Converting a heavy-duty bus/coach/truck into a motorhome (page 38 of 161)

Well, to try CUNNI's magic formula, I'm jumping in

Here's a photo of a friend's bus converted into a computer room

Wow.... it's so obvious!!! I was overthinking it... THANKS CUNNI!!! Actually, it's like with some jobs—sometimes the more you search for complex solutions the less you find them, and so the more you search the less you find... 😊uh, never mind😇 I'm outta here

😏I think I'm going to retake IQ tests, I feel like mine melted tonight😄

Ha! I'm happy I can get to bed early (it's not even midnight!) I've even got time to do a couple little tasks for work that's awesome!

GX47 😎😎😎

Alright, before I head to work, here's one more quick thing:

My first motorhome



😏actually it's not mine, but it reminds me I have the same one rotting away🤪 (the back's not the same of course) but it would fit in the GX47 without modifying the door😄

alright, that's it, it's past midnight, alright I'm gonna stop fooling around and go to work! seriously😐

GX47

Cool Vespa camper van!

Complete opposite of our buses!

Yeah, I thought that was a funny extreme reference, and next to it even my little GX looks HUGE! 😉

Alright, I'm out, gotta work🤪

Hi, I'm new to the site and I've read almost everything. At the beginning of this thread, I thought the Saviem S53 was a good base for a motorhome conversion project, but seeing this recent message, I now think Renault no longer takes care of these old buses? (following an Iveco takeover) so all my hopes are dashed! What do you think is the best base at an accessible price for a young person like me? Knowing I plan to take all the time I need to complete this project, but the initial budget (buying the bus) can't exceed €4,000–5,000 thanks in advance for your expert answers!

Don't mix it all up!

An S53 is an old bus and Irisbus doesn't matter! Don't count on new parts. On the other hand, there are tons of used parts out there, and that's what makes it such an accessible bus.

But a recent FR1, that's a pain - you struggle to find certain used parts and risk not finding them at all. And that's pretty catastrophic for a bus less than 10 years old (for certain models).

If your budget is 5000 euros, you're a bit short, but others have pulled it off with S45/S53 or even PR14 or the squared Magirus (the experts will know what I mean). Avoid complicated buses, even if they're cheap.

PATRICK26

Hotware,

if I can get away and go, I'll take you. I live in Sarthe, Rennes to my place is 160km, I made that drive last week with the coach.😉 that just leaves 630 kms😎

GX47

PS heads up everyone, we can team up😉 if someone has an old school bus still in good shape, should we do a road trip?😏

😊Ha yeah that's right, I'm not around anymore, I went to work (I'd forgotten)😏

Heuliez Heuliez Heuliez.

No, no, I'm out of here, whoosh, vanished

OK, thanks—I feel reassured now. I can stay motivated for my project!

In your opinion, can those 4 bus models you mentioned be converted to VASP motorhome specs with enough courage and patience?

Anyway, thanks for your quick response and all the advice you've given over 33 pages! I'll definitely need more specific guidance in a few months, but now I know where to turn!

HEY, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!

All that's left is to plan the route to Valencia for the meetup. There was someone from Paris too. He might be able to drive some of the way to a bus stop.... There was someone from Lyon too....

You're right, your carpooling idea would be hilarious. The GX47, does it still have its seats?

PATRICK26

Thanks cunni for the photos, that's awesome - keep it up, it's a treat...fab😉

That's really cool thanks for that! For new parts and advice you quickly get sorted. I wanted to reclassify a 709 and the Daimler guy told me it wasn't possible and gave me good advice on the situation. I've always been pleasantly surprised by their service. And I've got a '86 190d with multiple previous owners and pretty sporadic maintenance.......... over 500,000 km and I drive it every day.. runs perfectly. Damn....I'm going on about my life again!! Anyway on the homologation front for campervans, are 20-year-old Setras okay???? (assuming driver's door of course) Not to mention recent buses, what design "flaws" are too restrictive for homologation??? And what about heavy-vehicle bodies?? (doors? floors?...) Well I'll save some for later... goodnight And respect to the photos.... I don't get it...it's dumb, I've got photos too... (and Patrick's keeping the Russian site going, that's good for what we've got!!!) Cheers

If all goes well, here's the bus I'm going to get. 1993, 780,000 km, €15,000. It's quite something.

