school bus conversion

Our New Bus Conversion and Tips On How To Get It Right The First Time

February 4, 2021 by Claire Edwards Leave a Comment

We’ve done it again! We have sold our much loved Toyota Coaster, and decided to do a new bus conversion on our Mercedes Vario. You may thinking why? Well after living in it full time for almost 18 months, there were a few things we decided really didn’t work for us. Rather than trying to fix them, we decided to sell up, and start again! Read below to see what kind of bus we bought and why, what we will be doing differently, and bus conversion tips to help you get it right the first time.

The New Bus

Our new bus is a 1997 Mercedes Vario. It is a 4.2 litre, 4 cyclinder turbo diesel automatic.

It is approximately 7.8 metres long, with an internal height of 1.9 metres and a width of 2.1 metres at the floor, and even wider at the windows.

So not only is it longer, but taller and wider than the Coaster. This will allow Shane to stand up freely, and for us to have a much wider hallway. We never imagined how much extra space that little bit of length and width would give us. Oh and its automatic – Shane can finally drive it! And maybe even one day get his licence 😉

roaming on rubber - bus conversion tips - mercedes vario

So why did we decide to sell our Toyota Coaster and get a Mercedes Vario?

Office space –

The first and foremost reason we decided to do a new bus conversion was because of the office space. Both Shane and I are constantly using our laptops for this blog, our YouTube series, and study. Shane has also continued to work remotely 3 days per week as an IT Technician. In the planning of our Toyota Coaster bus, the office space was an afterthought. We had a fold up dining table which Shane would use, but no space for an office chair. The solution was a boat chair mounted to our lounge for Shane, and I ended up doing everything whilst sitting on the lounge. This was not convenient, or comfortable! Not planning this was a poor decision, and the office space should have been at the forefront of our minds considering how much we require it.

We could have remodelled the Toyota Coaster to fit a better office space in however, after thinking long and hard we decided that to do that we would be compromising too much on our lounge and dining areas. We felt as though a slightly bigger bus with a better layout would be better.

In our new Mercedes Vario, a larger, more comfortable office space has been in the plans from the very beginning. We are going to ensure there is a large enough desk for both of us, as well as having comfortable office chairs. The plan is to find office chairs that can be used throughout the day, and stored underneath the desk when not in use.

Thin hallway –

When we were building our Toyota Coaster, we were trying to think about the layout as much as possible. We tried to build it in a way that made sense – starting from the back; bedroom, closet, bathroom, kitchen, with living area at the front. What this meant though was the two largest things (the bathroom and fridge) were almost opposite each other.

This caused a very small entrance to the hallway and made it feel quite claustrophobic.

Not only did it feel very tight, but it meant that we had two very large walls right near the entrance of our home. This closed the entire bus off.

roaming on rubber - bus conversion tips - Toyota Coaster

The idea for the new bus is to have the larger things (fridge and bathroom) on the same side. Whilst this is not as appealing as having the fridge on the same side as the kitchen, we believe the benefits of space will overcome this.

We have also arranged for any internal walls to be as close to the rear of the bus as possible. By doing this, we hope the bus will feel a lot more open and not so claustrophobic!

In all honesty, these were the two main things that we wanted different that were enough for us to build a new bus. Even though these were the primary things, there were other things we have decided to change in the new bus.

Things we want to do differently

Dinette –

In our Toyota Coaster, we had a small drop down table that was used as a dining table/office area. Whilst it was handy to use as a table, it was not in a convenient location that could be used to actually eat at. The plan for the new bus is to have a removable table top and leg that will be stored in the lounge. It can come out when necessary and be used along with the lounge to eat at. We will also have captains swivel chairs in this bus as the driver and passenger chairs. The same removable table top and leg will have a position in between the swivel chairs for a more formal dinette area.

Lounge –

Our previous lounge had all the bells and whistles; slide out to make a single bed, lift up for storage, and lift up foot rest. The problem was it had so much going on, that it was too much! It ended up being difficult to use, hard to access the storage, and we gave up on the foot rest idea. We had custom cut foam, and had covers made up to fit. It was very expensive, and after a long time sitting on it, it became uncomfortable.

The new bus will be much more simple. It will just be a lounge with storage. It will house our hot water system, cat litter, and our fold down table. We will have 2 small collapsible ottomans, so they can be put down and stored when not in use.

The lounge cushions will be thicker on the base, and we will have large softer cushions for the back.

Kitchen –

Kick panel. Omg we need a kick panel! In our Toyota Coaster, the idea of a kick panel seemed like wasted space. However, after opening the cupboards endlessly on our toes, we can definitely see the need for a kick panel! And now realise why it is called a ‘kick panel’…

Even though it takes up space, we have plans to have our air conditioner come up from under the bus into the kick panel area, at least then it is hidden from the inside. So still useable space!

All of our cupboards will have either drawers, or slide out storage; making everything much easier to access.

We have decided to buy a flatpack Kaboodle kitchen from Bunnings this time rather than build it ourselves. Whilst it is heavier, it will save us a lot of time, effort and surprisingly money to do it this way.

Our bus conversion tips; how do you get it right the first time?

Consider your bus size, plan and priorities –

Before even buying your bus, draw up some plans and work out how much space you will need, and what you want to have in your bus.

You might find that if you will be living in your bus full time, your needs may be different than if you are just using it for travel. For example, you may want a full toilet, shower and kitchen. Consider whether you will be staying in remote places and need to be off grid, or will primarily be staying in caravan parks. This will determine if you need a generator/solar, batteries and onboard water storage.

If you will be working in your bus, or like to do a lot of things online, do not underestimated your office space! Prioritise it. Comfortable seating and a good work area is a must.

What are your hobbies, or interests? Make sure you have the room to store things if you need to, or plan your design around them. Don’t leave anything to the last minute like we did.

We have a helpful planning guide here if you want to have a read in more detail 🙂

Photo of drawn up plan for our Toyota Coaster bus conversion. Roaming on rubber- things you should know before doing a bus conversion

Don’t overcomplicate things!

