Home away from Home, on wheels.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Woke up today, after the paint had a good while to harden overnight. I used a 200 grit sanding block to knock down a few high spots, and gave it a final coat of white. Let it sit till I got home from school, and then gave it a few nice coats of clear. Got a high spot that I noticed, so again, I'll let it sit overnight, then knock down the high spot before work tomorrow.

I did notice that even in between coats of clear, it is ridiculously shiny. Just the way I like it...

[Raj]

Nice Mike. I cant wait to see it all painted up.

BTW, did you mask off ' the club' or paint over it?

[ObnoxiousBlue]

I found the keys!

I really wanted to add tabs for fog lights, and a receiver for a tray to hold a cooler. But I can't weld and just wanted the roos done. The bus looks weird without them

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Damn thing started to "crackle" I'm sending it for powder coat. I'm fed up with this thing, and there's no way I'm wasting another day using that chemical stripper....

[ObnoxiousBlue]

I finally got around to addressing my exhaust issues. The bus had been popping alot lately, and sounded like crud at idle, so I order a fresh new extractor exhaust from bus depot. It arrived this morning, and I decided to hop right on the task.

Knowing that it was due to be delivered this morning, I had been going out and spraying the old bolts with PB blaster last night and early this morning. It really helped on all 6 bolts around the exhaust flanges from the heater boxes to the old rusted through EMPI 4 tip that had been on there. It didn't do a thing for the bolts on the EGR line though.

Once all the bolts were off, the muffler started to come down, and the line from the EGR just cracked. I figured, since it wasnt connected anyway, this was as good a time as any to fab a block off plate. I made a nice block off, and secured it in place with bolts to the holes that lined right up with the holes on the extractor muffler. I put some hi temp permatex in between and tightend down. Then, hit the whole muffler with some exhuast paint (which later proved to be a waste, as it still burned off when it got to hot lol)

I removed the hard lines from the block, and made a block off for the intake manifold too; using regular RTV silicone here to make a good seal.

I went to hang the muffler up in place, and realized the bus depot had shorted me one of the triangular gaskets. I called down to GT Imports, and Tony had one on a rack, so he left it outside for me, and I took a cruise south to grab it in the Fusion. Once I got home, I lined up the new hardware, and got the whole thing buttoned up.

I chose a more stock look, 1) because I like the stock look, and 2) because I was tired of cutting my shins every time I approached the back of the bus either to put stuff in the trunk area, or when camping. This new set up tucks away nicely under the bumper, and looks clean. I did find that I have a hairline crack in the neck from the drivers side heater box, to the flange. Its small, so Im gonna try to patch it tomorrow with some JB weld for now. If I can get another 2 years out of it (to hold me over to my next muffler install) Ill be happy, and by then might make the swap to the more desireable later style heater boxes.




The old one... May it R.I.P. (Rust In Peace)

[Big_kid]

Looks like you got your money's worth out of that one. It reminds me of a muffler I took off my old Impala, I still have a piece of rust/carbon embedded in my finger from it.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

It served me well!
I'm nervous now, the bus sounds so different, I keep shutting off the radio to hear the damn thing to make sure I'm not blowing anything up lol

[AoT]

Wow, that was one nasty muffler. I'm sure the new one is making the ride much sweeter!

[williamblanda]

Nice hunk of rust ya pulled out. New exhaust looks much nicer!

[Raj]

nice mike. Dont forget to call Ken over to scrap whats left of the muffler.

[BusBq Bill]

Nice, About time you changed that thing..

[ObnoxiousBlue]

I noticed a slight "rattling" sound coming from the motor today, granted the noise has probably been there for a while but I never heard it till today. (blames old noisy muffler)

It appears as if the belt is loosening, (no big deal right?) But in the 5 years Ive had this bus, the belt has never needed to be replaced! Plus, Ive only replaced belts on my bug...

Is this the same set up with shims? or it the type 4 set up more similar to newer style cars with adjusters? I did notice that there is a slot cut in the alternator bracket that seems to insinuate that rotating the alternator along this bracket would "tighten" the belt though just the same it seems like there are shims on the pulley too... Just not sure which is most appropriate to use as Ill be replacing this belt before the duck next weekend. (or AT the duck next weekend! haha)

[Glenn]

T4 is like a modern car. You'll need a Allen wrench to adjust it.

[Tom]

T4 is like a modern car. You'll need a Allen wrench to adjust it.

Mine didn't need an allen wrench, just 2 bolts,bottom and top. If you bring it this weekend I'll help you.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Ill be bringing it lol... it is BUSES by the duck right? The belt actually looks in nice shape, it doesnt seem cracked or brittle. But there is about 1 inch up and down movement in the belt. I dont mind trying it myself but which bolts am I adjusting?

[Tom]

Loosen the top bolt and with a large screwdriver pry the alternator to tighten the belt and tighten.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Thanks, the sky is about to open up here. Im gonna see if I can clear a spot under the carport to try it. Granted its not like its jumping off or anything yet

[BusBq Bill]

on a 73 its a 6mm allen bolt and a pry bar to tighten!

[Kermit]

It served me well!
I'm nervous now, the bus sounds so different, I keep shutting off the radio to hear the damn thing to make sure I'm not blowing anything up lol

It's like a real car now! I had this when I rented a stickshift Peugeot on my trip last month. You can barely hear these modern car engines, makes you second-guess your shifting for the few few miles.

