How does this floor plan look

[djdalfaro]

Hi, I'm looking at a 7 window bus, and trying to determine if it has enough room for my family. We would not be full timing, just using it for vacations and glamping. How does this floor plan look, have I forgotten anything? do you see any glaring issues?

Thanks,

[Skunky Bus]

The only thing that jumps out at me is that the bathroom looks a bit cramped even if just for a toilet. Probably wide enough albeit cozy, but maybe a little tight for legs while sitting down. (Disclaimer: My perspective is one of a guy with extra-long legs - and claustrophobia.)

The rest depends on how many people you have (I'm guessing fairly large family based on sleeping accommodations) and how much cooking you plan to do.

What did you use to make such a precision drawing? Seriously cool. I'm still taking measurements on mine.

[djdalfaro]

Originally Posted by Skunky Bus

The only thing that jumps out at me is that the bathroom looks a bit cramped even if just for a toilet. Probably wide enough albeit cozy, but maybe a little tight for legs while sitting down. (Disclaimer: My perspective is one of a guy with extra-long legs - and claustrophobia.)

The rest depends on how many people you have (I'm guessing fairly large family based on sleeping accommodations) and how much cooking you plan to do.

What did you use to make such a precision drawing? Seriously cool. I'm still taking measurements on mine.

Yeah, the "bathroom" is a bit cozy. The grid in this image is 6" square. I'm planning on using a 24"x30" showerpan, and just removing the airhead when an indoor shower is necessary. My plan is to run an outdoor shower the majority of the time.

I've got 4 kids, ages; 15, 12, 7, & 4. The 12, 7, and 4 yr old often sleep in the same twin bed at home, despite having more beds than people in our house, so I think the sleeping arrangements will work as the 15 y/o will eventually leave and free up a bunk.

To make the floor plan;
I found a pdf mechanical drawing of the size bus I'm looking at from www.thomasbusonline.com - /seats/, and another one that had a side exit.
Exported the pdfs to pngs.
Copied over the side exit and cleaned up the image in paint.
Used an online image editor to make the png transparent.

In Microsoft Visio;
I created a new drawing with the scale I wanted, so I could play with the actual dimensions and not have to worry about converting while designing.
Drew a RED (easy to see) rectangle the size of the floor using the dimensions from the drawing.
Inserted the transparent png and resized/moved it until the interior walls lined up with the red rectangle.
Set the rulers to zero at the corner of the floor.
Set the protection on both the png and the rectangle so they cant be selected or moved.

Whew... It took a lot of prep time, but I can play with the design over and over without any significant thought.

[Rovobay]

I like the details of your drawing. great work.

[Tigerman67]

My concern would be the hearth next to the queen sized bed.


A queen is 60x80 and the inside of my bus is 7.5 feet I believe. So with a queen up against a side wall, you would have about 30 inches left to put the stove. Depending on how big the stove is, how much of an air gap does that leave you between the stove and bed? What happens if you get too hot during the night and kick off the blanket, how close will it be to the stove?

[djdalfaro]

Originally Posted by Tigerman67

My concern would be the hearth next to the queen sized bed.


A queen is 60x80 and the inside of my bus is 7.5 feet I believe. So with a queen up against a side wall, you would have about 30 inches left to put the stove. Depending on how big the stove is, how much of an air gap does that leave you between the stove and bed? What happens if you get too hot during the night and kick off the blanket, how close will it be to the stove?

Good catch. That had concerned me as well. I was planning on a Dickinson wood fuel marine heater which are fairly compact. I'll look into the dimensions a bit more. I believe with those I can mount it on the wall. Maybe just raise it up so its above the level where the blankets would be?

[djdalfaro]

This is a similar model. Not the exact one.

[djdalfaro]

Originally Posted by Tigerman67

My concern would be the hearth next to the queen sized bed.


A queen is 60x80 and the inside of my bus is 7.5 feet I believe. So with a queen up against a side wall, you would have about 30 inches left to put the stove. Depending on how big the stove is, how much of an air gap does that leave you between the stove and bed? What happens if you get too hot during the night and kick off the blanket, how close will it be to the stove?

I looked into the manufacturers install guide, and what I found is that the combustible material spacing requirement is 24", but the protected surface requirement is 8". So I can turn the stove sideways, and build a short wall(lined with steel and an air gap) keeping the bed from the stove.

I also switched location of the bathroom and bunks which gives the bathroom it's own window, and keeps the sightlines open a bit more. I don't plan on enclosing the top bunk, maybe just a support beam (if necessary) but no wall on top. My thought is that the top bunk can be used as a catch-all area during the day.

[Tigerman67]

Originally Posted by djdalfaro

I looked into the manufacturers install guide, and what I found is that the combustible material spacing requirement is 24", but the protected surface requirement is 8". So I can turn the stove sideways, and build a short wall(lined with steel and an air gap) keeping the bed from the stove.

