Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 5 – Walls
This is just a short video – more of a follow up to the two previous. In discussion style, I talk about the special build-outs and particular challenges I faced during my build.
Specifically, there was a C-channel that ran the length of the bus on which all the original benches mounted. I originally thought about taking this down and removing it. But there were two problems.
First, I didn’t know if I would later use it for needing to secure something to the channel – the frame or base for the wood stove was one of these potential future adds that may need more security than what I may have just from the fram alone.
Secondly, I was a little afraid that I would get halfway through removing it and find out that either the bolts went all the way through the walls to the outside (and somehow putteyed over), or made it through some of the spatter board only to stop midway – thereby never allowing me to fully remove it for lack of being able to clinch the nut on the other end.
In either case, it didn’t pose any more of a problem than to cut out the spacer for the channel in the studs and keep moving with the rest of the design. So off I went!
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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 4 – Framing and Insulation Part 2
As for Part 2, the insulation largely reflected the work and effort in Part 1. Not hard. Just time consuming.
Insulation is a straightforward process. It’s the little tricks that you learn along the way that make things easier.
For instance, use scissors rather than a box cutter. This is more exacting, easier, and scissors don’t suffer the quickly dulling effect that razors do.
Secondly, cut about a half-inch over what you need. It’ll bunch up, but on a bus, remember that things wiggle around. This will keep it snug.
Thirdly, because your studs are not likely to be spaced 16″ on center, you’ll want to also keep some seam filler handy. This is often called spray foam. This will be necessary to ensure that your hard work won’t be wasted in those hard to reach places that cumulatively let in all those little drafts and make your heating and colling less efficient.
Remember this step BEFORE putting up your wall paneling. You’ll undoubtedly take them down later when you’re freezing your buttons off and find yourself forced into looking for all the cold spots.
Watch the video for the rest of the details.
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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 3 – Framing and Insulation Part 1
Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 3 – Framing and Insulation Part 1
Building the walls was relatively easy. So was the process of insulating. The tough part is that it takes a long time to measure, cut, recut (if needed) and mount all the studs in the right places. It’s not like you’re working with a home inspector’s curiosity here. There are no standards or regulations to which one must adhere when spacing and placing the beams. It’s all up to how it works out on the particular bus itself. And since each bus and bus dweller are different, so, too, are their needs in construction.
Part 1 of this segment covers the walls. Part 2 is the insulation.
As per the walls, the things I had to consider were the following:
1. I wanted house quality insultion on all sides of my bus (top, driver’s, passangers, and roof). I will be insulating under the bus much later.
2. I would not be bolting into the bus’ frame at all. My design will be “floating” in order to presuppose that the shifting and bending of the bus should be independent of the frame I’m building into it. And,
3. I will be using the frame to mount everything from countertops and showers, to storage, an office and even an elevating bed. So it needed to not only be precise, but given its independence from the bus’ frame, also sturdy.
This called for some preparation. While I got most of my materials for free over the course of the build, studs were not so easy to come by. More than that, it’s probably just a better idea to buy new ones that are guaranteed not to have been infiltrated by borers and various fungi. These I decided to buy from Home Depot. I wound up using upwards of 60 from start to finish. The bulk of the rest of the materials would be salvaged, upcycled, donated and even repurposed. Check out the video for how it all came together.
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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 2 – Gutting the bus from Seats to Roof
Gutting the bus was no easy business. But it was nothing compared to laying out a several-hundred-pound sheet of roofing rubber on the top. It wasn’t just heavy, either. It was blistering hot, absolutely enormous, it involved noxious chemical adhesives, and I had to make all the right cuts the very first time, or I would have to go out any buy an entirely new roll (also, not the cheapest material in the world.
To get the seats out of the bus, was only half the issue. Getting rid of them was also going to be a part of my challenge. Good thing Craig’s List still has some good souls around. I actually had a pretty difficult time unbolting some of the legs around areas of high traffic. The rust that was built up was due mostly to picking up passangers over the years who clearly had some muck on their boots.
When Craig’s List came through, it delivered to me a nice older gentleman named Bob, who, as luck would have it, not only had a need for a metric shit ton of shuttle bus seats, but also had a box truck in which to cart them off. If that wasn’t enough, he even came prepared with some griding bits and together we took care of all the seats.
I kept five in total – four to create a kitchen table (that I will talk about in a later video) and one with an arm rest that I will be saving for a passenger’s seat – also which I will be discussing later. That one is actually going to go on top of the battery bank that stores the solar power that I have planned. Oh, I’m looking forward to some serious fun.
End seats.
It’s hard to tell by all of this post-apocalyptic scenery that I actually have a vision for what the bus will look like at the end of all of this work. But I see good things.
To get the ball rolling, I had to gut the bus. This meant the seats, the ceiling and even some hardware on the walls and in some of the nooks.
First, the seats. Then the ceiling. The ceiling was actually a pretty big challenge. Not only was it in such bad shape that I literally had to rebuild much of it, bolting jerry-rigged plywood to the underside of the ceiling just to avoid larger supports that might later hinder my placement of insulation. But it was so hazardous, in fact, that I canceled my filming plans. It wasn’t just dusty and grimy, there were pockets of water that would suddenly gush down from the rafters once I got certain parts of it unscrewed. There was also this nasty chemical glue left behind. It was so thick in some places I couldn’t even get the wood down from where it was connected. It was in pretty bad shape. Hence, the hard work on laying out an entire sheet of EPDM rubber.
EPMD rubber is an interesting, if jarring material to work with. First off, it’s insanely heavy. It’s the same material that they roof office buildings with. It’s several milimeters thick, too. So nothing is getting through this sheet unless I mean for it to. This would be the material I decided on using to keep from having to plug all the holes.
