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Putts
#31
Okie dokie.  So, we have some good questions about false ceilings and venting. I came up with some crazy ideas...all it took was numerous beers and time sitting in a folding chair looking at the walls. But i got it done.

[Image: PuttTyllSitting-L.jpg]

I'm sorry to say you'll probably have to put your thinking caps on to get what the hell I'm going to talk about here, but I think it'll be worth your time in the end if you're so inclined.

The problem with a vehicle is it's a hot box. You get solar gain because the sun shines on the skin and heats up. The normal solution is to insulate...which is completely logical and rational. 

But I'm not. So, I came up with an alternate solution. 

Alcohol. 

Geebus...did I just say that out loud?

No. Well, yes...but let's just let that slide for a moment.

The beautiful thing about shade is that the thing providing the shade doesn't usually heat up. You get under a tree, it shades you from the sun and eats that energy up to protect you from the heat, and you just have to live in the much lower ambient air temperature. Lovely.

But in a vehicle, all that metal heats up like a mother. You can insulate all you want, but if you're not cooling it to ambient you're not ever going to get shade temperature inside you vehicle. As I sat in winter contemplation of Putt's structure, I soon came to the conclusion that it could have a separate plenum for the walls and ceiling to evacuate air undergoing thermal gain in the vehicle. 

Eh...a plenum is basically a space reserved for airflow. Wiki has a bunch of ways to explain it. Basically, Putt has a plenum for airflow in the back, walls, and ceiling to evacuate hot air created from sun on her skin. This allows the inside temp to be that of under the shade of a tree. Here's how it works:

[Image: 3DCrossSection-L.jpg]
This is a cross section of Putt. The rear Fantastic vent evacuates air from the cabin. The forward vent only evacuates air from within the false ceiling.

But the walls have four inches of thickness between the outside skin and the inside plywood. I put an inch of insulation on either side, but that still left a full two inch void. So I drilled a bunch of holes on the wall studs...

[Image: 20151208_144545-L.jpg]

[Image: 20151208_153206-L.jpg]

...so that air could flow within the walls.

It's a little hard to explain without seeing it, but I will have air flow through all the walls and ceiling that is completely separate from the cabin air system.
 
[Image: 3DCrossSection-L.jpg]

In the end, I will have a vent that can get rid of hot air from Putt's solar gain, while keeping the cabin at ambient shade temperature.

That's the theory, anyway. 

Please feel free to tell me where I'm loosing touch with reality.

Extra points for telling me what "reality" actually is.
YARC : Drunk in the Mud/Keeper of the Dingy/Ears [Image: L3000.gif]/Potluck Contributions Restricted
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#32
Onward....

Another big task readying the cabin for build was to install the wiring conduits....they had to be in behind the walls, so they had to be early in the process. I cogitated a good long while and figured out that there was a good spot for the runs at the top of the walls.

Here's a wooden dowel in the area where the run would go.

[Image: 20151123_183349-L.jpg]

There are so many things PVC is bad for when building something (it's to floppy and flexible usually) that it was fun to find a good use for it.
Turned out the biggest hassle was the pull ropes had to be in the PVC as it was constructed and I often wound up wound up in the string.

[Image: 20160217_174838-L.jpg]

Eventually, it all got tucked into place.

Right sidewall.

[Image: 20160122_153606-L.jpg]

And forward into the cab.

[Image: 20160131_125545-L.jpg]

And aft into the bed cabinet and shed.

[Image: 20160217_154334-L.jpg]

Left side.

[Image: 20160217_184240-L.jpg]

Close up at the top pf the wall.  Here you can see the walls to the rear are capped, and then once forward enough there are a series of holes that ventilate the walls into the ceiling for the heat removal. 

[Image: 20160224_150443-L.jpg]

Little bit of conduit to go from the kitchen cabinet to the bottom counter unit, and AC to the kitchen outlet. 
Not very code-ish. (Shhhhhh.)

[Image: 20160228_131323-L.jpg]

Same wall from the front once installed.

[Image: 20160228_143424-L.jpg]

All the pull ropes have big washers on them that don't fit through the pipe.  That way I don't accidentally pull a rope all the way through.

[Image: 20160217_154325-L.jpg]

So, both sides of Putt has runs that run the full length of the vehicle with outlets in the cab, cabin forward cabinets, bed cabinet, and rear shed.
YARC : Drunk in the Mud/Keeper of the Dingy/Ears [Image: L3000.gif]/Potluck Contributions Restricted
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#33
The big, bigbig thing that got installed the first year is the window. 

Here's when it first showed up.

[Image: 20151230_132941-L.jpg]

Then it spent a few months in my living room as I rattle canned it.



[Image: 20160302_161726-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160310_072903-L.jpg]

Meanwhile, out in Putt I was figuring out exactly how the window was going to fit in...it was definitely a tricky job. A measure 10 times and cut once sort of job.

Here's the bare wall were the window would go.

[Image: 20160312_132607-L.jpg]

That center metal wall stud would have to get cut. 

