Thinking about converting a bus to an RV

[Netpackrat]

Be aware that the roof of a conex box is not built to support the kind of load that burial would impose. It would take a bunch of additional structure to support the load and carry it to the corners of the box, which is where the majority of the strength is.

I was under the impression that people buried them all the time for secure underground storage. Backwoods home etc... extoll the virtues of such a thing. There are several companies that sell the things ready converted for such a purpose

I presume the reinforcement is as simple as welding in 2x4" box rails every 8 feet or so?

http://www.survivalblog.com/2007/10/nin ... _on_u.html

[Ben Rumson]

You can get an old hippie fart wagon real cheap. Add some body odor and you're ready to go.

[workinwifdakids]

A lot of people like RVs. Others, not so much. A friend of mine bought a premium model at a premium price, and he explains it like this: "Imagine your house subjected to a 3.0 earthquake for 12 hours straight." Apparently, the maintenance on it sucks the fun out of life.

I bet you'd be happier with something else.

[HTRN]

Personally, I'd go with a used office trailer. They tend to be large, cheap, and easy to modify. Once it's leveled out, you can make it livable rather easily. The downside is that once you're done building, you don't need it anymore, and they're not really mobile.

Chris, are you at all familiar with doing excavation/foundation work? If not, you might want to do some thorough reading on it, or talk to somebody's who's done it. Building a block foundation isn't hard, but you have to know the "tricks", like most aspects of construction, as I'm sure you're aware. I wouldn't recommend a dedicated stick excavator unless you pick up one of those mini ones cheap. The big ones you see for sale at anything approaching affordable are often at the end of their useful life, and will require alot of work to keep going. a Better idea is something like a Construction King for 15K-20K.. And oh, keep an eye out for a cheap Bobcat/skidsteer. They're even more useful than a CK, and cheap too - you can even get snowblower attachments for them.

Forget mixing up your own cement for things like footings - once you get beyond needing 5 yards or so, concrete gets cheap - like a hundred bucks a yard. Do the big work in one shot, and then use the mixer for the small steps as you go along. I also suggest as a poured footing/block wall, because it can be done by anyone, and it can be done over time, something an all poured foundation can't.


HTRN

[Aglifter]

+1 on having concrete delivered. Also, I'd at least hire in a guy to look at the foundation/be there for the pouring (there's tremendous variation between slabs prepped by an expert, and one made by a typical construction crew -- you'll also need a crew to work finishing the slab once it's been poured -- tamping it, etc takes more than one person.)

Part of the problem w. an RV is keeping the powerplants maintained -- an RV regularly being driven holds up much better than one left to sit.

What about a small pre-fabbed cabin, etc as a guest house?

[HTRN]

Oh yes, I'm familiar with it. I have a bunch of family in the business.

Then you understand why I asked.

Ag's suggestion about a prefab cabin isn't a bad idea, especially as all you really need to do is pour some soniform tubes for footings. I still like the office trailer idea, as its probably the cheapest per square foot you can do for temporary housing, and it's also probably the largest. Like you said though, once you're done..

Yeah, the mini sticks are for sale used everywhere, mostly in the 13-20K range. Hell, even Northern Tool carries the used ones these days. Another option, that's somewhat cheaper: "Trenchermans" - those trailer excavators? They can be fairly cheap new(around 6 grand) compared to the Mini excavators. Another option is a bobcat with a excavator attachment. Roughly the same price, but much more verasatile. Personally, if I was going to spend as much money as that, I'd seriously consider a Construction King or similar for roughly the same cost. The excavator half can dig much deeper, and you get the added bonus of a front end loader.


HTRN

[blackeagle603]

There are TONS of 26-28 footers that are available reasonably cheaply, but not the really big boys. There are lots of gas engine models available cheaply, but not diesels.

Building your own RV conversion? I've had several friends/family do it. Fun project. Huge project. Unexpectedly expensive project. Looonnng project.

my $.02,
Get two depreciated but serviceable 26-28' rigs (trailers, RVs or mix of the two). One for mom and dad, one for the kids.

Several families I know have had to live with kids in trailers/RV's after the fires. A couple homeschool families I know with 9 & 11 kids respectively got burned out in the Cedar Fire. They had 3 trailers (1 parents, 1 girls, 1 boys trailer). We have one family living on our property shorterm right now in a trailer.

Lessons learned? Even in nice SoCal weather where you can send the kids outside, a large trailer still gets small. Fast. Gotta have room for mom/dad to fight (make up).

1 rig for Mom & Dad, one for the kids.

You'll want shack/shed/Conex for outdoor food storage and laundry setup right from the gitgo. You can't buy and store bulk easily while living out of town in an RV.

Straw, lots of straw for damp weather on the ground around the RV and sheds. Really cuts down on the tracking of dirt/mud iaround an unimproved site.

[blackeagle603]

If you go with a full basement then go with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF).

[HTRN]

I don't think I've ever seen them used, outside of This Old House. Are they more common out west? Locally, It's either Hollowblock, poured plywood forms, or slab construction.


HTRN

[rightisright]

Trencherman? Maybe if you have VERY loose loamy/sandy soil. Otherwise they are a waste of money. In tougher soil situations, the bucket will pull the whole machine toward the hole/trench. In well over 20 years of experience in residential building, I've seen ONE of them on a job site. And it was pretty much worthless in Central NJ's tight clay/shale soil.

Mini-excavators and skid-steers are great for tight spaces/specialized jobs (landscaping/moving small amounts of soil/gravel/stone) But if you don't have those constraints, a full sized 4WD backhoe is a much better bet if you only want one machine. Much more power, digging depth and bucket capacity.

The 4WD option is mandatory in my book. I've seen too many stuck 2WD's that had to be pulled out by a track machine. With a 4WD machine, you can always raise either end with the bucket or loader and push/pull while the wheels at the opposite end help out.

HTRN, there ain't much slab construction at all around here. Even for a friggin 10'x10' shed you need to install frost-proof (generally 36" deep in central NJ) footings.