Anxiety
7 May 2010
Now that we have bought our chassis, the commitment to our lifestyle change is much more real. Changing our minds has suddenly become much harder and we are beset with questions. Have we really got any idea what we're doing? How are we going to make a living? Will we be able to do everything we want to make the bus our home?
I think the technical term for this state of mind is freak out.
There are times in projects like this when you just have to let blind faith carry you through. All the reasons for making the decision in the first place are still there, just a little buried under the panic.
Now that we have bought our chassis, the commitment to our lifestyle change is much more real. Changing our minds has suddenly become much harder and we are beset with questions. Have we really got any idea what we're doing? How are we going to make a living? Will we be able to do everything we want to make the bus our home?
I think the technical term for this state of mind is freak out.
There are times in projects like this when you just have to let blind faith carry you through. All the reasons for making the decision in the first place are still there, just a little buried under the panic.
Buying the bus
26 April 2010
Finding a suitable bus to convert has become more difficult in the last few years - the changes in the emission laws means rising prices for the secondhand buses imported from Asia.
We'd already had a good look around, and now the Bus Boy Co did some research as well. We needed a 9m bus, with a middle door and didn't want the mileage to be huge - preferably under 250,000km. If that seems a lot - these things are designed for over 1 million km! It was also important to avoid a 'city bus'. These have low ratio differentials and are used for short trips with lots of stopping and starting; hopeless on the open road.
The shortlist basically came down to three - two in the South Island at over $50,000, and one in the North Island just under $40,000.
As luck would have it, the North Island bus was in Taupo - the same place the conversion would take place. It had already been stripped out as the owner planned to convert it, which made it much easier to check out. It needed work to the compressor and shocks, so in the end we paid $33,000.
So, now we have a bus AND a builder. And the fun was just beginning.
Heck, that was quick
19 April, 2010
In the last 10 days we have:
had an initial phone call with The BBC and sent them an email brief of our wish list,
received some initial layout thoughts from them,
met Shelly and Paul on a phone conference,
driven to Taupo to meet them and refine the layout some more,
paid the deposit for our bus conversion.
Now we just have to find a chassis to build it on.
In the last 10 days we have:
had an initial phone call with The BBC and sent them an email brief of our wish list,
received some initial layout thoughts from them,
met Shelly and Paul on a phone conference,
driven to Taupo to meet them and refine the layout some more,
paid the deposit for our bus conversion.
Now we just have to find a chassis to build it on.
How to find a bus builder
April 2010
As part of our somewhat obsessive need to research, we already knew the names of almost all the motorhome builders in New Zealand. We'd scoured their websites, familiarised ourselves with their style and really just couldn't work out what to do next.
Then in one of those alignments of the planets, a couple of ads appeared on TradeMe. We'd already looked at the website for this company, but these ads added an extra dimension - price. They showed recent conversions and how much they had cost (based on a certain chassis price).
We now knew this was something within our reach - we could afford to have a custom build done.
And then it really was as simple as a phone call. We had begun our association with Paul, Shelly and The Bus Boy Company.
As part of our somewhat obsessive need to research, we already knew the names of almost all the motorhome builders in New Zealand. We'd scoured their websites, familiarised ourselves with their style and really just couldn't work out what to do next.
Then in one of those alignments of the planets, a couple of ads appeared on TradeMe. We'd already looked at the website for this company, but these ads added an extra dimension - price. They showed recent conversions and how much they had cost (based on a certain chassis price).
We now knew this was something within our reach - we could afford to have a custom build done.
And then it really was as simple as a phone call. We had begun our association with Paul, Shelly and The Bus Boy Company.
A bit low
April 2010
The search became a little discouraging now. We felt we could end up in our own Groundhog Day hell - constantly travelling the country in search of just the right bus; constantly being disappointed.
Compromise was discussed - do we just buy the best we can find and then either put up with it or spend money to make it right. But neither of us are the sort to 'put up' with something and having to spend more money on an already expensive purchase wasn't sitting well with us.