The one just to the rear of it would have to change as well. For the window to be most secure it would have to be bolted through the skin and into the studs. But the studs are sort of S shaped. Here's the one I cut off for the window.

[Image: 20160410_171825-L.jpg]

Well, all the studs had the same orientation, and I needed that rear stud to be flipped the other way, and then moved a few inches in order to properly fit the window. Sorry, no pix of all that.

Then once I had clear out the place for it, I had to cut a 4' x 3' hole in the side of my precious Putt. Nerve wracking.

Almost done cutting.

[Image: 20160406_185423-L.jpg]

Yikes!

[Image: 20160407_142300-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160407_142116-L.jpg]

I brought the window out, put it up on sawhorses, then filled the mating surfaces with Dicor butyl tape.  Then a buddy helped me poke it in the hole.

[Image: 20160409_111942-L.jpg]

It fit perfectly! Woot!
YARC : Drunk in the Mud/Keeper of the Dingy/Ears [Image: L3000.gif]/Potluck Contributions Restricted
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#34
The sides of the window are bolted into the steel stud, but to bottom and top were bolted to some aluminum C beams. Here's what that looked like.

[Image: 20160410_123307-L.jpg]

Close up.

[Image: 20160410_123245-L.jpg]

A virtual buddy of mine on a motorcycle forum who is a structural engineer for huge projects (like the new central railway station in Hong Kong) saw that and told me I had to tie the aluminum to the steel studs or the outside skin of Putt would fatigue and crack. Well, that's why you want people looking over your shoulder as you do stuff like this. So I fabbed up some brackets from the stud that I had cut off for the window.

[Image: 20160414_175114-L.jpg]

It was right about here that I did a lot of research on galvanic corrosion. I don't remember it all right now, but as I recall stainless steel has about the same galvanic potential as aluminum, so I used stainless hardware to bolt stuff together.  I also used electrical tape between the brakets and aluminum as an insulator. I've no idea if it's really going to work well, but Morgan Olson had put what looked like electrical tape between the studs and aluminum skin so I figured I'd just follow right along.

[Image: 20160419_193540-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160420_152354-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160424_124043-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160424_124128-L.jpg]

Hm...seems like I don't have a full view of the finished window. Oh well, you get the idea.
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#35
Oh yeah. In fact, I had planned to use the existing rivet holes in the stud to attach the window and measured accordingly. When we put the window in, my buddy got inside, put the drill bit in the stud hole, and drilled through the window as I stood outside breathless waiting to see where the drill poked out. 

It was damned near dead center in the bolt head groove. 

[Image: 20160410_123331-L.jpg]

Alright, maybe a 1/16th off. But that's still damned close all things considered.
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#36
Last little but critical step was to put in access hatches on both sides. The driver's side hatch will be for access to the water system for filling and emptying tanks, also the 110VAC shore tie. Eventually, when I get a 12V water pump mounted inside, I will also have a hand held shower head inside the hatch that I can bring outside, and will build some mounts on the side for the shower head a little privacy curtain. The access hatch on the passenger side will be for 12VDC and 110VAC cables to supply juice outside while camping. 

[Image: 20160223_163816-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160223_174026-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160223_182454-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160223_174124-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160223_174441-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160223_174513-L.jpg]

[Image: 20160223_181756-L.jpg]

And then the other side? Nah, it's the same thing.
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#37
Well, after all that it was mostly an exercise in glueing insulating panels on the inside of the skin and and another layer behind the plywood walls with spacers in between to assure that if the adhesives failed they'd stay put. I don't have many pix except this one of the finished right wall. 

[Image: 20160504_144909-L.jpg] 

The only thing to note here is that I cut off the two pre-existing wall panels to either side of the window so I could put in one long piece on top that would strengthen the top of the window. Wow. A full year to get back to an empty box. 

Then winter came...and nothing happened for about 6 months.

This spring, maybe 4-5 weeks ago, it began to be warm enough for adhesives and I could begin to build the interior.

At this point, I need to tell you about the current imperative: re-registering the vehicle as an RV. Currently it's titled as a commercial vehicle. Insurance and registration is well over $1000/yr!  After all, commercial vehicles spend 8 hours a day or more on the road and way heavier; insurance risk is high as is the wear on public roads. NOT!!! This bugger is mostly sitting in my driveway. Oh well. 

In order to register Putt as an RV in Montana I must have four of the five following installed features:
  1. Refrigerator or stove/range.

  2. Potable water supply and sink with faucet.

  3. Self-contained toilet.

  4. 110VAC system or propane.

  5. Heating and/or air conditioning.
Putt is due for registration in August; my overriding goal at the moment is to meet those conditions so I can re-register her as an RV. That means things like drawers, most cabinets, toilet paper holders, a bed, and all sorts of stuff will not be worked on. I will be installing and making functional: a fridge; sink, faucet, and water tank; composting toilet; and bare bones solar system and inverter for 110VAC to fulfill the requirements.

