#26 WHAT IS "low floor" WRONG... - MAY 20, 2024

WHAZAMMO AND THE GILLIG #26  (Click the "MORE POSTS" link at the bottom to find Post #1)

If you are hooked on the appearance of, the low-slung handling agility, and the all-glass viewing  of a low-floor bus, you had better forget an 18-foot roll-up side awning, having a spare tire aboard, or the fold-up side-mounted BBQ, or having propane/charcoal storage, or a big-monster cooler, that fold-up picnic table, or that multi-drawer tool box, chemical/paint storage of any type, and a "LOT" more forgets as well!! with a low-floor you have none of that, "no" storage room space for a pocket comb,  harmonica, or wearing underwear !

If there is a drawback to a low-floor it is STORAGE ... item one ! even a dog-nosed 35 foot Skoolie has more, there simply is "no", nada, zero, outside storage that can be thought up... I have a space found above the fuel tank for rigid length of sewer pipe, and an engine compartment 24 x36 x20 area to mount a "hookup" box for wire, plugs, water hose, etc.  ("if" I move the oil filter !),  you are right on the road with your floor pan... wire routing is nuts, and, you had better be a plumbing genius, own a flashlight, and stay sober.

The second drawback is the actual final floor space, although the GILLIG is 8 foot 6 inches wide... do not be over-impressed, the actual floor width is 7 foot 2 inches due to the floor gusset-frame design  (see picture) the sidewalls are 8 foot 2 inches apart, but not the floor (deck).   You could raise the floor 12 "to gain the plumbing/wiring area, and more insulation, but, there are problems in so doing... 

The 5" per side floor eating gusset that you either "notch" for, or live with as offset.

The third drawback... the huge front-wheel-well enclosures !  on a Skoolie these are out in front, on a road coach these are in the bays below, on a GILLIG with 44" diameter front tires they are in your face.  you can surf the web forever and no one will ever show you these behemoths, left and right side, 36 inches high fiberglass they stand 28 inches out from each sidewall, and are almost 6-foot fore-to-aft... this makes the walkway between them around 3 1/2 foot wide.

                                                                     wheel well pictures coming

All three negatives are the result of "Low Floor" design, you must simply rethink... your wire and plumbing runs, and go to towing a trailer, or do roof storage... we are towing our tool-box truck. 

You trade or exchange these three negative things for almost doubling your MPG, and owning a great -QUALITY built chassis, but, it ends you up very similar to a dog-nosed Skoolie build... (space-wise), NOT as a coach, or especially a high floor under storage coach.  Low floors are an all-new dimension to what's out there, and possibly what-is-coming as the build candidates of the future.  

In mid-2024, the manufacturers of low-floor busses in North America are Gillig, Neoplan, New Flyer, North American Bus, Hometown Manufacturing Bus, Nova Bus, and Orion Bus (all of these are now non-diesel), back before 2020... only New Flyer and Gillig were players, the trend has been set in stone by the Federal Transit Authority, and the Department of Transportation (to mention just a "few" of those 10 or so NGO's involved... see Post #24).

So, continue along here as we enter our fourth month of Whazammo & the GILLIG, and low floor (low buck) building, as soon as this next flop of vinyl happens we can "unpack" the berthing and do a tour by photo of where we are at, (using the interior of the GILLIG for storage, workspace, and installation both, is fun), well, that's a lie. 

A caution I have to share is... this is one peculiar construction project, be prepared to change plans, methods and directions frequently, the low floor framing and design nuances bring lots of problems, changes to your well thought out intentions, and a very big challenge to your layout accuracy (no slop allowed, you must be very precise in all layout work "before" cutting, drilling, screwing, or sawing)... very tight access places, hidden SS frames, and not as you thought stuff galore !

I have revised my revised revisions over and over before figuring out what will work... it is very time-consuming, and easy to mess up by hurrying. no underfloor is an all new problem... like a boat... you must do everything inside the hull (inside the coach), wire/plumbing runs must almost all be exposed internally, and not go under floor.  After many mistakes and redo's, you finally are into a boat building mentality and some sanity, but your RV experience definitely has to be rethought.

The changes to routine actually make for some great innovations: On the outside, we have always put our water hose inside flexible rubber insulation tubes , then, inside a 3" firehose to prevent freezing (the harbors water will freeze before our 50 foot exposed hose).  Unlike RVs which have a lot of exposed waterlines underneath, and inside thin walls, with many horror tales of frozen/broken/hidden water lines... boats, and now the GILLIG), both have fully interior (heated area) water systems.  While you are shopping/sleeping pipe bursts and flooding (sinking) are eliminated with a red ball inlet solenoid valve on a lighted switch at the ingress/egress hatch/door, when you set your alarms.

The ridiculous overly simple drain system is another boat-stolen idea, fully accsssible-repairable-add-onable, without holding tanks... any black water problems will be "outside" of the coach.

Not using nails, or staples, leaves you to only be cautious about screws... building your electrical system yourself is a real plus ! no wire clamps, wire staples,  I use only loose tie-wrapped wires, in conduits (if appropriate), and in "bundles" or troughs... loose ! 

Tracing, adding, and pulling wires between connection points begins at that 50 amp dock/RV/or generator 6AWG twist-lock park plug-in to your system, and at the battery terminals (if you are DC intensive), those pretty geometric, secured, control and distribution panel wirings, are great to look at and work on at the accessible working ends... 

But, in between...where the nightmares of wiring lives" is in the hidden, convoluted, zig-zag routings in places you cannot see-touch-or even figure out... when building an RV on an assembly line, "bare-bones" with no wall paneling, fixtures, or cabinets, it is pneumatic staple gun city.   sure, nonpiercing wire plates are laid atop each possibly threatened wire, but, they still secure that wire permanently in place just like a staple. 

RV, boat, tiny house, van, bus, whatever... YOU are building this, think extra wires (for future use), upsizing a wire later, pulling in an entirely new wire, and leaving a few (color coded) "puller" ropes in the bundle for just such needs.

Ideally,a wire-run of some sort ends up being created, in a trough or a loose bundle, sometimes one down the mid point, or one on each side, in RV/boat/bus heaven the aerial view of the system is laid out in a huge "H" with the distribution/breakers/switches, all being located on the horizontal bar of the H, and the vertical sidebars representing the wire routings.  

Unfortunately, the RV/bus/boat/tiny house assembly lines do not use electricians to assemble their products, and the plans, schematics are created by desk sitters who have (maybe) changed a fuse or light bulb in their career, so, what finds itself out into the (your) real world on the street, is a plumbing, electrical fun-scape that even the manufacturers warranty people cannot justify, these  impossible to repair or retrofit, and possibly dangerous products create a warranty cost that must be built-in to the sales price... this "warranty burden" cost is a very large part of why "new" prices are where they are.