How wide is hallway?

[fernmistress]

I know this may sound simple and silly, but I was just wondering what width everyone has gone/are going with for the hallway? And how wide is your bus from side to side on the inside?

Ours is 7.5 feet from wall to wall right now, not including the amount of space that the insulation and plywood will take up on the sides once they are installed. We are considering 24 inches for our hallway width, which looks to me like it will be plenty of space. Our bathroom area, however, could stand to be a bit wider and I was thinking we could do that but it would decrease the hallway width. Please keep in mind that we are a family of 4 with 2 dogs. Do you think 24 inches is a good width or have you found that you need more/could do with less???

[fernmistress]

Originally Posted by vanguy67

I'm boxing in over my rear wheel wells and making them closets. I haven't measured but I would guess the width between the rear wheel wells minus about 4 inches for wall materials.

That's probably about the same amount of space that we'll have. The wall for the bathroom will be just outside the wheel well. Without solid walls up, it looks to be plenty of moving space and that we could do with less. It's just so hard to tell, though.

I've noticed some people have wider hallways and others have more narrow hallways. If it were just the two of us and no dogs to trip over, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm just thinking about making the most of the space and trying to figure out if it would be worth sacrificing some hallway space for a larger bathroom or if making do with smaller bathroom is the thing to do.

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by vanguy67

Really, how much space do you need to sit on the toilet?

Dude! I get some of my best reading done whilst seated upon the royal ceramic throne! Comfort is paramount!

In all seriousness, after setting up some cardboard boxes for walls, I've determined that 30" is my personal "comfort zone" for aisle-ways and an absolute minimum for the toilet box. While I'm willing to cut the walk-way down to 24" to move from the front to the rear of the bus, any smaller wouldn't be realistic for carrying in things like backpacks, groceries, laundry, or supplies in general. Don't forget to take these basic considerations in to account, or you'll be cursing as you have to crab-step your stuff inside.

Bathrooms don't have to be all on one side of the bus. Especially if you have a composting, or portable toilet. One of my bathroom designs puts the toilet on the passenger side, with the shower directly opposite on the driver's side. Sliding doors would close off the aisle to provide privacy without taking up too much room. When the doors are slid into their pockets, anyone can walk the length of the bus. With the doors closed, the living space (kitchen, sofa & entertainment center) and the personal space (bathroom, bed & clothes closets) are separated.

Take a couple of minutes to create a mock-up of walls at different widths. Use spare sheets of plywood set next to your house, or (like me) set up a bunch of boxes next to a wall, then try to walk through once with empty hands, then with a laundry basket, then with both hands full of bags of groceries, etc. Basically, think of anything you may carry onto your bus, then try to get it through the opening. If it doesn't work well in the mockup, you'll definitely not want to deal with it on the bus.

[the_experience03]

My bus is 87" from seat rail to seat rail. I want to say my hallway is a narrow 21 or 17 inches. It's not wide or comfortable, but it's enough to move just fine. The bulkheads are also all this width. The idea? Drunken bufoons can't get snagged on a wall. They can't bounce far from side to side and they are pretty much stuck going forward or back, no hangups.

[fernmistress]

TygerCub: Great post and great idea! Guess what??? http://resurrection-fern.blogspot.co...hallenged.html




Truth is, there will be plenty of room to do any/all business that needs to be done in the bathroom. And our bathroom will only consist of shower and toilet. We will have multipurpose sink in the kitchen area, which will be located right outside the bathroom.

We actually considered splitting up the shower and toilet and putting them on opposing sides. Our problem comes from having to have enough room for two bunks on the other side of the bus. And after much discussion, we have opted to go with the standard 39" bunk instead of cutting it down to the smaller size of about 31". We also agreed that they needed to be end-to-end instead of stacked, which will allow plenty of storage both above and below and give the kids plenty of head room - since this will be their main personal space and they are older so that becomes a very important factor.

So we'll have the bathroom on the passenger side of the bus off the main back bedroom and the bunks will start on the driver side off the back bedroom. That will leave us with right at (or possibly a little under) 24 inches for the hallway. I did take note that it is plenty of room to walk. I didn't, however, think about carrying things like a laundry basket. I may have to go home this afternoon and try that to see how it will work. Thanks for the suggestion.


vanguy: That is a very good argument for a split bathroom and I would still love to make it work. I just don't see how it's possible. At least not right now.


the_experience03:
I can't help but wonder how many drunken bufoons I will have on my bus at one time. I do like that argument for narrow hallways, though. Thanks.