In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:
I did. They were left over from when I put the LEDs on the Samurai and SanFord just happened to have a couple of convenient holes already in the bumper. They aren't wired in or even tightened down, but I think they will be staying. Form and function, not that SanFord needs any more light on the front.
Is it too late to change your mind on paint?
Bonus if you start towing a Mini with it...
The blasting is DONE!!!
Hallelujah!!
This has been an enormous project.
Over the next week I will get the finish coats done.
What's your plan for the door?
In reply to Esoteric Nixon:
The door is probably next on the list. My plan is to build something similar to what is in there now. It's not going to get a modern door. It will probably be cedar or teak on the exterior and interior with a marine plywood core.
I don't particularly like all the angles of the existing door because they don't fit in with the curves all over the rest of the bus. I'd like to do something like this.
Or maybe this.
That would take some rather extensive rebuilding of the opening, but it still may happen.
Whatever happens, it isn't going to look like a RV door.
I hope.
In reply to Toyman01:
What, no custom-built automatic sliding door? 
In reply to Toyman01:
So I was watching a movie the other day and there was a period correct bus and it also had the right side mirror behind the door. Found that quite interesting.
Two things.
First thing - does this creature only have one external wiper that sweeps about 90 degrees?
Second, I discovered that this lives in our town. I've spotted it twice now parked outside what can only be described as a hippie shop. I had to share.
Sorry Pete, no sliding doors on this one. 
SyntheticBlinkerFluid, the original side mirror was in place when I bought it, but it was pretty much worthless. It wouldn't stay adjusted and was too small to start with. The one I mounted was better, but not by much. I'm thinking about mounting a big truck mirror on the door or in front of the windshield. I'm still thinking on that.
Keith, that bus is awesome. I'm betting I'll attract some "interesting" people at campgrounds driving mine. It should be great fun.
I'm also thinking seriously about installing something like this.
A mirror that mounts like this so you can see it through the windshield is the way to go. then it doesn't really matter what your door window looks like.
Im still wanting to do a camrea like that on my RV. Looks for wireless ones, they get good reviews these days and only need power that way, no wires to run all over.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
One like that popped up in someones front yard not too far away from me, except someone converted it to 4x4 and it has a huge rusty winch on the front... Im a little in love with it, in a rusty scary split rim short bus kind of way.
Are those cameras set up to be viewed while driving? Ours just record to be viewed post incident.
In reply to Wall-e:
They would work like rear and side view mirrors, to be used while driving.
That sounds like it would be distracting to use.
Wall-e wrote: That sounds like it would be distracting to use.
It might be if there's some serious action going on around/behind you.
I wouldn't think it would be any more distracting than a mirror. When you want to change lanes, you glance at the screen rather than a mirror, to make sure it's clear.
We've used a rear camera in place of a mirror on our Catfish. Most of the time, it's not terribly useful. I'd call it better at checking blind spots than telling you much more. Mirror technology is more effective.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
Is is a screen problem, like too small? Or is it a perception problem, like being able to relate the camera shot to reality.
I had wondered about that. I tend to lean forward and side to side to get a larger view of what's in the mirror. Obviously you couldn't do that with a camera system.
Blind spot view is my main problem. The entire passenger side is one huge blind spot at the moment.
It's mostly a contrast and screen size problem. Basically, they're cheap little cameras that are trying to deal with widely varying lighting conditions, so half the screen is either blown out or dark. The one we use is also intended mostly for backing up, so it's very wide angle. This means anything that's more than 20' behind you is tiny. It's actually most useful at night, because then you can see that there are headlights behind you.
Mirrors use your eyeballs for exposure (and they're very good at it), and a flat mirror has images the same size as if you looked over your shoulder.
I can see how it might work for a blind spot mirror if the camera isn't TOO wide angle, but in that example setup you're looking at a 9" screen split into four. That means that each image is approximately the size of the screen on an old iPhone 4.
I know on my truck the rear camera looks fantastic when pulling forward (but then it shuts off after x seconds). The older models had a way to "hack" it to keep the reverse signal and therefore the camera on longer. I mean what better way to check cargo while towing on a long trip when you have a campertop between you and the trailer.
I think getting a quality camera may be the difference here. the camera that bolts to your license plate and is 20 dollars is not going to be the same quality as an OEM one. (though they may cost the same... )
How effective is that OE camera at distances greater than 20'?
Keith, It's pointed at the damn ground so I would not know.
My FIL has a 2015 f150 and the camera in that is substantially better for quality and range of view (and it's pointed way more up than my 2014 f150). when towing a 29' regal you can see the rear tires clearly (mytouch 8" screen). Still a bit too much fisheye though. (I think they should have a camera in each corner of the bed so you do not need as much fisheye to the camera and see almost "around" the trailer tire.)
Our bus has a backup camera. It is 10 feet off the ground and has a very wide angle lens so you can see immediately behind and also quite a ways back. It is always on when I am driving. Very usefull.
My fire truck at work has a center camera and a right side camera. They're indispensable for the hectic urban environment I have to operate it in. The right side camera is particularly nice. There's no doubt between the mirror and the side camera what's going on in your blind spot.
You'll need to log in to post.
