Eddie the Short bus.

[chancesrbad]

I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself and our "family" project, " Eddie the short bus." My youngest two children named it. Playing off the not so politically correct, short bus, special ed, concept. In their words. We all belong on the short bus.....So...Eddie it is.

I say family project. But I find myself using Eddie as much needed project therapy. I find the biggest obstacle lying ahead is the fact that Eddie is a short bus. Spatially challenged, how do I fit the creature comforts, and the essentials, and still sleep 4?
I am heading into the slow time of year for my business, and intend on making good use of my down time. I will do my best to document the journey, and keep you all posted.

Michael

[Tango]

Welcome Michael! --- So...just how short is it? While space on board can be optimized, there is a limit as to how much/how many you can cram in and still all stay sane. You'll find some pretty clever space saving & making ideas here so read up and make the call. Whatever you do, please post some pix and ideas.

[chancesrbad]

I tried to post some pics. Got refused. Loaded a bunch to photobucket. And got refused on the link. Will work on it later. Have things to do today. It's gonna be a pretty day

[REDD]

Originally Posted by chancesrbad

I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself and our "family" project, " Eddie the short bus." My youngest two children named it. Playing off the not so politically correct, short bus, special ed, concept. In their words. We all belong on the short bus.....So...Eddie it is.

I say family project. But I find myself using Eddie as much needed project therapy. I find the biggest obstacle lying ahead is the fact that Eddie is a short bus. Spatially challenged, how do I fit the creature comforts, and the essentials, and still sleep 4?
I am heading into the slow time of year for my business, and intend on making good use of my down time. I will do my best to document the journey, and keep you all posted.

Michael

"Special Ed" ....that's freakin awesome!

Can't wait for the pics.

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by chancesrbad

I tried to post some pics. Got refused. Loaded a bunch to photobucket. And got refused on the link. Will work on it later. Have things to do today. It's gonna be a pretty day

Don't bother attaching pictures here. Use a 3d party host like Imgur, Photobucket, Flickr and copy and paste the links into the thread.

Thread, with instructions on several providers here

[sdwarf36]

Originally Posted by chancesrbad

I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself and our "family" project, " Eddie the short bus." My youngest two children named it. Playing off the not so politically correct, short bus, special ed, concept. In their words. We all belong on the short bus.....So...Eddie it is.

I say family project. But I find myself using Eddie as much needed project therapy. I find the biggest obstacle lying ahead is the fact that Eddie is a short bus. Spatially challenged, how do I fit the creature comforts, and the essentials, and still sleep 4?
I am heading into the slow time of year for my business, and intend on making good use of my down time. I will do my best to document the journey, and keep you all posted.

Michael

Eddie-hee hee. Mine's the same idea-"Sped".

[cowlitzcoach]

The best way in which to optimize space is to visit yacht/boat building forums. Boat builders have been specializing in putting a lot of stuff into small spaces for a long time.

There are certain things you can do to "create" space. If you dual purpose the sleeping and dining space so that at night you can sleep and during the day it can be used as a sitting area that would help.

Determine how much of a bathroom you need. If all you need is a toilet there are a lot of ways to make a portable toilet work and still have privacy while not taking up permanent space like a closet. If you determine you need a shower, if you install the toilet in the shower you can dual purpose that space as well. And as long as you keep the toilet paper dry it should work okay.

Adding space outdoors when you stop in the form of a tent for the kids or awnings to extend the indoors outdoors is helpful.

Some have added a second story to their rig. It usually is nothing more than a sleeping loft but it can increase your livability space by getting some of the people out of the main space for periods of time.

The biggest issue you will have to face is keeping everything you build light enough that by the time you add personal gear and the family you don't go over the GVWR of the vehicle. Knowing what the bus weighs after everything is stripped out and before you start adding stuff will give you an idea of how much you can add onto your bus. Many of the smaller buses push the limits of the GVWR when they are empty. A 2,000 lbs. tare weight may seem like a lot. But four people my size is going to eat up more than half that tare weight.

Good luck and happy trails.

[sdwarf36]

My shuttle bus has 14k gross- I weighed it before I started-only 10k! they must figure that 16 pasengers + luggage weigh a bunch.
I have a small camp toilet. It sits pretty low to the ground. So I put it on a wheel arch. I used pocket doors in the bus to save more room.
Floor space gets used up real quick-but thats only about 20% of the room. Build up! Theres always plenty of air space.
As a buddy said as I was trying to fit all my wants in a small area--"think submarine!"

[jazty]

I made a Murphy bed in the back of the bus, across from the kitchen. When folded up it provides easy access to the kitchen, the cabinets below (which also house the fresh water tank) and a cabinet for clothing. When folded down there is still enough of an aisle to get to the counter.