One of our biggest bus conversion tips is don’t overcomplicate things! It may sound simple, but when you have limited space you may find you are trying to squeeze as much in as possible. Sometimes this just makes it too hard, takes too long, costs too much and doesn’t always work out. The saying “keep it simple” really is relevant here.

We have spoken to other people who have done their own bus conversions, and most agree that generally when something is too complicated, it ends up not being used.

Learn tips from others –

If you have an idea, you can pretty much guarantee someone else out there has had it too! There are so many great forums, blogs and pages like this that have tonnes of bus conversion tips, information and ideas. And like us, not all of them have worked and we all learn from each other.

Don’t be afraid to message people directly and ask their opinion, ideas, or what they would have done differently. Most people love to share their knowledge in the hopes it will help someone.

Also, check out our in depth guide “Things you should know before starting a bus conversion“. We discuss budget, time to build, planning, buying a bus, licenses and more!

So now that we have sold our Toyota Coaster, we are well on our way to completing our Mercedes Vario. It has been a big change, but so far are glad we have done it. We hope that these bus conversion tips have helped you to get it right the first time, and avoid having to do a whole new build like us. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them through 🙂

Things You Should Know Before Starting A Bus Conversion

January 21, 2021 by Claire Edwards 3 Comments

When we started building our Toyota Coaster, we were completely new to the idea of building our own tiny home. There was so much we didn’t know, and so much we had to learn. Our motto was always “wing it”, or “let’s just see how it goes”. We are now on our second bus build; our Mercedes Vario. We have learnt so much in the process, and so far it has made this bus build go a lot smoother. That’s why we thought it was finally time to share with you the things we wish we had known before starting a bus conversion.

Roaming on rubber- things you should know before doing a bus conversion

The Emotional Rollercoaster –

The first and foremost thing we need to talk is the emotional rollercoaster of a ride your bus conversion will take you on. Everyone knows about budget, and time, and we will talk about those things too, but not everyone tells you about the journey of emotions that goes along with it.

When you start your bus conversion, you might think you know someone. It could be yourself, a partner, family member or friend. You know how they work, what causes them stress and how they handle certain situations. Well, this build will test everything you thought you knew!

There will be breakdowns and many different levels of stress. The bus conversion will occupy every second of your thoughts. We would spend hours looking at inspiration on how we can achieve a design or look we want, only to then spend hours more lying in bed unable to sleep thinking about the same thing. Sometimes you will want to give up, but other times completing a job no matter how small will give you the motivation to keep on going.

If you are building with someone it will test your relationship. There will be arguments and conflict, disagreements and differences in opinion. You will be trying to explain something and there will be trouble understanding. Both of you will have different ways of wanting to do the same thing. You won’t agree on the plan, or the design of everything.

This all sounds horrible, and you are probably thinking ‘why would I start with this?’, and ‘is it even worth it?’ Well the answer is yes! It absolutely is! Even though this is a huge undertaking, it is all part of the journey.

As much as there a lows, there a highs as well. After each completed task there is a sense of pride, along with the joy that comes from seeing it take shape.

From our experience, we have learnt that sometimes we just need to step completely away. Take a day to remind ourselves why we wanted to do this in the first place. If we don’t agree, we can work on something different or each come up with a new idea that the other may agree with. There is always ways to overcome this.

In the end, when it’s completed, you won’t look back and think of the stress, or all the arguments, you will stand there and look at what you have created with a smile on your face. It may not be perfect but it is yours, and you did this.

Roaming on Rubber - Free camping tips Australia -Esperance

Budget –

The main question we get asked is ‘how much does it cost to do a bus conversion?’

This is probably the hardest question to answer, and when starting your bus conversion, you may have no idea. There are so many different factors which can result in huge price differences. Some people think it is cheaper to do their own conversion, and others to buy one already done and remodel to their liking. Whilst it can be cheaper starting from scratch, it can also end up more expensive, take longer, and is definitely a lot more work! But when you are getting exactly what you want, does that make it worth it?

So, what costs the most money?

A couple of questions on what you want will start to determine your costs –

Do you want to be able to live off grid? How long for?
Do you want a shower and toilet?
Will you want a kitchen inside, or are you happy with outdoor cooking facilities?
What about hot water?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, already your costs are going to start creeping up.

So having a clear idea for your budget is a necessity. It might mean you need to look at second hand items, or compromising on some of the initial things you had planned.

Not only is there the expense of buying all of the items and appliances you want, but there could be service costs. For example, if you are having gas or 240v electricity, you will need a gas plumber and an electrician. Or if you are starting from scratch, you will need to pay an engineer to certify the bus into a motorhome. There could also be diesel heater installers, air conditioner installers, solar installers, mechanics, panel beaters, glaziers, automotive tinters, and so much more! Not to mention registration costs after all that…

For our original Toyota Coaster, we had a budget of $40,000. This was to buy our Coaster, and fit it out.

Our bus cost $21,000. After buying this and adding up what we wanted for our electrical system, kitchen and bathroom, we quickly realised the costs were going to blow out. Eventually the end figure was closer to $60-$65,000.

However, we did purchase everything new, had no tools to start off with, and bought almost the top of the range of everything at the time. So we literally were starting from scratch!

Our biggest tip when starting your bus conversion is not to forget about the small stuff. It adds up! For our new Mercedes Vario build, so far we have spent almost $300 just on screws, bolts, and silicone alone! Not to mention we used any of the previous stuff we had left from the Coaster…

Time to build the bus and time of year –

Something to consider when you are looking to convert a bus into a motorhome is how long it will take to do.

If you have experience in building, have the funds on hand, and have the time than building a bus may only take you a few short months.

If, however, you are like us, with no experience and are still working, then the reality is it could take a lot longer. We had anticipated for our Toyota Coaster to take around 6 months. With work and life commitments, it ended up taking us 13 months to complete.

So it is definitely a good idea to be realistic with your timeframe. Keep in mind things like work, family commitments and holidays. Have a general goal and regular targets to keep your plan in line.

Trades like gas plumbers and electricians can also have long lead times. For our Mercedes Vario, we learnt to book well in advance. If you aren’t ready you can always reschedule as you get closer, but at least you are booked in just in case.

