Converting a heavy-duty bus/coach/truck into a motorhome (page 89 of 161)

😉For your batteries, if you can find a charger, that's what I'm doing for now while waiting for the new ones, it works well.

Don't forget to prime a bit with the small pump that I already showed you the access to. That's the big problem with Renault S-series vehicles, you have to prime them when they haven't been run for quite a while.

🙂😉😛😎

Don't forget to prime it a bit with the little pump - I've already shown you where it is. That's the big problem with Renaults of the S series - you have to prime them when they haven't run for quite a while.

🙂😉[:]😛😎

When you have pump problems, a few sharp curves will do it - a little mountain road and boom, fixed! 😉

😉It's not a pump problem, it's the batteries that are shot

😛

Hello

So for my project, you're right, the aisle isn't ideal, but I'll make a flat floor—I'm not that tall. (And my wife does the driving.) Otherwise it'll maybe be a Vanhool CL5, like the master recommended. Besides that, I'll need to install a ramp in the middle for the wheelchair. I'm thinking of keeping the whole back section to make a big bedroom with bathroom and toilet, but with barely any walls—or maybe accordion doors. Otherwise I'm planning to make a bedroom with a double bed up front for the kids. And I'll keep four seats facing each other. Plus the kitchen-dining area in the middle of it all, with a modular bench to make a double bed. I'm thinking of salvaging our old kitchen to adapt it inside there, since there's major renovation work at the house and I don't have much time to deal with it. Otherwise I'm planning to make maximum storage under the beds. I'll try to share a plan as soon as I can access the fixed computer with the scanner. That's all for now, good evening everyone

Me too! I have a central aisle in my Saviem E7, so I had stainless steel tanks made to store drinking water, sized to fit the aisle. This allows me to level the floor back out nicely. I lose some headroom but I gain 450L of clean, frost-proof water. 😉😉😉 If you give me an email address, I'll send you a photo.😇

Hey,

post it on the site, everyone will find that useful 😉

GX47

😊😊😊I'd love to, but I'm completely hopeless—I don't know how to upload photos. But I can definitely send them to you if you want. Best wishes all around—it's the season! 😉😉😉

🙁 Well, I'm also no good at getting photos to appear that aren't already on the web. I got them fine (1-hour download, no ADSL) – really nice work on the tanks. About the insulation, aren't you worried it'll make that schouing, schouing sound with the polystyrene on the metal sheets?

Better ask cuni or Sjunior for help with your photos, they're the IT pros. I've gotta go, and I can't get back on the site until the 23rd.😕 Till then I'm just clowning around😄

PS: I'm only good at making little white rabbits appear, and anyway, in this lucky period, I've got a problem! ... I don't know what to do with them anymore😏 I'm gonna start filling up the bus 😕 if you know anyone in my area looking for some really cheap ones😏 (they're like 3/4 between a dwarf and a rabbit, so there's not much to feed)

Sorry I can't help you out with that (the photos)

Sjunior, Cuni, or anyone whose IT skills I don't know about and who might be able to help cateludo, come to the rescue.😮

thanks in advance😎

see you on the 23rd GX47

Hi. Well, my polyurethane panels are fitted firmly in their slots and glued, so I don't think they'll move. As for the photos, oh well, and as for the rabbits, hmmmm, our place is too infested with myxo. I've already tried. Anyway, good luck to yo😉u.

Hi Patrick26, hi GX47, hi Gasmobil, hi SJunior... Hey everyone, actually!

Thanks Patrick, blah blah blah, awesome forum blah blah blah, tons of info, all that (I couldn't make my first forum appearance without thanking everyone, but that's not the important part, so...😛).

Since this is my 1st post, let me introduce myself: Piéton, 25 years old, in Angers. I just finished a trip with my girlfriend: a Tour of France on Foot that lasted a year and a half (hence my username...). Yeah, a little walk of 10,000 km with a backpack. You can check out spaces.msn.com/500joursapied for photos and more info.

I'm also sharing my project: converting a bus to live in year-round and work from. I want to provide consulting and information to the general public about energy efficiency and renewable energy. (By the way, on that note, Mr Berz, if you're still here: before telling us that our buses pollute, could you add up how much pollution your car, your home, and your workplace produce combined, please? Since my bus will be all of that for me, I think that even with 30L of diesel per 100 km, I'm coming out ahead...)

So, consulting to the general public. My bus will thus be set up in two sections, as the image below shows: a living area in the back, and a large office in the front for receiving guests. In this office, there'll be shelves, tables and chairs, computers. In the living space, there'll be a bed, a table and two chairs, a stove, a sink, a fridge, and a washing machine. SJunior, I'm open to any questions or suggestions. And an idea to increase the volume of the living space: remove part of the floor to integrate the storage compartments into the living area. And there, one bus model stands out... it's the... you guessed it... the B10M of course!!!

