Back to the Skoolie Rebuild, I Tried Cutting a Door in the Side!

Okay, here's a recap. A few years ago, we bought an acre of land in a jungle eco-village in Costa Rica, planning to build a home here. After many adventures in our Skoolie, we drove it down to Costa Rica and parked it permanently on our land. Over the past three years, the jungle has almost destroyed the bus. However, in the next few months, I'm restoring it, renovating the interior into bedrooms, and eventually parking it inside our new house as it's being built. Last episode, we patched up the rust holes, sealed the floor, laid new battens and insulation, installed all the concrete boards, and started cutting into the floor to map out the new side door and stairwell. Welcome back to my channel. I have come back out to Costa Rica for a week, and my main mission this week, you might be able to see in the background, our house is in construction. It's very exciting. There's going to be a full tour of the build so far on the couple's channel, but my mission and this next video or two is going to be me moving the bus into position and primarily concentrating on the inside, building the side door that I started last trip, and maybe even renovating the inside a little bit, maybe putting a partition wall in, painting, putting the side panels on. We'll see where we get to. I got delivery of these two big steel sheets of metal. I'm hoping they're thick enough. I didn't know what thickness to do for the stairwell. I've gone with two mil thick steel, but I'm wondering whether I should have gone with three mil, but I've got some angle iron for the structure, and I think once I've welded it all together, maybe it'll feel a lot sturdier, but yeah, I'm going to do some calculations now. I've got a pad of paper. I'm going to do some diagrams, draw it out, and then draw it out onto the steel, and maybe even today, I'll get around to angle grinding, cutting out those shapes and starting to form the stairwell. Last time I was here, there was a gaping massive hole in the ground where they were building the drainage for the septic tank, but that is all installed now, but yeah, let's check on the bus. Smells a little bit musky in here. There's a little bit of a sign of water leakage from this roof. I'm going to put a tarp over that for when I leave after this week, but yeah, here we are. We've got the stairwell entrance where we're going to be entering. Let's have a little look. There we go, and that is where we left it last time. I'm more confident about building the stairs than I am the door, and the door is going to require me cutting this whole section of the bus out, maybe up to here, and then constructing a frame and a door, or buying a door that fits or something, but we'll figure that out, but for now, yeah, I'm going to measure this, figure out the stairs. Probably have to cut back this little mudguard tire lining thing, but yeah, let's measure up. It is rainy season here in Costa Rica. It's midday right now, and potentially in the next couple of hours, the heavens are going to open. Every day without fail, tropical rain kicks in, so I'm not sure how much work I'll get done once the rain starts, so my mornings will be my most productive times, I think. Then I also want to see if I get the metal in here, whether I draw and cut it in here rather than try and do it outside, but we'll see. These guys are helping me carry this metal down. Okay, I've been rummaging around in the container for a little while, and I've decided first up, I'm going to try the jigsaw and see how well that does. I just need to find some metal blades. I've got the angle grinder, which will cut through this like butter, but I'm worried about getting a nice straight line with that. I think if I can clamp on a guide, I can get a much better straight line with the jigsaw. Two sides of the stairs are cut now. I need to cut out the actual step, but these will be sides of the stairwell like this, so I'll be walking up here. I was a little bit concerned about getting the 2mm over the 3mm, but this is going to be fine. I think in a big sheet, it feels like it's super flexible, but once it's all welded together, it's going to be solid. Now I can use this just to quickly template up this one like this. I had to put some earplugs in because that is loud. It's really loud. These are scrap. Let's draw the next bit. Now what I'm not doing with these cuts, which might be silly of me, is I'm not allowing any off-cut for the thickness of the jigsaw blade. I think it's only like 1mm, maybe 2mm with the blades on the other end. I don't think it's going to matter once I start welding, honestly. So yeah, we might lose like 4mm by the other end. I don't know. No, I guess if I keep central, we'll just lose like a millimetre off each edge, maybe. I actually did something quite clever. Right, so I did this diagram, kind of scribbly pencil with all the measurements, showed ChatGBT, asked it to give me a good layout to maximise my room on this sheet, 8x4 sheet of metal. Check this out. It's drawn me a full-on diagram, a cut sheet diagram with all the measurements. Isn't that amazing? It's literally done all the measurements for me. So I'm going to do one this way now, 300x700. Two more cuts and we're done. This is quick work, man. I