I can't believe it, the night owls...

what a beautiful machine... keep all your seats, because if you get rid of them, I'm interested—I'd need 8, so then you can send me a price via private message. Where are you in France? I'll give you the dimensions of my S53 seats (just adapt the seat to the metal frame, that should be possible, right?) and now I'm turning to Patrick26: are the seats and their fittings standard (4-bolt spacing)

Kikiwin

I'm 25 and I started with an S53. I bought it 6 months ago, and since I haven't decommissioned it and don't have my C and D licenses, I just move it forward and backward a meter every 2 weeks. Get a bus that belonged to a transport company—it's ideal and cheap (but check the other coaches to see if they're well maintained or abandoned when the company is about to sell them). A reasonable budget to spend is €1,500 (I had offered €1,400 knowing I was paying for their last inspection), anyway that's what I paid because the company had to buy new tires from Michelin (they have a tire fleet that they pay maintenance and leasing fees on).

Make sure to get one with the technical inspection, don't wait to register it, because I no longer have the seats and it's no longer compliant with the 53-seater inspection, but that's normal.

For info, I bought this bus to live in it for a few weeks a year as part of my work travel, but currently I'm 300 km from home in student housing, and it costs me barely €150 a month with some meals... (housing allowance, etc...) but if I end up moving to densely populated areas and have to pay for hotels, it'll be worth it to travel by coach.

Plus, if you're not in a hurry, you can convert it for not too much money (I recover scrap from my construction sites, knowing that cable scrap is 10 meters long, or that 300mm diameter piping scrap can be used to make 100L tanks—it becomes worthwhile), on the other hand I can order materials at trade prices, like marine plywood or insulation...

Patrick 26

You who know heavy-vehicle maintenance well, how much do S53 tires cost (for example, if I had to buy them to a contract just to see how much the bus actually cost), and how much does retreading 4 wheels cost... can they be retreaded indefinitely, and how many km can you drive on tires.

thanks

😏 yes, in my hangar😏 but it's in a vasp 9-seater now😊

Here are some cheap bus listings for sale, and some are already motorhome-certified (each listing has a phone number):

- An S45 motorhome-certified ???, 6000 - An S53 motorhome-certified, 7500 - An S45 GT, probably sputnick's, motorhome-certified, 8500 - A Setra motorhome-certified, 12000 - An S53 motorhome-certified, 15000 - several buses, probably not too expensive based on the listing - An eBay listing with several buses, so there might still be one available

North American Motorhomes... America, a whole different world... The best: an RV towing a 3-horse trailer

Ha, here's the funny bit - NO RETREADING for HVs, THAT'S FORBIDDEN😐

Regrooving can only be done once, and ONLY on HVs! After that you're not allowed and there's risk of blowout. Nobody's going to do it for you anyway. And it shows

Good on you for asking the question, (as Patrick26 said earlier: there's no stupid questions) Especially if it concerns safety systems! And if there are any, ask them anyway so we can laugh and sometimes you think it's a dumb question but it's not

NO RISK with wheels, shocks, brakes, steering (refer to what Patrick26 wrote earlier about Telma and exhaust brakes)

Me, if some guy or gal gets one of my creations because of a botched job, negligence, shady dealings, incompetence, recklessness, lack of maintenance...etc...etc..., they'd better run very very fast, very very far into the desert... and even then...

The S53s are great value!! For reference, GABY-CHARIOT has 3 of them with about 650,000 km and wants 15,000 euros, so yeah, compared to just 4,000, I think that's a sweet deal. I called the guy who supposedly sells cheap buses - the 1983 B10M is 23,000 euros. The one I found is 15,000 for a 1993 model. Can't even compare... All I need now is a damn place to park it in Marseille, so far I've only gotten refusals. Nobody wants a bus on their property, honestly I get it but still, I'm hoping for the miracle that won't make me miss out on this great opportunity.

A REALLY NICE VEHICLE!

It's recent, has low mileage, and judging by the interior, if the feathers match the song (the upkeep looks good), it’s a great starting point!

The only downside—I had to find one!—is that during trips, the driver ends up a bit separated from the rest of the gasmobile family because of the split-level between the driver’s seat and the future living space. (Though that could be a guarantee of peace and quiet when driving with your four little ones!)

And to answer francois57, for the seats, many spacing standards are common since seats are rarely made by the bus manufacturers themselves but more often by specialized companies (Chardon, Zodiac—its boating division is smaller than its seat manufacturing, especially for Airbus, TGV, etc.).

However, some have bolted feet (like on mine or the S45/53 models) or sliding rails (like on most Vanhools, for example).

Still, it’s tricky to adapt a seat base to a different seat frame than the one it was designed for...

But nothing ventured, nothing gained...

PATRICK26