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Another MC5?

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artvonne:
  Well, this is my beastie project, hoping to really get going on her this year. Shes a 1975, Ser. #11394, unit #7156, date of mfg Apr 1975. She was converted into an entertainer sometime in the 80's, rather crudely but functional, the workmanship was good but it was the way it was installed that sucked. The seller was adamant she once belonged to Mel Tillis. I contacted the fan website and got an email back from Mel himself. He said he couldnt recall, didnt say yes, but didnt say no either, so maybe?

  She came with a Power Tech 8K 3 banger Isuzu diesel Generator which I will relocate. We stripped everything out back down to the original walls which were still intact (they simply built over the existing walls and windows), then we stripped out the the heat ductwork and vent panels. I de-riveted the front right sheeting to see how the interior wall looked. Holes were drilled in the outside to hang a sign and water leaked in and rusted one of the diagonals slightly, but otherwise everything looks great. I will pull a couple others to inspect, but if all looks well I'm likely going to leave the rest and rivet the ones I pulled back on. I am not yet convinced foam insulation is the best choice. While it does provide more R value, I am concerned that over time it may lead to condensation issues. I will likely use foam on the inner side but likely with a thin wood paneling as a thermal barrier.

  I intend to modify the existing heat and AC rather than tear it out or use roof airs. I like Buses looking like a Bus rather than an RV. I want to keep the side windows, but hope to remove all the glass and replace with smoked Lexan on the fronts and rears, and black (opaque) on the two middle windows. Intention is to screw the two center units down tight to the Bus and seal them so they not only will never open, but also not leak as well as provide some structural rigidity. Then I will insulate over the windows and wall them off. By swapping out the glass for Lexan I should lose several hundred pounds of weight.

  Anyway, those are some of my thoughts starting into this, right now its almost a clean slate. I still have some more tearing out to do and some floor repairs to make before I can start building.  

Tikvah:
Sounds like a great project.  Take lots of pictures and keep us up to date with your project. 

When I did mine, I used spray foam all the way to the outer skin, plus 3/4" inside.  In other words, I put 3/4" wood strips against the framing then filled the entire space.  Then, I put another 1/2" air space using 1/2" wood strips, then my 1/2" plywood.  The advantage is an air space to prevent any condensation plus I can run wires and plumbing behind the walls without any visible conduits.  I did almost the same in the ceiling.

Mine is still a work in progress, but I'm loving every minute! 

Good Luck,
Dave

artvonne:
  The two biggest issues right now are its filled to the ceiling with boxes (temporary storage), and it needs good rubber. As soon as I can solve those two issues I want to get it out and drive it more. In the meantime I want to block it up, pull the wheels and hubs and get under the axle bays and sort it all out so its truly roadworthy. And before it moves again I need to create a manual leveling system and get the alternator back online. I would like to find alloy wheels but may just stay with steel and paint them a nice silver.

John316:

--- Quote from: artvonne on January 06, 2012, 04:46:16 PM ---  The two biggest issues right now are its filled to the ceiling with boxes (temporary storage), and it needs good rubber. As soon as I can solve those two issues I want to get it out and drive it more. In the meantime I want to block it up, pull the wheels and hubs and get under the axle bays and sort it all out so its truly roadworthy. And before it moves again I need to create a manual leveling system and get the alternator back online. I would like to find alloy wheels but may just stay with steel and paint them a nice silver.

--- End quote ---

Yup, those are great places to start. The leveling valves can be a pain! I am fighting that right now. I don't like the old G-dog lean, and try to avoid it if possible.

I hear you on the wheels. We were going to step up, but the problem is the money. We couldn't justify that much for better wheels. Tires are expensive enough (ours are about 1K each), so we decided to keep the steel on there.

Good job on getting the basics covered first. That is what we did, and we haven't been sorry.

Once again, glad to see you over here.

God bless,

John

artvonne:
  Thanks John, its nice to see a site dedicated solely to these rigs, as well as see so many people who arent strangers.

   Paul


   

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