think we could have done this last trip with my dad's help. Now, potentially, other than the angle iron, that might be all the sheet metal I'm cutting upstairs. These aren't amazingly straight, but maybe I can clean them up a little bit. Pretty much, pretty much there. I might have to just get the grinder, just to take down some of the edges. They don't look quite as wobbly bubbly. Two 300x700s and two 60sx700s. I kind of want to tack weld them to roughly show what they're going to look like. That'll be fun. Trying to get this square is going to be tough. Luckily, it's not raining yet, but I am going to, in case it does start raining, which I'm expecting it to, I'm going to build the staircase in here ready to weld. I'm still trying to figure out, maybe I need to clean up the edges, but then I'm going to basically try and clamp it together here or something. Try and get it all straight. I'm going to go and get some lunch. I'm too hungry. Well, I am back on the bus. I had a late lunch, got some work done. It's just gone six. I've got a couple more hours, I reckon. I want to spot weld this, just to have it in place. Welding's not very loud, so I can do it late. I do want a light in here though, so I'm going to try and little spotlight and then, yeah, do some welding. I have my welding goggles. Very dusty. Oh my goodness. Very dusty. Before I put those on, I need to figure out the best way to do this. So much fun. Literally burning my socks. Probably need to put trousers on. Probably need to put full protective gear on, but I'll do that when I do the full welding tomorrow. These spot welds are sloppy, but I'm just doing it to get it in position. Step to step. Right, the plan is I've got some angle iron now, or I'll probably do it tomorrow now, but I'm going to weld that on the top here. I've got some smaller stuff as well, but that will basically rest either bolt or weld onto the framework of the bus, but this will sturdy. And then once I'm happy with it all, I'm going to weld the whole join. And then I don't know what we're going to do for the steps. Maybe we'll put some wood in there or something, but at least this will be sturdy. Wow. That is pretty, pretty cool. Yeah, baby. All right. I think that's it for tonight. I'm going to come back in the morning and crack on. What I really want to do is prepare all that down that end and slot it in just to see if it's the right size. 700, 700. It should be, yeah. These right angles are pretty good. I'm pretty impressed. That is the first time I've spot welded something like that out of metal. I think I could have gone three mil. I went with a two mil, but I think I could have gone three mil. Right, back in the bus. This is where we left off last night. Look at this. I tack welded this entire stairwell. It still feels a bit flimsy because I haven't welded all the joints or put the angle iron in yet, but it is, yeah, looking good. The mission this morning is I need to prepare this area. I'm going to cut this wheel arch. I'm going to cut this out. I'm going to cut this out and then it should slot in. I might do a bit of adjusting, but it should slot in. Where to start? Where to freaking start, man? This looks pretty wobbly. I think I'm going to start with the wheel arch. I think we need the big boy. I think we need the freaking big boy, because he is overheating quick, isn't he? I think we might have to do some strengthening. This is very rusted, but I need the edge of the stairwell to be welded or bolted to that. I'm thinking I might need to strengthen this somehow. Maybe cut away some of this rust and put in something there, like an angle iron or bracket. Let's tackle this next. This shouldn't be hard. Pretty good. Okay, this is a quick sponsorship break. Please hang around. Today, I wanted to put together a simple guide for the whole DJI Power lineup, because they now have the 500, the original 1000, the 1000 V2 and the Power 2000, most of which I've used in real situations. So this should help you figure out which ones make sense for your adventures or home setup. This video is sponsored by DJI and it lines up with their Black Friday deals. So if you're ever going to pick one of these up, this is probably the week to do it. Before we get into each model, there are a few things they all share. They all use LFP batteries, which retain considerable capacity, even after 4000 cycles. They all stay incredibly quiet, even whilst fast charging. And they all support multiple charging methods, including wall power, solar and car input. So the real difference is the size, the output and how you'd actually use them. Okay, let's start with the DJI Power 500. I haven't got one here. I haven't used it personally, but it is the smallest and lightest in the lineup. It weighs just over seven kilos, which is crazy for something that gives you 512 watt hours and 1000 watt output. This is the one to grab if you want something portable for phones, cameras, drones and charging laptops. If you take a lot of short camping trips or just want a compact emergency power option, this is a great fit. Next up is the 1000 V1, which has honestly been amazing for us. We used it at two multi-day festivals last summer and it powered our whole caravan, fridge, laptops, cameras, vacuum cleaner and even our induction stove. And