Mercedes vario 814 self build bus to FLT palace

[bigtree]

you can buy a real house for that much money

Or a nearly new Concorde.

 

[bigtree]

Old age and arthritis starting lol...have never been able to kneel for any length of time ...but worse now ...and back sore with pulling these floor boards up ...me body is aching lol

And all along you boast about how much younger you are than everyone else on here.

 

[bigtree]

Do you have your own welding plant? Cause if you do i could have a job for you. . wouldn't be able to make it up elsewhere i dont think ...it needs to be built actually on to the van in section's

In one of your photos I saw a welding plant.

 

[bigtree]

I currently don't have a guy on site lol...just me ...struggling to find a blacksmith or welder ...ive spoke to a few most dont want the work they seem to like easy stuff

You said you were a coded welder.

 

[Northernraider]

See I'd easy help but I haven't worked on autos. I'm used to structural stuff so thick steel at high-ish power. I can't see why a local welder wouldn't want to take it on though. It's still drivable aint it? You could easy get it in to their workshop which would make it a lot easier for anyone.

Thats half the problem as most welders round here dont have big enough workshops to get it inside and many wont work outside. Bodywork welders dont want the heavy duty jobs and blacksmiths dont want the panel work jobs . The framing is 4/5 mm steel that needs a heavy welder. I thought id found a blacksmith to do the frame but he does all the local authority work so is very busy

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[Northernraider]

In one of your photos I saw a welding plant.

Yes because i have a welding plant. But its only a 160 and for the heavy frame it needs to be a bigger machine.

 

[Northernraider]

You said you were a coded welder.

I am

But i dont have heavy duty machinery and to buy it to do one job would cost as much as getting someone to do the job

I haven't done heavy steel work in nearly 15 years

 

[Northernraider]

And all along you boast about how much younger you are than everyone else on here.

I am younger.

Doesn't mean i dont get sore joints though eh ...both legs and ankles broken at age 20 didnt help ... years of crawling around on cold ground under motors didnt help either. And nearly 3.5 years of no physical work means most of my muscle turned to fat

 

[Tombola]

I am younger.

Doesn't mean i dont get sore joints though eh ...both legs and ankles broken at age 20 didnt help ... years of crawling around on cold ground under motors didnt help either. And nearly 3.5 years of no physical work means most of my muscle turned to fat

I feel your pain, no more tiling floors etc for me.

Take 2 days off, let you rbody adjust and get back to it, it will be far less pain.
Those 2 days will make so much difference, and if you can do it again a week later even better.

the body is a wonderful thing

 

[barsteward]

I am

But i dont have heavy duty machinery and to buy it to do one job would cost as much as getting someone to do the job

I haven't done heavy steel work in nearly 15 years

Right, I know I'm going to be shot down in showers of sh!!t but I know nothing about welding. Is it not possible to hire a welding M/c.

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[Northernraider]

I feel your pain, no more tiling floors etc for me.

Take 2 days off, let you rbody adjust and get back to it, it will be far less pain.
Those 2 days will make so much difference, and if you can do it again a week later even better.

the body is a wonderful thing

Im just out of shape to be honest ...will be fine ...just kneeling on cold metal in cold and damp probably not the best ..ive ordered some padded knee pads

 

[bigwood]

Doing a clutch change on a Merc mini bus I sliced my hand causing a mess were ever I put my hand. The boss told me to get it sorted. You can’t stick plasters on one handed so I asked the Forman to sort it out. It looked like I had one boxing glove on. I binned that and just put a glove on to contain the mess until I got home.
I can’t remember how old those mini buses were but the manuals had an air assist fitted to the clutch. Also we had a couple that the brake disc broke around the hub flange.
They caused some fun during servicing because they were too narrow for the workshop pits. I stopped one of the shunter fuelers just as the front wheels got to the edge of the pit. The boss wouldn’t have liked fishing it out of the pit.
They were reliable considering the abuse the drivers threw at them. I imagine they would make a good base for a motorhome.

 

[monzer]

Thats half the problem as most welders round here dont have big enough workshops to get it inside and many wont work outside. Bodywork welders dont want the heavy duty jobs and blacksmiths dont want the panel work jobs . The framing is 4/5 mm steel that needs a heavy welder. I thought id found a blacksmith to do the frame but he does all the local authority work so is very busy

See 4/5mm is thin stuff to me. Only time we ever weld that is for gates and doors. Any sketches of what you are planning for it? Hard to judge what it needs.

 

[monzer]

As for the knees, I thought the old bus seat in a lot of the photos was one you had kept behind as a mat to kneel on.

