Over that, I drape a curtain, to block what the sun reflectors don't, held in place by Sun Visor and storage door. Kind of a pain but I don't need people peeking in as they drive by checking out what boxers I wore that day.
But I still have a serious windshield condensation issue. I can not drive safely when the bus is all warmed up and it is still very cold outside. The windshield starts weeping water on the inside like a glass of ice water on a hot summer day. Even when I squeege it dry, foggy condensation comes back and blurs the view.
I have tried windex, rain-x and other products to no avail. Because I removed the hose leading from the radiator to the front of the bus that provided heat and therefore defrosting capabilities, I am stuck finding a work around fix. I purchased a cheapo defroster type device that plugs into the cigarette lighter but either it is too poorly made or my windows are too big but it doesn't help at all. I am sure I will come up with an easier solution than firing up the generator and running the hairdryer for 10 minutes over the windshield. That just seems too time consuming, plus what happens when I am on the road for a half hour and the windows fog up again??On the bright side: I keep it so warm that I only wear shorts, wool socks and a Tshirt on the bus, even when it is below freezing outside. I have been letting the heater run all night and waking up not afraid of crawling out from under the covers. I don't want to spoil myself (and I want to save fuel) so I will return to turning it off before I go to sleep. I have to rough it a little bit. Side note: my insulation job is so good that the ice in my cooler is melting at the normal speed of 3-4 days instead of the 5-7 I was getting when the bus was perpetually cold.
My cellophane covered side windows have a small leak. Although it doesn't dramatically affect insulation it does allow moisture between cellophane and window and that causes condensation. I don't really use side windows to see when driving so they don't pose the safety issue as condensation on the windshield does. Put the perfectionist in me doesn't like it. It seems that the metal, that the double sided tape is stuck to and which hold cellophane around window, gets its fair share of condensation. Which in turn compromises the adhesive properties of the tape and because the cellophane in so taunt it pulls the weakened tape off the metal in certain places. My fix for this particular problem is such a cliche and equally as tacky that I dare not mention it. There is humor to be mined here. I went to duct tape. Not visually appealing but effective. When I have more time I will remove the existing cellophane dry the windows off thoroughly reapply new cellophane and re-inforce it with white duct tape, which will look better. But for now I do what I must.
In this picture I am shrinking the cellophane on the upper glass of the front door. Notice my cellophane fix on side windows next to me.
Over the holidays I also took the time to actually start decorating. All that means really is that I neatened up my window treatments. Instead of one long mono-curtain, I divided them and made two curtains that meet in the middle. I also upgraded the curtain rods from speaker wire to thin braided rope. Speaker wire had a tendency to droop in the middle after a little usage. I think that was due to the rubber insulation covering it being stretchy. The braided rope, more of a glorified braided string, is a little thinner than a shoe lace but stronger and is coarse enough to keep the curtains from sliding at unwanted times...like when I am braking. I used a black one from an old dog leash for the front windshield curtains and a thinner brown one for side window curtains.
It isn't perfect, the curtains need hemming where I cut them so right now stray, frayed thread sticks out every few inches. But I plan on buying all new color coordinating curtains one day soon so hemming takes the back burner for now. It is amazing the difference it makes. It's like I went from Billy Jo's hunting shack to a freshman college student's dorm room. Plus it is easier to just slide the front windshield curtains closed than to hang them over the visor and storage door. When I am ready to drive I just pull them open and tie them back on each side of the front windshield.
This is what they look like when it is time to ride. Notice that I have to hit the side window cellophane again with the hair dryer because of the tape loosening. But the overall look is much nicer for the bus interior. 
Close up of Windshield curtain pulled back.
I also installed another door to my upper shelves. Man, that is a drag. I found enough good parts to just do the one door. New problems cropping up are the doors I had cut and painted months ago are warping, so they don't fit flush with the cabinet facing. And I have misplaced the remaining hinges. They are in a tote somewhere under the bus. Or maybe in a tote in Spartanburg. Lesson learned: Procrastination especially for menial projects with many small parts does not pay.
