Vagabound's Build-Out - 1993 Ford E350 Box Truck

[Vagabound]

A back corner after I removed the tons of old caulking from the large gap at the bottom of the metal corner piece. It's a little hard to see in the photo, but that gap is almost an inch tall all the way across the corner:




With corner piece removed:




Corner piece with its new metal skirt attached:




Corner piece reinstalled on truck, pending clean-up (like the rest of the truck and its owner):




And next the roof ...

 

[TooManyDogs]

I can sympathize with the bolt removal horror story. Actually, I can't since I only had a tenth the number of bolts. I'm pretty sure I broke a bone in my hand over Thanksgiving from smacking it repeatedly on the underside side of my van while trying to loosen the nuts.

Great job with the repairs so far. Keep the pics coming!

 

[Vagabound]

One of the front corners of the box on the roof before I started work. The previous owners had patched repeatedly without removing the old patches. Their most recent patch was hot roof tar:




In the process of taking off the old patches here. Man, that old roof tar is really stubborn and I had no way to heat it up to make it more cooperative. I did let the other corner soak in mineral spirits overnight and that made it a little easier, but it still required a hammer and chisel. Tip -- use a sharp chisel:




Plan for fabricated sheet aluminum patch prior to putting it on with rivets and a lot of good sealant. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a final photo of the metal work before I got really happy with the sealant. Now there's nothing to see:




This ugly thing is actually an example of how things can be better than you think. There was about a dinner plate-sized glob of old hot roofing tar right in the center of the roof. I was dreading taking it off, really worried about what I was going to find underneath it. It is about half off in the photo below.

After I finally got it off, I realized that what happened was an accident. While the previous owners were up there with the hot roofing tar doing their work, they spilled a big glob right in the center of the roof and never cleaned it up. That was it. There was no hole or crack or problem under the glob after I got it off. So happy to get that minor windfall:




----------

LESSONS LEARNED:

* As was pointed out by Matt/ERLH, the prep work takes so much longer than you think. And by prep work, I mean all the nearly invisible, tedious stuff that has to be done prior to doing what you really want to do.

* Even though it may never be a problem, using oriented strand board (OSB) to replace the rotted wood in the walls was a mistake. Replacing the wood was great; using OSB was the mistake. Instead of giving in to pressure and frustration that day in Home Depot, and buying what I know I should not buy, I should have stopped the train, grabbed the manager, and made sure that I got the correct exterior plywood. 

Why?  It makes sense that locations where the box has leaked before are probable locations of future leaks. That's where I needed the plywood the most. It may never be a problem, but if it is, it will become problematic bigger and faster than had I used plywood. 

Every time I abandon being a single-minded, persistent a-hole during a project,  I always regret it later. Should have stuck to my guns. Reminder for next time.

Now it's off to the races on the interior wall and floor coverings and foam insulation, etc.

Tom

 

[Vagabound]

Mini Progress Update:
When It Rains ...


Among numerous other tasks today, I was planning to do the water hose rain tests on the roof. And then something interesting happened. It actually started raining, in the desert. 

Great, you say.  No, because instead of rain, there was ice falling from the sky. Yes, I'm from Florida, but I know what snow is. I even know how to snow ski, but that's another story. This was not snow. This was not hail. Might be what's called sleet.  In any case, this was shaved ice.

Whatever its name, if I had just had a lot more patience, a big glass tumbler, and one of those squirt bottles full of mango flavored syrup, ... well, you get the idea.

The funniest part is that I might actually have to go out there and squirt the roof with the garden hose while I'm getting rained on because the rain isn't rain and whatever it is, there's not enough of it. This is really an adventure!

Tom

P.S. - This morning, before I could put my dirty dishes in the bucket that I use for soaking before I wash them, I had to break the ice on the top of the bucket to get the dishes into the water.  Cool ... literally.

 

[akrvbob]

I used to spend winters in Pahrump--not any more!!!! Too cold and windy for me!!

 

[VanKitten]

I too went out today to start...take pictures...and begin. Geez...it was only 5 degrees!!!! Five!
This is the high desert...but, I expected warmer. Really? 5?

So darn cold I couldn't feel my fingers after only a minute.

Yeah..I'm a snowbird at heart....this isn't my kind of climate!

Starting will have to wait until the temps are back in the 40s for me!

