Day 35 - More Tint | School Bus Conversion

I was not planning on doing any work on the bus today but I was able to get some more tint done after all.

Here is a pic of the front before it was tinted.



And After:



I was also able to get the entrance door tinted.

Here is a before:



And After:



I still have to tint 4 windows in the master bedroom, the drivers window and the two little side widows seen above on the right of the entrance door.

I will have it finished tomorrow. God Bless!

Day 34 - Window Tint | School Bus Conversion

A week or two ago I stopped at a local tint shop to get a quote to tint the windows. They needed all the measurements so I came home and measured all the windows and called them with the measurements. They called me back the next day with the quote. Are you ready for this????

And the magic number was: $1,800. That was more then I was expecting.

I got online and found www.windowtint.com. I was able to buy ALL the tint I needed for the bus for much, much less. See my invoice below for details and dimentions.

SKU	Product	Tax	Item price	Quantity	Total
AXS0336P-3	Professional Non-Reflective 03% VLT Options: Width: 36 Inches Length: 30 Feet		$74.35	1	$74.35
AXS3840P-1	Professional Non-Reflective 38% VLT Options: Width: 40 Inches Length: 10 Feet		$35.30	1	$35.30
TKT02	Automotive Tool Set		$24.95	1	$24.95

Subtotal:	$134.60
Shipping cost:	$23.86
Total:	$158.46

I was not able to install my A/C unit today because it needs the mounting gasket that sits between the unit and the roof. I have one ordered so I will have to wait untill it gets here. I decided to go ahead and try my tiniting skills out. Now any pro tinters reading this will probably not like the way we did it but it worked the best for us.

First, we brought all the tint inside the house out of the 100 + degree, 100% humidity heat.

I meassured the glass to know the exact messurments we needed.

My wife has a circular cutting tool and cutting pad that she uses for quilting so we used that to cut the tint. We used this to cut all the tint for the side windows.





After she cut each piece I would do the easy work and round the corners. Rounded corners will last longer then square corners.



Here are the finished cut pices ready to go on the windows.



Next I had to venture back out into the blistering heat and begin the application of the tint.



First you need your water soap solution for the cleaning and application of the tint.

Take any spray bottle and add about a cap full of Joy dish soap and fill the bottle with water.

Step 1: Spray down the glass surface.



Step 2:
Take a razor and scrap the glass down removing any and everything on the glass.



Step 3:

Thoroughly wipe the glass down removing all debris.



Step 4:

Just to be safe spray the glass down again and scrub it.



Step 5:

Start to peel the protective layer off the tint to expose the sticky side.



Step 6:

As you are peeling off the protective layer (Don't let it get into any dirt) spray the sticky side of the tint liberally with your soap solution.



Step 7:

Once your tint is all soapy spay the glass as well.



Step 8:

Apply the tint to the glass.



Step 9:

Now take your smoothing tool and slide it from the center towards the edges removing any water between the tint and the glass.



I found it helpful to spray the surface of the tint and run the smoothing tool over it again to make sure that you got all the air bubbles and water out.

DONE!



Another tip for the amateurs. (Like myself) When you cut your tint make sure and leave a small gap at each edge. If you don't the tint will buckle and be about impossible to install.

I also installed the 38% tint on the front windows. The first window I did was a nightmare because the edges of the tint were touching the window trim. I ended up ripping it off and redoing it. The second time I did it I made sure there was a small gap all the way around the window and it went on perfect. Looks good too!

I only have 5 windows to go and the bus is tinted.

Here is an inside pic:



And the outside:



I probably will not be back on the bus until Wednesday. See ya then!

Day 33 - Bunks Done! | School Bus Conversion

For the most part we finished the bunks today. There is still some trim work and paneling to be done but the framing is finished.





I cut a hole in the ply wood of the bottom bunk because the bunk hinges open to expose a storage area below it.



We already carpeted it. I will probably add 2 or 3 dividers in this area and use it as a place to store things or even keep clothing.



Today we also permanently reinstalled the 3 vents that go on the roof. When we got the bus these were leaking a little so I sealed them down with silicone and used roofing screws with the rubber gasket. This should water proof it.

We also received the delivery of the Carrier roof mount A/C unit that we got off ebay. I may be able to get that installed on Sunday.

We went to Lowe's today and picked up a few more needed items.

• Studs (We were about out)
• Ply Wood (For the bunks)
• 3 1/2" Screws
• A couple long drill bit.

All this came to around $100.

Day 32 - Bunk Beds | School Bus Conversion

The first thing we did today was go to Lowe's and get more building supplies.

The main things we purchased were.

• Top plate material. (We ran out)
• Furring Strips (To support the plywood on the bunks)
• Screws (Getting real low)
• More 1/8" drill bits
• A 12' x 3' roll of carpet (This will go under the bottom bunks in the storage area)
• Electrical outlet boxes.

