from double decker bus to RV in 20 steps I'll show everything. from the.. ...empty space... ...to the luxury from the planning... ...to the building from the misery... ...to the fun! so let's start with step... 1. Buying In 2011 this Neoplan was for sale, so I went to take a look Neoplan 'Skyliner' Year: 1992 seats:90 engine: Mercedes V6, 255 PK length: 12m, width: 2,5m, hight: 4m I walked around and in short: I liked what I saw did I fall in love? well, maybe :-) I told the seller that I wanted to buy, but after a testdrive checkup by an expert ..during that testdrive I sat upstairs, of course.. ;-) he said there were some minor technical details to be fixed, but that it was a fine bus.. ..so I bought it WTF have I done? Did I buy a 16000 kgs, 20 y.o. dieselslurping vehicle with 90 seats and 8 wheels?? my expert did some welding and other fixes and got it new spray painted, after which it looked like this... now it was my turn for step.. 2. Planning (& stripping) I created the whole bus in the computer, but now more important.. ..was the floor plan with upstairs a bedroom in the back a bathroom in the middle and bunk beds in front for the kids ..and downstairs a place to sit and the kitchen in the bus I started stripping seats out.. storage rails out.. everything out! I wanted to start building upstairs from the back to the front.. ..but.. 3. Big things first There were tow 'Big Things': 1. power - for my tools and to keep the batteries in shape 2.the watertank - the beast (600 liters) is so big that it has to go first I had to make a wall to mount the charger/converter fusebox, so I've got power! (and the batteries stay in shape) the watertank had to come here.. So I.. ..made a drawing of a frame.. ..which was welded by a good friend frame in place.. ..tank in place, time to go upstairs for step.. 4. Walls in my plan I counted ten walls.. ..and there they are! now that was quick, wasn't it? two of the walls I made out of cherry tables, one of them was our dining table at home for 15 years 5. Insulation I bought insulation material, which mainly.. ..came in the windows, which made the bus look.. ..quite stupid from the outside, don't you think? inside I covered parts with plywood, now on to step.. 6. Wiring I planned 3 circuits: -24 volts, -230 volts from the converter, -230 volts from the outside I used wireless switches, less wires and less work, I thought, they work fine! in the end I installed more than 500 m of wire 7. Bedroom I wanted to make a bed, electric roller blinds on each side, and an AC first the bed walnut flooring (got it cheap) it was getting cold so I needed the heating function of the AC I made the roller blinds myself, it isn't much more than a pipe, a motor and some fabric anyway The Gracious End Result 8. Crazy projects I did some unconventional projects, I used the heat exchanger of a condensor dryer in the ventilation system unconventional #2, I asked myself could I use Wi-Fi, my iPad and a Wi-Fi Cam as backup camera? I bought a Wi-Fi cam, made a bracket and hung it behind the rear window does it work? yes.. but.. it's a long story ask me picture quality is good, Wi-Fi connection reliable enough 9. Bathroom this was the plan, toilet, sink and sitting bath (shower wouldn't fit - too low) I started building The Graceful End Result 10. Bunk beds the plan was quite simple: two beds this is where it all should happen building The Grand End Result 11. Cupboard yes, it's the cupboard opposite to the bunk beds interior: two shelves The Groovy End Result 12. Walls stairways I wanted these walls to be shiny white, but I don't like paint then I found this flooring - shiny white! 13. Cupboards there are two cupboards between bedroom and bathroom, this is the one on the left side of the bus and this is the one on the right side of the bus anything extraordinary? yes! here is the inlet of the central vacuum system the vacuum is right underneath the hose switches the machine, with the 10 m hose you can do the whole bus! 14. Ceilings the ceiling consists of two main parts: first I had to do the curved sides.. ..and then the straight strip in the middle on the curved sides I started with a sheet plywood, to be covered with.. ..a sheet of 1 mm HPL - it was a tough job, the sheets were big and brittle. glad it turned out OK the middle strip - I wanted no screws to be visible, and roller insect screens The Glorious End Result the next big step would be the kitchen downstairs, but there was a lot of preparation to do before that 15. Infrastructure plumbing time! I installed a pressure pump.. ..and all the needed pipes - the white pipes for water, the grey ones for grey waste water two 100 liter standard tanks for grey waste water, luckily I didn't need custom made tanks two taps, one for grey, the other for black water underneath there are two Storz couplings to attach a hose - yes, much like fire fighting fittings they came here in the floor of the bus, the left one connected to the black water tank.. ..which is here in the bus - the capacity is 300 liters every tank has an ultrasonic sensor - for the meters I made this little dashboard next was a big 100 liter gas tank (LPG) - here is where I wanted it to go there it is in place for hot water I installed a geyser ..which I connected to the water system 4 new household batteries came in the cupboard in the kitchen I bought 4 AGM 220 Ah batteries and connected them on to the next step - the kitchen you would say... ...well, not quite... on the way to the shop the bus showed some problems... the worst of it was... ...it needed a new engine 16. New engine that cost a lot - actually... more than a lot me when I found out my friend when he saw the bill of the engine but eventually... much, much later... what are you laughing at? when my wife finds out how much that engine was (she took it very well, by the way) my new baby! (be it more expensive than a real baby..) back in, all set for a new start! :-) 17. Kitchen the kitchen was the first interior job to be outsourced, it would have taken me another 2 years - they did it in 3.. weeks this was my design after one week The Glamorous End Result 18. Carpeting another outsourced job - a specialist can do this so much better The Gorgeous End Result 19. Window film remember the insulation you could see from the outside? I had to get rid of that, so I chose sun blocking film on ALL windows The Grandiose End Result 20. The rest there were so many little things left to do - we got all the seats new upholstered, and I made a table opposite ot the table I made a couch I made doors for the bathroom with a well thought-out lock, (if I say so myself ;-) it works with magnets. the advantage: one switch locks two doors at the same time then I brought in some art - next to the door is a strip of an old map of Amsterdam (from 1649) this is a drawing by Rembrandt, the Wester church in Amsterdam in the back I mounted the Nightwatch. I can tell a lot about it, ask me that concludes the 20 steps, let me take you on a quick final tour through the interior starting at the second door thanks for watching! if you liked what you saw - thumbs up! If you want to see my other (more humble ;-) projects, subscribe!
Wow - super nice, plus it make normal RVs look petty, and tiny.
If I'm going to get a bus checked out by an expert I'd hope he'd pick up that it needs a new engine.
I love the concept and like the work you did, but it's hard for me to truly appreciate this without knowing what was spent. Specifically, if someone were to purchase a nice used 5th wheel camper with slide-outs and a used vehicle to tow it, how would that compare to what you spent on this vehicle including all the remodel and engine replacement? I get that there is the whole satisfaction of accomplishment and enjoyment of the labor that cannot be priced, but there's also an opportunity cost involved as well.
I love that you left the front seats in on the upper deck!
Step One: Be rich
Really, REALLY annoying video. But still, that bus went from "meh" to "I'll take two."
This is a lifelong dream of mine, having a bus that's a portable home.
Wow. I could not be more envious of this. Absolutely amazing work. So very excited for the adventures you'll have with this masterpiece. ...and to have done it all yourself.
Question though: do you have a website with the build process / costs on it? Unless you're purposefully trying to keep them private, I'd be super interested to see them.
That's the most Dutch thing i have seen in a while...