A Store for Converters

[luvrbus]

Have any of you ever checked out the IKEA stores for things to use in a conversion we were in the store Sunday and I gave the sells person the size and square footage of a 40 foot bus and she gave me a floor plan using the Swedish cabinets and appliances pretty neat stuff they have.
Check it out.
The guys at Marathon never would tell me were they bought some of the products in their conversions now I know,check out the curtain rails they  are way better than the RV type you can use them to slide or to fold I bought some of those


www.ikea.com

[Jeremy]

Oddly enough I bought some Ikea curtain tracks for my bus as well. There's some Ikea light fittings in there too I think, but I personally wouldn't use any Ikea furniture in the bus - it's well designed and engineered, but cheaply manufactured and not durable (which is fair enough - it's furniture which is intended to be cheap, fashionable and disposable).

If you're lucky enough to have a bus with vertical sides, the floor plan calculator thingy would probably be a useful guide to designing your interior. I haven't looked, but wouldn't be surprised if the floor plan tool is available on their website.

Jeremy

[TomC]

Be careful buying pre made cabinets-most likely they are pressed wood with veneer.  Pressed wood contains formaldehyde and in the confines of the bus, can be a health issue.  I use 3/4" furniture grade plywood from Home Depot that is advertised as being formaldehyde free.  Besides, pressed wood doesn't hold up well in a mobile application like plywood does.

I like using Home Depot, Loews, Camping World, etc since they are a nation wide company.  Staying with main stream products will make repairs on the road much easier and less time consuming waiting for that custom piece.  Good Luck, TomC

[luvrbus]

TomC they have a lot of good cabinets some are pressed just like HD and Lowes I liked the metal never saw any cardboard on the back to look like wood like some HD and Lowes cabinets the Swedish put a lot of stuff in a small area check the vanity tops pretty neat but I am just passing the info on it may help someone here


good luck

[eddiepotts]

We have a large Ikea here and yes they do have allot of undersized stuff for us. Even for hardwareitems like drawer pulls. They specialize in under sized for tight areas. You can build a kitchen, livingroom and bedroom in 100 square feet.

[jjrbus]

Tom, if I was looking for mechanical info I would seek you out you are the one of the best.

But if I saw you in a Borg buying plywood, I would try to explain to you that "furniture grade" is their opinion and not some national standard. They buy their plywood from the cheapest supplier and mark it up as much as they can. You may have to go through dozens of sheets to find one that is not damaged. The veneer is paper thin and the least bit of damage may make it unusable. I could go on, but "Made in China" is not a grading stamp. Nor would I trust their formaldehyde free statement!

Talk to some people that do wood working and they will steer you to a lumber yard in you area where for a bit more you can buy some quality plywood. Their dimensional hardwood will be a heck of a lot better also.
                                             JMHO    JIm

[Jeremy]

I'm not sure what 'pressed wood' refers to in this instance, but I'm guessing it's either chipboard ('particle board' in US parlance?), or MDF. If it's the latter there was a 'scare' here some time ago about MDF dust being carcinogenic, which had a big campaign and legal case brought by one of the trade unions that had lots of members in wood-related trades. I worked for a company at the time that machined thousands of tons of MDF each year, and for a while the factory was plastered with warning posters telling everyone to wear breathing equipment. End result was that it was all nonsense, the union lost their case, and the relevant authorities confirmed that MDF dust posed no particular danger.

Jeremy

MDF = Medium Density Fibreboard - similar to hardboard but heavier and smooth on both sides. Not sure if it's called something different in the States. Either way, it doesn't deserve any place in a bus.

[luvrbus]

Jeremy, you can bet over here it has a laminate covering it will be MDF, particle board or cheap plywood 98% of the time  you see it all the time in 1 mil+ coaches Marathon is one of the best at covering that crap with laminates 




good luck

[cody]

There are as many "grades" of plywood as suppliers, one of my favorite forms of plywood is lumber core and instead of plys that are low grade veneers and bark it actually has boards edge glued with a veneer covering, slightly pricey but nice to work with. Plywood has it's place in certain projects but I kinda like solid wood for some unknown reason.  An easy way to judge the quality of a plywood isn't so much the price or factory claims but rather the grade and thickness of the veneer covering.  I always liked the phrase "furniture grade" I've even seen it applied to pressure treated plywood for outdoor applications and have actually seen the furniture grade stamp on some of the sheets.  Commonly what the term furniture grade indicated was that the working surface was sanded and without voids, (one side clear).

[happycamperbrat]

I like the curtain tracks too. Thanks for pointing them out. I want fabric shower curtains instead of glass doors because they are lighter, easier to change decorating options, and more wheelchair assessable. I will keep this in mind when the time comes!

[TomC]

This is the manufacturer that makes the furniture grade plywood for Home Depot.  http://columbiaforestproducts.com/VeneerGuide.aspx  Although Home Depot only carries the Birch and Oak veneers, there are a couple dozen more made.  Take a look at some of the beautiful woods there.  I love walnut (especially the burled walnut) but it would make the inside too dark.  I love working with this plywood-you can sand the veneer, and there are practically no voids making the edges sandable to the point of varnishing it to a nice finish (if you don't mind the look of plywood).  Good Luck, TomC

[Fred Mc]

" Talk to some people that do wood working and they will steer you to a lumber yard in you area where for a bit more you can buy some quality plywood"

Actually, I have to dissagree with this statement. It should say" they will steer you to a lumberyard where you can get much better quality, usually for less money"

Fred M.

[cody]

I have no problem buying plywood from the box stores like HD or Lowes, it serves a purpose and is good material for it's intended uses, I've used their 3/4 inch veneered plywood for interior partitions and end panels and their 1/4 inch or 3/8's for drawer bottoms, one thing a person has to keep in mind is that there will be interior voids that seem to crop up in inconvienent cuts, but as long as any end grains are covered they shouldn't show. Using a veneer tape isn't recommended for the edge treatment because of the construction of the plywood, with every other ply being either a cross grain or possibly a bark filler it's hard to get the tape to stay for the long term but for a lot of purposes the plywood will work just fine, a lot depends on what your expectations are for the final product, if your creating a masterpiece then it's hard to beat solid woods but for most of our uses a solid front is more than enough.

[Iceni John]

I'm thinking of using IKEA cabinets and interior furniture, but with one important difference  -  I plan on framing all my interior in steel or aluminum, using as little wood as possible, and then using IKEA pieces merely as external non-structural panels.   This way I get strength and the desired aesthetics.   Has anyone here done anything like this?

Another reason I like IKEA is that their designs lend themselves well to small interiors, and avoid the claustrophobic cutesy-cosy country cottage look that makes small spaces seem even smaller.   I like simple, clean, airy, uncluttered, in other words Bauhaus for paupers.   There are some interesting Australian conversions that intrigue me, such as OziBus and Wothahellizat:
http://www.ozibus.com/content/our-bus-motorhome/gallery/interior/new.html
http://www.robgray.com/graynomad/wothahellizat/wot1/photos/index.php#big_pics
IKEA may be a way to easily recreate that look and feel.

John

[cody]

There was a bus at jacks rally that had the interior done out of chromed diamond plate, was very unusual.