls and clad in pine panel like the rest of the furniture.

This is the start of the overhead cupboards. One end of this one is supported by the cupboard wall behind the shower/toilet and the other end supported by the rear cupboard. I had several trips between the saw and the bus today working out the angles to fix the cross members to the timber plate that is tek-screwed to the wall.

This pic shows how the cross members fix to the wall plate and some idea of the angle. I haven't done the rear overhead cupboard yet, just installed a cross member between the wall plates on either side of the bus. Most of the fitouts that you see around use lift-up cupboards. I'm going away from this in favour of more conventional side-hinged doors. The main reason is that top hinged doors almost always have to be supported by your head while you grovel around inside looking for stuff. I reckon it will be much easier to have double side hinged doors on each cupboard. That way you can swing them both open and have both hands free to extract whatever it is you're looking for. Now that I've got the angles etc worked out it will be full steam ahead. Should have all the overhead cupboards framed up by tomorrow? We'll see.

Monday - Not Much Done

To say that I feel sick today is an understatement. Suffering from a real bad cough and not feeling well all weekend really. I managed to build the dinette seat for the left side of the bus. Once again I built it outside thanks to the pocket hole system.

I couldn't install it because I need to remove the automatic door opener which is bolted to the floor. This is a 2 person job, one under the bus holding the bolts and someone inside undoing them. No one to help at the moment. However the seat is built and ready to install. Other than that, all I've done is cut plywood for the top of one of the seats, and begin the framing to go around the bed/lounge under the windows.

The three pics sum up todays work. The rain came and that was it for me. I hope to get more done tomorow.

The Dinette seat completed.

The Dinette seat ready to install. The door opener is at the bottom of the pic.

Frames like this will go onto the bed/lounge on three sides. They will be panelled and have a small shelf on the top. They serve mainly as a backrest for the seat backs as well as finishing the lounge so it looks good. I'm making this one removeable so I can get at the wiper motor if I need to.

That's it for now.

Back At It

After a break of a couple of weeks due to bad weather, I've managed to get back to work on the framing. Last weekend because of the bad weather all I got done was a trip to the timber yard to pick up some plywood. Having got the stuff, I've lined the kitchen cupboards and put the plywood top and hatches on the lounge/bed at the rear.

I did make a couple of purchases other than the plywood, namely two air operated nail guns which I've found to be invaluable, especially when fitting the plywood lining pieces. One of the nails guns takes up to 55mm nails and the other is much smaller and fires small 10mm brads just ideal for the lining. The guns weren't that expensive and for home use should last a long time. I already had the compressor and the hoses, so the guns were a good investment.

I also discovered that 'No More Nails' is now available in a water based glue and have started using this. It cleans up just like PVA, but is easier to use becuase it is thick and doesnt run away from the joints. 3 tubes f0r $12.00.

As you can see from this pic, the top is on the bed/lounge and there are 3 lift up hatches to get at the storage space. There is obviously a fair bit of finishing to be done, including hinges, but you get the idea. The plywood tops in the back corners are screwed rather than nailed down to allow for access to install the hot water system and water pump etc.

This one shows the lining on the cupboards. I have decided not to line both sides as it will save time and money and not really serve any purpose. So long as what is in one cupboard doesn't end up in another cupboard, then there seems little point. I may change my mind though, you never know.

This is the completed framing for the dinette seat immediately behind the driver's seat. It was a little complicated making the frame to go over back of the engine box, but the Kreg Pocket Hole jig worked like a treat. I was able to build the whole thing outside the bus and just put it in place. The bar across the top will support the hatch where it is hinged.

The fridge is in place and only now requires a little packing on one side (polystyrene wrapped in plastic) and a couple of pieces of trim on the front. I had to change the door so it would open from the left because otherwise you would have to lean over the top of the door while you are working in the kitchen. I could have left it the way it was which would only have been any good for getting out a stubby while you were in bed!

Other Stuff: Since my last post, the two 80 watt solar panels have arrived direct from the factory in China. I got them for $330 each and they landed here 5 days after they closed on eBay. If you are interested have a look at their website. The stuff looks to be really top quality and have a 5/25 year warranty. The communications were great and the panels arrived very well packed indeed. Go to www.wnsolar.chn for a look. They have some really good stuff at really low prices. All of the prices I had from local and interstate suppliers worked out at about $11 per watt. That means $880 for one 80 watt panel. I got two for less than this!

I also found a 20 amp solar regulator exactly the same as one being sold by a local retailer for $170, on eBay for $109. Quite a saving. The PPP (portable poo pot) als0 arrived. This was $80 with postage also off eBay. Good solid unit with a fresh water flush and a 20 litre capacity. I have elected to go for a removeable unit which will sit in the shower (try saying that 3 times fast) and go into a tent when camped for long periods. Better this way than waking to the odourlaflorium of your 'friend' snapping one off in such a confined place when you don't have to. This will also mean one less hole in the side of the bus to accomodate the 'cassette'.

I will post pics of this stuff as it gets installed. Anyway, keep a look out because there will be a lot of progress during the next couple of weeks I hope. If anyone at work is reading this, tell Rischard that the toilet cubicle is way to small for him to populate. See you next time.

Still More Framing

Those of you reading this who are beginning to get a little tired of pictures of pine framing, I can sympathise. This weekend there has been more of the same. I had to wait for about a month from agreeing to buy the bus until I got to pick it up (bank stuff) and during that time I drew plans, went over everything and had it all worked out, or so I thought.


