Registered and Ready

All our hard work paid off – the bus is registered and we are ready to roll. Although there are many small jobs to complete we passed the QLD inspection.

For anyone thinking of converting anything into a motor home but particularly a bus it really wasn’t that difficult. Our biggest problem was a seat conversion that required a modification plate ($300 to be inspected and passed).

Once you have a weight certificate ($25 at a public weigh bridge), mod plate, insurance, and motor home conversion checklist signed off (use a nice mechanic and don’t do it at main roads) you are set to go.

Make sure you look like a home and not a bus trying to get cheap yearly rego and you should do OK getting your wheels on the road.

Part of the checklist for conversion includes removable table, cooking facilities (even if your raw food vegan – so gas cert) and sink. There needs to be enough seats to match the amount of beds. Lucky we have a carpenter and plumber in the family.

The sink goes in with a convenient chopping board to hide any mess and fallout when we stop suddenly. If your going to lose your plates and dishes its always forwards towards the front of the vehicle.

A few extra projects for the day included a splash back for cooking (courtesy of my daughters childhood drawing), waxing of the benchtops (beeswax and linseed oil) and thinking of ideas for our recently sourced copper water container thanks to the Yandina markets.

Next on the list is solar and small  12 volt bar fridge and minimal lighting.

I even got my L’s yesterday…….

Love to all.

ONE FAMILY – ONE BUS – ONE WORLD – ONE LOVE

The fit out is complete. ‘Gentle Revolution’ is our now our home on wheels.

Still need to get the solar power sorted but we are so excited we are sleeping in it tonight before we can leave tomorrow.

From throw outs – to skip bins – to generous friends we have done it for less than £3,000 we are on the road. That includes the bus itself, rego, legal requirements and all our material for fit out.

ONE FAMILY – ONE BUS – ONE WORLD – ONE LOVE

Transforming a Bus – On almost NO Budget

So I  married a builder/artist/designer/creative kind of guy. He is great at making the most of what he has and even better at solving design problems with limited or no money.

Here are some images of the bus and how he’s coming along.

The salvaged pallets and broken throw out desk have become the kitchen.

 Tearing apart the old desk we saw it even had my husband’s name on it.

Space is always an issue when traveling in a camper vehicle and dealing with a family makes that a little more tricky. Here is a great idea for swinging a bed above the driver / family seats to save on room. It swings down for sleeping and locks up for traveling.

Make sure to use some sort of safety precaution if using this idea just in case the night-time load is a little too heavy and always remember to sit in the driver’s seat to maintain good vision when designing.

Here is what the bed looks like when down for sleeping and locked up for traveling.

Storage space and futon lounge conversion underway for stray guests.

So on a few hundred pounds and a week of time we are almost ready to spend our first few nights aboard the ‘gentle revolution’. There are many things we hope to add and loads of creature comforts we can wish for but for now – it’s all we need.