Plus, there's one for sale just down the road from me, the one in the photo. It's not even rusty, it's not even bogged down, should work. It's bodied by Berkhof (Excellence 1000), so it's a travel coach. I see lots of advantages: a 24V fridge included, an oil heating system with water circulation included, a flat floor, 90cm storage compartments, double glazing everywhere...

By the way (and this is the question that'll wrap up this (too) long first post), I have a question about onboard heaters: I read in the standard (paragraph 9.1) that heaters running on regular diesel are FORBIDDEN. You can't have a heater that draws from the vehicle's fuel tank (unless there's oil in it, but that's another topic we'll discuss later). Yet, even the aftermarket suppliers sell them: so is it allowed or not?

See you soon...

Sorry, I'm following up with a second post... When you're motivated, it's hard to stop, right?

Somewhere on this forum, some people were asking what the absolute minimum setup is to get a Motorhome registration, so they could get it as fast as possible. People would tell them no, that they need to take their time, that a well-thought-out and well-executed project has a better shot at passing, that it's better to do it right from the start, and that you should plan for at least 8 months.

And nobody made a distinction between someone converting their bus for vacations—i.e., still living in their house—and someone wanting to live in their bus and leave their house. I'm in the second camp, and I want to do a minimal setup, get my bus in order, live in it, then do a second phase of work at my own pace. Of course, to stay legal, I'll be completely immobilized during the whole second phase of work, and it'll cost me a bit more in the end, but that's not the point. The point is getting out as soon as possible, with a Motorhome registration.

For me, the minimal setup is: start with a bus that's passed its inspection, remove all the seats except 8 from the cabin, bolt a bed, table, and shelves to the floor, bolt a gas stove (powered by a little gas bottle fixed right next to it). The gas setup is just: a regulator on the bottle, a flexible hose. That's it, done. Install a clean-water tank up high in the cabin, to supply (no pump needed) a tap on a sink that drains into a gray-water tank. So the water setup is: a tank, a hose, a tap, a sink, a hose, a tank. That's it, done. The tanks are mounted removably so you can fill from the top and drain from the bottom. In the cargo area, install an auxiliary 24V slow-discharge battery with a split charger on the main battery, and run a cable (with a fuse) to the table to power a lamp with a built-in switch. Drill two vents, one above the stove, one below the sink (with the right dimensions). And there you have it!!

I think this setup meets the regs (no problem with Véritas) and fully qualifies as a motorhome, so you can get the registration. I also think this solution beats every record for budget and timeline... My estimate: €1,000, not counting the bus itself, or the fact that you can pick up the furniture in 2 weeks of work (half that if you're in a bad mood), assuming you've already sourced all the materials. But the administrative paperwork's definitely going to take longer!

Before any criticism, let me remind you what the goal is: get a Motorhome registration as fast as possible. 2 weeks—anyone beat that?

Sorry I can't help you with that (the photos)

Sjunior, Cuni, or anyone whose computer skills I'm not sure of and who might be able to help cateludo, come to their rescue.

thanks in advance😎

Hello everyone

4 Methods for Uploading Photos to the Forum:

Method 1 Photos Already on the Internet You just need to copy (right-click and copy) the photo, then paste (right-click and paste) it in your message.

Method 2 Photos as Attachments at the Bottom of Your Message In the editor used to write your message, at the bottom left of the page, there is attach an image Just click on browse, then select your photo from its location on your hard drive, then click on upload the image. BUT, here's an important point: the photo must not exceed 200 KB (kilobytes) to be accepted. So since that's probably the case (photos from our modern cameras are often 1.5 MB or more), you need to reduce them!!! Note: reducing doesn't mean making the image smaller (unless you want to), but reducing the "file size". To do this, either you have photo editing software like Photoshop that will certainly do this, or like most VF members, you download the free software Photofiltre (click on the word "Photofiltre" above in bold) and install it. Then: You open your photo with Photofiltre by going to "file", "open" you select your photo from your hard drive, and you click on "open", and your photo displays in the Photofiltre work window. (you can explore the software more later!!) So now, you right-click on the photo and choose: "save as". At the bottom, for file type, you select from the dropdown list: JPEG, and for the filename, you enter a different name than your original photo, so you can keep the original intact for future photo prints. You click on "save", and this window appears:



You click on "Preview" and you'll see the file size in KB displayed above "preview", then you drag the slider at the top a bit to the left, and you click "Preview" again, you'll see the file size decrease, and you continue until it's under 200 KB. All you have to do now is click on "OK" to save your reduced file size photo, then attach it to the forum 🙂.