I have to get a larger Kerosene container, the one gallon gas can I use is a joke. I need to get a proper blue 5 gallon kerosene container. I have to hit the gas station every other day just to get a gallon of kerosene. That is alot of hassle to navigate a bus in a potentially congested gas station for $3.50 of fuel. Luckily I am currently parked about a half a mile from the gas station that sells kerosene (not all do, one has to make notes of the ones that do) so I walked to it instead of cranking up the bus, letting it warm up, air brakes pressurized and burning a gallon of diesel to get a gallon of kerosene. I am a regular at this gas station and the young cashier said she would love to see inside the bus one day but was afraid to ask because she didn't want to seem creepy. Too funny. I told her next time I would drive the bus over and let her take a gander.
Just last week a woman about 4 years older than me stopped me at the pump and told me she had seen my bus at Wal-Mart and had taken a picture of it with her cell phone to send to her father. She told me that when she was younger that her dad had fixed up an old school bus into an RV and they had taken many trips in it. It was obvious from her tone that these were very fond memories and that she looked forward to some day living a nomadic type lifestyle. She was one of the few people I have met that actually get it, what I am doing and why I am doing it. She got it because she was exposed to it, along with 6 siblings, at an early age. Most people have never experienced the freedom of extended RV travel, much less home made RV travel. She told me it took him 4 years to fix that bus up and he had a large garage to work on it in all types of weather. I think I nearly drooled on her hiking shoes when she told me that last part. She told me how he had carpeted the ceiling for insulation. She remembered stories of a going to a campground that was already full and her dad asking the check in people if he could just drive through. He would then stop at the bath house, tell all the kids they had 5 minutes (the time it would take for him to circle the campground) to take a shower and being waiting for him (he was an ex-marine). This is an eternal, fond memory for her. An adventure that was to be had. Improvising when you had to. We talked for 30 minutes on my bus in the gas station.
I cooked sausage on the bus yesterday. I will not be doing that again soon. I now remember how sausage could smell up a normal size home. At least my bus will smell like smoked pork instead of kerosene for a few days. And since the heater works properly now, even the kerosene smell is remote.
My clutch leak seems to have gotten worse, this could be a problem. I have to fill it every day now. I wonder if the cold weather has shrunk some hoses or fittings. I hope it is something me and a wrench can fix. I will do a thorough check when the ground is good and dry. Although I really need a second person to pump the clutch while I am under there.
My generator has been working like a champ. It seems to run forever now that I don't use the air conditioning. I use it to charge my house batteries, power my oven to feed my sweet tooth with brownies and cookies, run my microwave to have popcorn during a movie, and to power my hair dryer to help insulate windows. I love my generator.
I need to take some gallon/time measurements but I would guess about and hour and a half per gallon with moderate loads. The house batteries can easily run my computer and an eco-friendly light bulb for close to 20 hours straight. The solar panels are virtually non-existent in these uber short days of winter. I don't even have them hooked to the battery right now.
Pics of Battery Charger- This thing rocks!
Here it is at night working-It shows how much amperage it is pumping into my batteries at any given time.
Two benefits of having a generator
Night view of bus-Looking from bed
Night view- Looking from front of bus towards rear. Notice computer on the bed. Time to watch a movie...
Speaking of which, I saw a great movie last night. It is called 'The Blind Side'. I had gotten a DVD copy from a friend (this movie is still at the theaters), and I didn't know anything about it. I received it knowing nothing about it except the title, no case, no mood setting jacket cover. So my expectations weren't artificially raised. I don't ruin it for anyone else I will only mention two things, the opening sequence is a female 'voice over' while showing the infamous gruesome football play that shattered Joe Theisman's leg and ended his career. I note this only because it was a brilliant way to start this movie. The other thing is make sure you check out the pictures during the credits. It's a true story.
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