I really encourage anyone building a house or a bus to buy deals when you find them even if you are not going to use the item right away. Always look in the clearance sections. We found the roll of carpet sitting in the carpet clearance section where they put carpet that are miss cuts and returns. The price on it was already marked down to $18 for the roll. We offered them $6 and they said; "It's yours." The other day we were at Lowe's and they had a box of returned special order granite tile. The real stuff. Normal price was $45 for a box of 5 12x12 tiles. We got the box for $5. Also, as mentioned before in the blog, was the solid wood bi fold doors that will be taken apart and cut down to make the closet doors in the bus. They also where a special order item that had been returned to Lowe's. Original price was $160 we got them for $22. Deals are out there if you look for them.

When we returned from the store we started working where we left off yesterday.

We had the main outside top support done so we did the bottom one.



Before I could put the supports that will hold the plywood that will support the foam for the bed I had to get my paneling in.

I had to figure out a way to make a pattern of the arch in the ceiling so my wood could follow the same contour. I cut a piece of cardboard the width required.



Then I found a narrow piece of wood to use as a guide. I placed it against the ceiling and a pencil against the my wood guide and the cardboard.



Now, making sure I was as plum as possible, I gradually moved the stick to the right, down the roof line tracing the same ceiling arch onto the cardboard. Once I had it done I cut the line with my utility knife. Here it is.



I then took a second piece of cardboard and filled in where the ledge is on the right side in the picture above.

Now I had my pattern. I traced the pattern onto a piece of oak plywood and cut it out with a jigsaw. Here is the result.



I then put in the piece that goes below it.



I was able to use my pattern for the other side also.



Now all the paneling on the inside of the bunk chamber is done.



Next I installed the support strips that the ply wood will rest on.





Tomorrow the bunks on this side of the bus should be finished.

Day 31 - More Framing | School Bus Conversion

I realized that I did not post a picture of the bottom section of the drivers side closet, so here it is.




Today we finished up the passenger side closet first.





After that we started on the passenger side bunk. We kind of planned it as we went.



I, of course drilled my wiring hole to pull my wire through. This is at the bottom left side of the bunk.



I had to put up another top plate along the arch of the roof so again I took my top plate and cut grooves in it to help it to be able to bend along the roof line.



After fabricating the main part of the frame we then focused on the top bunk. As you can see in the pic below there is a horizontal beam assemble. That is where the top bunk will attach. It is now all screwed together and VERY strong. It really does not move. A matter of fact, all the framing in this bus so far is very stout.



Here is a closer look.



Tomorrow, hopefully, this will take more shape and make better sense.

Day 30 - Framing | School Bus Conversion

Today makes the 30th day that we have spent working on the bus.

It feels like we are moving along at a good pace now.

The Rear wall is now all framed up. You will notice in the pic below, a framed in box near the top of the wall. This will be a shelf.



We started today by framing up the master bedroom closets. This is not as easy as it sounds and is very time consuming. The main reason for this is because you can't plum or level any surface of the bus. Everything has to be measured and double checked to make sure that everything is lining up right. The rounded ceiling does not help make things easier.

We started by attaching the vertical studs against the wall. We cut the tops of the studs at an angle to follow the channel at the top of the wall. Then we screwed down our bottom plates. We are putting these two closets right over the rear wheel wells so we had a little maneuvering to do there.

When it came to the top plate it got tricky. I wanted the surface of the top plate to hug the roof line. Yesterday I actually took my top plate boards and had water running on them with a weight directly in the middle so they would sag. This gave a little arch in the wood. It wasn't enough, so I cut many grooves in the wood so it would give. All in all we got the results we wanted.



After the vertical studs were in I drilled a hole for the wire that will power the lights in the master bedroom. This was the existing emergency exit hatch alert system wire that was disconnected from the rear hatch. Since it was already ran through the ceiling we will use it for lighting.



This wire will run to a light switch on the closet wall inside the master bedroom.

I also made sure to drill a hole through the stud into the wire channel that was enclosed in the wall. This channel is where all my electrical wire will be run. It runs the full length of the bus on both sides. I have a string in the channel that will enable me to be able to pull any wire through that I need for powering various outlets and lights in the bus.



Next was putting the framing for the door in place. I of course had to cut the studs at a slight angle so they would line up with the roof pitch. I framed the door opening at 14" to fit a 12" door.

You can see here that the door opening is now framed.



We did not screw any screws into the top of the wheel wells.
The bottom plate that runs along the top of the wheel well (see pic above) was screwed into the vertical stud on each side of the wheel well. We did not want to have any holes in the wheel wells.



When we did all our laying out we made sure that every wall would rest under a roof support beam. This way the top plate can be screwed to the existing supports adding a lot of strength to the framing.

The drivers side closet is now framed up!



We were able to get started on the passengers side closet and will have that done tomorrow.