General questions

[ird13]

Hey everyone,

My boyfriend and I have come across a few issues in the beginning stages of our conversion and would love some input from the community:

1. We originally planned on having a wall separating our bedroom (located in the back) from the rest of the bus, but we recently decided we would like to be able to keep it more open so we can see our creation from the bedroom. I was wondering what your opinion might be on how to keep things open while still maintaining our privacy during festivals/large crowds.

2. We are having some major issues regulating the heat with our wood burning stove. It seems we can get the heat going quit quickly, but we are having problems venting the heat throughout the bus, and also keeping a consistent and comfortable temperature. Once we get the fire going, the bus goes from very cold to extremely hot in a matter of minutes. How do we tackle this problem?

3. Our bus is snub-nosed, which means the engine compartment sits next to the driver's seat and we are looking for inspiration to turn it into a passenger seat while still being able to access the engine when needed.

Hopefully some of the more experienced folks on here have some answers, thanks!

[nat_ster]

Welcome.

I live in 16 feet of a bus shell full time with a wood /coal stove.

1. Curtains for privacy. They stay pulled back most of the time.

2. A better more air tight stove. Learn to turn it down before the bus gets hot. Slow and steady burn, don't over burn because you still cold. Open a window.

3. Move your door to the center of the bus on the passenger side. Now you have a ton of room for the passenger seat.

Please post pics and details of your bus. Things like how it was insulated, length, where the stove is in the bus, the floor plan, ect. We would be better able to help you.

Nat

[cowlitzcoach]

If you build a fold down cover for the step well you can mount a co-pilot's seat just aft of the step well. If you mount it on a swivel you can turn it around to use while the bus is not moving.

When my wife and I first got married she didn't understand why my brother always would open the french doors during the winter time. It wasn't until we started to heat our home with wood that she realized the opened doors were the thermostat.

You may want to install some computer fans to move air around the bus. They are small, quiet, and use very little juice. The fans will help to move the air around helping to heat to heat more efficiently or the A/C to cool more efficiently.

At the end of the day, your bus is a relatively small space. If the stove isn't sized correctly you are going to have a hard time regulating the stove to put out just the right amount of heat. If it is too large it will be very difficult to not over heat your space. If it isn't large enough it will be very difficult to keep the fire stoked up enough to warm the whole space up.

Curtains would be the easiest. Pocket doors would elimnate swinging doors. Accordian doors would work as well. Accordian doors are what came from the factory in my Avion travel trailer to seperate the bedroom and the living room from the kitchen. When not in use they fold back unobtrusively. When in use they effectively close off areas of the trailer. A space was left at the top to allow cold A/C air to flow into the closed off portions of the trailer.

[Roadrunner]

I posted this somewhere else but don't remember where. I'm going to have a register at or near floor level in the back room. I'll run a 4 or 5 inch duct along the floor to somewhere near the stove and out another register. If you you move the coldest air from low in the room this will bring in more warm air from the front of the bus. Inside the duct will be a duct fan made for that purpose. It can be thermostatically controlled, manually or on a timer relay. You should get the hang of it pretty easily. Another thought would be to put a heat duct up high to help the warm air get to the back room if need be. The duct fans are not expensive and fit inside the duct. I think this would solve your problem. You will also get the hang of controlling the fire pretty quickly too. I heat my house with a wood burner. I have a heat duct to the upstairs and the stairwell acts as the cold air return. It works very well. If you need more info just ask. Welcome aboard and good luck.

[dond]

This our solution with 21 feet behind the driver seat, may not be yours. The seat folds forward flat and we place a blanket over it to create an extra flat surface.

[ird13]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Our home is coming along nicely. We've decided to do a solid wall for the purpose of installing a wall safe for our valuables when at large festivals. A foldover seat will be installed soon atop the engine compartment. Currently we are installing water and then power. I will post some pictures when I get back to a computer

[EastCoastCB]

I'm building in a safe as well. Considering putting mine under the floor.
Post some pics ASAP!

[Roadrunner]

The way the world is today you need one. Good idea. I will also be putting an alarm on the bus as well.

[crazycal]

What seat is that.

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I'm building in a safe as well. Considering putting mine under the floor.
Post some pics ASAP!

Exactly where are you putting the safe?

[ird13]

The safe will be accessible only from in the bedroom, which will also have a lock on the door. It will be in the wall that separates our bedroom from the rest of the bus.

[The-Breeze]

We have a little fireproof safe not much bigger than a shoebox. We want to place it as close to the door as possible so that in the event of an emergency one of us can grab it and yank it out the door on our way out.

We still haven't worked out the details...all we know is 1) concealed 2) close to the door 3) easily accessible.

[family wagon]

Originally Posted by crazycal

Exactly where are you putting the safe?

Lemme guess: you'll ask the combination or key number next?

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by family wagon

Lemme guess: you'll ask the combination or key number next?

That's where I was going. I didn't realize there was more than one.

[ird13]

Haha you guys the password is password of course. Or maybe the key code is 1234. Duh!

We would place the safe closer to the door however we don't want people to know its there.