All ready for it to be covered in plywood

The new bay door with the trim, is that a good job or what?!!

It's been three days since Ron has been over to the bus, so this morning he went over to see what's gotten done so far. As you will see, the bay doors are just about done and by the time they are painted to look like the rest of them, it will look like they have always been there. The only thing left that needs to be done is to attach the locks and the hydraulic lifts, which will probably be done in the next day or so. The area where the stove is going to sit is also ready for Ron to install the plywood.

Sunday, March 18

Hi all, it's been a few days since I've posted any pictures, the work has been ongoing, but, there really hasn't been anything new to post. The following pictures are just pictures of the jobs that are being finished up. The new bay doors and putting new flooring in the bay is almost done, as well as the new area for the stove. Hopefully, the windows are next...

New beam in place and ready to be welded in

Cutting out the old stuff and cleaning up to install the new beam

The old beam is off, waiting for the new one

Half the beam is out

The new beam to replace the old one

The last picture of the rotten beam was just discovered. I am glad, as it wouldn't have held up much longer. After Ron told me about it, I asked about the others and he said they looked fine. This one looks that way because it wasn't properly protected from the elements. That will be done this time. Stay tuned for more pictures as the week goes on...

This beam needs to be replaced, it is rotten with rust!

Ron is a happy camper

The bay door hanging! It still needs the latch put on.

The lowered area for the stove

The area that is being lowered to fit the stove in there is actually part of the floor in the lower area. We didn't think it would be possible to get that part lowered just because of the wheel well, but, were thrilled to hear it wouldn't be a problem. The area has been lowered and welded and will also have sheet metal all around it to protect it from the elements. Since Ron plans to enclose the inside with plywood, like the rest of the bus, an extra 2 inches of the upper floor area needed to be cut out as well, so he'd have room to put it all in around the stove. It looks a little weird when viewed outside the bus, but, the finished product will look normal from inside the bus.

Another view...

Making a spot for the stove, nice hole, huh?

Our new stove!

Air lines waiting to be rerouted

Monday, March 12

Slowly, the work is being done. The bay doors are pretty much done, one is hung, but, it still needs the latch put in and then it can be finished off. We also had to lower the floor to accommodate the stove. He has since welded a base, so Ron can put plywood all around for the stove to sit on. Some of you will notice that it doesn't look quite level, that is being fixed. Also, the promised picture of the stove. He has also rerouted the air lines, so everything is looking good except for the last picture, as you will see...

This is the inside of the bay door, waiting for the final cover piece

This will be the outside of the bay door

This piece goes between the bay doors

Three days later...

Well, it's been a few days since my last post, we've been staying away letting our guy get some work done. We have a few pictures to post, but, we'll have a few more in the next few days. He's almost done fabricating the bay doors and they are looking good! One thing you should know, this guy bent the aluminum by hand the old fashioned way, no big machines for him, I think he did a great job, looks very professional.

We'll also get a picture of what the stove looks like OUT of the box. :) I think we'll take it out of the box and make sure everything is there, tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Our new stove!

The floor is ready to be cut and lowered

Ron taking up the plywood

This little kitten wandered up to Ron while he was working, isn't it cute?

The floor of the bay is out, the floor above and to the right, will be lowered for the stove

Tuesday, March 6

Today we went over there to see what had been accomplished. The floor is out of the bay, he will be putting in a new one in the next couple of days, as well as finish off the bay doors. We had bought a stove and discovered that it was going to be too tall for me to use, because of the pedestal we were putting it on. We thought we were going to have to sell it and settle for an RV stove, when we were informed that the floor could be lowered to accommodate the stove. How cool is that!! So, Ron started taking up the plywood, as you will see.

Refrigerator is on left, you can just see it, the stove will be right across from it.

I told you I was going to post these pictures so here they are...These two pictures are of the lower floor and the entryway into the bus, that Ron was working on last summer. Here is what they looked like when he finished.

Voila! We have two more bays to use!

The next day...

Things are moving right along, the guy who is doing the work is wasting no time in getting it done. The following pictures will show he got everything out of the small bays today and he says he may be done fabricating the bay doors by Thursday. Then, of course, we'll have to get them painted to match the rest of the bus...

The white thing in the bay is the old air conditioning unit, which will be taken out.

Finally, we got the call we were waiting for and yesterday, March 2, we drove down to El Cajon to pick up the bus and bring it back up to where we are which is in Fontana. We are having some extra work that Ron wants to get done on it, before starting on the cabinets and walls. Here is a couple pics of the first item getting done, fabricating new bay doors where it was just a solid panel on each side. Today, they were just cut out. As the days pass, we will be publishing pictures of the ongoing progress of this particular project.

Where'd the rear end go??

When we left Yuma, we drove to El Cajon, (in San Diego county), because the rear seal had a bad leak, so we took it back to the shop who has done so much work on the bus so far. We thought it would only take about a week or so to fix, but, that lagged into a little over three weeks. So all work on the bus was on hold.

This picture is out of sequence, Ron is putting up a solar panel, while parked off Sidewinder Rd in early January...

Both snug in their box

Putting the second one in

Ron is helping put the battery in the right spot

Larry is using his little tractor to help us with these very heavy batteries

Our new batteries!

After we left the big Q rang in Quartzsite, we drove down to Yuma, to have our new batteries installed in the bus. These two batteries are HUGE!! They each weigh about 318 pounds, so as you can see in the pictures, we needed help in installing them. Both of these together is equivalent to ten 6 volt golf cart batteries. But, the big plus is, they will put out 1156 amp hours! WOW!!

This is the ONLY time you will see me on a toilet, as you can see we'll have a very high perch to sit on...notice the bed in the background

The carpet is on there so the mattress won't shift

Ron actually took some pictures of the cedar lined area inside, but, those pictures didn't come out, unfortunately. So, this is what we're left with. At some future date, when he opens it up again, you will see that area.

The inside look at the bed pedestal

Sorry for the lag time...

We've been in a campground without cell service, so couldn't upload any pictures for awhile. I'm almost up to our current pictures, as you'll see shortly, but, first, I want to show the bed pedestal Ron built, and we've also put the toilet and shower base in where they are going to sit.