Sparr Bought A Bus: Week Five
Apr. 4th, 2016 04:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparrSome Burning Man stuff took time away from the bus this week, but I still got a few things done.
I got the first half of the bed frame built. The cantilever supports are welded and temporarily installed, and there's a platform on top for my current mattress folded in half. I am no longer sleeping on the floor, which is nice. I'll have to take it apart to grind and paint/powdercoat, and to assemble the second half once I can get the heavy duty slides I'm trying to order. While it's apart I'll try to adjust the fit of the supports so they align a bit better.
I decided to temporarily cannibalize the handrail parts that I removed around the first kitchen location. I used them to add some horizontal members to the overhead rails. Now there are enough pieces to support bunk beds or shelves up there. I went with shelves for the short term, with enough free space around them to still grab the rails.
The new shelves are holding most of the long items that I had crammed under the table and seats previously. Wood stock, ladder, brooms, etc. I didn't put the steel stock up there yet but I will. The space under the bed is a good fit for three big storage bins, and the front folding seats have room underneath for four small storage bins. Between those locations and the rear window, I've gotten a lot of stuff out of the way that was slowing me down previously. I also put the hot air balloon and the fourth solar panel into storage.
I started making cardboard inserts for the windows, for privacy and stealth reasons. They are 100% opaque, obviously, so they should be excellent for both. Unfortunately I'll have to remove and reinstall them if I want sunlight through the windows during the daytime other than through the front window or roof hatch. That won't be so bad once I have LED lighting inside. To go with the window covers, I also need to get blackout curtains hung at the front, and to disconnect the light above the front door. I went with white cardboard so that I could get some artistic friends to decorate them eventually.
Intangible progress... I got 15+ people aboard for mobile social activity while I was giving them all rides after a party, to hotels and after-parties. Swapped stories with a few of them, cards with a few more. This is definitely something I want to do more of, especially once the passenger areas are more hospitable.
That's all for now. Plans and priorities haven't changed, otherwise.
I got the first half of the bed frame built. The cantilever supports are welded and temporarily installed, and there's a platform on top for my current mattress folded in half. I am no longer sleeping on the floor, which is nice. I'll have to take it apart to grind and paint/powdercoat, and to assemble the second half once I can get the heavy duty slides I'm trying to order. While it's apart I'll try to adjust the fit of the supports so they align a bit better.
I decided to temporarily cannibalize the handrail parts that I removed around the first kitchen location. I used them to add some horizontal members to the overhead rails. Now there are enough pieces to support bunk beds or shelves up there. I went with shelves for the short term, with enough free space around them to still grab the rails.
The new shelves are holding most of the long items that I had crammed under the table and seats previously. Wood stock, ladder, brooms, etc. I didn't put the steel stock up there yet but I will. The space under the bed is a good fit for three big storage bins, and the front folding seats have room underneath for four small storage bins. Between those locations and the rear window, I've gotten a lot of stuff out of the way that was slowing me down previously. I also put the hot air balloon and the fourth solar panel into storage.
I started making cardboard inserts for the windows, for privacy and stealth reasons. They are 100% opaque, obviously, so they should be excellent for both. Unfortunately I'll have to remove and reinstall them if I want sunlight through the windows during the daytime other than through the front window or roof hatch. That won't be so bad once I have LED lighting inside. To go with the window covers, I also need to get blackout curtains hung at the front, and to disconnect the light above the front door. I went with white cardboard so that I could get some artistic friends to decorate them eventually.
Intangible progress... I got 15+ people aboard for mobile social activity while I was giving them all rides after a party, to hotels and after-parties. Swapped stories with a few of them, cards with a few more. This is definitely something I want to do more of, especially once the passenger areas are more hospitable.
That's all for now. Plans and priorities haven't changed, otherwise.