My old clunker computer is gone and my flash new laptop (used as a desktop most of the time ) is installed with a second screen for added "visual real estate" which makes a big difference being able to have more things visible at the same time.
All my software and licenses are transferred and up to date. Now there's a fun game if you have any Garmin devices, mine include a GPSmap60CSx, nuvii 760 and soon an ex US military hardened laptop running real time navigation software with topographical maps. And that of course doesn't include all the commercial stuff like accounting, office, drawing, photo, iTunes/iPhone/iPod, geocaching etc.
A fun time was had by all !
Tax finished - my part anyway !
The accountant has to do his bit now.
But the first part of tomorrow morning is blown while
we make sure the story is the same for both of us.
Then one of my old customers begged, pleaded, cried and finally won me over when he promised to pay money in order to get a job done. He wanted some parts made for his plastic extrusion machines in a special grade of stainless steel. Like this :
I didn't really want to do it as it means I have to start up a machine which has been cleaned and parked while I work on the truck "house" and then clean up after so it wont turn into a pile of rust while not being used. Still I promised . . . .
I wouldn't have minded so much except that after working until about 3:30pm, cleaning the machines again and then delivering the parts I got a phone call about 5:00pm . . .
"Hi"
"About those parts you made for me . . ."
"Yes . . ."
"Do you think you could do another set ?"
"It would have been nice if you ordered them all together . . . "
"It's not that. I just tried to modify them slightly and I sort of ruined them . . .
Could I have some more tomorrow morning ????"
"AAARRRGGGHHH !!"
So finally back to the plan . . .
Finally starting to work on the utilities portion of the house.
It occurred to me that with my friends and other buses etc. their initial configuration determines pretty much where things can go. Generally they are fairly "widely" separated.
This can have a few advantages. Most components even when made by the same manufacturer have very different front panels, mountings, fittings, sizes etc..
If you are mounting them away from each other this isn't too bad as generally there is a space somewhere and if necessary a hole is cut in a side panel and the manufacturer's front panel screwed on and nobody notices.
With my arrangement all these things are alongside each other and trying to work out how to arrange the framing is proving to be somewhat problematic.
I have also been talking to a truck body builder who has quoted on fitting an outside skin of fibreglass bonded to plywood with all the corners capped with 3mm aluminium pressed angles sealed and fastned with countersunk rivets.
This will produce a great finish and speed the whole project up a bit - the only drawback is that any and every cut edge has to be finished with a sealer and reinforcing angle - which doesn't necessarily suit mounting any particular item !!
Just another little complication.
In addition the ablutions area needs several changes of floor level to accomodate toilet pedestal and shower base heights.
All in all it's challenging my spatial relationship visualisation abilities.
I know there is a key to it somewhere -
if I just start at this point it will all fall logically into place.
Well we live to dream . . .
Also I can't believe that the manufacturers of these components (for caravan / motorhomes) who know these things are going to be fitted in tight awkward places can manage to place their fastening systems in such difficult and out of the way places !!
So for the moment I have positioned the vaccuum toilet base station, water pump, water heater and gas bottles. I just have to finish the framing around them and I can put the air conditioning above that.
So from the back :
and from the front :
Now if I cn js t learn to tupw on this laptop keybord I';ll be hapy . . .
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