Yes, the long awaited part 2 as to how in the heck we installed the storage boxes under the bus. Thanks to a good friend’s knowledge (Logan, thanks man!), he allowed us to pick his brain and helped us develop some good braces to hold the boxes to the chassis of the bus, without having to bolt through the floor. Our dreams were to learn to weld on this project, and thanks to another couple of good friends (Drew and Robbie, Thank you guys!) we practiced and learned to weld well enough to do our projects 🙂 So below is our first welding class…
For practice, we welded a welding cart or our HOBART 210MVP welder we bought from Home Depot. Great Price for a little machine. We flux core welded off of a 110 outlet!! But it also has the option for 210. I will be posting an article on our welder and welding cart soon:)
Next, it was onto the real thing. Braces made from angle iron.
Then Spray Painted…
Next, We need to attach these braces to the chassis of the bus, with the proper spacing as well. With only having access to 110 electric, we did not think that our welder would weld well to the 1/2″ Channel Iron Chassis of the bus. If we had it on 210, definitely. So, our friend Robbie shows us how to weld with his stick welder (with its own generator) and he ends up doing one whole side for us just for the “Robbie Starter Pack”, which consists of a case of Dr. Pepper and some packs of Pall Malls 🙂
One Side Complete as far as the hanging goes! We thought we would be able to fit 5 on each sie, but after realizing we would need some space between brackets and the position of some holes and other large bolts in the chassis got in the way, so we ended up only fitting 4, which i am still very happy with!
We later added some pieces of 3/4″ plywood in the bottom of each box, as well as bolted them down (4 bolts with washers and nuts, 1 in each corner) to the angle iron braces we made.
What are you going to store in the boxes?
We store campibg gear, off season clothes, paints, tools, and the hoses and electrical stuff we need for the bus:)
[…] Now to hang it! WE hung these boxes the same as the other side. Check out part 2 of Stage 21! […]
Never…..ever…..weld that frame. That frame is now compromised and could crack anytime where that weld is.
Thanks for commenting! We also heard this when we were contemplating it, but after speaking with a friend who also does a lot of different types of auto builds and body work, as well as another person who does a lot of welding on 18 wheeler rigs, they gave us the approval and did the first 2 boxes for us, since it was our first time stick welding. Honestly, there are so many manufactured holes in the frame already, someone could even just bolt to it. WE just couldn’t get them to line up when looking it all over. I think this is one of those things that you get a lot of conflicting info on when building a bus. We were told not to do a metal ceiling bc it would rattle and leak, neither of those things happened either. I think if you have the proper guidance or mentors, you can do a lot…but general rule of thumb is don’t do it unless you know. After speaking with those 2 guys, for us, we felt comfortable to do it. I really do appreciate the comment though. It helps people see how people differ on builds and methods.