Hello all!
Firstly, thanks to everyone who contributes to this site and was able to provide me inspiration to my build. I apologize for not being more active, hope you all get a kick out my project. Compliments/criticism/questions welcomed.
Picked this bad boy up at the end of 2014, no seats, the previous owner had a cabinet and a bench seat but that all got ripped out and I started from scratch. I decided to do a full conversion and live in it or try to live in it. I've been living in it full-time since October and have been loving the vegabond life. I work lots of different environmental contract jobs, mostly jobs with government fisheries so I'm able to live and travel flexibly. I do not have a "spot" for it, when I'm not working I like to go surfing and hiking, when I'm in cities I might have a friend that I'll park at or do some urban camping on residential streets.
I built the interior on my own with basic power tools and little wood working experience, I'm quite happy with the result. What I envisioned and ended up with is a rustic but functional home with a cabin atmosphere. My woodstove is homemade from a propane tank, I purchased this through a classified and am very happy with it considering the $200cdn price tag. It is quite small though so unless you are waking up every few hours to stoke, it will be cold and most heat will be gone by the am. My kitchen consists of a 4 burner propane stove/oven complimented by a small bar sink and a 120L water tank that is underneath the bench seat to keep it from freezing in the winter. I have hot water via my on-demand propane water heater that I obtained from Excel America. They were one of the only companies that make on-demand systems and advertise them for indoor use without the need to vent. I installed mine under the sink and cut a hole in the side of the cupboard to vent the heat it produces when it runs, 6 months later and no issues.
My fridge is 120V and has mostly been getting use as a cooler because I do not have enough power options to run it consistently. As of right now I have a single deep cycle/stater battery and a 1500w inverter which is is plenty considering most of my power use is charging phone/laptop/battery packs but I do plan on installing a solar system and 1 or 2 more batteries. It's going to be a hot summer and having a cool fridge would be very nice!
Anyways, here are some specs and some pictures, enjoy!
The Bus:
1984 Chevy G30 Wayne
350 5.7L Gasoline
Twin size bed
love seat couch
4 burner stove-oven
12v water pump
on-demand hot water
120L fresh tank
outdoor showers option
tiny woodstove
wood storage
seating for 5 excluding bed
sleeps 1-2 or more if the floor and couch is considered
portable compost toilet bucket makes up for the lack of washroom
future upgrades
solar system
more batteries
awning
exterior paint job
ALSO, if you feel so inclined please take a gander at this article my friend Sam wrote about me from all the way in Australia!
http://www.twistedatlas.com/blog/my-life-in-an-old-school-bus