And as if we needed any more pressure, I resigned from my job. My finishing date was almost four months away, but that was going to change the income picture substantially.
What we were really trying not to think about now was 'Are we going to have to have one built?'.
And the reason we were avoiding that thought?
Basically, it scared us shitless.
The search became a little discouraging now. We felt we could end up in our own Groundhog Day hell - constantly travelling the country in search of just the right bus; constantly being disappointed.
Compromise was discussed - do we just buy the best we can find and then either put up with it or spend money to make it right. But neither of us are the sort to 'put up' with something and having to spend more money on an already expensive purchase wasn't sitting well with us.
And as if we needed any more pressure, I resigned from my job. My finishing date was almost four months away, but that was going to change the income picture substantially.
What we were really trying not to think about now was 'Are we going to have to have one built?'.
And the reason we were avoiding that thought?
Basically, it scared us shitless.
Size does matter
March 2010
It feels like we looked at hundreds of buses. We certainly looked at hundreds of on-line ads. In reality, though, we looked at three buses. And one American motorhome. Two of them were local and we drove over 1800km during Easter to view the other two.
There was a 12m bus with a slideout. Beautifully spacious, rather tired looking and, well, just BIG. We couldn't even picture ourselves driving it down the road and got the shakes at the thought of some of our New Zealand roads. This helped us decide that in this case bigger wasn't really better.
The American motorhome had been substantially refurbished when it arrived in New Zealand. The owners had got rid of that over-upholstered, over-decorated look most of these vehicles have, and made sure it was well fitted out for living off the grid. But this was BIG too. It just took up so much damned space. And once again was rather tired and a lot of money for something distinctly secondhand.
We looked at a new conversion, professionally done. Laid out with plenty of thought, well appointed and very comfortable. But somehow not quite right. This took us a while to put our collective finger on - the build just wasn't robust enough. When you're going to live in something permanently, it needs to be able to take the knocks. There's a big difference between that and building for a weekender.
And then we looked at what we called The Whangarei Bus. This one almost stole our hearts. I guess you'd call it a 'home build', but that label just doesn't do it justice. The guy was a boatbuilder and a real craftsman. Beautiful cabinetry, plenty of storage and all the gadgets we desired. But again something wasn't right. This time it was a very poky lounge. And the stove was right next to the white upholstered lounge with no splash guard. I had visions of my homemade pasta sauce splashed all over that in the first week. I may be a good cook, but no-one ever accused me of being a tidy one.
It feels like we looked at hundreds of buses. We certainly looked at hundreds of on-line ads. In reality, though, we looked at three buses. And one American motorhome. Two of them were local and we drove over 1800km during Easter to view the other two.
There was a 12m bus with a slideout. Beautifully spacious, rather tired looking and, well, just BIG. We couldn't even picture ourselves driving it down the road and got the shakes at the thought of some of our New Zealand roads. This helped us decide that in this case bigger wasn't really better.
The American motorhome had been substantially refurbished when it arrived in New Zealand. The owners had got rid of that over-upholstered, over-decorated look most of these vehicles have, and made sure it was well fitted out for living off the grid. But this was BIG too. It just took up so much damned space. And once again was rather tired and a lot of money for something distinctly secondhand.
We looked at a new conversion, professionally done. Laid out with plenty of thought, well appointed and very comfortable. But somehow not quite right. This took us a while to put our collective finger on - the build just wasn't robust enough. When you're going to live in something permanently, it needs to be able to take the knocks. There's a big difference between that and building for a weekender.
And then we looked at what we called The Whangarei Bus. This one almost stole our hearts. I guess you'd call it a 'home build', but that label just doesn't do it justice. The guy was a boatbuilder and a real craftsman. Beautiful cabinetry, plenty of storage and all the gadgets we desired. But again something wasn't right. This time it was a very poky lounge. And the stove was right next to the white upholstered lounge with no splash guard. I had visions of my homemade pasta sauce splashed all over that in the first week. I may be a good cook, but no-one ever accused me of being a tidy one.
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