Conversion Encyclopedia - Floor Plans

[DawnTreader]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

You should probably reconsider if you are near bear county.
.

You know, once I hit Colorado, I think I WILL take the food off the sides. Great idea! ;)

[DawnTreader]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Sounds like a solid well thought out plan. Some people put tape on the floor to outline where things are intended to go.

We want to solidify our plans that way after removing the seats and flooring. I think our measurements will be by the window, rather than by the foot.

[tobeamiss]

Originally Posted by DawnTreader

We want to solidify our plans that way after removing the seats and flooring. I think our measurements will be by the window, rather than by the foot.

Measuring by window is the way I'm going too... starting with the bedroom, then I'll be putting closets and storage over the wheel wells.... And I'll just keep working my way up to the front. I'm going by window because I don't want to halfway block any of them. When I first got the seats out I used masking tape and got a general idea. Then I decided where I wanted the shower to go and worked around that. So, I basically know what I want, now let's see if I can make it happen 😃👍

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[Brewerbob]

Might sound silly but make sure all your windows are the same. Mine (and a lot of other Blue Birds at least) are NOT the same. I have 25 inch and 32 inch. Not even all the emergency windows are the same. The emergency door is in a 25 inch row as well.

[tobeamiss]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Might sound silly but make sure all your windows are the same. Mine (and a lot of other Blue Birds at least) are NOT the same. I have 25 inch and 32 inch. Not even all the emergency windows are the same. The emergency door is in a 25 inch row as well.

The very first window on the driver and passenger sides are both a couple of inches larger from the rest. Otherwise all of them are 27". I think the first Windows are 31".

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[Hobotang]

Anyone using an mobile app to create floor plans? I've dabbled in a Sketchup, but I think the learning curve will be too much for me.


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[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Hobotang

Anyone using an mobile app to create floor plans? I've dabbled in a Sketchup, but I think the learning curve will be too much for me.

Hate it with a passion. Even after watching the videos online. I used Visio. NO idea if they have a phone app tho. It will convert to damn near anything tho.

[Hobotang]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Hate it with a passion. Even after watching the videos online. I used Visio. NO idea if they have a phone app tho. It will convert to damn near anything tho.

I'll check it out, thanks Bob!


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[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by Hobotang

I'll check it out, thanks Bob!


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I used Faber-castle #2
😂😂
Couldn't find a free version of versacad and I haven't used any other cad program since the 90s


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[Hobotang]

Originally Posted by Njsurf73

I used Faber-castle #2
[emoji23][emoji23]
Couldn't find a free version of versacad and I haven't used any other cad program since the 90s


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Analog looks like it's my best bet [emoji23][emoji108]


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[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Hobotang

Analog looks like it's my best bet [emoji23][emoji108]

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by Hobotang

Analog looks like it's my best bet [emoji23][emoji108]


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All joking aside... I searched online and found some grid paper that were 40 long.
I measured the floor, and poof. I have a 35' bus with 29 usable at the floor and a couple more where the engine cover is in the back. I plan on the bed being headboard towards the driver's side... The old "seat" (engine cover) becoming a cabinet and laid out about 10 different iteration using just the blocks.
My final has the shower and toilet on the driver's side, the kitchen sink as well... All plumbing directly over the gray and black tanks. Still leaves plenty of room for a lounging area (in case of rain) just behind the cockpit


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[davehearn]

This thread goes back to 2004!!!

Had to jump in on this one. In the early planning stages for a Thomas or Blue-Bird conversion. No idea when I can pick up a bus but wanted to work on SOMETHING, so I created a floor plan.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or advice.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by davehearn

This thread goes back to 2004!!!

Had to jump in on this one. In the early planning stages for a Thomas or Blue-Bird conversion. No idea when I can pick up a bus but wanted to work on SOMETHING, so I created a floor plan.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or advice.

How much driving are you going to do? There's no co-pilot.

Not much in the way of storage. Aside from that, I like it.

What did you draw it in?

[davehearn]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

How much driving are you going to do? There's no co-pilot.

Not much in the way of storage. Aside from that, I like it.

What did you draw it in?

Thanks!

My plan is to do a considerable amount of driving but I'm pretty solitary. No wife or girlfriend (confirmed bachelor) I do have two kids but I would be driving in any case. I've though about adding a co-pilot seat and moving the door. Putting the co-pilot on a swivel so it can double as a chair for the table. Again, these plans are extremely temporary.

As for storage, I'm working up a side-elevation for the interior to help figure out storage. Right now, I know there will be cabinets above the worksurfaces in the kitchen, some storage under the bed, hopefully more storage under the sofa. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm working in iDesign on my iPad. Once you figure out the interface, it's a pretty intuitive program.

[davehearn]

How do you like that Blue-Bird, Bob?

[Rusty]

So, it's getting time to layout my build and I made this nifty Adobe Illustrator CS6 template- I thought others might like this tool. Use and enjoy.

Illustrator is wrong tool and does not like to be accurate, but can be forced. Everything is scaled so 1 pixel equals an inch- don't change that. Draw a cabinet 24 pixels by 12 pixels and its 2 feet by 1 foot.

Pixels are small, but Illustrator works in vectors, which are scalable without degradation. Use navigator to see details of your drawing on screen. When it comes time to print, don't change size of drawing, use print and scale print by 150% or whatever to fill paper.

There are rulers and grids to help see floor spacing. Layers utilized to reduce clutter on screen.

This is first iteration, so in infancy yet. If you add furniture or components, share them and this template can grow.

Download Illustrator template tool


JPG of layout


Oh yeah, my bus is only 35 feet long, not 40'- which is a good thing for Nat'l Parks, bad for layout. More storage and details to come.

[jetjr]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Oh yeah, my bus is only 35 feet long, not 40'- which is a good thing for Nat'l Parks, bad for layout. More storage and details to come.

Noob here gathering loads of information about Skoolie's and life on the road. Do national parks/national park campgrounds have vehicle length limitations or something? Could you provide me with a website for additional information?

Thanks!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by davehearn

How do you like that Blue-Bird, Bob?

Love it so far. But I would go for a MD3060 Allison tranny over an AT643. Two overdrive gears if you can get Allison to unlock the second.

If you are NOT doing a roof raise, take a look at the Thomas buses. Their walls slant inward from just below the windows. You can roof raise them below the windows but now you have a single break line with you cut the bus. The advantage is all of the ceiling panels are screws instead of rivets. I don't remember what Thomas has for drive line options other than Cats which are said to be expensive.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by jetjr

Noob here gathering loads of information about Skoolie's and life on the road. Do national parks/national park campgrounds have vehicle length limitations or something? Could you provide me with a website for additional information?

Thanks!

I've heard the same. No idea if there's any truth to it. I doubt there's a hard fast rule that applies to every park. Some roads, some camper spots, etc sure. But no 40 footers? Phfft. The coaches are as much as 45 feet.