Another very important thing to consider is the weather. When building our Toyota Coaster, we did the majority of work in the Summer. Each day was well over 40 degrees Celsius and it slowed us down tremendously. When working outdoors in the heat (and also when its freezing in Winter!) it can be very difficult. Not only more physical exertion, but jobs like silicone and painting are not achievable.

In saying that, when working outside, the rain also affects what can be done too; roof hatches, and holes in the bus become no longer possible.

So that leads us into our next thing to keep in mind…

Where will you build the bus?

This is extremely important! Converting a bus into a motorhome takes space. It is a good idea to plan where you will build prior to purchasing a bus. If you own or rent your property and have a large enough yard with a good storage shed or similar then you are set.

If like us, you do not and have nowhere to park a bus while you work on it, then you may need to look at other alternatives; family members, friends, rentals, or storage facilities. Try and think of things like electricity, water and shelter, and anything else that you may require.

Our Toyota Coaster was located 45 minutes away from where we lived. This meant that it was hard to do a few hours after work. We could only really work on it in full day blocks.

If you are lucky enough and can park it inside a large shed or undercover area, then the weather will not affect your build as much.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you need to rent a property, or move elsewhere, then try and make sure you have close access to a decent hardware shop! Sometimes we ended up at Bunnings 3 or 4 times a day! Our current Mercedes Vario is located around an hour from a Bunnings, so we have to plan very carefully and make our trips worthwhile. This can be difficult as not everything always goes to plan.

Buying the bus itself, and what to look for –

Now we are definitely not mechanics, so if you have a trusted mechanic friend, best to take them with you! But there is a general list of things to look for when buying a second hand bus or motorhome.

Shape of the bus – A bus with curved walls makes building hard! Our Toyota Coaster walls were curved and everything seemed more difficult. One of the reasons we opted for a Mercedes Vario the second time round was the walls have much less curve to them!

Water damage/leaks – Check the bus floor/walls for water damage. If you see anywhere that may look like there is water damage this could be an indication of a leak. Leaks, depending where they are could be an easy fix. Replacing the entire floor due to water damage however is not, and can be costly!

Rust – This may sound like a small thing, but rust is kind of like the tip of an iceberg; you may only be able to see a small bit on the surface, but there could be a whole heap underneath!

Surface rust is to be expected, especially on older vehicles, and with some sanding, and repair work can be fixed. When looking for rust, you want to be looking around things like the chassis, and the windows, or anywhere that could indicate a much larger or structural problem.

Transmission – Something small, but do you want a manual or automatic. Will it bother you driving either large distances?

Tyres – Check the tyres for acceptable tread, or any indication of uneven wear. Also have a look at the wheels/rims for any cracks or damage. Replacing 6 bus tyres isn’t cheap.

Chassis – As mentioned above, it is a good idea to check this for rust. This is the bones of the vehicle and you want it to be in good order. Also check to make sure there are no cracks, bends or repairs, to ensure no damage has been done.

Engine/leaks – Check the engine and see if there are any leaks or faults. When you take the vehicle for a test drive, return it and park in a different spot. This gives you the chance to look at the ground underneath where it was parked, to see if there is any oil or anything left behind.

Age of the bus and history – Always good to know the history of a vehicle and whether things like services and repairs have been up to date. Online checks can be done for a fee which will tell you if a vehicle has been written off/repaired.

Knowing what the bus was used for will give you a good indication of if it has had a hard life.

Again though, we are not mechanics, and this is very general information. It is best if you can have someone review the vehicle or go with you. Mechanics can be booked and charge a fee to perform a pre-purchase inspection.

Licence types –

One thing which may not even cross your mind when buying a bus to convert is what sort of licence is required.

C (Car): Vehicles up to 4.5 tonne Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM). Vehicles that seat up to 12 adults, including the driver.

LR (Light Rigid): Rigid vehicles with a GVM of more than 4.5 tonnes, but not more than 8 tonnes. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 tonnes. Vehicles can carry more than 12 adults, including the driver.

MR (Medium Rigid): Rigid vehicles over 8 tonne GVM, but no more than 2 axles. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 tonnes. Vehicles can carry more than 12 adults, including the driver.

HR (Heavy Rigid): Rigid vehicles over 8 tonne GVM, and 3 axles or more. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9 tonnes.

It is highly unlikely that you will require a licence other than those listed above. It ultimately depends on the weight, axles and towing capacity of your vehicle.

To give you an example, our Toyota Coaster had a GVM of 4.99 tonne, which falls into the LR licence category. This meant that Claire had to upgrade her licence in order to drive the vehicle; in turn costing more money.

Our new Mercedes Vario has a GVM of 8.2 tonne. This falls into a MR category licence – once again Claire had to upgrade further.

There are courses available for this, and typically cost upwards of $1000.

Just something to keep in mind is that the bigger and heavier you go, you may be required to upgrade your licence.

Roaming on rubber- things you should know before doing a bus conversion - claire driver training nsw

The design of the bus –

Before you go buying a bus and starting your bus conversion, it is a good idea to have an idea of a design or layout. If you have a general idea, then you will know what kind of bus and what size to look for.

There are a few factors which you should consider when designing your bus.

If you are going to be living in it full time, you should consider things such as a shower/toilet, full fridge, cooking facilities and storage. Whereas if you are going to be living in it part time, these things may not be as high a priority.
What are the seating requirements, and how many do you need to sleep.
Do you want to be able to live off grid? This means not requiring access to water or electricity and having your own onboard.
What is important to you? Living spaces, desk areas, entertaining space etc.

Once you have a general layout planned, you can work out what size bus might meet your requirements and this will narrow down the options available for you. Because we planned ahead we knew when changing from our Toyota Coaster to our Mercedes Vario that we would need a bus that was around 8m in length and at least 2m wide (It helps when you have done one before). This allowed us to narrow our search to a specific few vehicles.

Are you going to start your bus conversion from scratch, or buy one already done and remodel?

There are pros and cons for both buying a bus and starting from scratch, or buying one that has already been converted.

If you buy a bus from scratch, they are typically cheaper than one already classed as a motorhome.