 

[bigtree]

I am

But i dont have heavy duty machinery and to buy it to do one job would cost as much as getting someone to do the job

I haven't done heavy steel work in nearly 15 years

What is required isn’t heavy duty.

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[bigtree]

I am younger.

Doesn't mean i dont get sore joints though eh ...both legs and ankles broken at age 20 didnt help ... years of crawling around on cold ground under motors didnt help either. And nearly 3.5 years of no physical work means most of my muscle turned to fat

Stop whining, hmm, have I said that before.

 

[Northernraider]

See 4/5mm is thin stuff to me. Only time we ever weld that is for gates and doors. Any sketches of what you are planning for it? Hard to judge what it needs.

Im crap at drawing ...next time youre passing pop in for a brew and ill show you

 

[Northernraider]

As for the knees, I thought the old bus seat in a lot of the photos was one you had kept behind as a mat to kneel on.

I did ....but it falls through gaps in floor

 

[Northernraider]

What is required isn’t heavy duty.

The frame for the bike is heavier than the machine im using . My machine would need to be up at full and will constantly cut out trying to weld thick steel.

To support a 250kg bike nearly 2.5 metres back from the axle needs to be heavy steel ...the lengths coming off the chassis will need to be heavy 70x70 angle iron and then braced near the back to the body with 5mm walled box section.

The blacksmith i was trying to get to do the job said much the same.

 

[bigtree]

The frame for the bike is heavier than the machine im using . My machine would need to be up at full and will constantly cut out trying to weld thick steel.

It still isn’t heavy duty, I worked in the truck manufacturing industry.

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[Northernraider]

It still isn’t heavy duty, I worked in the truck manufacturing industry.

Its heavy duty compared to 1mm body panels.

I welded train chassis and tank simulators

 

[bigtree]

Its heavy duty compared to 1mm body panels.

I welded train chassis and tank simulators

Did I say body panels ?
Can’t say I ever saw chassis’s and axles made with 1mm plate.

 

[Northernraider]

Did I say body panels ?
Can’t say I ever saw chassis’s and axles made with 1mm plate.

No you just pointed out the obvious that there was a welding plant in the pic.
But i already telt ye its nae bloody good for heavier steel .

Yer being pedantic

 

[bigtree]

I better not say what you are then, don’t fancy a holiday somewhere in England.

 

[Val 3 dogs]

Now, now children! Be nice to each other.

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[bigtree]

No you just pointed out the obvious that there was a welding plant in the pic.
But i already telt ye its nae bloody good for heavier steel .

Yer being pedantic

You implied all we made was cabs.

 

[Northernraider]

You implied all we made was cabs.

I never implied anything as this thread isn't about you or what you welded.

You mentioned the welder in the photo ,you then said " i thought you were a coded welder " with that emoji that suggests you somehow doubted that fact.

I then explained the welding plant in the pic isnt up to the job AND that despite i was a coded welder ive not done that work in over 15 years ....

Hence why id prefer to get that job done by someone else .....safer than it failing and potentially causing an accident.

I didn't think it was hard to follow but i dunno it seems unless you type every detail like giving evidence in court theres always some bugger looking to pick holes in it.


The chassis is 10mm thick the bars coming from that to the rear of the van for the platform to sit on will need to be a similar thickness.
Compared to the body panels which are 1mm thick thats heavy duty and a 160 mig isn't suitable for doing it ....might leave a nice looking weld but the penetration will be shit.

 

[Lenny HB]

And nearly 3.5 years of no physical work means most of my muscle turned to fat

We had noticed.

Front end of the chassis looks so much better must give you more confidence in the van.
In a van that size well worth keeping the rear heater got to keep the pooches cosy.

 

[Minxy]

Have you thought of having the rear carrier removable? We had one made up which I designed for the back of our first 'proper' MH - it already had a strong rear bumper bar fitted with box section securing it to the existing chassis, so my design incorporated 2 pieces of box section on the base of the carrier at 90 degrees that were 'threaded' into the existing 'chassis' bumper box section and held in place with bolts and padlocks (so the rack and bike couldn't be nicked!). It meant we could remove it when not needed, in fact I've still got the carrier in the corner of the garage despite us selling that MH in 2001!!!

PS: make sure you keep those cuts clean, you don't want any rust or other stuff getting into them and end up with sepsis!

 

[Northernraider]

We had noticed.

Front end of the chassis looks so much better must give you more confidence in the van.
In a van that size well worth keeping the rear heater got to keep the pouches cosy.

To be honest the chassis is pefect all the way from front to rear. Its just the sills thats knackered at the back. A the floor bracings are good too the only really rusty bits are the bits the bus converters added or altered as they left them bare steel with no paint or protection on them. Im just cutting those parts out completely as not required.

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