one of my favourite moments was being able to cook with it outside in the sunshine instead of being cooped up inside the caravan. The 1000 handled all of that easily with a 2200 watt continuous output and a 4400 watt peak. And the dual 140 watt USB-C ports are incredibly useful when you need to top up laptops quickly. Now the Power 1000 V2, this one sits in a really nice middle ground. It has the same capacity of the V1, but with a bigger 2600 watt output and faster charging, able to be fully charged in 56 minutes, zero to 80% in 37 minutes. For camping, van life and road trips, this is probably the sweet spot. It is more powerful than the V1, but still compact enough to move around easily. It also has built-in Bluetooth connectivity for the app, unlike the V1 where you need an additional dongle, which loses you a port. And then we get onto the big one, the DJI Power 2000. This is the system that powered my whole electric moped trip across Europe. DJI provided the Power 2000 with the Expansion Battery 2000, which gave me four kilowatt hours of usable energy. And that completely changed what I could attempt on that trip. It can output 3000 watts continuously, which means I could charge the filming gear at the same time. And solar charging has been one of the most exciting parts. We brought 1800 watts of solar panels, and on the sunnier days, we actually hit over 1300 watts solar input. On the cloudy days, we were still pulling in 500 watts, which surprised me. All of the range of power stations can charge from solar and charge really fast from the wall too. Another feature, and probably my favourite, and I was constantly using it, was the DJI Home app. It makes a huge difference for planning. I could see solar input, how much battery is left, how long the system would last at the current load. That information is so helpful to access, especially when you can't be right next to the unit, like if you're in bed camping or if it's in the back of the vehicle. I also want to give a special mention to how tough the Power 2000 is. I'm sure you remember on day one of my trip in the summer, the moped trailer flipped quite a few times and the Power 2000 survived completely fine. This gave me a lot of confidence in how robust these are built. So finally, all of these power stations support expansion batteries other than the Power 500. The Power 1000 V1 and V2 up to five expansion batteries, and the Power 2000 up to 10, and that would give you over 22 kilowatt hours of power. So here's the final breakdown. The Power 500 is the most portable option. It is lightweight, easy to carry, and ideal for smaller setups like phones, cameras, drones, perfect for day trips and weekend adventures. The Power 1000 V1 is a solid all-rounder. It has enough capacity to handle everyday appliances and electronics, making it a great choice for camping, road trips, or basic home emergency use. The Power 1000 V2 takes the same size category and has more power and faster charging and built-in app connectivity. The Power 2000 is the high power option with a large capacity, fast charging, and the ability to connect 10 expansion batteries. It is designed for off-grid living, long trips, electric tools, or a robust home backup. So there we go. Huge thanks to DJI for supporting my adventures and helping me keep everything running. Links are in the description if you want to check out the Black Friday deals or see the full specs for each model. All right, let's get back to the video. It's cooking hot. Right, I've made a plan. This is the door here. I am having problems with this structural whatever this is here. I don't even know if it's structural. I think we could put some extra support under the stairs or something, one of the stairs. So I'm going to cut it here and then I'm going to cut along this line and then down here and lift this whole thing off. Now, I don't want to open up the whole side because I'm not sure. I mean, hopefully we can get around to putting the door in, but I'd rather build the door ready so I'm not leaving a gaping hole in the side of the bus because although we are going to move it into position, it will still be open to the elements and then I'll have to cover it up with a tarp and stuff. You know, maybe that'll end up happening, but for the moment, I just need to get this section off. So worst case scenario, I feel like I can fill that hole. I've used an entire fresh blade. I think I'm going to have to do a little supply run to get some more cutting discs. Right, we only have one fresh disc left, so I'm not sure how this is going to go, but I am going to drill out these holes, pull this off so I've got a bit of a better access and view of what's happening under there. Is this too much effort? Is this too much effort? I'm going to pull that whole thing off anyway. Oh, hello. Interesting. That's very interesting. Right, we have a lot of movement here. I'm going to try and cut down here, I think. So much stuff just fell out the wheel arch. I think we have, we're getting there, baby. Oh, yes. Oh, that's a big step. Oh, yes. We've got some serious work to do here with this pillar. Not a ton to do this side. Honestly, maybe we can just slam that with a hammer. Oh, yes. That came straight off, bro. Okay. The question is, let's weaken that at least. This