Sunshade to Shelf

All bus content today, covering a little experiment I've been working on over the last few months, around my various travels.

How it started
Last Spring/Summer, I stripped the interior of the bus, pulled the glass, etc for painting. The result was pretty fantastic, with a mellow gray interior and bright white upper 1/3 exterior. The main 2/3 lower body is still primer, but that's another story. Part of the tear-down for paint included removing the sun-shades from the front ceiling of the cab. As it was, they weren't stock bus visors; they were from a beetle. One of them was broken, half of the fasteners weren't stock... they simply looked junky. But they worked, mostly. With an intention to buy replacements, I junked them. I never bought the replacements, and then lost the few fasteners which were stock. So, I've been driving around without sun shade/visors. In the winter, when the sun hangs low, that's kind of a problem, but mostly, it created a much brighter view.

Basic Idea

view of top before shelf liner

I started shopping for visors. They are not inexpensive. While I was trolling the various sites (BusDepot, Cip1, etc), I would see these "parcel shelves" that were designed to fit under the dashboard around knee level. I've never traveled with a set of those, but it prompted thinking. First, I wondered if your legs ever bumped into them, and whether things would fall off them onto your feet. Neither thought was very appealing. They weren't inexpensive either. But, the idea of more storage in the cab was appealing. Looking at my cab, I had installed a double accessory plug near the right edge of the passenger (right) front ceiling. This was to power a Garmin and allow my passenger to charge her phone. I thought: could I put a shelf above the rear-view mirror?

Starting Simple

finished. view from bottom

The short answer is "yes, you can put a shelf above the rear-view mirror".
When I stripped out the interior, I decided to junk the old wood floor, and leaned it against my shop bench. I decided to use it to try to fabricate a shelf. It is 3/8" thick plywood. Working in an Agile manner, I tested the idea first with newspaper, cutting and taping a mock shelf until I had a rough shape for the front (nearest the windscreen). I transferred the line onto cardboard for a more firm example which I taped into place so I could observe it from lots of angles. This model included a cut-out for the rear view mirror mount so it could slide into place as a single piece. Last, I transferred the cardboard line to plywood and started cutting. With each iteration, from paper to cardboard to wood the front line shifted a little bit. i shaped the rear edge of the shelf to taper at the ends, running straight lines from the tapered end to about 3/8 of the way towards the middle. This left a section in the center that was straight across, parallel to the dashboard.

Mounts

cutting and shaping

Once I had the shelf cut, I started thinking about how I could best mount this shelf to the bus, and concluded that re-using existing holes is better than drilling new ones, if possible. Similar to the evolution of the shelf, the mounts evolved as well. I started with 1x3" wood scrap. This proved to be too hard to work with, since the angles needed to be precise (where the bus angels aren't), and wood isn't flexible in such a small size, so the body roll during driving could cause problems. I resolved to using sheet metal cut with tin snips and then shaped to fit the lines of the bus. The result was a more forgiving mount that could leverage the original holes and fasteners.

Get Stiff
I wanted the front edge of the shelf to have a finished look, and for there to be a lip to prevent things from flopping off the shelf into either my or my passenger's face. I went looking for simple 1/4-round at the home supply store, but their offerings of millwork has really dropped off. I found 90* angle aluminum in 4' sections, though. After a quick cleaning of sticker residue with peanut butter, I cut the angle aluminum to length, drilled holes every 3 inches and bottom-mounted the lip to the shelf. This stiffened the shelf considerably, making the concept seem much more plausible.

Front or Back

installed.
Ignore the mess in the background :)

After I had the front lip, I test fit and confirmed my thinking that I needed something on the "back" of the shelf to stop things from falling out the back/front and either into the windshield or onto the dashboard. Staying with the make-it-cheap mantra, I pulled some roofing paper out of a supply heap, and cut 2 curved sections, one for each side of the rear view mirror. Using a staple gun, I attached these two sections. I added a third much shorter piece to go into the rear-view mirror cut-out. I test fit again. This time, no daylight appeared over or around the shelf. Sweet.

Testing
Before I mounted the finished work, I shot the topside with spray epoxy and applied a rubber shelf liner. Just one more level of protection against parcel shelf contents going flying. The install now was more involved. First, the mounts are installed to the bus body. Then, the shelf is lifted into place, leading with the front (windscreen) edge. I press the roofing paper against the bus body while rotating the shelf flat and aligning the mounts to the holes in the shelf. The mounts are bolted to the mounts from below, using washers both above and below the shelf. Just as I finished this initial install, I got a call that one of the kids needed to be picked up from a couple miles away. "Perfect test," I thought. "That run has lots of turns and speed bumps". So, I placed my cell phone on the shelf and did a 4 mile loop of kid collection, hitting turns and speed bumps with abandon. The phone didn't move.

