avoid ply its expensive. 4mm mdf . free surplus walpaper
The ply was free, so far I havent bought much at all. The kitchen was sourced from the tip shop, the bench tops was bunnings, all the studs for the walls are from a old verandah that was removed because some rich person wanted something better. We are trying to source some solar panels, all the tiles for the floors have come from homes that were getting new floors and had left overs they were throwing out, I believe in securing stuff from landfill and using it instead.
Paul, too late to follow this advice, wish I thought of it earlier, great idea. We custom made the bed with 3 big storage boxes, we will place a board on top of the boxes with a hinge and a pully system to lift the board to store stuff under the bed. The bed head itself has a lift up shelving system where when in place it looks like a normal bed head, but it has a spring shelving system that pops up with more storage space for his and her personal stuff. I hope to post photos of that tommorow, the bed head should be finished but not the bed itself, I have the next 3 days of for the build.
We are custom building everything, box lounges that have storage underneath, cupboards with tilted shelves, but we will use baskets instead traditional shelves. In this bus it almost looks like we will have more storage than the 4 bed home im renting.
As for diesel fins, she is a small tank ( i have not found out the range but will post when I do), but we have decided that we are going to take our time travelling, we wont have much money, so little trips at a time, stop, enjoy life, surf, walk, sleep in, see whats around, let the kids experience life a bit where ever we stop, save some money, fill up the tank and move on.
Hopefully more pics tommorow or tuesday night.
Both my wife and I saw online that you can purchase land for $1 at richmond queensland. Yes its in the middle of no where, closer to mount iza than the beach, but… it would make a great base for travel. Work for a couple of months, shape some boards, then pack up and drive the bus somewhere during summer to avoid the heat of inland queensland and surf my brians out, I reckon I could do that for year after year and not get tired of it, just a thought.
Might want to think about a portable shaping room and glass shop. Would be cool to pul up to a beach set a couple of boards out front and a price list.
more photos. Ive got a mate helping me with the build, these photos show the bed frame for our bed and the storage underneath, plus the double bunks have a L plate on the roof, pop riveted in and screwed, load bearing posts which have been double bolted into the bunks with support and also bolted onto the floor. Today, or should I say tonight really we will have the rest of the frames will be up for the wardropes and toilet. Its getting there and should be finished in two weeks hopefully.
Way cool. One of the most excitingly irrelevant threads on a surfboard forum and great life sharing adventure. Mahalos.
Fantastic and inspirational digger! I’ve wanted to do this for a long time too. Not sure if you’re aware but do a bit of research on bio diesel, I met a bloke a few years ago who was travelling around Australia sort of making his own diesel. He would call into places like fish and chip shops and donut places etc and get their used cooking oil ( FOR FREE) and use it more or less as diesel (after filtering all the bits out!), you have to do engine modifications for that, but you can also make bio deisel and run it without engine modifications. This might be a good place to start http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html , you will need to do a lot of reading and a bit of practice before you get it working, but I imagine a combined diesel manufacturing plant and shaping bay could come in handy at times.
Haha donut bio fuel!. " Yeah mate, fill her up, make sure you put Krispy Kremium in, the old beast goes better on that stuff! ".
Getting there digger!
havent had time Mr finch to do the research on bio diesel, but yourve certainly got my interest there for sure.
Some more photos below, shows the support beams in for the cupboards and toilet areas plus how we bolted them to the roof and floor. Got some lining for the walls and they are going into place saturday arvo, hopefully sunday will start making the lounges and bolting in the kitchen and travelling seats. I found some bus coach seats with ready approved seatbelts so that I will be able to travel through any state in australia without getting hasseled by the police.
I hope to post more pics by next tuesday, thats of course if we get enough stuff done. Im slowly running out of time so feeling a bit of pressure but enjoying myself heaps. We are going to paint some windows too to keep some heat out, but at this stage this is just a thought
When you see how the support beams attached, so bloody solid, you can swing on em and the bus rocks side to side and wood just dont move.
oh, and yes I aint no carpenter, im hopeless with my hands when building anything like this. In the photo it doesnt show it screwed in but yes we did screw the Lplates into the wood as well. Im just doing fundamental basics, having a blast, make it sturdy, and that will do. It wont be the mona lisa but it will be liveable.
Looks great to me. As long as it’s functional I reckon, after that the rest is details.
Hopefully your first stop off sees you parked next to an old hippy bloke wise in the ways of the bio-diesel who shares the secrets and you don’t need to research it at all.
I seem to remember a few years back reading Sydney buses were trialing it and using oil from some donut chain and the exhaust fumes had a whiff of donut about them.
Around the corner from where I work in Marrickville we even have a bio-diesel servo now.
Duct tape or colored tape over those plates will save you and your family a few slices if you don’t plan on covering them with a finish material.
good idea mate, duck tape fixes all sorts of things :)
I have managed to fill the walls in, attach the benchtop to the kitchen and cut hole for hose, will have a pipe running out bottom of bus for sink hole with a hose running to the back of the bus. We had enough varnish to do both the kitchen top and the wall for the kids bunks, to give them some sort of detachment from the living room.
Hope you enjoy the photos, bus is going over the pits for rego this friday, fingers crossed guys.
ive laid down some vinyl tiles on the floor and a few off cut carpet tiles in the cupboards, vinyl will make bloody easy cleasing plus a hell of a lot cleaner than the original flooring, my missus likes it and thats all that matters.
All to go is making the table for the eating area, place a lounge in, add the shelves into the cupboards, chemical toilet is ordered and is coming tommorow I hope, power still not sorted, but will cross that bridge later, so close now I can taste it. Im finishing work tommorow and on permant holidays now.
After climbing all over the roof of the bus, putting silicon all over the bus hatches trying to seal them, the test came with the rain last night and today. The result, outstanding success, the bus is now waterproof apart from the doors where the rubber has perished, but one day we will replace the rubbers on the doors.
The bus passed roadworthy which was great news, but what wasnt good news is that after paying 200 bucks to get the bus modified and certified to be a 4 seater bus, the registery told us there is no such thing and it is now classed as a truck, that is something the guy who did the plate didnt bother mentioning, he just collected his 200 bucks and gave us a plate, 5 minutes work, thanks for the money. The motor registery now want us to register the bus as a truck thereby jacking up the price to 2200 bucks for 12 mths rego. No way am I paying that, any 3rd grader child will tell you its a bus, good money raiser that.
We are moving to Yandina caravan park next week and looking at converting it into a motorhome, that drops the price down to 800 bucks, but we need 5 seatbelts and permant cooking facilities, so we will relax in yandina and do it bit by bit, probably set us back by a month or so, who cares, we will hit the road soon.
thxs too all those who have supported them with advice and love-
for a natural footer…his a suprisingly ok kinda guy ! lol
Looking good digger!.