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Picked up a new set of seats for Peabody at Litchfield today. Got a great buy on them all... 50 for the front set of 85 Vanagon seats, and (perhaps the score of the day?) 20 for the Vanagon jump seat. Here's the plan for the jump seat, like it, the front seats too will be reupholstered in the coming weeks. I really set out to get seats with adjustable arm rests, like the later Vanaons have, but these were a great buy. I'm not completely pleased, and may wind up flipping them to grab a set Brad has with the adjustable armrests. Decisions decisions....

Here's the plan:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=505353

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Edited with my post on another camper website

I've been looking for a way to secure my iPad while driving. The iPad, is my ultimate travel companion second to the bus itself and when equipped with 4G is a powerful tool not just for entertainment, but for keeping in touch with family, it serves as a great aide in navigation, finding places to eat and stay (street view also helps to check out an area first to make sure it's not a dump) as well as giving selected friends and family (note the order there) the ability to track the bus remotely on their iOS device or online which is a great safety net.

Typically, the iPad just sits on the passenger seat. But that becomes less than ideal when a person wants to sit there. Even then, leaving the iPad (filled with countless hundreds of dollars in music and apps not no mention many memories in the photo gallery) teetering precariously on the in dash drink caddy is less than ideal.

I had been familiar with RAM mounts from my time in the fire/ems field. We utilized these mounts to hold laptop computers in the vehicles. I recently found that RAM makes ipad hardware too. I did some research, and didn't want a cumbersome aluminum arm occuding the walkthrough of my bay. I wanted something that cold be bent or turned out of the way so as to not hinder the space when camping, or when the seat is turned around in my Westy. RAM kits are modular, and you pick the pieces you need to make a solution for your space.

I picked these:
The cradle, with charger dock and locking mechanism

http://rammount.com/Gallery/images/RAM- ... P8DLU1.jpg
There ARE slimmer cradles for the iPad, several options from RAM are available. They range from basic cradles (that just hold the iPad in place) to others that are docks (to allow charging and music play) and others that have built in locks. I wanted one that had a dock, and a lock. This was the only unit to have BOTH. I also like that while it appears a bit bulky, there isn't another key to carry or loose.

The flex arm that mounts to the passenger side seat stand with one-way theft deterrent hardware

http://rammount.com/Gallery/images/RAM- ... 1-202U.jpg

The theft lock to keep the arm and the cradle from being unscrewed (preventing someone from walking off with the iPad, locked inside the cradle)

http://rammount.com/Gallery/images/RAM- ... NOB3L2.jpg

The plan is to run the wiring down the flex arm, and either back to the spare battery under the floor in the back, or under the rubber mat (maybe under the bus) to get back up power to the iPad, and allow the radio to interface with the iPad for music (on the iPad, or streamed like from Pandora) as well, as to allow for hands free phone and video calls through Skype, and navigation to play through the in car speakers.

The GPS Drive HD Motion X app, makes a great "dashboard" that gives you access to navigation, with turn by turn directions and speedometer and altimeter. As well as one touch access to real time traffic, reroutes, favorite locations (as well as addresses in my iPad's contact list) You can store maps, for travel, change between a day and night view (screen colors that effect your vision less at night) Flag favorites along the route, and even work my iTunes playlists from within the GPS ap and check-in to places on my Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I'll be looking into external GPS antennas to give a bit better range with the iPad though the iPad's native Google Maps is quite efficient.

I'll be looking in the near future of a smaller less theft deterrent solution for securing the iPad in side the roof so I can watch tv or a movie while relaxing before bed.

More later!

[Raj]

cool. Cant wait to see it installed

[AoT]

Sounds like a nice setup. Good job on the homework!

[ObnoxiousBlue]

Installed the RAM mount today, here's a short review.

This is not something to stay in the car for daily use, it just takes up too much valuable real estate even with this being one of their smaller docking units. I like it because it brings the iPad within range to function as a GPS (as the iPad is a much more accurate and versatile GPS in comparison to my TomTom) also, it brings more music plus pandora to my travel tunes collection. Pandora is certainly just as good IMO as Sirus, and costs nil. The quality is nice, I questioned the plastic cradle at first but after seeing the unit assembled I'm glad it's not metal, else it would be fat too top heavy and thus wobbly when in motion.

That said, there is a degree of movement when the bus is in motion. It's not so bad as to limit the view ability of the screen but it's more than would be desired ideally. The "arm" is a 1/2" diameter aluminum rod that you bend to suit your needs. That's great in terms of adaptability, but not so much in terms of rigidity. The locking mechanisms are nice, they're obvious when looking at the device in the car so while I don't plan on leaving it in the bus when I'm not around I'm not panicked about just wandering a short distance or stopping to take a leak.

The GPS ap, GPS Drive HD (Motion X) is VERY good, well planned, powerful, and has lots of packed in features. Worth a look even for your iPhone.

Placement in the walk through is decent, it only blocks the calibration controls on the CB, but doesn't come so high as to limit view out the front or sides, nor blocks the mirror or stereo. The bracket is suspended through the walk through, and thus doesn't impede leg space on the passenger side, nor hinder the ability for the seat to spin around.

Biggest forseable pitfal? That nuance of "shaking" that is generated through the bus and up the bracket that creates an ever so minimal, yet noticeable movement of the screen.

[Raj]

Looks great mike. Nice work and review