Designing discussions and so other stuff

[Lsz]

Hi everyone!

New on the forum, my wife and I built a sprinter van conversion 6 or 7 years ago that we traveled around in and had a blast with. Now we have 1 kid and another due in a few months. It's time for an upgrade.

HOWEVER, this time we are thinking about selling our home and moving into the bus full time with our 2 kids.

Im an engineer/designer so I've been going through all the potential floor plans and getting the plumbing and electrical systems figured out completely.
We are doing bunk beds for our daughter's and a queen size in the back.
I need an office to work out of while on the road so that's getting incorporated into the bedroom.

We are doing a roof raise of 18 to 24in, as well as raising the floor in the back of the bus by 10in to accommodate wheel wells and add lower storage to the floor.

Internal Walls will be 2x4 on weak axis with 1/2in birch/maple ply.
Cabinetry built from 1/2 birch/maple ply.
Uppers and lowers shown in floor plan.
Floor will be 3/4 maple ply, polyurethane sealed.

Attached is a floor plan. It obviously doesn't show the intracacies of extra cabinet spaces everywhere like under the couch or in the front or under the bed and so forth. Let me know what you think. It also doesn't show utilities which alot will be underneath. But the water will need a place inside or good insulation underneath.

Here's the real questions I have.

I need to be able to haul 2 full size dirt bikes, gas, gear, tools and maybe a pw50 up to 125 in the future.
And I need to be able to tow a jeep or scout behind the bus.

Option 1, reduce the size of the living area and add a garage built into the back of the bus. 3ft minimum will fit 2 bikes side by side and storage above them. Add a door to the side for access.

Pros, doesn't change turning/swing.
Cons, less space up front, less space in garage.

Option 2, bolt/weld on a frame extension and add a 4ft toy hauler section to the back of the bus. ENCLOSED. And bring the lights to the back of this. Add a hitch to the frame extension.

Pros, more space in the front of the bus, more space in back
Cons, changes the turning/swing of the back.

1) Has anyone added an extension to a FE class D? How horrible was the swing on the back end?
2) Anyone have experience living in a bus with a family of 4, kids from 0 to 2 years old, planning on doing this for years though.. Do I need to make sure and optimize the amount of living room?
3) what design changes would you make?
4) safety considerations for driving with kids and wife? Seat belts and so forth.

 

[nikitis]

Extending the swing radius on a bus that already has a terrible swing radius is a bad idea because there are gonna be tight parking situations that will strand you until someone moves their vehicle that you won't be able to pull out of without hitting them. Not knocking your driving skills, but even default without modification it can be an issue. You'd be better off adding a trailer hitch to the bus and pulling a toy hauler with all of your bikes, tools etc and it has a turning pivot point which allows you to turn better in tight spaces.

If you plan on living in the bus too, it's best to optimize living space as much as possible.

 

[BamaBus]

4) safety considerations for driving with kids and wife? Seat belts and so forth.

I would research sideways seating and seatbelt use in an RV.

 

[Rucker]

First of all, cool design work. Your plans are AMBITIOUS!

Do you already have the bus?

Option 2 sounds like a massive amount of work. I kept completely within the shell of my shuttle, though I did add a bumper extension. I wish the extension was shorter.

Roof raise may limit the insurability of your bus-might pay to research insurance before proceeding.

I channel many others here who have recommended doing the absolute minimum needed and running the roads for a while to get the feel of the space before a deep, expensive commit.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

I channel many others here who have recommended doing the absolute minimum needed and running the roads for a while to get the feel of the space before a deep, expensive commit.

I concur. If I ever get a bus, I will start out with a hammock or air mattress . Then go from there.