Measure 7 times, cut once

It's arts and crafts time in the Fillmore shelter. As we plan the interior pieces are starting to be put into  place. The wall panels are to be going up, but first the toilet must be installed. Which means it's time to do the unspeakable.
Put a hole in the wall.....

There really isn't much guess work here, the system came with pre printed templates and written instructions. Normally I would have a feeling of distain for "instructions " but I'll tell you I was glad to have a spelled out game plan. First it was time to cut and paste, good ol' kindergarten skills.

On the inside the legwork had been done years ago when I rebuilt the walls. The area for the toilet was already determined and prepped. All I needed to do was remove the insulation.

The outside was a different story. I had to ensure the spot available for the access door was lined up with the toilet location on the inside. It was, but I took nothing for granted and taped and measured, again and again.

Some might think that this is overkill but I was taking no chances.Measure, measure, tape, re measure...

And then do the deed.

Placement of the door was simple enough, trim the wall piece that I cut out and install in the door itself.

Mounting to the body was a bit of a challenge as the door is designed for the modern cube RV design, not necessarily the curved frame of the Flxible.

But we managed and in the end we have a functional door with a lock and seal.

Inside out......

It's time to start on the inside. I have been planning and accumulating "stuff" for the interior...sink, cooktop, furnace, couch, chairs, water pump...you get the idea. It's been kind of like buying pieces of leggo with the intent of building a specific object but not REALLY knowing how your going to fit all the pieces together. Now that the mechanical is done, paint and body is done, it's time to get going on the inside. Once again we start from the bottom and work our way up.

Not to imply that I'm a control freak but when the A?C was installed we put in a  mid coach heater core to use heat from the engine while we are running down the highway. They placed it where I wanted and left me ample extra hose to allow me the flxibility to reposition it to where I want. But what I wasn't fired up about was how the hoses were run underneath the bus. It would never make a functional difference or even an aesthetic difference but I knew they hung down and I knew they were low hanging fruit to fix right now while the floor was up. So I disconnected the electrical and coolant hoses and re-routed the hoses.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my water tanks required some creative ( but ultimately simple) solution. I must say since I have started the Fillmore project I have not been doing much woodworking anymore. It was great to be outside and creating some sawdust.

First job of the day, create fresh water tank covers...check!

Now on to job #2....create a battery box space. Time to put on the thinking cap...

Mornings, best time of the day.

I love mornings. The air is crisp, the birds are singing, the coffee is hot, and the world is quiet. It's a time where I can sit and think and frankly feel at peace.

On today's agenda was water. I used my quiet time of contemplation to think about how I wanted to handle the fresh water tanks. The original plan was that I would have two tanks that fit entirely below floor level, one on either side of the isle. But..... necessity required change. The space where I was hoping to place the furnace was going to be too tight, and it was needed for the engine driven A/C. So the furnace moved to the secondary water tank spot, which left me with one tank(77 Litres). I was hoping to be able to carry more fresh water than that, so my options included getting a slightly bigger tank for the given space (up to 100 L) or I could fit both tanks on their sides in the same space. The positive? I move to 144 L. The negative, the tanks would protrude up above the floor by 2" requiring me to cut and modify the floor and the tank fittings.

Not being one to shy away from change.....

I cut the floor

I will install the tanks and then build a cover over them that will ultimately be under a cabinet, and we'll never see it.

The changing of the tank orientation will require some creative fitting creations, but I love the hardware store anyway!

After a morning of playing in the bus it was time to stretch our legs and take the dogs out for a spin. After a little while our little dog "Nacho" was acting funny, kind of skiddish and little growls. A quick glance over our shoulder saw that we were being followed.....by a juvenile deer. We would walk, it would follow. We would stop, it would stop. It followed us for a hundred yards or so until a car came and scared it away!