Thanks for taking the apprehension out of drilling holes in my perfectly water tight roof...

I was about to buy a bevel box when I remembered my phone can do the same thing with the Measure app.

Thank you for what you are doing. Building out a Chevy Astro and I come away from every video with a nugget of gold I can apply to my build.

1st job I had back in the 70s was working for Carolina tool and equipment in travelers rest south Carolina. I built the hydraulic cylinders that controls the feed rate. They are really a tough built saw. I'm just starting my bus build and find your channel has easy to understand and follow information thanks

Thank U so much for all the free content. It is so helpful

Love your channel! Especially the "This Old House" vibes in the opening and ending bits! ❤

Was looking at this system, your video confirmed everything. Ordered and picking up tomorrow while I'm traveling to MA. Thanks..

I had forgotten that l should be doing this closer to the start of the build. I had already planned for all the wiring systems to be placed. Thank for the reminder.

On the Skoolie Planet group, I run into Jonathan Roberts frequently. I was surprised to hear you mention him when I watched the video again at 3:25. Thanks for being helpful, and I definitely need to check this out when I get around to the solar portion of my shuttle bus.

Almost always entertaining. This one is. Thanks.

Very informative, Chuck.

Thanks guys !!

cool looking sunrader can't wait to see ya work on that one....

That is a nice solid mounting system and great execution.

Thank you, very helpful indeed!

Be aware the Hat Channels are different for each bus manufacturer. My International takes 3” bolts not 3 1/2”. If you order the L brackets know that they do not come with bolts as many catalogues wrongly picture them. To save some money, buy 1” stainless hex bolts and Stainless serrated nuts for half the cost of Iron Ridge’s fasteners.

another awesome and informative video

Thank you!

I like the system. Unfortunately I have an RV that is already built but I so have steel supports in the roof so I guess I could use sheet metal screws. Keep the good stuff coming.

Awesome informative video as always.

Chuck, your content is the best. Have you found a suitable cross bar and hardware and method to tie these rails together for attaching rooftop decking etc? I have a transit van and it has 10 mounting points. I was thinking about purchasing 10 extra l mounts and mounting them upside down and bolting cross rails out of rectangular aluminum tubing. Thoughts???

Hi Chuck. I've been looking for a video of how to install your wall board and how to cut out outlet and wire holes spot on.

Great video, incredible content and Chuck is a perfect presenter. I was wondering about using aluminum and SS together, any future corrosion problems?

Great video Chuck! When can we see you lift the bus by the solar rack? That would be amazing! But the splice with the self tappers might be a weak point. Just kidding and all joking aside, you are definitely making the most informative skoolie conversion videos on youtube. No doubt. Thanks.

Hi Chuck. I've been hunting for a video on installing the walls and how to put holes in for out let's and wiring.

Anti seize works great on steel and aluminum. On stainless it does little because of the nickel and chromium content that makes stainless, stainless.

Another nice video , rack is 70 5/16 cxc apart , just wondering what is the size of solar panels length and witch and space you leave between panels also panel make and watts. thanks again .

Love the video and this system saves welding up a custom aluminum rack. Do know if iron ridge makes cross bars to connect the XR1000 across the bus. I may be able to mount more panels if I put them in pairs longways. Mine are 40" wide by 66" long so a pair is 80" across the bus and 66" long. So 4 panels up front and 4 in the back with a hatch in the middle. If I do them 66" across the bus they are tucked up away from the edge more but I get less. I'm trying to get at least 2k or more. My panels are 335w x8 would be 2680w.

you should do more videos of solar installs

What kind of epoxy is best to stick the aluminum pieces together? Thanks

have you made a video of you installing the panels using this system?

Chuck can you show how to attach decking with the IronRidge system?

Did you use rusty metal primer all across the inside of your roof? Looks clean, and I considered it, wasn’t sure how necessary it was with closed cell spray foam

Also do you have an actual collapsible deck video hanging around? Thanks. P.S. have you thought to sell instructional videos??

The Bob Vila of School Bus Conversions

Nice hat chuck 👌

Ok Chuck do you have a list of products and or brand names of everything you would use in your bus ? Even the screws you use to secure your paneling

Would this system work at all for those with the ceiling already installed? Any tips (aside from going back in time and doing it in the proper order 🥴)?

I was planning on using Unistrut, but this seems affordable enough to be a great alternative. I’m going to contact my local distributor to see how much it is if I pick it up.

Love your content Chuck! What size square bolts did you use to attach the bus to the racks? Thanks again

What are the rub rail looking things on the roof? I don’t have them on my bus, but they don’t look like something you added so I’m curious what their function is/was? Thank you! Great video, I’m saving it and will follow along once roof work is happening.

70 5/16" width between rails - how wide are your panels?? Wondering how much overhang I should leave for the sides of my panels, I got 72" wide panels and im thinking about 6"-12" overhang on each end?

