Man from DVLA, he say OK!

The bus passed its Type Approval Inspection today and passed no problem, which means from now on its not a bus any more, but a Motocaravan, so get it right JC!

Getting Wired

I've pretty much finished the electrics. I've installed a Zig Unit which manages the source of electrical power and charges the 115Ah battery I've put in. Theres a 24o volt input with RCB's for using on a caravan site, and I've put a couple of standard household sockets around the bus. The lights, fridge, water pump and sound sytem all run off 12v.

DVLA inspection imminent!

Just been to the DVLA to enquire about changing the registration status of the bus from Bus/Coach to Motorcaravan and its booked in for an inspection in 7 days time. Better get cracking then!!!

Floored

Laying the swanky new Swedish floor, it's really starting to look like a proper motorhome now, a major step up from my old van with a sofa in it!

A Throne of a different kind.

The original drivers seat was a bit tatty and was stained with 15 years worth of "care in the community" bum-sweat, so I've skipped it and replaced it with this rather nice leather number from a BMW 635. Thanks to Pete for this item! I kept the original bus mount and simply welded on some custom built brackets to match the BMW mountings, and it works rather well and is multi adjustable.

Karzi Completed

Probably the hardest part of the build so far was getting the toilet cubical looking right but I think I've done a reasonable job here. I found carpet tiles that match the ceiling and walls to clad it with so it almost looks like it was factory installed. The Queen herself wouldn't be ashamed to use this!

Roll Up, Roll up! Come join the fun!

So far theres just the two of us going to Istanbul so people are welcome to come along. Will be leaving early to mid July and should be gone for 6 weeks. The bus sleeps 5, and you'll have to pay a share of the diesel and group meals. Send me an email if you're interested of just click the comment button below.

Problem!

I've nearly finshed all the infrastructure for the kitchen area. However, after installing the sink and cooker where I want them I discovered that they are directly above the diesel tank, which means I'll have to be creative with the plumbing in order to avoid interfering with it.

Loo with a view

The bus already had a shoddy shower when I bought here, but it didn’t work very well and it took up a lot of space. Early on in the development stage I decided to not include a shower in the design as it was unnecessarily complex and a big drain on the water supply. However I was insistent on a fully functioning karzi which is what you see the framework of here. I’ve installed a false wall against one of the side windows and placed in this the pane of glass that separated the drivers cab, effectively making it “double glazed”. Its also one-way so you don’t have to worry about people looking in and seeing your straining constipated face. There’s a roller blind as well just in case you’re still shy! This will eventually be clad and given a plywood door.

It’s starting to take shape! Both benches have been finished in terms of hardware, all the bulkheads are in and I’ve carpeted one of them with old carpet tiles. I managed to rescue the old cupboards that came with the bus, and I’ve cut them down to fit better.

Rear benches and table arrangement. The table I made from a single piece of spruce ply and folding legs I found on ebay. This means that the table can drop down to fit between the benches to create a large platform for a double bed, or can be removed entirely and used outside.

The first two bulkheads go in to create an enclosed room for the toilet. I made this out of 18mm plywood by scribing the side profile of the bus to make a template. It took a long time, and was pretty hard work just getting it right but I’m pleased with the result.

Using the same technique as for the front bench, here I am building two facing benches at the rear of the bus. I will make a drop down table that fits between them so that this area can be used as both a double bed and a seating area for eating etc. I’ve put this here so that you can open the doors on nice days as a sort of “veranda”

Constructing a frame out of wood baton to form the structure of the front bench. This was my first attempt at making something “new” from scratch and it built my confidence to undertake some more tricky tasks.

This was the state of the interior before I started work on the conversion; pretty daunting considering my only woodwork experience is making some shelves for GCSE Design and Technology, and that was eight years ago! As you can see someone had allready made a half arsed attempt at doing a conversion of their own by putting some cupboards and a cooker in, as well as a shower not pictured. However, it was all a bit pants to say the least so my first task was to clear out the lot.

Here She is parked next to my LWB transit for scale. She‘s a 1995 coachbuilt Iveco Ford adapted for use as a mobility bus. She’s about 22 foot long with a gross weight of 5.2 tonnes. She has a 2.5 TD engine with about 80bhp (not fast!) and that’s connected to a five speed - four plus a crawler - maunal gearbox. Mechanically and structurally she’s in very good shape but there’s some major wear and tear on the interior trim after nearly 15 years of abuse from school kids! She drives great as long as you're not in a hurry as she can only manage 50 on the level!

Welcome the first "Us And A Bus" posting!

Hello readers, I'm JC and this blog has been created to document our journey through Europe to Istanbul in my converted bus. Both this site and the bus are under construction right now, but I'll keep y'all up to date with any news as it happens.

"Istanbul or BUSt!"