Four reading lights have been received at the shop. Two of these will go in the bedroom and two more in the living room. They automatically turn on when they are swung away from their wall fixture.
I finally got ahold of a bunch of fluted stainless steel siding panels from a Flxible bus. These are from a bus that had two rows of panels on each side. I only plan to install one run of panels down each side, which should allow me to only use panels that are in great condition and skip those that have any scratches or gouges.
I’ve been in SE Asia for the last two months, which is why you haven’t been seeing any updates. We return to the states at the end of this week.
Here’s some shots of the air conditioning ducting that will run down the center of the ceiling. Clockwise from upper left:
1) The complete duct in a practice fitting before the wood veneer is applied.
2) The bedroom end of the AC ducting… that curve matches a curved floor step that appears right before the bedroom starts.
3) Side edge detail shot to show the shape of the vent holes. Both Air Conditioning output, intake and roof vent fans will all use this long ducting. That way you’ll never see any plastic vents that are common with roof air units.
4) On the workbench showing the curve for the front of the duct that will end just before the TV lift near the entry of the bus.
5) Another shot of the ducting on a trial fitting.
Here are details of the refined TV lift setup. Clockwise from upper left:
1) Here the wood veneer has been applied with matching grain across the full width of the ceiling.
2) The ceiling cavity has been blacked out so it should distract your eye when watching a movie.
3) The arm that attaches the TV to the motor has been extensively modified so that no slots will be necessary in the cabinet that appears above the wild shield.
4) I think Larry is trying to show how small the gap is in the ceiling… it’s tight enough to hold an x-acto blade.
5) Showing what the front cabinet will look like with speaker holes visible. The wood veneer has not been applied to that cabin ate yet. The TV lift motor and destination sign live in that area. We’ve rigged it up so that I can still change the destination sign, but only while the TV is in the down position.
A 42″ LG tv will call that front area home.
Here are some random detail shots of how the ceiling and cabinets match up with the entry door and other areas. Clockwise from upper left:
1) An example of the type of custom wood pieces Larry has been fabricating.
2 & 3) An example of where one of those pieces will appear. I believe this one is just above the entry door.
4) Here you can see how the upper cabinet that is right above the windshield terminates near the entry door.
Here are some details that show the interior storage that will be installed in the his & her closets that flank the bedroom entry. Clockwise from upper left:
1) The “his” closet drawer area. This will fill the bottom of the closet with a space for hanging clothing above.
2) The “her” side where there is a smidgen of space on the right side where long hand clothing can live next to the drawers.
3 & 4) Details on how the lower drawers will look. I’ll be able to grab a T-shift without having to pull the drawer open.
I’m in Oregon visiting the vintage bus! Photos, clockwise from upper left:
1-2) Air conditioning ducting finished with the wood veneer applied.
3) This dude is 6’6″ and he said he was comfortable walking under the ducting!
4) Edge detail shot that reveals one of the screws that holds the ducting to the ceiling.
I’ll be here for two days.
Lighting progress… clockwise from upper left:
1) Larry is installing a special LED strip light that has a built-in diffuser where you don’t see the individual LEDs. We’re told that this it the first motor coach in the country that is using this product!
2) Here you can see the LED strip lit. It will not be directly visible since the shades will also fit in that slot next to the window, so you’ll only see the light falling on the shade and not the light source itself.
3) Larry is cutting a hole in the upper kitchen cabinet for a reading light. It will be used from where Larry is sitting since that’s where a sofa will be.
4) The reading light after the install was finished. There will be one on each side of the living room area and two of the same type in the bedroom. They’re nice and bright and never get hot since they’re LEDs.
Fluted stainless steel accent siding has been acquired and is being inspected. I plan to have one row of stainless running just below the windows on my bus. Just like the classic Flxible Clipper models had. This stuff is not easy to find.
