Tips on getting it right the first time. 

We were lucky when we found our bus. It was mechanically sound, and a lot of the work of converting it into a travelling tiny house was already done by the previous owner. Which was great, because we were on a deadline to start moving, and time was running out for us. What I mean by “done”, is that the bus had everything we needed to make it liveable – like a bed, shower and toilet, kitchen and dining area. 

However…

In different circumstances, I would have LOVED to have converted the bus myself. To start from scratch with a bus that’s just finished its service, complete with seats and dried chewing gum and the lingering smell of anxiety and old farts. 

Because when you start from that, you are only limited in design by the available physical space and your imagination. Want to have a dance floor, complete with a rotating disco ball? You can! Want to cover the floor with sand and string hammocks up to sleep in? You can! (I’m not saying that doing these things is at all practical, but the point is that you can do whatever you want.)

But how do you go about making the bus into the tiny travelling home of your deepest, darkest desires? 

Well that’s what this article is all about!

Step 1: Figuring out what you want

So, you want to buy a bus, convert it into a motorhome and travel around the country, eh? That’s a bloody great idea, I like you, you’re my kind of people!

Well you’ve got this idea, this desire to go adventuring and you know how you want to do it. Now what?

Well, you need a plan. Remember the 5 P’s? Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance? Remember the saying: Fail to plan, and you plan to fail? You need a plan. 

First and foremost, like any great plan, you should start with the end in mind. That means that you should think about, visualise even, how you want to spend your time in your bus/tiny home. Will you spend most of your time away from your bus? Do you enjoy having a place to read and be comfortable on rainy days where you can’t really do much outside? How far and for how long will you be travelling for? Do you imagine yourself on the move, just you against the world, and don’t require a lot of space? Are you taking the family of four along for the adventure with you? 

In other words, what is this bus going to be for you and what do you want it to do for you. 

Once you figure that out, you will need to move onto the next question.

Step 2: What and how much do you need

Buses come in all different shapes and sizes. There is no “one size fits all”, because the eventual size of the bus you choose will come down to the question you must ask next:

“How much space do I want?” *Hot tip: Most of the time you will “need” less space than you think.

Because the more function you want from your bus, the more space you will need. For example, if it’s just you travelling around and all you really need is a place to sleep, you might not need a bus at all. You may decide that a van is more appropriate. However if you’re going to be travelling around with the partner, the three kids and the dog, you WILL need more space. You may decide that your bus might be a school bus or coach.  

In our case, we wanted a bus with enough space that we can sit out the rainy days (or weeks) in comfort, and not go crazy with cabin-fever and want to smack each other with the frying pan. We wanted an area where one of us could be working at the table or on the couch reading, and the other could be on the bed or outside the bus. We also wanted our bus to more-or-less function as a house, with amenities for cooking, shower, toilet etc. And we wanted room for our dog to not go crazy as well (she’s a border collie, and they have SO MUCH ENERGY). In the end we got a larger bus, and so far it’s worked out great. We could probably have gone smaller, but not by much (smaller bus, not a van). 

Step 3: Figure out your budget and go shopping

This should be the easy part. Figure out how much you’re willing to spend (both on the bus, and the renovations), and finding a bus you really like. 

General advice: Renovations and the converting process will always cost you more than you think. You will forget to allow for the little things (like screws), that keep adding up. And that’s ok, just be prepared. 

For us, we had a budget of XXX total amount, and we had to buy and renovate for as close to or under that amount. And we got lucky and found what we wanted for almost in our budget (so we stretched it out and got it anyway). 

I can’t tell you how much to spend and on what, because that’s just up to you. Just remember, you may be staying in the bus for longer than you think. 

Before you go shopping, I recommend reading this article for tips on what to look for when your buying a bus. 

To Be Continued…

Obviously, the range of information you might need when buying and converting a bus into a motorhome/tiny home is huge. Too big for this little article anyway (if I want to write it properly that is). So we will continue this in the next one.

Until then, 

Stay Wild and Free

-Aaron and Chiara.