mci 9wall structure

[pete36330]

we"re in the process of stripping all the interior out of our bus ,,the question I have ,,after taking all the sheet metal from the inside walls and ceiling   having some rust  that will need to be replaced.around the bathroom area.will I need to reinforce the walls with something like square tubing .cross brasing,,,,or will it still be strong enough ,,with just insulating. framing it out in wood and paneling?thanks ..our first one here in AL,  pete

[Jriddle]

I am not an engineer. I added bracing on mine when I did what you are doing. This topic has been hashed and rehashed on this board with a great number of opinion's. I was of the impression that my bus would weigh less than full with passengers. I weighed my bus the other day and found empty weight to 29500lb. The steer axle was 9500lb. I still have things to add for the conversion, all my stuff and water. My opinion is that you need to add some support below the belt line. I also put 1/2 inch plywood on the interior then my paneling. As I said before I am not an engineer and have no way to calculate what is needed but do know that anything you add back will not hurt and you have it apart now so I would plan on doing some support.

My thoughts
John

[Kenny]

It is my understanding that the aluminum panels riveted to the interior walls are an additional structure member to the exterior panels. If I remember correctly some on this board have removed them and all is fine. Others have removed them, completed their framing repairs, insulating etc... and replaced the panels back where they were. I for one will be doing the same.
Kenny
   

[gumpy]

The interior panels are structural. If you remove them, you need to cross brace. If you replace them, you need to use structural rivets, like what came out of them. I recommend cross bracing with 1" square tubing and leaving the panels off.

craig

[buswarrior]

To be clear, on a stock coach, working from the inside out on the walls, first you get the panel that may have the fake wood grain on it, that makes the cavity for the stock HVAC to blow through.

That may be removed.

Next, the exposed riveted panels are the ones in question, as to whether they should or should not be put back or replaced by some alternate structural material.

Beyond those, you reach the inside of the outside panels.

The skins on the inside of the ceiling are decorative.

happy coaching!
buswarrior