It turns out that the most challenging thing is creating this project as I go along. I have been lucky in that I haven't made any major stuff-ups, but in order to avoid them, I have spent what seems like hours just sitting and looking at the framing pondering how that what I am currently doing will affect what's to come. I have think ahead to accommodate plumbing, electrical, the 12volt solar system, gas installation and a myriad of other things. So if it looks like I haven't done much this weekend, my excuse is I've been thinking.





The 'bed/lounge' is about ready to be lined with plywood on the interior and to have some 10-12mm ply across the top. What I've decided to do here is make 3 'lift-up' sections, one of which is shown in the pic above. To accommodate this, I've widened the areas of the frame that will support the opening sections and put a frame across where the plywood cover doors will be hinged. The other sections that are not accessed by the lift up doors, I will fit the plywood to the frames and cut 'man holes' in them through the plywood.

Before Starting the framing for the main cupboards, I unpacked the fridge and located it approximately where I want it to end up. I figured that the best place to have it was opposite the door given that when you are out camping, you can get to it without going all of the way inside, and because it is opposite the steps, it means that I will be able to see into it without having to grovel around on the floor. The fridge is a Waeco MDC-90 litre model, (new but superseded). It is light and compact and I wonder where all of the money is. This model was $1499 RRP. I got it for $800 from the factory, still you have to wonder why they are so expensive. Made in Germany to last, I hope. The front panel is removable so you can replace it with whatever blends in best colour wise. Don't know it I'll bother at the moment. I will have to swap the door around so it opens from the right side. They provide instructions and bits to do this. Later.

So, here is what I've done this weekend. Actually what you see here was all done on Sunday. At 9.00am Sunday, I hadn't even started the main cupboards. As you can see they're not finished by along shot, but well on the way. I had to accommodate the wheels arch and work out how they cupboard were going to sit in relation to the windows etc. It had turned out OK, but there are still a few linger doubts about hinges for doors etc. All will become clear immediately before I go to do that part of the job. That's it for this week. The weather is warming up and the days getting longer, so I may be able to get the odd bits and pieces done after work. We'll see. Thanks for reading.

Shower Framing Completed

A reasonably productive weekend with one of the most difficult areas to frame completed. As mentioned in a previous post, I was dreading the shower/toilet area because of the need to extend from floor to roof and take into account the waterproofing and the angle of the roof etc.

At the end of last weekend, I'd started the frame and it took me a week of pondering to sort out how I was going to do it, and after all that, when I went to put it into practice it had to change.

The idea is to use the wheel arch over as a support for the toilet and provide enough room so that a person can not only get into the cubicle, but also have a reasonable shower.

I started off with the cubicle being a planned 1300mm x 700mm, but when I marked it out and saw the size I decided that it was too big. As you can see pfrom the photos, I have decided to make the back part of the shower into a floor to roof storage cupboard. To leave it as shower would just be a waste of valuable space. Anyway its done now. Have a look at the finished product, well the framing anyway.

The first frame to go in was this side one, probably the easiest of all of them.

The finished job, a bit a battle and 2 days work but at least its solid and won't move.

This is the space for the cupboard behind the shower cubicle. You can see the benefit of the pocket hole joinery here.  It makes life so much simpler.  You can construct alot of the frames on the bench,  but being able to add in supports etc as you go is great, and the joints are always accessible.

This is the base for the toilet built on top of the wheel arch  There is storage space under too.  I intent to line oout the bottom of the shower with exterior grade plywood, seal it then cover it with fibreglass to make the base.  That's the plan.  If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them.

The Framing

Well, some real progress this weekend, the framing has started. I decided to use 42mm x 19mm pine for the framing for a couple of reasons, the main being that it is light and the other reason is that it is comparably inexpensive. The pine cost $1.57 per metre from a company called Timber Wholesale in Glenorchy. I am pleased to say that when I paid for 'clear' timber it was in fact free of knots and sap marks. If you buy the cheaper grade you can end up with quite a bit of waste.

The timber is straight, true and free of imperfections and is just what I needed to ensure good straight frames.
I also purchased a quantity of the lining boards that I will be using once the frames are completed. I did this because I thought that I may need some to fill in spots that I won't be able to get to when I move onto the next piece of furniture.

The Joining System
For a long time prior to purchasing the vehicle, I was searching for a joining system that would allow for butt joints without having to use biscuit joinery which although faster than many jointing systems still takes a long time because each joint has to be glued and cramped until the glue is dry. Finally I discovered the Kreg Pocket Hole System. What a fantastic method of joining timber which is both strong and fast. If you want to see how the system works there are many videos on YouTube, just type in 'Kreg' into the search window. You'll be amazed how quick and easy this method is. All you need is a saw that will cut square and of course the pocket hole jig. Without a straight cutting saw, you're wasting your time.

This pic shows the Kreg Jig ready to use. I screwed it to a small table and I found it works just as it was supposed to. In the kit is a dust extraction cover that you connect to a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust and I found that this was a real asset. It prevented the drill clogging and made the job faster and cleaner. The pic below is an example of the pocket holes. Clean and square.

I decided to start at the back of the bus and work forward, using the 42 x 19 pine on its edge for strength and also to reduce the amount of room that it took up. When you only have a small amount of space in the vehicle, you want to use what you have as effectively as possible.

The framing in the pic below is for the 'U' shaped lounge which doubles as a bed. You can see that at the end of this weekend, I've basically completed the frame and started the shower/toilet frames.

Can't wait to get going on it again. I will continue to move foward in the bus and complete the shower/toilet. This will pose some problems because as you can see the roof slopes in toward the middle. I can see some creativity being required here. I intend lining the shower with waterproof plywood and Lamipanel. Until next time.