Reflections

installed

The shelf is a complete success. Out of curiosity, I put an old car stereo on there, and it didn't waver. I still need to really stress test it, but for now, I'm going to drive around with my prototype. OVer time, I could improve the design with thicker mounts or something, but I think for now, in this form, I could install a small car stereo, like the one I put in Flash (See: Flash Gets Sounds) or some down-lighting for reading a map. As it is, Boo and I can put our phones up there when we're travelling and have them on the charger without wires hanging everywhere. Very nice.

Thanks for following along. Lots of personal stuff happening over the next couple of weeks, so you know what that means: few to no new posts, but lots of content getting created in the form of adventures.

SF trip, part two

Continuing / completing the trip to SF and Dillon Beach saga, I'm picking up where part one left off.

Car Time
Boo and I had reservations for dinner with her aunt, uncle, cousin and a friend at Phil Lesh's restaurant/bar in San Rafael, Terrapin Crossroads. Boo and I wrapped our last day in the East Bay with coffee with my sister and then headed west, rolling "Stranglehold" as we hit the freeway. The run from Albany to San Rafael is a simple shot down I-580, across the Richmond San Rafael Bridge.... our first and apparently only opportunity to use that $70 FastPass. Lighted signs and painted words on the freeway raised expectations that there could be heavy traffic as we approached the bridge. We slowed as we rounded corner, only to find that there were 2 cars in the queue to pay cash to cross the bridge and all of the pre-pay lanes were either empty or had a single patron passing through. Note for other travelers: don't get the FastPass offering from the rental company unless you intend to cross multiple bridges every day. We expected the drive to take much longer. In fact, we probably could have played "Stranglehold" 3 times between the time we got onto and off of the freeway. Germane to nothing, "Stranglehold" may very well be the best road song ever. Just sayin.

Terrapin Crossroads
Terrapin Crossroads is right off the highway, up against the San Rafael Yacht Harbor. That sounds fancy, but it reminded me of the canal in North Portland called the Columbia Slough. While there is water, and docks to tie-up boats, either side of the water you see the backsides of industrial businesses. The venue has 2 distinct areas: the Grate Room for larger acts and the restaurant/bar for smaller ones. Our reservation was for dinner, but the Grate Room wasn't booked that night anyway. The bar was hosting a 2-man crew,Sean Leahy & Brian Rashap, for Happy Hour when we arrived. They were fantastic, and the bar patrons were letting them know it. It was only 4:30 in the afternoon, but seating was at a premium, so we wandered the place, looking at photos until we found a little 2-seat spot at the top of the stairs. The music mix was perfect, seats comfy, company delightful. We sat and enjoyed the 2-piece through their encore before heading back downstairs to meet Boo's family.

this is a farm. on the water. seriously

We were no sooner down in front of the hostess than we were back upstairs getting seated at a table. Terrapin Crossroads is a farm-to-table concept kitchen, so everything us uber-fresh. I definitely liked the idea of higher-level food with higher-level live music paired with it. We were far enough from the main act (Goodnight, Texas) that we could hear them, but could still talk to, as opposed to shout at, each other. The staff was great, even floating us desserts in recognition of my birthday. Honestly, we chose this trip so we could spend my birthday meal at Phil's place.



Dillon Beach

After we ate, the family wanted to shove off back to Dillon Beach. We bought a few remembrances at the exit counter and climbed back into the Chysler 200. After the urban hussel-bussel of the Bay, Marin County California is the polar opposite. The old US 101 leaves San Rafael and lights disappear. While the maps show what looks like urban areas of Novato and Petaluma there really isn't anything there except a couple of big box stores in Petaluma. Part way into Petaluma, we took a left onto Bodega and entered some of the darkest road I've driven. A couple of turns later, we were driving along the twisty-turny highway 1 heading into Dillon Beach.

Dillon Beach is pretty amazing. The views are spectacular, and the streets, beach and water are very sparsely populated. Looking out into the ocean, there is a spit of untouched land approaching from the south (pictured on the left, here). This is the northern tip of the Point Reyes National Seashore, a massive protected greenspace for birds and wildlife. There are hiking trails and multiple state parks contained within this large area. With a refuge so close, the native birds were plentiful. In contrast, there is a very old mobile home / trailer park located at the southernmost water's edge of Dillon Beach. This park is actively being torn down, but there were trailers in there dating back to the 1950's. For an old car hound, that was really cool.

