Progress is made
By the end of January, the storage bins were finished, the seating was underway, and we started on the wiring. By this stage, Dad had returned to his safe haven in Sydney, but I had Eddie.
Eddie is a friend of the family, and as a recent school leaver was looking for work. He turned out to to be an invaluable source of help.
Wiring
Getting all the pre-wiring for the solar system was the next big job. It took a while, with lots of cables to run, and we had to get it right, because once the lining was on, that was it.
Pre-Wiring
After the wiring was completed, we went onto the internal insulation. It was painstaking to say the least, but in the end we found out we would be well rewarded, as we survived the Perth heat waves without an air-conditioner. First we had to glue 20mm foam around all the edges to allow for a cushion of air. Then we could install the air cell over it.
Time goes on.
Things were progressing well, but by this time our two month time frame was well and truly out the window. It was now May, and it was time for a quick trip to Brisbane for the caravan show. It was a great show and we managed to pick up heaps of last minute gadgets and great ideas. But then it was back into it.
The Awning
Attaching the awning was our next challenge. We opted for a roof mounted awning to keep the bus at legal width. The brochure showed plenty of brackets, so finding some to fit our bus should be a breeze. Not so, for some reason, they only import about 6 of the available 30 brackets into the country, so there was only one option, make them ourselves.
My initial vision was of our bus traveling down the highway at 80km plus and watching the whole awning spear off like a javelin at the Olympics, so I made sure those brackets weren’t going to budge. The day of install arrived, and of course it rained again, but we were going to get it on regardless. Thing is, it was bloody heavy, and we had to lift it over 3 meters high.
We now have an Awning
Michelle and Eddie jumped on one end, while I got on the other end. We were able to scoot up two wobbly ladders and get it in place. And better still, it worked first try. Jade was beside herself with excitement, as reality was starting to hit home for her. She danced under the awning for most of the day.
Lining the walls
We were soon learning there were no short cuts. Lining the ceilings and walls was a tonne of fun. Each sheet had to be glued on individually, and held in place until it dried. It took a day, and Brian, our brother-in-law was a great help.
The ceiling and walls are now all lined.
Flooring
The flooring was next to go in, the kids were so excited when they saw this that they wanted to sleep in the bus that night. After this long, how could we say no. Out came the spare mattress and all four of us started off sleeping on the bus for the first night. Henry didn’t last long before he rolled off the bed, all good fun.
The new flooring is in.
He went back to the house with Michelle, but no such luck with Jade, she wanted to spend the whole night on the bus, and she had to pick the coldest night of the year. Thank God we put insulation in the old girl.
The Whole Honky Story
1. THE BEGINNING WITH HONKY THE BUS
hi a very good read the whole blog. well done. What did you use to line the inside with?
Hi Phillip. Thanks. I researched long and hard and was going to use foam, but settled on Air Cell. The industrial one they use on tin sheds. It was a bit of extra work, as I had to build up the edges with 20mm foam, then stick the Air Cell to that so it formed an air pocked and did not touch the metal skin. But, it seems to work well. With the cross ventilation from the windows, it seems to work quite well as we often park in full sun for the solar panels and very rarely need the aircon.
Hi Phillip. Thanks. I researched long and hard and was going to use foam, but settled on Air Cell. The industrial one they use on tin sheds. It was a bit of extra work, as I had to build up the edges with 20mm foam, then stick the Air Cell to that so it formed an air pocked and did not touch the metal skin. But, it seems to work well. With the cross ventilation from the windows, it seems to work quite well as we often park in full sun for the solar panels and very rarely need the aircon.