Buying A Bus To Convert To A Motorhome - From OZ

[SnowT]

Ok here goes..

In Australia due to our licensing law's, to drive anything bigger than a 7.5m long 4.5t vehicle, you need to have a higher grade of License. To drive something the size of the Class A you actually need to have a Heavy Truck License.

So to get around this the biggest Vehicle is a mini bus or a large van.

< 7.5m Long

< 4.5T

< 12 Seats

The Way I plan to get around this is to buy a Toyota Coaster LWB- they are a 22 seat Mini bus.. Remove all the seat's I don't need. I'm planing to leave 4 legal seat's [including the Driver's, All with seat belt's]

I have included a few copies/photo's of the general look of the Bus I plan to get.

The fitout is going to be fun.

In general:

- Sleeping for 2-3 people.

- Shower/toilet.

- Basic Cooking facilities.

- Storage for Gear.

- Battery/mains power system [ 12v or 24v Battery system..] Solar system.

- 12/24vdc//240vac Fridge.

The Plan's in general are in flux... This is the design stage..

Juergen

Psst I plan to hit other topics for information.. I know that it is an Australian build and something's are different, but generally the basis is the same.

[wolfe10]

I agree, a Coaster will make a great small Class A motorhome. Have ridden in them on several Caribbean islands. Reasonable size, reasonable fuel mileage, etc.

[dickandlois]

Sounds like an interesting project.

It will be interesting to know how much room you have below the floor for things like the black tank, gray tank, batteries and furnace.

Items like fresh water tank and a charger / inverter could be at the floor level.

Using wire ducts / trays to contain the wiring and one to run the water lines might work real well, but there are always some surprises hiding some where.

Rich.

[hermanmullins]

SnowT

Welcome to the Forum.

Keep us up with your modifications. The pictures look like a great project vehicle. For me, it looks so different to see the passenger entry on the left side, but I guess that has to be if you drive on the wrong side of the road(ha ha).

Good Luck,

Herman

[kaypsmith]

I love your idea, my coach was converted by me, so I have a love for conversions. I agree that you should keep us up to date on your progress. Mine is my third class A, so I tried to make sure that the things that I didn't like would not be present in this one. Rich's suggestion for wire traces and plumbing shields is very good. Traces can be hidden by valences, and plumbing shields work nicely next to the floor along walls.

Good luck, and happy motoring.

Kay

[SnowT]

have to do a quick pop in..

- A Furnace?? In most cases I personally don't need a heater.. unless I go to the snow.

Mmm the Snow.. I spent about 40+ days' one ski [snowBoard] season camped in the back of a Panel Van.

- Parked in the Over night Parking area by night.

- Parked in the Day Park Zone by day.

- If in need of a Shower I would sneak into the largest Hotel's Swimming Pool area have a shower then go to their Market area and get basic supplies if I was running late.

The only heat I had was the time I ran the car/van in the morning to go to the Day Park Area.. and when I shifted at night.

Yes I did wake up a few morning and found the car/van covered in fresh snow..[Natures insulation].

Worst Dump was 12inches and it took me about 40min to dig out and another to get up to the day park area.

As I said 40day's Plus.

Apparently there is a fair bit of space underneath, and that is where I'll be hiding a heap of stuff.

One of the thing's I need to try to work out is can I install a Black Water Tank..[to increase length of boondock/free camp'n] otherwise it's 20lt max from a portapotty.

SnoW

Aka Juergen

Psst Tried to add a photo of my Panel Van But it's way 2 Big.

[kaypsmith]

If there is no room under the coach for a black water tank, you could install a tank on the floor of the coach, covered by a nice looking plywood housing, and a shortened version of an RV potty, which are readily available from many RV parts stores. Of course you must work out a way to drain the tank.

If you are using a windows computer, bring up paint and load your photo in, then resize your picture there.

Happy trails,

Kay

[SnowT]

Here is the Pic of My Old Panel van.

Juergen