Our time in Dillon Beach was a combination of family time with Boo's relatives and alone time walking on the beach. The family was very welcoming, making big meals and sharing lots of laughs. The beach was so quiet with a light breeze, easily avoided by simply sitting down on the sand. We didn't have much time though. It felt as though we had just arrived and we were packing up to drive back to Oakland airport, where this 2-part posting began.

SF trip, part one

Today's post covers a quick trip Boo and I took to the SF Bay area to celebrate my birthday in February. I've made no secret of how much we like visiting SF. Now that my sister lives in the East Bay, visits become all the better... and less expensive. This got long, so I split it into two.

Oakland Airport

Terminal 1

It starts with flying in and out of Oakland Airport. While there are lots of airports which look worse, very few of those are in the US. Seriously, the Oakland Airport is hammered. As challenging as it is to navigate through, its lack of cleanliness really makes it a pit. All foot traffic is routed through narrow passageways from the gates down through baggage claim and then out onto 10 lanes of tarmac where various transportation options pass by. We found our way to the car rental shuttle which carries those intending to rent a car from the airport, past some warehouses and the Airplane Institute of Repair to a one-stop-shop for all rental car businesses working "the airport".

Thrifty

We didn't want to be a burden on friends and family, so we reserved a rental car from Thrifty. They weren't thrifty. Nor were they efficient. It was actually very similar to the old Seinfeld episode when he rented a car (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM).

Because of the shuttle model, the customers arrive at the counter in waves. Where once there was no line, suddenly there are 10 people, and the only reason why the first person is first is because s/he simply ran faster. Animosity is created immediately. That first person in line is led through a long series of questions about their rental. Each time, the questions aren't really complete, so the customer needs to ask follow up questions. For example: do you want a FastPass? What's a FastPass? It allows you to get through the bridges faster. Do you want one? What does it cost? $14... This goes on for a while, as the rep slowly explains that some bridges are slower than others and some don't accept cash, etc. So, by the end of it all, you get this picture that the bridges around SF are a complete nightmare only held at bay by getting the FastPass. Do you want insurance? More cross talk about how your own insurance doesn't actually cover you in their rental car, etc. Do you want to pre-pay gas so you don't need to find a gas station before you return the car? That sounds lazy, but the rep explains that the gas prices around SF are very high and finding a gas station in the knotted mess of streets and highways takes a person far more brave than any of us. At about this time, one of the slower runners behind you in line starts yelling about how long it's taking. Perfect. We haven't even gone through the 15 questions on the ATM pad yet. Eventually, we are drifting away from the counter, perplexed and confused. Our $200 reservation had blossomed into a $600 car rental. At least we had a car....

not actual photo, but it was
this big and this empty

Behind the counters in the rental building are glass doors which lead to another counter in a hut adjacent to an empty parking lot. Leaning against the building are travelers, baggage propped around them. Their faces tell the tale: they have been waiting, and they are long past losing their patience. They are now resigned to their fate. Boo and I entered the hut and stood in the queue to learn that the empty lot was what they had for cars. We joined the weary travelers in the mid-day sun and watched the process: a car is returned and handed to a guy sitting under an awning. He quickly removes any trash from the inside, drives the car through the car wash and then over to the hut. After about 30 minutes of waiting, our name was called for a Chrysler 200.

SF, Albany and BART
Leveraging Google Maps, we easily navigated to my sister's place in Albany. Since she was also traveling, Boo and I had the afternoon to ourselves. We walked Solano Ave, checking out the stores and decompressing. We met my sister and grabbed boil-in-a-bag dinner from La Bedaine. The chef Alain, had catered the anniversary dinner a year ago, and we'd been spoiled for French food ever since. Amazing. Truly incredible food. We stayed up late drinking wine and laughing through old memories.

The following morning was our only full day in the Bay Area, so we hopped BART down to our usual haunt: Civic Center / UN Plaza. Or, the west entrance to the Tenderloin. In our case, it was really the east entrance to Little Saigon (what we'd been calling Thai Town). Following a trend of food, we hit Lers Ros Thai for lunch after a quick visit to some friends working at Adobe, south of Market. Lers Ros just seems to get better every time we go. So tasty. We walked off lunch with an uphill hike to Japan Town in a steady drizzle. After replenishing our incense supply at Kohshi, we headed back downhill towards the BART, stopping at Harry Harrington's Pub (corner of Turk & Larkin) for hapy hour. Drinks took us past rush hour, so we grabbed a somewhat empty train back to the East Bay. We arrived after my sister's favorite pizza place closed, so we got pies at her 2nd favorite place (the name of which I don't remember). The next morning, we hit The Sunny Side Cafe for brunch, effectively hitting every place we liked the last time we'd been in the Bay Area.

Next time, I'll cover our stop in San Rafael and Dillon Beach. Thanks for following along!