You then get to design it yourself and have everything as you want it. However, depending on your design, by the end of the build, it may end up costing a lot more than buying one already converted to a motorhome.

By building it yourself, you will know exactly what has been done to it, so if there are any problems, or any questions, you will have the answers the majority of the time or know where to look.

However, buying a bus and converting it from nothing is hard work. Do you have, or are you willing to learn the skills required? For example there is generally wood working, welding, plumbing, flooring and more.

Do you have the money? Even though the vehicle itself may be cheaper, turning it into a motorhome can be expensive. Having a budget, and expectations of things that could go wrong here is a must.

Do you have the time? If you are on a time limit, it may be much more beneficial to buy a bus already converted to a motorhome. If you can find one close enough to the design you are looking for, it could save you a lot of time and money if you only need to make minor adjustments, you just might not be getting exactly what you want.

Buying an already converted bus will still give you the luxury and convenience of buying a motorhome, but typically at a much cheaper price.

It’s a good idea to review all options to decide what is going to best match your budget, and any other restrictions.

Our final thing you should know is to enjoy it!

Converting a bus into a motorhome is hard! It is such an emotional journey. It is tiring, overwhelming, and will physically and mentally exhaust you. But it is also a fantastic time in life. If you do get the opportunity to do something like this, appreciate it, learn new skills, and take pride in what you accomplish.

You will watch so many Youtube videos, read blogs like this, join Facegroup groups and chat to other like-minded people. There are so many people these days who are looking for alternative lifestyles that this idea of bus conversions is booming.

When it gets hard, and it will get hard, just remember this, it might help to keep the motivation going!

Good luck ?

Shane and Claire removing the vinyl flooring in our Toyota Coaster bus conversion. Roaming on rubber- things you should know before doing a bus conversion

Toyota Coaster Motorhome Conversion – RV Fresh and Grey Water Tank Install

January 16, 2020 by Claire Edwards 2 Comments

Our RV fresh and grey water tanks were by far the most frustrating thing to install in our Toyota Coaster motor home to date.

For those who do not know what RV grey water is and why you do or don’t need a tank, this next little bit is for you. And don’t worry! I had absolutely no idea before this whole process either!

WHAT IS RV GREY WATER?

RV grey water is any water that has been used in your motor home and would normally go down a sink or drain. For example, water from washing up, showering, or laundry.

DO I NEED A GREY WATER TANK?

This part is up to you.

Most RV’s or caravans have either a tank to catch the grey water, or a hose that takes the water from the source and lets the water out on the ground.

If you decide not to have a grey water tank, you can use a bucket instead. This is placed under the hose to catch the water and dispose of it elsewhere. While at first this is an easier and cheaper option, it does mean you are not classed as ‘fully self-contained’.

WHAT IS ‘FULLY SELF-CONTAINED’?

Being fully self contained means you are not relying on anyone or anything else. You do not need access to power, water, or a toilet, and you do not leave anything when you leave. This includes water on the ground!

The benefit of being fully self-contained is that you are not relying on others for access to resources. This means that you have more options to stay and park your motor home. After being on the road for some time now, we have found that so many of the free places to stay require you to be fully self-contained for this reason; that you do not need anything, except for somewhere to park.

This is the main reason we decided to build our bus with a grey water tank, and have decided after being on the road for a while it was definitely worth the effort.

HOW DO I DISPOSE OF MY GREY WATER?

Grey water tank disposal is simple! It is done at the same place you empty your motor home toilet; an RV dump point. Dump points are readily accessible and we have found using the Wikicamps App helps us to easily locate where they are.

If you decide to install a grey water tank, you can get the water from the tank and into the dump point via a grey water hose.

The grey water hose we purchased is a 10 metre, 25mm corrugated sullage hose from Caravans Plus. Even though this has worked well for us, it is quite difficult to connect to the 25mm barb on the tank and needs to be soaked in hot water first. A lot of people have since suggested that a normal 25mm PVC hose will do the trick, without these connection issues.

WHAT FRESH AND GREY WATER TANKS DID WE GET?

The fresh and grey water tanks were one of the first things we purchased and were bought from Custom Coaster Conversions. (Unfortunately they are no longer available here, however we have provided some alternative options below).

They are made from foodgrade poly, and measure approximately 600X380X380mm.

Each tank holds 70 litres. We have two tanks for our freshwater, and one for our greywater.

These RV tanks are specifically designed to fit underneath a Toyota Coaster bus, in front, and/or behind the rear wheels.

You have the option to get RV water tanks a similar size to this, or to measure up your space and have a tank installed inside or elsewhere on your motor home. We have seen so many people who install tanks underneath their bed, lounge, or even on their roof.

Whilst ours was marketed as a tank specific for a Toyota Coaster and is no longer available, there are a lot of other tank options out there. Companies such as Caravan RV Camping and Caravans Plus are a good start for generic tanks. There are also places that do custom sizes such as Atlas Tanks, and whilst we have not used them, a company called RV Tanks Australia look to have tanks specific for Toyota Coasters as well. Either way, a little research will help you to find one that works best for you.

HOW TO INSTALL THE FRESH AND GREY WATER TANKS

Step 1 –

It’s time to get down and dirty and look underneath your Toyota Coaster and work out what space you have available, and where you can mount brackets to.

If you purchase the same RV water tanks as we did, they fit very well either behind or in front of the rear wheels.

Test that they sit snug up underneath the bus prior to making brackets, or any fittings to your tank. Its best to be safe and know they fit!

Step 2 –

Once you have established a spot for your water tanks, the easiest thing to do first is to drill a hole for your breather (if your tank does not already have one). A breather is a spot where the air in the tank can escape, and allow you to fill them up with water instead. It reduces the pressure in the tanks, and allows them to fill quicker. It is important the breather is at the highest point possible on the tank, otherwise it will just leak water!

The tanks we purchased for our fresh and grey water do not already have this pre-built in them. So if you decide to create your own, or purchase one like ours, you will need to make this yourself.

For our breather, we used a 10mm barb to 3/4 inch BSP fitting.