The first three require I build the kitchen cabinet. To refresh your memory, it'll look like this.

[Image: 3DKitchenDetail-L.jpg]
The range won't be installed, but the bottom cabinet unit, toilet, and side wall between the bed and toilet need to be there.

I'm pretty confident about the registration fees going down---I did check with the Montana DMV about it---but am a bit curious about the insurance thing.  I've noted a couple of posts here that mention if it's a commercial vehicle you can't get away with it. Montana tends to be a pretty liberal state with this sort of thing...but still. Any comments are welcome.
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#38
Woops! Forgot about the floor.

[Image: IMG_0548-L.jpg]

[Image: IMG_0549-L.jpg]

Trying to get the glue to adhere.

[Image: IMG_0623-L.jpg]
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#39
Alrightythen. Time to build a cabinet.

You should know I'm not a wood worker of any sort...but that's never stopped me from trying. Built all sorts of stuff over the years, but it's been pretty much plywood, 2x4, screws and glue and right angles. Oh! I have a Chevy Express 3500 15 passenger van that I bu8ilt a bed and a table into for camping and traveling. No fancy stuff though, just the table and bed. I'll try to get around to some snapshots for you folks inside if I put the table and bed back in there. It's unlikely though as it's running like total crap right now and my mechanic took a month with it and couldn't figure out what's wrong. Now it sits in the driveway just for lumber runs to the hardware store.

Anyhow, my buddy Wally is a construction guy and has built all sorts of weird stuff, so he's my go to for help. He said hardwood, dowel pins, screws and glue would be the way to go. I've never done dowels before so I watched some youtubes, became a friggen expert, bought a little dowel kit, and went at it.

[Image: IMG_1612-L.jpg]

(Not a doobie---NTTAWWT---I just roll my own smokes.)

And so it begins...

[Image: IMG_1613-L.jpg]

60 gallon water tank...yeah baby. Future plans include 50 more gallons in two tanks between the wheel wells. *crosses fingers*
Got the Dometic 50W portable cooler. Thought it would be good to be able to get that heat generator outside on a table when camping, and I needed to make double damned sure I would build the cabinet so it fit.


Second side.

[Image: IMG_1614-L.jpg]

Finished cabinet framing.

[Image: IMG_1617-L.jpg]

In Putt with tank in place.

[Image: IMG_1618-L.jpg]

Allicazzam! Now with top, sink, and shelf over the water tank. 

[Image: IMG_1712-L.jpg]

The shelf over the water tank and the countertop are removable---screws and a nice tight fit, but no glue. I wanted to make sure I could remove and repair the tank if it ever sprung a leak. The drawer railing (that you can't see) up and just left of the fridge is glued in because it needs the strength; I figure I could just cut it out and replace it if the tank had to be removed. 

And an inside view.

[Image: IMG_1689-L.jpg]

The water tote under the sink for grey water will eventually be replaced with a real tank and drain, but I figure this would work for a while and get me through the RV registration inspection...it is functional. I'll strap it down at some point but I'll always dump it before driving. I just cut off its spout and the drain fits right into it.  The half moon cutout is to reach the drain valve through the access hatch. The tube running up the wall is the vent pipe---I've covered it with no-see-um screen and then a metal mesh hose clamped on so bugs can't get in.

My favorite bit: The faucet!

[Image: IMG_1697-M.jpg]

Click the pic for a video of it in operation.

This is a marine faucet and works like a champ = $$$ (~$200)
here's a link, but I think I got it for about $180 but I can't remember where.
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/fynspray-...ecordNum=5


Somewhere along the line when the interior is complete I'm going to have to disassemble just about everything for painting. I will eventually be putting Formica counter tops on after painting. 

I'd love to hear folks thoughts on that...I'm still torn and may leave it bare wood. On another forum one who voted for wood posted a pic of Charlie, John Steinbeck's camper. 

[Image: johnsteinbeck-05-autocaravana.cat.png]

I love the wood, but I also want to fight darkness induced claustrophobia. With only the one side window natural light will be at a premium. And it'll be really dark with the window cover shut. Lots of LED strip lighting in a number of places will bring lots of light...but it'll be a lot brighter with an off-white interior. Any thoughts?
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  • AbuelaLoca (10-29-2017)
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#40
I already showed you guys the toilet, but here's the cabinet that can close around it.

I don't want to look at my crapper all day long and want the extra counter space. Here it's up and latched to the wall.

[Image: IMG_1709-L.jpg]

Half way down.

[Image: IMG_1710-L.jpg]

And closed.

[Image: IMG_1711-L.jpg]

And there you have it...that's the way it looks right now sitting in the driveway as I type.

Next step is fans and the toilet "tank", which will be behind you as you sit, sort of as a back rest. The tank will be filled with compost for a liberal post-poo sprinkle. Web wisdom says sphagnum peat moss or coconut husks are best---evidently they more naturally have the right bacteria---but I reckon I'll be on the lookout for dried, half rotted vegetation around the bivouac to throw in the tank as I camp. 
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