 

[Matlock]

LESSONS LEARNED:

Every time I abandon being a single-minded, persistent a-hole during a project,  I always regret it later. Should have stuck to my guns. Reminder for next time.

Tom

Don't beat yourself up to hard. Your tackling a project without the aide of what I call the basic tool group... A heated garage and delivery pizza / beer a block away.  

I've been fine tuning my project for the better part of two years. I'm fortunate that I can return to home-base and tweak things as I feel the need.
It's worth remembering, the RV design engineers in Elkhart, Indiana don't get things right the first time either.

Richard

 

[Vagabound]

Don't beat yourself up to hard. Your tackling a project without the aide of what I call the basic tool group... A heated garage and delivery pizza / beer a block away.  

I've been fine tuning my project for the better part of two years. I'm fortunate that I can return to home-base and tweak things as I feel the need.
It's worth remembering, the RV design engineers in Elkhart, Indiana don't get things right the first time either.

Richard

Hi Richard,

Yeah, it's good to keep all of that in mind.

Actually, I'm not beating myself up too much, if at all. Probably more a difference in style and perception. 

In our modern social atmosphere, the soup du jour is constant and excessive praise of everything, including ourselves, with a side order of blemish and accountability avoidance. That rubs me the wrong way.

Instead I prefer to just explain what's good, what's bad, and most importantly, what I've learned from the situation. It either seems like that, or don't bother posting about it at all. However, compared to what's "normal", it probably looks like I'm beating myself up or whining or something.

What I'm aiming for is a little analysis, unflinching honesty, increased knowledge, and if I'm lucky, some humor.   I usually have fun doing it, and maybe somebody else will benefit from reading about my trials and tribulations, and methods and successes, when they happen.

Thanks for the concern and good thoughts.

Off the soapbox and back to the circular saw 
...

Tom

 

[Vagabound]

Progress Update
Waste Not, Want Not

Over the years, I have noticed that any project of mine doesn't seem to be or at least "feel" substantial or real unless it makes me bleed at some point.  Not a goal, just a fact. A close cousin to the concept of skin in the game I guess. 

Well, my build-out is an official project now.   Word to the wise: Even though you know to keep your fingers away from the business end of the drill, you must increase your compliance to 100% or face the consequences occasionally.  

In this case, a few things compounded to cause the minor accident. I was using the cordless drill as a screwdriver to drive screws into the plywood walls. While trying to drive a screw that was too high, without a footstool, the screw that I was holding and the drill slipped for the third time.  This time, the Phillips head bit came to rest on my fingernail which was against the wall. Oh, and it hadn't stopped spinning yet. Yeah.

My only question is why it always has to be the index finger or thumb?  I wouldn't mind so much drilling a hole through my pinkie, but those other two are pretty important. So it goes. Some disinfectant, a little superglue, a band-aid, and back to work.

----------

Work on Phase 2 has been moving along pretty well. I'm making progress, but a lot less than the time I seem to be putting into it. I'm sure that I'm slowing down with age, but I also seem to be caught in some time warp where the smallest job takes hours and my mental to-do list doesn't seem to change much from day to day.  Less a lament than an observation.

I've gotten both side walls insulated and covered with B-C plywood, which will be my final wall covering with the exception of paint or varnish, etc.   Related to the topic of the post, I was going to run short a sheet or two of three-quarter inch 4x8 EPS foam board.  Basically my plans evolved after I bought my stock of foam board. That's a problem here in "foam board as rare as hen's teeth" country because the local Home Depot, while having a pretty good selection of products, has significant inventory problems.  When they run out of something, it may or may not ever be restocked.  I was apparently the last one to buy this foam board over a month ago and it has not been restocked yet. And they don't even carry 4x8 XPS or polyiso.

For some reason, as I went through measuring and cutting the foam board, I decided not to throw away any scraps regardless of size. I just put it all aside for possible future use. As it turned out, I was able to use almost all of those sizable scraps, and even some really small ones, to save at least a full sheet of foam board.   That will allow me to finish the foam board part of this project without having to drive to a larger city to get resupplied. Put one in the win column.

Using metal foil duct tape, I patched the holes, cuts, and tears in the original insulation on the ceiling and have decided that I can keep it and reuse it.  Still some more taping of seams to go before I can cover it up with some ceiling veneer.  This is probably a good point to mention that the roof passed its "garden hose simulating a rainstorm" test a few days ago. I was very happy about that considering obvious chronic problems with leaking and after all the work I did to waterproof it.