Roaming on Rubber - Toyota Coaster Motorhome Conversion - Grey Water Tank — Roaming on Rubber – Toyota Coaster Motorhome Conversion – Grey Water Tank

To make our breather fit, we started with a 20mm spade piece to make a hole. Remember, it is important the breather is as high as possible on the tank. Once you have the hole cut, insert and silicone the breather in place. It is best to use a good quality silicone such as an automotive or marine one for this. We have since had issues with the breathers coming off and have had to re-attach.

Step 3 –

Our water tank came with a spot already for a water inlet. So the next step for us was simply just screwing in our water inlet. This one we used is a 3/4 to 1 inch barb.

After this, we attached a 3/4 inch to 13mm barb to a pre-existing hole for the connection to our water pump.

Step 4 –

Now that your tanks are ready to go under the bus it is time to work out some support pieces.

Underneath our Toyota Coaster, behind our rear wheels on the outside edge, there is not a lot of structural spots to attach brackets for a water tank. For us, that meant we needed to attach a piece of 30mm X 30mm angled steel between two structural pieces for support.

This piece was pre drilled and bolted into place using M8 hi tensile bolts.

Step 5

Finally it is time to get the water tanks into place.

Each water tank requires 2 brackets; each bracket is made up of 3 pieces of 50mm flat bar steel, purchased from Bunnings.

It is easiest to prop your tanks up into place as there is no exact measurement; each piece will need to be measured and adjusted as you go.

The pieces are cut and hammered into shape according to where your tanks are positioned. After this they are then bolted to the shazzy using the same M8 hi tensile bolts.

Once all of your RV grey water and fresh water tanks are in place, it is time for plumbing, the job we enjoyed most – NOT!

Watch the fresh and grey water tank install on Youtube here 🙂

Toyota Coaster Motorhome Conversion – Installing a Dometic Mini Hekiplus RV Roof Vent/Skylight

April 9, 2019 by Claire Edwards Leave a Comment

Okay, so I will be the first to admit that I have been a bit slack. We have been super busy and haven’t had a chance to keep the blog posts for our bus build up to date. In saying that…. we have actually just finished the bus (well, almost!) and are now permanently living in it and on the road. I am coming to you live from Eucla, Western Australia where it is warm and sunny! So I thought it was time to write a new post on our RV Roof vent and try to get the rest up to date asap!

So back to the blog post.

As we decided to have gas in our school bus, one of the regulations in NSW was that we had to have a vent with permanent ventilation. We had absolutely no idea what this meant. After a little research, we found a guide for ventilation in motor homes and how much is required for you bus size. Not all vents offer permanent ventilation, and the ones that do offer differing amounts depending on their size.

There is a minimum ventilation area required that depends on the size of your school bus, no matter what appliances are fitted.

So if your bus is –
Up to 4 metres long – you need 240 cm2 of ventilation space
4 to 5 metres long – 300 cm2
5 to 6 metres long – 360 cm2
Over 6 metres long – 420 cm2

These vented areas are to be split in half between the upper vents (such as your roof vent which has to be within 30cm of highest ceiling point) and lower vents (such as the vent in our caravan door, which is within 15cm of the floor).

We decided on the Dometic Mini Hekiplus RV Roof Vent/Skylight, 43-60mm roof thickness with a double glaze cover, to meet these requirements. We already had the vent which came in our caravan door meeting the lower requirements, so just needed one to meet the upper requirements.

Toyota Coaster Bus RV Roof Vent Dometic Mini HekiPlus Skylight

The reasons we chose the Dometic Mini Hekiplus RV Roof Vent/Skylight –

Size-

400mm X 400m. We didn’t want one too large for cost, but also so it didn’t take up too much roof space.

Roof Thickness –

There are models designed for two different roof thicknesses available, 0-42mm and 43-60mm. With the thickness of our roof, plus our insulation and pine panelling (we will get to this next post!), we needed a hatch that had a reasonable amount of adjustment to cover the gap between the metal roof and our chosen interior lining.

Double Glaze Cover –

The hatch comes in single and double glaze options. We chose the double glaze cover so we didn’t compromise the insulation in the roof. We didn’t want to insulate the whole roof then add a hatch that didn’t keep the heat out.

Availability –

We needed it ASAP! Not realising that our vents we initially purchased did not have permanent ventilation, and they would not meet the requirements for our gas, we needed it quickly. The gas plumber was already booked and we were done with setbacks, so we were lucky and found this one locally.

How to install your hatch or skylight –

I’m going to cut to the basics and provide a nice easy step by step guide for your install of your RV roof vent. Ours as per usual was anything but easy, so we will try and save you some things we wish we had known!

Step 1

Very important. Cut your hole in your bus roof prior to installing your insulation and roof material! This is why I wrote this part prior to telling you about our roof material we chose. I wish we had done it earlier.

We measured the hole size required for our vent and masked it up. Masking it helps give a nice big line to follow, but also helps to prevent wood and metal from splintering and falling everywhere.

Step 2

Once masked, use a grinder to cut the roof metal, following your masked lines. Easy! Well it will be for you. We had to cut through the metal roof, insulation, and pine paneling. Make sure wherever you decide to place your vent, you do not cut through any of the structural parts of your vehicle. If necessary, call an engineer or someone who can assist you with the placement, just to be safe.

The Toyota Coaster has a metal column that runs up the centre of the bus as well as horizontal beams that run every 90cms. The centre column is fine to cut but you are not allowed to cut the horizontal beams as these make up the roll cage.

Shane Grinding hole for demetic bus roof vent

Step 3

After you have another big, beautiful hole in your school bus roof, make sure you spray some rust guard or similar. This will help to prevent rust on the metal that has been cut. This will help to prevent rust issues later.

Vent hole after being cut. Dometic bus roof vent

Step 4

It is a good ideas to test your roof vent in the space before you permanently install it. This is quite important as if your hole is a little too small, or something has gone wrong it may be too late to fix if you have already gone to the next step of silicone.

Step 5

Install your roof vent! Silicone around the edge of the top half of your roof vent and place in from the top of the bus. Be mindful to place it the correct way, with the opening facing the back of the bus. We did not do this right… and had to redo it! Once the top half is in, from the inside of the bus attach the second half of the roof vent and click together.