I am in the process of doing a solar rail installation on my skoolie using this video as a guide. I have run into areas where the rivets on the bus roof seams where the hat channels are get in the way of the mounting brackets need to be to be over the hat channel. The bulge of the rivet prevents the bracket from sitting flush. Did you encounter this? Any recommended solutions? Thanks for all your videos!

Hey Chuck! What was your decision with sikaflex or diecorp lapse(?) and why? Are those the 2 choices to decide between for the most part?

That's a nice system and great video on how to install it. So how many watts of solar will you have on the roof?

This is like if Bob Vila and Martha Stewart had a baby (I love both of them)

Also have you ever put out a list of order for construction of building? Like in what order you do all of the jobs? Obviously l should have asked before but l just realized that I could have buggered myself up by failure to install roof racks at the right time.

Did you share the cost of the system in this video?

Why were the wheel wells removed?

How long are the "through bolts" that connect to ribs ? Got that they are 3/8 but what length

Chuck, I meant to ask you this question during the solar racking premiere but you made it so dang interesting and informative that I completely forgot about the hvac question I have for my bus. As I was looking thru the pioneer systems on line earlier today, I came across one mini split system with a cartridge ceiling air handler that is like 12”x12” square that gets recessed into the ceiling and the other is a unit that mounts inside a bench at the dining table or under a bed or inside a couch and has 2 1/2” round duct that channels the heat/air where you want it. My question is, have you used either of these systems yet and how did you like them if you did? They look fantastic and you don’t have the big wall unit to deal with and it would be a much cleaner As I was looking at them, the question “What would Chuck do” kept running thru my mind so I was hoping you could tell me please. What Chuck would do!

Ive done this and now trying to figure out good horizontal supports/joists to use for decking. Anyone figure out a good solution?

Aren't school buses mostly made of steel. Wouldn't it be better to use steel brackets so that you don't get galvanic corrosions that occur from putting different metals together?

when an L foot sits on top of some rivets, is the aluminum foot and the butyl enough to prop it up/insulate around the rivet? just wanna make sure they'll sit well on top of those bumpy rivets

Hope you don't mind my asking what brand sealant do you use after all the metal changes and rivets?

Chuck do you have a link to the guy making curved L brackets. I was thinking of welding the L brackets to prevent all the holes, etc

Where's the links to products?

Again, I could have used this video months back. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I used unistrut mounted with 3/8” bolts into rivenuts on my roof. I laid the rails on top of hockey pucks that were set into a bed of dicor tape, with sikaflex (evil cousin of 5200) around edge & dollop on top. We just went through the eye of hurricane Ian in the bus. The 155 mph sustained winds & gusts of the first eye wall didn’t do any damage, we had our bow just off the wind. But the second eye wall hit us broadside with 170 mph gusts before I could get her fired up and moved. The first whomp had me running to the drivers seat and starting the bus, the second whomp took 2 of my solar panels and tossed them 100 ft away, the third whomp took the last 4 panels and all my mounting rails & hardware and laid them on top of first 2. All within what seemed like seconds but was actually a couple of minutes. The bad news ….. I have to replace the panels & hardware. The good news …… I have a wind rating for my mounting system and it’s higher than any speed I’ll ever drive 🤣🤣 I am going to beef up the racks with larger bolts and rivenuts. Unfortunately my bus is already built out inside so I can’t go back and through bolt, but the rivenuts into the roof channel are a strong mount and will be fine, especially with being beefed up a bit, and no more hurricanes. 🤣😁👍🏻

Hi Chuck :) Do you have any thoughts/experience with the flexible solar panels that are attached directly to the roof with adhesive? I'd like my solar to be as incognito as possible 😎

Is chrome yellow a Huxley reference? Or is that the color of paint buses use?

Love me some butyl squeeze

Three questions! 1) Why antiseize if the solar mounting interior nuts will be inaccessible? Wouldn't SS cold weld be a good thing? 2) Any tips on how you might modify your technique with an intact already-converted nice ceiling? e.g. PlusNuts? 3) Have you done a video on the plumbing system yet or is that coming up? Thanks for this video and any answers you can help with.

“Spooging out”.? This must be a technical term? 😅😊😂

ACK! I stand by my assertion that men NEVER put enough (or big enough) windows in the design. Show me a skoolie, and I'll tell you the sex of the designer! 🙄

Using epoxy to glue aluminium will eventually fail. Oxygen will get under the epoxy and the aluminium will oxidise creating aluminium oxide which will break the epoxy. If you want to glue aluminium with epoxy you need to chemical etch the surface and then anodise. This is how Lotus cars are made.

Trying to figure out why is this for idiots) is it because of the cost?)

why not use rivnuts in the hat channels instead of plain nuts?

I'm dizzy after watching this terrible camera work video, just saying, hard fro the viewer with lot of motion,