As a necessary part of the design, while working on the walls, I had to simultaneously figure out the framework for the drop ceiling that will go under the roll-up door.  I chose to have the plywood on the walls hold up the rafters for the drop ceiling.  That framing is done and I'm happy with the results so far. 

At the moment I'm working on the next stage of the floor. I had already fixed holes in the floor and caulked and sealed it. Now I'm insulating the floor with Owens Corning pink Formular XPS foam board and covering that insulation with some good Roseburg 5-ply half inch plywood.  Getting enough of that pink XPS foam to do the floor took Herculean efforts and is a story for another day.  In addition to looking for good insulating effect, I'm trying to make sure the floor doesn't bow when it's walked on, and any chances of squeaking are reduced or eliminated. The floor should be roughly finished today, despite the cold, windy, and now rainy weather.

The next part of the project is building the interior walls and the bed platform.

Some more photos are attached for your viewing pleasure.

Tom

 

[DannyB1954]

The hole in the index finger will come in handy for holding brad nails while you nail the paneling in place.

 

[VanKitten]

I have noticed that for years...success of any project require the material be mixed with some of my blood.

I have not yet bled on this project....I hope it will be a cut and not puncture wound (they take forever to heal)

 

[BradKW]

Nice cuts on your wall insulation, looks very tight to the furring strips.

Before you get all the flooring down, consider what you might want to hide under it...channels in the foam board make great paths for wires and pipe...

 

[Gary68]

f you aint bleedin you aint workin hard enough,my grandpapi used to say

 

[jimindenver]

Go Tom go.

The finger, ewww, just ewww.

 

[Vagabound]

Got the floor done today, at least roughed in with foam board and plywood.  

An unexpected benefit is that supplementing the walls and floor with insulation and plywood have really firmed up the box itself. Before doing so, I could sit in a chair inside the box and just rock back and forth and make the entire box sway.  Now, even if I stand up and spread my legs and move back and forth as forcefully as I can, trying to move the box, it barely moves at all. I was in there singing "Solid As A Rock" today, but nobody was around to hear it. Probably a good thing as my singing makes small kids cry. ;-)

Tom

 

[Vagabound]

P.S. - Just for the record:  I had an afterthought about the rigidity of the box. It is now as strong as I said, but not entirely for that reason. I realized after my post that during the less stable box time frame, I also had a lot of the corner bolts removed. A box without all of its corner bolts is going to be understandably shaky.  

All of those bolts have now been replaced, so it's actually a combination of all the bolts being back in and the new walls and the floor that have increased the box stability.

It's also worth mentioning that it's quieter inside the box now, too. With the new insulation and wall and floor coverings, the walls are almost 2 inches thick and the floor is 3 inches thick.

Tom

 

[rvpopeye]

You really did put a crater in that finger !
The rig is progressing pretty well , keep at it ! (unless the finger hurts too much)Khhheewwwwwwww

 

[Vagabound]

Progress Update
Spinning the Cocoon


Despite all of the hard work and bad weather, it is satisfying to see ideas from my head manifest themselves in reality.  Even if that reality is an old box truck.  It might amount to "putting lipstick on a pig", but I'm starting to see something positive emerge.

Last week I was able to finish insulating and covering the ceiling.  That included designing and building the drop-down ceiling section.  I created that latter section to encase and hide the roll-up door that I'm keeping, and to help isolate and insulate the space near the roll-up door (when up).

At the moment, I'm at the RTR.  One of the die-hards holding on until the end.  The weather has been really crappy the last couple of days -- overcast with high winds and rain -- yesterday afternoon and evening being the worst.  Sideways blowing rain.  Nice!  Looks like today's weather will be much better.  It's been hard for me to get on the Internet here, so this is a rare exception, allowing this progress post.  

You'd think that the RTR would be a good place to make progress on one's build.  Well, yes and no.  

If you have the design figured out, and have purchased all needed supplies in advance, and brought them here with you, and are ready for a re-creation of that scene from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" where the locust group rejuvenates the poor little tree at the end of the show, then yes, volunteers can probably be found to pitch in. If you're a damsel in distress, so much the better.  Guys needing help have it a bit harder.  Just a fact of genetics, and so, of life.  That said, I benefited from some of that help last night.

