Mop up, and man up

It's been a week, and I've gotten a bunch of little things done. I'll run through that and again ring that "fear" bell. Fun ahead!

Mop up
As I said, last week was very productive. The boys were with their mom, so I focused on bus stuff... Well, for the first few days anyway. I already detailed the relay setup for the cooling fans. That was Monday. On Tuesday, I wired in a toggle switch (after hitting the gym and working late). Wednesday, I scrubbed the interior of the bellows and hard-mounted the bed base to the frame with finish nails. I finished the wiring above the sink/stove too. There's an issue there, tho, and the cabin lights don't light up. I think my ground is bad because there is voltage at the switch.

Saturday, I mounted the toggle switch next to the hazard switch, fixed my rear driving lights so they actually light up, cleaned up some loose wiring and re-connected the speedometer cable. The running lights turned out to be a few simple things. First, fuse #2 was bad. Second, the right rear tail bulb was bad. I spent an hour checking wires before going to those. Doh!  Basically, I mopped up all the leftover bits on Sunday, vacuumed the carpets, etc

Man Up
I picked up the boys on Sunday and they were a little disappointed that I didn't arrive in the bus.  They thought that may mean the camping trip was cancelled, or the bus wasn't ready.  The reality is, I wasn't ready to take him on the freeway.  OR 217 is not a very forgiving freeway by Oregon standards, but bottom line I need to man up and drive this thing.  Today, we ran an errand in him: to CostCo.  He drove great, and we easily fit a huge cart full of food into the passenger compartment.  We didn't even use the rear deck.  I forget how easily the bus carries a bunch of stuff.  I'll be collecting a piece of furniture next week and I think I know how I'll get it home now.  It won't be a rented truck from Home Depot :)

On The Road Again
We take our first camping trip in 4 years starting tomorrow.  These years have seen many changes, and it will be surreal to be camping in the bus without their mom, or the dog.  Still, it will be nice to be out on the open road again, humming along and again seeing the world through a Bay Window Bus windscreen.  The boys and I packed the camping equipment tonight, and we'll finish tomorrow morning.  We'll slap the bikes on the rear carrier, hit the local grocery and head South for a couple of nights.

As we pull onto the 2-lane road through the cow patches of Washington County, I'll be thinking of all the folks who helped make this project a reality.  Hal, and the hours and hours he put in on the engine mount, helping me decide what design would work best.  Justin, and the low priced labor and numerous free parts (including the loaner engine harness I'm currently running) to get the TDI engine running perfectly.  Andy, my TDIClub friend who sent months of personal research on the TDI wiring as well as his personal support along the way.  Toby, for the pop top work, and ready hand for anything else that popped up.  Ed (owner of Belle) who kept reminding me of my end goal with regular drive-bys and the famous ride-alongs to see the Dead.  Ed the Welder, who performed the magic on the fuel tank so long ago.  Eric, the guy in Georgia who salvaged the engine, crated and shipped it to me.  KEP for their sending me a second adapter plate at 1/2 price when I needlessly broke the first one.  Of course, the numerous others who have provided insights on problems or their own projects as motivations along the way.  This project would not be where it is today without every single one of you.

Suffice to say, no project is completed on an island.  We all need each other to make these kinds of crazy ideas go from concept to completion.  I greatly value each of you for your time or financial sacrifice to help make this possible.  I can't thank you enough.  I can say, though, that my next post will be documenting a road trip; the first road trip in years.  In that, we all can celebrate.  Thanks for following along all these years, and I promise over the next 6 months I will back-document final solutions for each of the separate sub-systems, so the next guy who gets a cray idea to put a diesel engine in his bus has a workable roadmap... at least to start from :)