Step 6

Once it is all clicked into place, it is time to screw the two halves together. Now this is where you should keep in mind your roof material and allow space for this. Try not to screw them too tight together. The good thing is, you can always loosen the screws and lower the bottom half later if necessary.

Shane inside putting the bottom half of the dometic bus roof hatch in

Step 7

The Dometic Mini Hekiplus RV Roof Vent/Skylight comes with a cover that offers an insect screen or a sunlight block out. Attach the metal clips to the cover and push the cover over the bottom half in the roof.

And you’re done!

Hopefully unlike us, you didn’t put it on backwards.

I promise the next post won’t take as long to appear. Until then.

Toyota Coaster Motorhome Conversion – Building Your School Bus Lounge

November 7, 2018 by Claire Edwards 2 Comments

Everything needs to have 2 uses. That has been our thought process along this entire journey. There are so many options for motor home or bus lounges, which meant there was a lot of inspiration when designing our lounge. Our school bus lounge has not 1, not 2, but 3 uses!

Building a lounge is not something you have to do. There are a lot of pre-fabricated options available and a lot of places will be able to custom make one for you. We have seen a fair few people who use these and have no issues.

As with everything we have done so far, we decided to build our lounge for a few reasons; cost, space, storage and design. In our school bus floor plan, we explain that our lounge was very important to us and we knew we could get exactly what we wanted if we built it ourselves.

The design for our school bus lounge –

The first step for the lounge framing is to work out what you want from it.

The most obvious function is a seating area. We want it big enough to comfortably sit both of us, and an extra 1-2 people if we have visitors. It also has to be big enough that we would be comfortable, and could stretch out when watching a movie. We then decided to add an ottoman which will provide extra foot space, and also double as storage and a seat.

Storage is the next most important thing. With everything you build in your school bus conversion, storage has to be a consideration, and under the lounge is a perfect area . We had planned where our appliances were going so knew that the height and width of our lounge had to meet the size of our Suburban hot water system which we had decided to place underneath. There is then more room left over for other items that need storing, as well as the extra in the ottoman.

Most builds we found either choose seat and storage, or seat and sleeping area. We wanted it all, so we designed our lounge so that it could perform all 3 functions! Our original plan was to have it extend so that we could turn it into a doubled bed. We didn’t have enough space to make a double bed, but we did manage to make it extend to the size of a single bed which is sufficient. It also means that while we are watching a movie or just relaxing, we can extend this and have a bigger space to relax for ourselves also.

How were we going to achieve this? The base (where we sit) would have interlocking panels that would separate and slide out to become the bed. It would then have hinges to lift the entire base up to access the hot water and storage underneath. We then decided to have the front lift so we have a partial foot recliner as well. It was such a complicated design but we managed to make our lounge frame work.

Confusing? Let us get into more detail.

Building our school bus lounge – The base frame

First we used 35mm x 70mm timber, and built the initial base frame, which provides the structural support and attaches to the floor and wall. We used 50mm wood screws as well as wood glue to make the joins secure. We started with the floor pieces, then attached the uprights followed by the top pieces.

The Interlocking System

The base frame was the easy part. Planning out the interlocking slide out system was the difficult part. Shane and I wanted it to be separated in half, so that they could pull apart and extend separately to make a corner lounge, and together to make a bed. This would also allow them to lift separately to access different areas of storage. These interlocking pieces were made using 19mm X 64mm dress pine.

Every second slat is referred to as ‘fixed slats’. These are attached to a row of dress pine, and fixed at the back with hinges. The front end of the slats are attached to another piece of dress pine on the inside of the lounge frame. As we want the slats to lift up to access storage, they had to attach to something that was not attached to the base frame. This is why we have added these additional pieces of dress pine.

The pieces that slide out are also attached to a piece of pine, on the outside of the frame. This piece keeps all the slats together as one, when being slid out. If you look at the picture below, two of the slats are made longer. When the lounge is pushed together, these longer pieces sit on the edge of the lounge and prevent the slide out pieces from falling down.

These longer pieces continued to get stuck on the edge of the frame when we pushed the lounge back together, which can be seen in the video. We ended up placing a washer underneath the longer pieces which lifted them slightly. We also sanded back the edge that they sit on, providing a rounded lip, rather than a corner. This has prevented them from getting caught and allows them to slide and sit in together without issues.

After this, we added a smaller piece of wood cut to size which is fixed in between the two sliding halves. This provides a guide so that they slide out straight and prevents them getting stuck.

The ‘Recliner’

The front of our lounge has been made using 12mm ply. It provides the ground support when the lounge is extended for the bed. As our lounge ended up being slightly shorter than we wanted, we joined this 12mm ply on with hinges. When lifted up, a small 20cm piece of dress pine (also attached with hinges), falls down from underneath, propping the front 12mm piece of ply up on a slight angle. This gives us our ‘recliner’.

Our back rests are made with 35mm X 70mm wood, cut into the base frame. We then attached 12mm ply to the front of them, which provides the back rest.

We will use Dunlop foam for all of the lounge cushioning. This cushioning we will get custom cut to size and then we will make covers for the cushions ourselves.

After building our kitchen frame, the lounge was a huge step in our Toyota Coaster bus framing and we are so amazed we were able to pull it off.

The more we build ourselves and the more experienced we get, the better things worked. As hard as it has been to do on our own it has been worth it.

If you haven’t already, watch our video below of our build and let us know what you think.

Toyota Coaster Motorhome conversion – Building Your School Bus Kitchen

October 15, 2018 by Claire Edwards 2 Comments

Building and framing your school bus kitchen can be a difficult job if you don’t know what you are doing (like us!). There are so many different types of wood, screws, adhesives, joins, cuts and more. We were in way over our heads when we decided to start our Toyota Coaster bus kitchen and thought we could get it all done in 2 days. Ha!

Building the frame for our kitchen has been something we have been looking forward to for such a long time! We had ‘planned’ to spend 2 full days at the bus; framing the kitchen, lounge, bathroom and bedroom, and were hopefully going to smash it out. Everything was prepped. The materials were bought. The car was loaded and we had been to Bunnings for the last time. We were set, and it was time to go.

