Storage bins

Storage bins - Under floor storage

There are two things I wished I had considered more on this aspect of the build.

• Greater storage capacity can be made available by accessing through the floor storage - in this case from below to above the existing floor.
• Storage space is not necessarily limited by the size of the hatch available to access it.

Now before I explain how I came to these conclusions let me give you a little lead-in to this aspect of the build.

There is no doubt cutting the hole in the body for my access hatch was a stressful experience so I waited a while before I got up the courage to cut out pieces of the lower body to access under floor compartments.  I wanted to be sure on the placement and the method of access.
The first of these was really just an access flap to reach a battery rack on the drivers side of the bus.  I checked where vertical support stanchions were and basically made two vertical cuts in the panel on the inside edge of each stanchion and then a horizontal cut to join them. The horizontal cut was made at a suitable place in the body profile to facilitate the fitting of hinges to the flap. I used a jigsaw to achieve this and ending up with an opening about 700mm wide.  Another part of the decision was the corner - rounded or right angled?  I opted for square because I thought it would be easier to fit the pinch-weld I was using to finish the edges. I didn't think the pinchweld would fit snugly enough on the inner and outer curve.

Problem number 1: At this stage I didn't want to do any repainting or other modification so I devised the pinchweld method to finish the edges neatly.  The jigsaw however did not cut out enough metal to allow the fitting of the pinchweld to the flap and the body so I had to take to the flap with an angle grinder anyway to make it fit.  The whole idea of using the jigsaw in the first place was to avoid burning paint using the grinder. I avoided burning by going slowly [keep the paint cool with a damp rag] and the pinchweld helped hide any minor blemishes on the panel flap.  [Since that time I have decided that a reciprocating saw may have been useful.  I had discounted using an electric nibbler which does cut a gap that I thought would be too big. I also thought it was too difficult to control in that situation].  Down the track if I repaint parts of the vehicle I will repaint these edges properly.

Hinges used were stainless steel marine quality and I pop riveted them on. Pinchweld was about $5 a metre from Clark rubber.

The actual rack was made from angle iron built to fit and bolt onto the chassis.  I made it with a slide out tray to access the batteries which at that stage were deep cycle wet cells.  Now that I have changed to AGM batteries there really is no need for the sliding rack to check acid levels. I also fitted a lock to the slide out rack so it would not be easy for a thief to steal batteries.
Didn't do anything fancy with the flap - some marine type catches to hold it shut and a stick to hold it up when required.

Hatch number 2

After successfully negotiating the access hatch outlined above, I eventually decided that I needed another one on the passenger side which was cut using basically the same method.  This time I wanted to make an enclosed locker which would be used to house a generator (and later my chainsaw).
With limited vertical height available I worked out that I could carry a Honda EU10i generator (I probably should discuss generators in another post).  As I believed I would not ever be running an airconditioner I thought the 1kw should be adequate for my needs - which was basically just as another means of providing power for battery charging.

This was another one of those consequences caused by my decision to go with a compressor fridge - if you want to be independent, are not driving regularly and there is no sun for solar - you just have to have a backup power supply.  [As it turns out I have rarely had to use it - but there has been a couple of occasions where it was necessary].

I worked out that I could fit the 1 kw generator sideways through the hatch and there was just enough room to rotate it and stand it up again.  This is where I wish I had considered the height aspect more carefully - because this hatch was under clear floor AND I actually had the option to cut out the floor and expand into the kickboard space under the cupboards!  I could have achieved almost another 100mm height and possibly accommodated a larger generator if required.  (I have since done this to achieve some internal height in the locker.)
My second mistake was to only make the locker the size of the access hatch. This housed the generator and a 5 litre fuel tank comfortably, however later, when I decided I would like to carry a small chainsaw - I could just fit it in but space was at a premium.  I realized that I could easily have extended the locker by another 30cm which I have since done.  Because the locker was built out of angle iron with metal sides I basically took out one end and constructed another box to bolt to the original. The end of the box substitutes for the steel mudflap which I removed in the process. This has given me a lot more room to store the chainsaw, hoses and oils.  I fitted key-locks to this flap to protect my generator.
Another couple of features that may be of interest -

• I used one of the original bus seatbelts to secure the generator to the floor - this works well and prevents it bouncing around.
• I also have a hardened steel loop through the floor of the bus with a security cable to further safeguard the generator. The security cable is long enough to allow the generator to be placed on the ground if required.
• I had a short lead made up to plug the generator into the AC power inlet on the bus (which is very close to the hatch anyway).  This saves getting out the long extension lead.
• The front end of the generator locker has a disk flap that aligns with the generator exhaust - with the hatch door open (for adequate ventilation) the generator is operational from within the locker and I have run it this way on occasion.  The Honda is pretty quiet in economy mode and is bearable from within the vehicle.
• Even though I was limited by where I could place a generator I thought later later it might have been a mistake to place it on the awning side of the bus.  However in retrospect I have decided it was the best position. As it is likely that it would only be used in bad weather it made sense to have it on the sheltered side of the vehicle (for both the equipment and the operator).

So to reiterate on my opening statement...

• Don't disregard "through the floor" space when constructing lockers under the vehicle.
• Maximise the available space and don't necessarily be limited by the access hatch size.