Storrage compartment configuration

[petarm1]

Hey everyone, just bought a new project( 1999 mci 102d3 ) and i am intrested in seeing some ways that you have set up the cargo compartments for sewer and power. I currently still live in my 1989 102c3 but i am not happy with the setup i currently have. Any pictures or sugestions will be greatly appreciated.  Or if there is a place on the forum that already has these . And i will post my bus pictures hopefully today.
Thanks

[Jim Blackwood]

Another one! Great! Yours is the 40' version then? The bays would be a little different. Do you have 2 storage bays in the center rather than 3?

I'm using almost my entire rear storage bay for water and waste, the tanks are stopping just shy of interfering with the access door for the HVAC. My genset is in the front bay. It'll be about 3 weeks before I get back on that.

Your toilet drain pretty much locates the black tank.

Jim

[neoneddy]

I have a MC9.

Back bay is water tanks, hot water heater, plumbing stuff and a little bit of storage.  I'm thinking of reconfiguring.  I have my black tank so close to the drive side bay door I have no room to store things like hoses and what not.  My bathroom is right above it, so that's the way it goes.

Middle bay driver side is electrical and has a hole in the floor to run all wires, inside it's below the electrical closet with breakers, solar wires, etc. I have a wall dividing that from the other side, so I can mount my inverters on the back wall there.  The wall between bay  1 and 2 holds the solar chargers and whatnot.  Then on the other side is mostly storage. I'd like to build some roll out compartments for it.  It's filled with tables / chairs and other stuff, but a pain to use and get at.

Next is the most forward bay.  It's mostly empty except the propane furnace, it's up against the OTR heater core wall because I use the OTR ducting, so it pulls in air from the OTR bay then exhausts heat into the vents, propane exhausts into the floor.   I plan on switching to $150 Chinese diesel to air heaters to save space and get better heating, but ours is used 3 seasons only, so not a huge issue.  Then I carry a backup generator because reasons, still figuring out which one I'll keep, the onan or the predator.  Onan is more bullet proof, but the predator is quieter.  Then the passenger side there I store whatever, sometimes kids bikes, hockey bags, sticks, a grill, whatever.   I'd like to eventually do a roll out kitchen here maybe.

[petarm1]

I have 3 bays, i am thinking of leaving the original bathroom in place and making a rear shower. Good info thanks.

[Jim Blackwood]

The tank on the original bathroom doesn't have much capacity. I don't remember the spec, seems like about 20 gallons though. On the wrong side for most dump stations too. Plus having to go through the master bedroom to get to the bathroom. Plus any plumbing lines have to go through the engine bay, then the wheel bay and finally the rear bulkhead. I wondered why everyone removes it, mainly it is just inconvenient in all respects. But possible, definitely possible.

Jim

[6805eagleguy]

New Tiffin motorhomes have a master bath at the back, two sinks, shower, and toilet. Tanks are forward of drive axle, not sure how they ferry the water forward...

[richard5933]

New Tiffin motorhomes have a master bath at the back, two sinks, shower, and toilet. Tanks are forward of drive axle, not sure how they ferry the water forward...

Macerating toilet?

The shower and sinks would not be a problem. The macerating toilets can carry waste horizontally with only a slight drop to the tank, but they do use more water and rely on having 12v power.

Gravity toilets are the most reliable.

[petarm1]

My idea for leaving the original bathroom would be like a private room in the bed room. I am also puting in a mid bathroom with shower for any guests. The original I think would be great for travel since that's what it was designed for. Use the secondary bathroom for when parked. What is the common tank sizes people are using.
I was thinking 50 gal fresh, 50 gal grey and 30 black. Need to do some measuring but I would like to use the center bay for all electrical( generator/ a/c inverters and batteries) I would think weight distribution would be important. I will post pics of my current 89 mci that I live in and its compartment setup.

[Jim Blackwood]

After calculating the weights on my '96 DL3 and removal of the seats  as best I recall I found I had over 15,000lbs of usable weight capacity available to me. It's not likely I will ever use all of that. That thread shouldn't be hard to find. Buswarrior warned that there is a risk of going too light on the front axle and losing steering authority. Hence the forward bay for the genset. I'm constructing a 250 gallon tank for fresh water, my holding tanks will go in the rear bay. The center bay will carry a SxS 4x4 buggy eventually that I plan to make road legal.

You can get by with small holding tanks if you always plan to camp where there are hookups. But I suspect that running a ground snake around the back of the bus so you could dump the private toilet might get old.

Jim

[buswarrior]

In the early stages, we used the stock toilet while still "steel tent" camping.

The problem is the smell is into the coach, whether that be horrible fragranced chemicals, or the waste.

Try it, but don't bet the farm on keeping it in your final design.

Busnuts are cheap, if it worked, you'd see an awful lot more doing it and saving the expences of toilet and tank and labour to install, and you don't...

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[richard5933]

...What is the common tank sizes people are using.
I was thinking 50 gal fresh, 50 gal grey and 30 black...

Not sure why a gray tank is even necessary. We have a combined waste tank and have never had a problem. Helps keep the waste liquid so that the tank drains completely. I know that some will say that the gray water can be used to flush the dump hose, but there is usually a water hose at the dump station specifically for that purpose. We've never encountered a problem with the combined tank. Less plumbing and less to go wrong.

Our waste tank and fresh water are the same size. Never a chance of over filling the waste tank, since we always run from the fresh water tank and not a city hookup. When we have city water available we use it to fill the tank, and then run from the tank.

Our tanks are 90 gallons each (fresh and waste), which gives a usable capacity of about 75-80 gallons. Enough for 2 of us to go almost a week if we are cautious with water use.

[petarm1]

Is it hard to remove the old stock bathroom. My current mci was already removed and my 89 prevost got sold before i got partway through the conversion. But yes. Maybe keeping the old bathroom could cuase some smell issues i dont want

[MagnoliaBus]

Is it hard to remove the old stock bathroom. My current mci was already removed and my 89 prevost got sold before i got partway through the conversion. But yes. Maybe keeping the old bathroom could cuase some smell issues i dont want

Yes it's a big job to remove the stock bathroom...but look ! No more...not even the floor is there anymore.

[buswarrior]

Washroom removal requires a lot of smart thinking, and a little physicality, or a huge amount of violence, if you choose to not find all the fasteners...

Some guy put it all together in a certain order, you can reverse that, or fight with it.

It is the one thing on the bus that outlasts the rest of the bus...

Search this site and BNO for the stories.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[sledhead]

I used a air chisel  and a sawsall and a big mallet and head phones and eye glasses and gloves . beat the crap out of it ! it will come out
but yes of all the things that were removed from the bus it was a lot of work but it was all worth it 

dave