So where do you start?

After chatting to a builder friend about our bus conversion floor plan, it was decided to start with the most functional place first; the kitchen. Our thoughts were, once the kitchen was finished, we could then work on the lounge room and bathroom, leaving the bedroom until last. Getting the most practical and ultimately the hardest part done and out of the way first, would hopefully mean a much smoother fit out. Our bed will run across the back wall of our bus in front of the wheelchair access ramp and make it much more difficult to get things such as wood and appliances in and out of the bus, so leaving it until last seemed like the best option.

Why did we decide to build our bus kitchen ourselves and not get it built for us?

The way you decide to fit out your bus is all personal preference.

There are a lot of companies who offer the service of fitting out a bus for you. A lot of people also opt to use pre-fabricated or ready to go kitchens to save time and effort. Functionality, space, cost, electrical, plumbing – there are so many factors contributing to the bus layout and framing.

Shane and I chose to build our kitchen ourselves for a few reasons. Design; we are getting exactly what we want and where we want it. Money; motorhome and bus kitchens can be expensive. We saw this as a cheaper alternative to do it ourselves than to have someone build it for us. Materials; we had the option to buy a pre-fabricated kitchen from a kitchen place or even our local hardware shop Bunnings. However, we decided against this as we had read a lot of forums that had discussed the kitchens being too heavy and affecting their weight restrictions, and also not being structurally strong enough to withstand being in a motorhome.

Whatever you decide to do, it is definitely something to consider thinking about prior to starting. Trust us, it only gets harder and more complicated.

What’s in our bus kitchen?

We wanted a relatively open layout in our Toyota Coaster bus, with lots of storage, but also with everything required to live comfortably on the road. Our kitchen was to have a 175 litre fridge, a combined oven and stove, a sink, washing machine, and a microwave. It was also to have plenty of storage, overhanging cupboards, a backsplash, and external access to the batteries.

Sounds like we don’t have much at all to squeeze into a 2.4 metre space do we?

That’s when we instantly saw our bus kitchen was going to be tight, really tight. We had drawn countless diagrams, measured multiple times and were trying to work out the best possible way to squeeze it in. It was decided, we just couldn’t do it. Shane and I were trying to fit all the conventional items from a house sized kitchen and laundry into a caravan sized kitchen.

We came to the decision that the washing machine was to move. We would fit it elsewhere. This compromise would allow us to fit everything we needed to into the space we had. So now that was decided, it was time to get to it, and actually build it.

What tools and equipment do you need for building your bus kitchen?

Shane and I have no experience with bus framing, or any sort of framing at all. We failed to seek a professional or someone who was more capable than us to help, so we decided to try our luck ourselves. With time restrictions and trouble organising schedules, we researched to come up with a plan, and a design for the frame.

We decided for the majority of the framing, we would use 19mm X 64mm pine wood for our main frame, and 35mm X 70mm wood for the things that were requiring a bit more structure.

The original plan was to use 35mm X 70mm timber for everything, however, after looking at our space, and working out measurements, we decided it was not a viable option and would take up too much room. Both of us have seen plenty of kitchen layouts using similar sized wood or no frame at all. The thinner pine framing would have to do. It was a bit more expensive than we originally wanted. It was decided for the space it would save us, it would be worth it. We were still going to use the larger 35mm X 70mm for our lounge and bed, as they will be carrying more weight.

As with everything, the structure and what materials you use for your bus kitchen and framing is definitely a personal choice. Whether you decide to use the thinner pine, or the structural wood it is up to you. We have seen a lot of people who have done bus conversions! They have used metal for their framing, and some have just used the walls for their cupboards and had no framing at all. So whatever you decide, as long as it is structurally sound and meets any sort of regulations your state or territory may have, it is all a personal choice.

It was time to splurge a little! We purchased a nail gun to help with our bus framing. We got nails in various sizes, big enough to go through any of the wood we purchased to tack pieces together. The reason we decided to buy this was for convenience. It would be so much easier to tack the frame together with nails before screwing, to make sure it was right and to make it easier on ourselves. The different sizes gave us variety, and easily accessible options when required. This would have to be one of the best purchases we have made to date! It is definitely something we recommend for anyone who is going to be doing a bus conversion themselves.

We also purchased timber screws, and metal screws. The timber screws were for the frame when attaching wood to wood, and the metal screws were to attach the 7mm plywood panel we got for the walls, to the bus. The metal screws were also for any structural support pieces of framing that needed to attach to the bus’s metal beams.

For each joint, we also used wood glue for added strength.

Shane tells me I like to go over the top with our bus build. I figure, that this is going to be our home, and I don’t want it falling apart on our first rocky road, or ditch that we fall into. I want our Toyota Coaster bus frame to be structurally sound.

Where do you start framing in your bus conversion?

The walls and wheel arches; that’s where we started.

The amazing thing about Bunnings, is they cut wood to size for you.

We had measured our walls and wheel arches and knew the measurements we needed our pieces. We decided on plywood.

Plywood is a relatively inexpensive option for bus wall framing and if thin enough, it is easy to bend and manoeuvre along the curves of the wall.

Originally we were going to go thin for the walls – 3mm, however decided after looking at it, and knowing it may be damaged easily, we decided for us thicker would be better. We have read many forums and seen a lot of people who have used 3mm ply for their walls and they love it and it works. This is a personal choice, and there are a lot of considerations such as weight and structure that need to come into it.

Unfortunately, there is no happy medium between 3mm and 7mm unless you get marine ply. Marine ply is amazing as it is made to be used in waterproof areas such as boats etc. Amazing things generally come with a price. For each piece, it was $10 more expensive, and we were going to need a lot of it. 7mm ply for our bus walls was decided.

We had Bunnings cut each piece for the walls to 73cm high. We knew this would take us to our window level. The benefit of Bunnings cutting it was one, it made it fit in the car so much easier! Two, it saved us so much time and effort, and three, it was ready to go when we got to the bus. It was also free! An amazing service provided. It’s a great idea to check with your local hardware store of timber yard, wherever you purchase your wood to see if this service is provided.

