Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 16 – Curtains

Curtains don’t just add privacy and security in your tiny house, they help insulate as well. And while not the most manly of construction items on the bus build list, they are just as necessary as any other component. In this episode, I discuss hacks and quicker ways to not only make, but securely mount these crucial components of the build.

For starters, there’s a nifty little way to hang them using paracord. It’s a single slip not looped through a bunny ear that does the trick. It’ll make more sense when you see it, but essentially it means the difference between a snug fitting curtain and a saggy, sad looking one. It also helps keep the draft down in the winter, the closer to the pain the curtain happens to hang.

As for the curtains themselves, you don’t have to be a seamstress to make quality curtains. I found a great hack that not only makes it much easier and faster, it also keeps from having to deeply knowledgeable about the fabric and materials you’re using. In other words, I make it so easy even I can do it!

Watch the video for the full skinny!

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 15 – Bed Platform Outtake

Discussing an early concept for the elevating bed platform, this episode covers how other bed lifting options might work for your build. And while I didn’t go with this one, I still wanted to upload it to either inspire others to always remember that they can change their minds and rebuild sections of their bus, or that it’s important to take risks and try out new things on your build. Even if they don’t turn out like you want, you can always learn and grow and do it better next time!

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 14 – Bed Lift Day 2

I’d normally keep from offering a spoiler alert here, but since the bus is finished, and you all already know that, there’s really no getting around annoucning my success. The bed platform lifted just as I had hoped, just as I had measured and just as I had built and wired it to do – the very first time. And on camera! I have been told that my reaction here is priceless. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

This video has already brought me a lot of questions on Facebook. So please feel free to comment and ask away. It’s an area of interest for a lot of people. After all, beds take up a lot of real estate. And in a tiny space, real estate is what it’s all about.

First off, I did not spend thousands of dollars on this build. The winch was less than $100 from Amazon. The cables totalled $20 for all four. The hardwar (pulleys, screws, cable clamps, thimbles, etc.) also totalled around $20. Even with the cost of the wood for the bed, we’re talking about less than $200 for an elevating bed.

It’s been working now for several months while I’ve been editing these videos and finishing the rest of the build. And shows no sign of failing. So if you’ve got it in mind to build your own, this one is proof that if you plan it and cut it right, it’ll work just fine.

Enjoy the video of the build.

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 13 – Bed Lift Day 1

So, day one of the wince and wire assembly finds me in a pretty easy set of angles. I had to climb under and above a few times to get to where things needed to go. But I expected that.

Luckily, the planning paid off, and everything fit into its place just as I had hoped. The outside of three holes on the pulleys happened to be a very happy accident, given that I had originally planned to mount them flush against the bed beams in some way.

Even if that didn’t turn out that way, however, it wouldn’t have impacted the structure. I would have grinded down a passage for the cable to glide through either way.

As for the thimbles and braces above, I don’t really cover this much in the video, but that was a little tricky. Luckily I hadn’t put on the wall panels yet. So I was free to mount an additional block of 2×4 to which I could screw in a 3″ eye bolt with a 1,000lbs. test for each. I screwed them all the way into the block so that no threading was showing. The only way they were budging was if a boulder suddenly materialized on the platform. But even then, I’m pretty sure the blocks would tear free before the eye bolts would.

Outside of the structural components, the winch would be tested on the next episode.

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 12 – Bed Platform Day 2

Day two of the platform build finds me faced with both the dimensional and electrical challenges to success.

It was a bit difficult getting the platform in place. And I thought I had planned well enough and measured correctly enough to get the platform all the way back to where it was supposed to be. But I was slightly off.

Rather than break windows and score the walls, I just took it apart and reassembled it while in place. This was not as easy as putting it together outside, given that I had to squeeze into the upper corners of the ceiling with a drill to get the ends together and ensure that the center joist was sturdy enough (hence my attempts to get it in while still assembled). But it came together in the end.

Watch the build, and let me know if you have any questions!

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 11 – Bed Platform Day 1

On this two-day documentation, I cover building the bed platform, that will eventually be used as both the sleeping area, as well as the office and editing bay area (which, as luck would have it, can also double as a lounge or living room).

There is plenty of storage in this are as well. I custom built this area with lots of care, since I am a documentary filmmaker, and need to not only store things like light stands, booms, tripods and expensive gear, but also mount things like hard drive consoles, suspended microphones, headphone holders, mixing boards, additional monitors and so on.

While I haven’t yet made a video on the placement and customization of the studio itself, if you guys want a video covering that, please feel free to let me know.

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 10 – Rear Wall

While not always an important item on most people’s build, the rear wall, and its connecting points to the side walls, is an important one nonetheless. This episode goes over those troublesome corners and how to get around the dreaded 45-degree metal brackets that often thwart our construction projects.

Making specific parts out of wooden materials is going to be unique to each need. So while mine are important to my build, hopefully what I construct will simply help inspire you, when you are faced with a funny angle or something that looks too challenging to tackle, that you will do what I do – sit and stare at it until the options start coming to mind on how to overcome it.

After all, that’s what these build are all about – finding and solving problems with creative and critical thinking. Just because it’s tiny, doesn’t mean its impossible!

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 9 – Escape Hatch Part 2

Having completely removed the original hatch and custom built this new one, this two-part episode documents and discusses that process.

This second part to the hatch coverage finds me below decks this time, relaxing against my future kitchen table, and discussing just how to put together your own roof, and the pitfalls one might find in the process.

Altogether, it’s an easy build, so long as you measure, remeasure and cut precisely. This is one area on the bus that you won’t want to tackle if you don’t have any carpentry experience.

Please leave comments below if you’d like more info on this very important segment of a schoolie build.

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 8 – Escape Hatch Part 1

Having completely removed the original hatch and custom built this new one, this two-part episode documents and discusses that process.

In Part 1, below, I find myself in the storage facility, working on top of my gawd-awefully hot roof in the midday heat. Windy, though it might have been on the audio, I was enjoying the heat.

This episode talks about the hatch build out. I had to take out the original hatch because it had been weathered so badly that it leaked.

Removing it was not the hard part. Simplifying the rubber sheeting cuts so that it didn’t suffer the same leak problem – that was a different story.

Cutting out triangular pieces would sold the issue.

I hope that the techniques that I didscuss in this video help you out on your own respective builds. It was really kind of lucky that I fell into this little cheat. Coating it with flex Seal is definitely something I would not recommend skipping if you chose the same route.

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Linus the Land Yacht: Episode 7 – Front Couch

Though I later changed my mind on leaving this couch in the front, as the rear of the bus was much more suitable, I thought I’d go ahead and release this episode as well, just for you guys curious to start the build on your own couch – wherever it may end up.

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