is so good. Oh, hell to the yeah, baby. I love it. This little ledge in here, as soon as I take that off, I think we can slip the stairs in and have a look at them. All right, this is our problem. This little lip here, potentially, this bit of this as well. I'm going to take that out and maybe a little lip here. I've now trimmed these edges and I'm going to now try and slot it in again, see if this works. Can I just say, I'm pretty impressed with my measuring. It is snug, perfect snug. I just need to take the end of this, ideally, but we are close. I'm going to try and prop it from underneath with the camera stand, see how we go. This is amazing. Can you see this? This is just phenomenal. Two people would be helpful here. Oh, yes. Spot on. Check this out. This is amazing. Oh, satisfaction. I love it. I freaking love it. I can measure the full door height now. I need to start looking into seeing if I can get a prefab door. I'm heading over to clean the bus and get it ready for moving, hopefully in a few hours, maybe this afternoon. Let me go up and double check that we're all ready and then we have a green light to go. Maybe get a bit closer. It's getting there. I need to clear this, so I'll come forward a little bit. Pretty amazing, man. This is wild. This is actually wild. I think this was trip number three to the hardware store. I've decided to go with a wooden frame. That means we can inset the, I don't know what the correct terminology is, but inset the hinges because otherwise it's going to add so much thickness to the gap along the inside of the door. We're insetting the hinges into the door, into the frame. This should be big enough to give us a nice straight vertical. I'm going to screw that into the metal framework of the bus. This is going to be a nice tight fit with the door. Let's see how we get on. I've also bought a door handle, which I'm going to show you when we get back. I just went down to the shops and I bought a door. It might not be the door we end up using, but it was $40. If it does work, it just could save me a lot of time, so I don't have to construct a custom door. That could be spot on. Now I definitely have to trim a bit off it. I think what I'm going to do is, they told me this afternoon I could cut this off because the concrete has set from this morning enough for me to take this support out. Then what I want to do is remove this window. I think I might just bite the bullet and just go for it. Cut this hole out. I've still got three, basically three and a half days of work, and I can't see why I can't get this door in in three and a half days. I think I can do it quick. I'm going to whiz this off. I can always just dangle a tarp over it if it starts raining, but let's go for it. This looks like it's just got four screws and it'll pop out, so that's what I'm going to do. Before I switch drill bits, I'm going to try by hand. Not biting. I don't want to have to drill this one out. That'll be well in the way. Let's work some magic. Freaking got it, didn't I? Hell yeah, baby. Freaking got it. Wow. There we go. Let's just pull it out. Yes. Wow. No way. That is awesome. That is exactly 65. I don't really want to cut that because that would be a perfect fit. You may have known that, I don't know how many years ago now, but we got the bus broken into, loads of stuff stolen. I'm thinking I could just switch these windows out and I won't have to put glass in this one. It's a different type of window, but let's just see if it's as quick and easy as switching it. Imagine if it just switches over, that'd be sick. Oh yeah, baby. Oh, this might be like when this gets opened. I see the screw now. When this gets opened, I think the alarm goes off. Oh, there we go. There's the culprit. No frames at all. My question is, do I need to take these off or not? I need to take this out of this. Very close to be free, I think. Let's get rid of this dirty thing. I think I can unscrew this if it'll let me. That'd be amazing. I was a little worried I wouldn't have access under the staircase because of the bus being parked here, but it's actually not too bad. I think I'm going to chop this off as well now, just so I've got better access. I just had a genius idea. I am going to use my leaf blower to get rid of this water. Check this out. I thought this panel might be just riveted on or something, but it looks like it goes all the way to there. I think it's just easier to cut through the whole panel from this side, I think. Do you think that? Definitely needs a little patch-up work there. It's just a nice clean cut on that. Oh, I think we're there. I just need to check while it's not coming out. Oh, yeah, baby. We have a door. Just taking this last little bit off. That's exactly the door width I was saying down here. It is just starting to rain, so I'm just going to see if the door fits just before I put the door inside. Oh my goodness, look at that. Are you looking, Neo? This is going to be the door to Mama and Dada's bedroom. Isn't that cool? I'm showing Raya and Neo the door in position. I'm well proud of myself. Look how perfect fit that is. Isn't that unreal? I think that might be it for today. I'm going to put this top here just to protect. Right, now this is all in position. It's level, it's the right height, it's sturdy.