Unfortunately, this also meant supporting the roof with all new plywood sheeting. In the end, all the hard work would be worth it. But in the mid-summer heat, I’d find myself questioning that logic several times over.
Another challenge of this material is that it requires a special kind of glue. The company that makes it, also makes its EPDM glue counterpart. It’s basically that shit that Batman dropped the Joker into in Tim Burton’s 1989 rendition of the DC cult classic
The tricky part is that once in position, the glue must be applied immediately before unrolling the rubber. Once it’s set, the only thing getting it off is a heavy construction crane.
So, first: it’s heavy. Next, you must cut exactly what you need BEFORE bringing it up to the roof – which means precise measurements on the ground. Then it has to be unrolled, measured for one final round before the glue goes on, and then rolled back up to make room for the lathering process.
Once that starts happening, it must be unrolled inch by inch, being mindful of not only the precision of the lay, but also the coverage of the glue. It’s basically mindboggling that anyone gets this right. Even moreso that I did it right the very first time.
In the middle of everything, it started raining. Ugh! But you’ll see all that on the vide. Enjoy!
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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 1 – Series Introduction
First of all I wanted to say thanks for all the support. All of your wonderful comments have motivated me to stay on top of the edits and put out the entire series of videos documenting the build. Your support has not only kept me motivated to build and document this laborious process, but also to keep editing them with plans to set them adrift in the world wide sea of viewers like you!
I’m happy to announce that construction on Linus the Land Yacht is finally complete. And later today, I will be starting my release of the Linus the Land Yacht series. So far it includes 30 episodes breaking down every secion of the build. So everything from battery banks and electrical wiring, to water pumps, to composting toilets, to on-demand hot water shower. Everything you can think of that goes into tiny homes.
See that subscription section up there to the right? Put your email address there and subscribe to get all my additional notes and journals on each video.
You can also leave comments there, and either ask questions, or ask me for other videos on specific things from the build or my plans or whatever you want!
Thanks for watching, and stay tuned!!
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Series Introduction
Intro Video
Travel Geek: Documentary Malaysia (Full HD)
Having spent 2013 filming in all parts of Malaysia, this documentary showcases six of the nine selected filming locations. Starting off in Malaysia’s cultural hub, I move northward from Malacca to celebrate Thaipusam outside of Kuala Lumpur. From there, I discover street foots, mile-high temples and Malaysia’s smallest and most diversified national park, roaming sand, sea and jungle in Penang. Then I take to the rafting waterways and climb active waterfalls in Gopeng. Following that is a trip through the tea-rich mountains of the Cameron Highlands where I find the world’s largest flower. And I end my journey on a tropical island getaway, snorkeling on Tioman Island.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDN4xuVo51c&w=560&h=315]
Check out additional footage from Travel Geek: Documentary Malaysia
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For the rest of the footage, as well as outtakes, extended cuts and extras that weren’t included in this film, check out the “Short Documentary Films” playlist, or select from the links below:
TGS: Documentary Malacca http://youtu.be/HGt9bMvJXeE
TGS: A History of Georgetown http://youtu.be/H4KI6T7gLLg
TGS: Hiking Tabur West http://youtu.be/KpK9tnRRAm4
TGS: Documentary Gopeng http://youtu.be/X2REKG-3w-8
TGS: DOcumentary Thaipusam (Extended Cut) http://youtu.be/PvpIWH5-gBo
TGS: Documentary Thaipusam http://youtu.be/el8V5UyY0Wk
TGS: Cameron Highlands http://youtu.be/7j1-bYKnrr0
TGS: Taman Negara http://youtu.be/T2raaBH8UPk
TGS: Hiking Tioman Island http://youtu.be/xpmola-7zWA
TGS: Snorkeling Tioman Island http://youtu.be/o5Hz5Qd0gKY
Serdang: Giant Hamster Ball Adventure http://youtu.be/mtEGWAMp26Q
Gourmet Chicken Tandoori Cuisine in Malacca http://youtu.be/_E3EJmsD3ek
Travel Geek Short: Hiking Tioman Island
In the final installation of shorts from Travel Geek: Documentary Malaysia, I hike overland from the east coast to the west coast of Tioman Island. Along the trail, I meet up with a nomadic nature photographer, discover giant glider squirrels, snakes, gigantic, old trees and wildlife that hides in plain sight.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpmola-7zWA&w=560&h=315]
Check out additional footage from Travel Geek: Documentary Malaysia
at: www.travelgeekmagazine.com
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Travel Geek Short: Snorkeling Tioman Island
Even shrouded in an eerie, noxious haze, the coral blooms under the surface of the seas around Tioman Island, off Malaysia’s southeastern coast, are spectacular. This 20 minute short follows me through the first afternoon of snorkeling three different spots in the area.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Hz5Qd0gKY&w=560&h=315]
Check out additional footage from Travel Geek: Documentary Malaysia
at: www.travelgeekmagazine.com
follow on twitter: @cyleodonnell & @travelgeekmag
Find on facebook: www.facebook.com/thetravelgeek
Like on facebook: www.facebook.com/cyleodonnellthetravelgeek
Update From the Road: Northern Thailand and Laos
This update comes from Northern Laos, right on the Mekong River. I’ve just finished filming in the hill tribe areas of Northern Thailand, and I am on my way to a 48-hour boat ride down the mighty Mekong River right into the Loi Kratong festival where the locals light candles and send them floating down the river by the thousands.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4GazN3jTB4&w=560&h=315]
By Saturday I hope to be in Luang Prabang capturing footage of the majestic 7-tier waterfall and Asiatic bear rehabilitation center — ran entirely by Buddhist monks.
Stay tuned and check out all the videos to come from my filming trip through the Mekong region of Laos and Cambodia this month.
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