Method 3 Photos Indicated by a Clickable Link in Your Message:

To do this, your photo must be hosted on a website (yours if you have one) on the internet. For this, there are lots of free hosting services, one of which is: imageshack.us (click on it to open it). In the window that opens, you click on "browse", and you select your photo from your hard drive, then you click on "open", and you return to the first window, but now the box to the left of "browse" is filled. All you have to do is click on "host it!", and select the last link displayed at the bottom of the page named: "Direct link to image" by clicking on it then right-click and "copy".

Now you have the link to your photo on the internet and all you have to do is "paste" it in your VoyageForum message.

Method 4 Photos Displayed Directly in Your Message:

You do method 3, but instead of pasting the link in your message, you: make sure you're in VF's advanced editor, and normally you'll see this displayed:



You click on the icon I've circled in red and a small VF window appears:



Either you type after http:// the rest of the address, or you do like I did by selecting this blue text then right-click and "paste" the address you "copied" previously on imageshack.us. You then click on "insert", and by technological magic, the photo displays in your message at the spot where you had (it's important that it's selected first) your cursor. 🙂🙂🙂

There would be plenty more things to say but for now, I'll let you digest all of this.

Don't worry, it's very easy to do (about ten seconds), but harder to explain.

Note: this entire message was created using this technique.

You'll see that photos of 1.5 MB reduce in file size to under 200 KB without loss of quality on a PC screen; on the other hand, you need to keep the original (that's why saving with a secondary name for the net) for printed photos on paper.

Another benefit of these compressions is, for example, using a USB drive to carry your photos for the purpose of showing them on a computer to family or others.

Hey Piéton... Indeed, the solution you're proposing works really well, and as you said yourself, it depends on what you want from the start. Great call on choosing the bus and your plan. These flat-floor buses really do save time. Personally, I don't like the central engine for the noise and maintenance access. Also make sure to check the engine cooling system carefully.

Oh Christian, it's really kind of you to have gone to all that trouble writing all that, but I'm definitely 🏴‍☠️INCORRIGIBLE🏴‍☠️. I'm struggling following your instructions and nothing works🙁😠😕, so for now, you'll all have to do without my photos😎😎😛

😮 I'm sending you a private message and we'll make it 😉

😉Welcome Pieton, don't rush into it 15 days seems a bit short to me, I had a buddy who tried to do it in a hurry like you, and he regrets it😠

You also say: And nobody made a distinction between someone converting their camper for a vacation, that is to say while continuing to live in their house, and someone who wants to live in their camper to leave their house. You really need to read the messages—3/4 of them mention their intention for their bus/camper, like Shanko, françois57, and for me it's to live in it year-round

and Amasxmx too, his baby was clean in the first photo, but he had a lot of surprises afterwards.

Good luck!!!

Hey there, pedestrian!

There are, in my opinion, 2 or 3 inconsistencies in your description, and if you don't mind, I'm going to go through them:

The first thing that surprises me is that you're going to build a camper without a shower and without a toilet? And no hot water either?

As for the stove, regulations require that burner caps be screwed on. Your home stove won't therefore be accepted by Veritas.... sorry 😕.

For the gas bottle, you can connect it with a flexible hose to the cooking area, but it must be in a closed compartment that needs to have a downward evacuation through a tube with a cross-section proportional to its length, down below the van. So you can't simply place it next to the cooking area. It's explained in the AFNOR guide.

For the water tanks, it's the same—they need to be mounted "fixed."

So those are the first things that jump out at me....

Heads up! No criticism! I'm just alerting you, that's all!

And besides, in 15 days, the guys from Monster Garage should be able to pull it off! So why not....

PATRICK26

Hey there, pedestrian, and welcome! The principle’s fine, but for the gas bottle, I’m not sure you can leave it inside the living area—it needs to be in a ventilated spot, away from the living space (check the rules on this). See ya, Jose

Sorry, but apparently the download link for PhotoFiltre has changed;

so you’ll need to click here:

http://www.01net.com/telecharger/windows/Multimedia/photo_numerique/fiches/21756.html

to open the page, then click on download 😕 really sorry 🙂

Christian

😉HOW MANY GUYS FROM MONSTER GARAGE ARE WORKING ON THAT BEAST? Don’t forget they’ve got all the tools and experience right there—they don’t waste time wondering how to take it apart or redo the interior😎, unlike the rest of us.

Keep your feet on the ground, Pieton😛(lol)

Alright, one more time—good luck!!!