On the "no" side, it can be a poor place to work on a build because there are numerous things to do here other than work on a vehicle build, and so many people to meet and talk to.  In my experience, the vast majority are very friendly and often knowledgeable.  That, while certainly pleasant and a main reason for coming to the RTR, can be a distraction if not carefully managed.  And if you're like one of my new friends here, and make the mistake of telling people that you know how to get nearly free Internet access, you might never have a moment of peace again.  For a few days now, there has been a Hajj of not always considerate pilgrims to the Mecca of his RV front door. Some quite pushy and some returning again and again.  I hope that people will give him a break and go read some of his excellent posts online instead.

All said, I've gotten some major work done on the front wall.  It is in place and insulated, and soon to be covered in plywood.  The next major goal -- hopefully accomplished today --- is the creation and installation of a bed platform, attached to that new front wall.  I really need to get my nice mattress out from under that tarp in the rain and get my body off the floor.  Thank the Norse god of sleeping pads for my Thermarest!

And then there's finding time to run into town to become part of the human sausage that is the RV festival and the big tent in order to learn about summer job opportunities.  What fun.

A few photos are attached to help make sense of my build progress.

Tom

(insert photo of insulation on ceiling)
View attachment 11101

l( insert photo of rollup door down)


(insert photo of rollup door up)

(insert photo of wall) 

(insert photo of RTR feet)

 

[Vagabound]

Progress Update
Spinning the Cocoon


Despite all of the hard work and bad weather, it is satisfying to see ideas from my head manifest themselves in reality.  Even if that reality is an old box truck.  It might amount to "putting lipstick on a pig", but I'm starting to see something positive emerge.

Last week I was able to finish insulating and covering the ceiling.  That included designing and building the drop-down ceiling section.  I created that latter section to encase and hide the roll-up door that I'm keeping, and to help isolate and insulate the space near the roll-up door (when up).

At the moment, I'm at the RTR.  One of the die-hards holding on until the end.  The weather has been really crappy the last couple of days -- overcast with high winds and rain -- yesterday afternoon and evening being the worst.  Sideways blowing rain.  Nice!  Looks like today's weather will be much better.  It's been hard for me to get on the Internet here, so this is a rare exception, allowing this progress post.  

You'd think that the RTR would be a good place to make progress on one's build.  Well, yes and no.  

If you have the design figured out, and have purchased all needed supplies in advance, and brought them here with you, and are ready for a re-creation of that scene from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" where the locust group rejuvenates the poor little tree at the end of the show, then yes, volunteers can probably be found to pitch in. If you're a damsel in distress, so much the better.  Guys needing help have it a bit harder.  Just a fact of genetics, and so, of life.  That said, I benefited from some of that help last night.

On the "no" side, it can be a poor place to work on a build because there are numerous things to do here other than work on a vehicle build, and so many people to meet and talk to.  In my experience, the vast majority are very friendly and often knowledgeable.  That, while certainly pleasant and a main reason for coming to the RTR, can be a distraction if not carefully managed.  And if you're like one of my new friends here, and make the mistake of telling people that you know how to get nearly free Internet access, you might never have a moment of peace again.  For a few days now, there has been a Hajj of not always considerate pilgrims to the Mecca of his RV front door. Some quite pushy and some returning again and again.  I hope that people will give him a break and go read some of his excellent posts online instead.

All said, I've gotten some major work done on the front wall.  It is in place and insulated, and soon to be covered in plywood.  The next major goal -- hopefully accomplished today --- is the creation and installation of a bed platform, attached to that new front wall.  I really need to get my nice mattress out from under that tarp in the rain and get my body off the floor.  Thank the Norse god of sleeping pads for my Thermarest!

And then there's finding time to run into town to become part of the human sausage that is the RV festival and the big tent in order to learn about summer job opportunities.  What fun.

A few photos are attached to help make sense of my build progress.

Tom

Insulation on the ceiling done -- hours of metal foil taping:


Roll-up door partly raised:


Roll-up door up and covered by drop-down ceiling:


New front wall mostly finished:


Taking a break and watching the bad weather roll in:

 

[Gunny]

It's good to see you proceeding with the build and hopefully having some fun. I am a bit envious.

Rob.