I also switched location of the bathroom and bunks which gives the bathroom it's own window, and keeps the sightlines open a bit more. I don't plan on enclosing the top bunk, maybe just a support beam (if necessary) but no wall on top. My thought is that the top bunk can be used as a catch-all area during the day.

Nice looking stove. I am a bit paranoid, I might think about some sort of screen (child gate maybe?) to keep things away from it if I was sleeping or really young kids were back near it.



I don't think you want to raise it too far from the floor, since I have heard that in cold weather, the cold can be radiating up from the floor and heat from the stove is going to rise as well.

[Tigerman67]

Originally Posted by djdalfaro

I looked into the manufacturers install guide, and what I found is that the combustible material spacing requirement is 24", but the protected surface requirement is 8". So I can turn the stove sideways, and build a short wall(lined with steel and an air gap) keeping the bed from the stove.

I also switched location of the bathroom and bunks which gives the bathroom it's own window, and keeps the sightlines open a bit more. I don't plan on enclosing the top bunk, maybe just a support beam (if necessary) but no wall on top. My thought is that the top bunk can be used as a catch-all area during the day.

What kind of toilet are going to use? if you are going to use a blackwater tank, I think the drain is traditionally on the drivers side. And you traditionally drain the black, and then grey to help rinse the line out. I don't think its huge, but just something to realize if you have to put the black on the passenger side under the toliet, you might want to move the grey over there too for the ability to use gray as a rinse.

[djdalfaro]

Originally Posted by Tigerman67

Nice looking stove. I am a bit paranoid, I might think about some sort of screen (child gate maybe?) to keep things away from it if I was sleeping or really young kids were back near it.



I don't think you want to raise it too far from the floor, since I have heard that in cold weather, the cold can be radiating up from the floor and heat from the stove is going to rise as well.

I think you're right about raising it. After reading the manual, it requires at least 4ft and preferably 6ft of straight chimney pipe, so if I leave it close to the ground, I can run it straight up, and not have too tall of a chimney pipe on the roof.

As far as my kids are concerned, I tend to let them learn by experience and develop a healthy respect for all things hot! I might think differently if my youngest was younger, but at 4 he's sharp enough to understand.

Originally Posted by Tigerman67

What kind of toilet are going to use? if you are going to use a blackwater tank, I think the drain is traditionally on the drivers side. And you traditionally drain the black, and then grey to help rinse the line out. I don't think its huge, but just something to realize if you have to put the black on the passenger side under the toliet, you might want to move the grey over there too for the ability to use gray as a rinse.

I plan on an Airhead composting toilet, and I agree that for plumbing simplicity, I should have the shower pan as close as possible to the sink. I'll probably play with some other configurations to see if I can get them closer and both on the driver side, but with the 7 windows and wheel wells, I may just have to do some creative routing.

One of my design considerations was not placing my kids beds too close to my wife and I's. Although I know there is no such thing as true privacy on a bus this size.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by djdalfaro

Hi, I'm looking at a 7 window bus, and trying to determine if it has enough room for my family. We would not be full timing, just using it for vacations and glamping. How does this floor plan look, have I forgotten anything? do you see any glaring issues?

Thanks,

Where are you going to put stuff?

[djdalfaro]

Originally Posted by ComfortEagle

Where are you going to put stuff?

Drawers under the couch. Lift up storage in the dinette seats. Overhead cabinets or shelves. Possibly some lift up storage in the bunks if I make the bases deep enough. This bus will not be built out for full timing, only for glamping/road tripping.

[Skunky Bus]

Originally Posted by djdalfaro

Yeah, the "bathroom" is a bit cozy. The grid in this image is 6" square. I'm planning on using a 24"x30" showerpan, and just removing the airhead when an indoor shower is necessary.
...
To make the floor plan;
I found a pdf mechanical drawing of the size bus I'm looking at from www.thomasbusonline.com - /seats/, and another one that had a side exit.
...

Yeah, I've gotta make the diagrams for my 40+ -year-old Wayne the hard way: with tape measure, pen and paper. (At least I can use similar graphics programs to draw the plans, though.)

I know what you mean by "airhead," but your mention of removing the airhead from the bathroom reminds me of how I felt about my former roommate!

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by Skunky Bus

Yeah, I've gotta make the diagrams for my 40+ -year-old Wayne the hard way: with tape measure, pen and paper. (At least I can use similar graphics programs to draw the plans, though.)

I have been using SketchUp; it's free and not super hard to use...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRMTtXK6Ph0

[djdalfaro]

So, my wife had me rework it. She demands more privacy for the bathroom and between us and the bunk area for the kids. This is what I came up with.

The bathroom is away from the "day time use" area, and the back bunk room can be curtained off to allow for some privacy when dressing.

The shower and sink are now both on the driver side and fairly close which should make plumbing easier.

The dinette was shortened a bit, and after some thought will need to have solid immovable backs as it will also be the seating area for the kids while driving. This I believe will result in a smaller convertible bed. But I'm still searching for a good design.

I've changed from 2 bunks to 3.

Wood burning heater up front behind the driver.

11ft of continuous countertop.

Any other suggestions?