So we returned to our Toyota Coaster bus, 7mm ply cut to 73cm high in tow, ready to go.

We purchased sheet metal screws at 20mm length, and self-drilling metal screws at 32mm for the walls. These would be long enough to go through the ply, and into the metal walls of the bus without penetrating through to the outside. If we knew then what we know now, we would not have purchased the sheet metal screws. We found they are not strong enough to penetrate the metal walls easily and we have not used them since. We would have saved a lot of money had we known that earlier.

Our Toyota Coaster bus has curved walls; this makes it difficult to create right angled joints which are attached to the metal structure of the bus. A plan was put in place. By marking where our cupboards were going to go to, we then measured the depth in two different places; the floor and the window sill, to the edge of our cupboards. The difference in these two depths showed us how big of a support piece we needed behind our cupboards so that there was no curve with our frame. It worked out to be 35mm – the exact width of the wood we had purchased. So, we screwed a 35mm X 70mm beam across the ply at the height where it would start to bow. While difficult to explain, it meant that our bus kitchen cabinet would have a structure behind it where the walls curve, rather than sitting on nothing. It would be supported.

Now that our beam was attached to our ply, we attached our ply to our bus wall using the self drilling metal screws.

It took a little bit of effort and a bit of patience, but piece by piece the walls went into place. By pushing hard and flexing the plywood as we went, it matched the curve of the bus beautifully without cracking. If we had used thicker wood, it may not have had the flex to get the curve as well as the thinner wood. And if we had gone with the 3mm, it may not have had the strength to withstand the pressure required to screw it into the metal bus frame. So we were happy with our decision to use 7mm plywood for our bus walls.

Goodbye bus wall insulation!

The wheel arches protrude into our kitchen area a little. So we decided to build a box using 9mm ply to cover them. This is not a necessity, but we decided it would be easier to build around a box, than a curved wheel frame. It is not a structural piece, so we just used wood glue and the nail gun to tack them together.

The kitchen framing –

Simpler is better.

Start by measuring everything. We measured all our appliances, measured the space we had, and made it as even and neat as possible. We drew a diagram, which had all our measurements on it so we could constantly refer back to it.

They say measure twice, cut once. And I am very glad we did because we got it wrong the first time!

Deciding not to over complicate things, we had hoped we would get it done nice and quickly.

Starting with wood glue on each piece, we used the nail gun and tacked each of the 19mmX64mm pieces together in the form of our kitchen.

Our screws we picked were 30mm X 8G. 8G is the thickness of the nail. And it was too thick! After we tacked each piece we also screwed the joints together. Unfortunately this was causing some of the ends to separate and split. Not good!

Back to Bunnings we went. We thought maybe thinner screws would fix the issue. We purchased the same 30mm length, but in 6G thickness. It didn’t work. For us, we are extremely new to this and it began to get overwhelming. So we decided to try and pre-drill the holes prior to putting our screws in.

It worked! No more wood splitting. This is something we have continued to do throughout the rest of our framing since and is definitely a recommendation for anyone who is going to embark on a similar journey. Sometimes, we forget or get lazy and don’t pre drill. Almost every time we regret it as we have the same issues with the wood cracking and splitting. So take it from us – pre drilling works – do it!

The pieces came together, and our bus kitchen framing took its shape.

Once we were satisfied with the framing and had double checked our measurements, we decided to attach it to our bus floor and walls.

Butting it up against the 35mm X 70mm piece of wood we had used to tackle the curve of the bus wall, we manoeuvred it into place and used 40mm wood screws to attach it to the floor and the walls. This was just a very basic structure that still needed support however once screwed into place was already feeling solid.

Stepping back, we then took a good look for where we would start next. We found if you start with the most complicated bits first, it is easier to work out the errors if something was to go wrong. And we had so many issues! It sounds easy as I write it all down, but it’s not. We had problems with wood not aligning correctly, being the incorrect size, splitting, drill pieces breaking and more. It happens! This is why it took us so much longer than we initially planned.

The restrictions with installing an oven into a bus –

So our next thing to tackle was where our oven would be placed. This was the main structural item that needed to be built into our kitchen framing and it was probably going to be the hardest.

We had purchased a Thetford dual fuel fan forced oven. There are a lot of restrictions with an oven inside a motor home. This is not something we had taken into account when we initially started the framing and our bus conversion plan and design. It needs to be certain distances from cupboards, walls, and anything else that could be a fire hazard. There needs to be a hole underneath where the gas can be tunneled so it can then go to an external vent outside. All these restrictions and regulations left us scratching our heads and coming up with new plans and workarounds.

Taking into account our bench top thickness, we start by measuring from the top down to where the bottom of our oven would be placed.

We then used our 19mm X 64mm wood to build a frame and place a piece of 7mm ply on top to provide a base support for our oven. After this, we built walls using 19mm thick wood to match our current framing. This stops any external droughts coming into the area where the oven will be located.

Cutting the bus kitchen bench –

The next step was something we had greatly anticipated; the bench top. It needed to be cut to size and then have the oven and sink holes measured and cut. We initially were going to have a wooden bench top; however decided due to the upkeep and maintenance of wood, we went with a laminate bench top instead. This also saved weight.

Measuring up the sink and oven was relatively simple; measure twice, cut once. So glad we did this! We just had to decide on their exact placement and take into account the overhang of the bench top at the front and rear. Once measured and drawn up we started with the sink hole. Pre-drilling a hole and then using a jigsaw allowed us to easily cut the hole required. The oven was even easier, still using the jigsaw slowly make the straight cuts.

Once it was put into place and checked to make sure it fit, we used 40mm wood screws to attach our base to our bench. It was screwed from underneath so the screws are hidden.

This process of the oven frame and bench top took an entire day. There were issues with the oven not fitting and constantly needing to make adjustments. We also had a measurement issue where we forgot to take into account the overhang for the bench top. It was super frustrating but we are so happy with how it turned out!

The next step in our bus kitchen frame will be to make our cupboards and install them. We are hoping as with everything that will be the easy part. We will also begin work on our lounge and anything else we can to finish our home!