Outward Bound

21 October 2010

We're off to the Outward Bound school at Anakiwa for a working bee this weekend.

It's hard to explain what Outward Bound means to us. Craig and I attended an eight day couples' course there in June 2009. It was much like other OB courses in its physical and mental challenges, but there were five couples instead of a group of strangers.

Many people describe OB as a life-changing experience. We see it more as something that gave us the courage to make changes to our lives. In the long run it probably means the same thing.

I'm not going to share any of the war stories with you, but in that week we spent an amazing time with those eight people and our two instructors. Above the cold, the wet, the fear and the tiredness, one thing stands out - we laughed so much!

The photos below are from the working bee we went to last year at this time. The weather was much nicer than when we did our course.

This year we'll be at one of the outer lodges, on a bay in the Marlborough Sounds with no road access and only a few other houses. Sounds like we're demolishing and recladding a couple of walls. Lots of fun!

Calculations

16 October 2010

We're used to living in a small space - our cottage is just 72 sq.m. The bus is certainly a bit smaller than that at just 21.15 sq.m. But the space is very well used; there just isn't any floor space to spare. This will make some activities (like Zumba) a bit challenging, but we know from our caravan experience that it's fine for us.

Here's a slightly scarier calculation I've just come up with. When you build a new house, the price usually sits around $2000 to $2500 per sq.m. On the bus build we're getting close to $9000 per sq.m. Okay, it includes all the furnishings and appliances, but it's still a bit of a shock.

Perhaps I won't share that one with Craig.

Thanks a bunch, Molly!

One of the nieces has pointed out our bed looks like a double coffin.

Never going to be able to get that image out of my head.

Bedroom matters

11 October 2010

We've been really pleased with the progress since our last trip to see the bus. The work being done now is much more visible, so every little thing done seems to make a big difference to how the interior looks.

Things are really taking shape in the bedroom. Basework is on for the pelmets and side panels, ready for various fabric and wallpaper coverings.

The trick with the bed is becoming evident, too. They've built a sliding bed system. The top section of the mattress can be flipped on top of itself and the whole bed slides back towards the head. This means we can slide it away during the day, giving an extra 350mm of space at the foot. It will be much easier to move around it and make the bedroom more spacious during the day. At night we just slide the bed back out to its full length - there will still be enough space to get around the foot.

Another sale

4 October 2010

We sold the ute today, to a lovely woman from Wainuiomata. So the bouncy little Vitara is currently our only form of transport. Unless you count the mountain bikes.

We are now a one car/one bus family.

Update to end September 2010

We have some gorgeous bedroom cabinets and skylights to let the sun in. The three solar panels are on and so is the awning.

The fridge/freezer has arrived and is everything we hoped. It is a side-by-side model and fits under the bench. It runs on 12v only.

And we have a toilet. It's not actually in, but we spend a lot of time discussing the positioning in the bathroom. This is a game of inches and this decision will make a real difference to the comfort of the sitting position!

Where did September go?

28 September 2010

It has been a busy and frustrating month.

I have been very busy with rehearsals for World of Wearableart and then with the 12 shows. This is an amazing production and I feel privileged to have been involved. My sister has been the children's co-ordinator since 2005 and two of her daughters are involved as well. I am in awe of the creativity, commitment and professionalism of everyone I met.

We have had our Mum and Dad in town for a couple of weeks too. It is lovely to spend time with them - and to actually have time to spend now that I'm not working.

Craig has been struggling to adjust to life away from work. This hasn't been helped by our hectic life of the last few weeks - nor by the pretty awful spring weather.

He has done some amazing modifications to the Vitara. The back seats have been removed and a storage area built into the back beneath a new floor. The A-frame has been fitted and the kayak racks have taken up their position on top.

The frustrating part has been the apparent slow pace of our build this month. The BBC are moving into a new workshop this month and this seems to be taking a lot of their attention. Email updates have become less frequent and we can't see much happening.

So we took an unplanned trip to see them yesterday. Still gave them a day's warning of course; turning up unannounced would be a bit much.

We felt much better after this trip. They acknowledged and addressed most of our concerns and we can actually see some progress has been made. Sometimes we just need to see things in person - decisions are much more easily made fact-to-face, too.

End of an era

11 September 2010

Craig finished work yesterday. He has been in the printing industry for 38 years. It's changed a lot in that time, but leaving is still sad.

He was presented with this when he left.

Isn't it a cracker?

Back to school

6 September 2010

There is something we really have to get around to before the bus conversion is finished. We have to get our Class 2 driving licences.

Medicals have been passed, now we have to pass the theory test. It's going to be hard enough doing the usual road rules stuff - Craig got hiscar licence in 1971 and I got mine in 1980, so the memory's a bit vague. But now we need to learn stuff about gross laden weight and tow couplings, axle sets and logbooks.

Some pretty serious study is required.

Update to end of August 2010

Sometimes things seem to be happening in random order, but I'm sure it all makes sense to the builders.

We now have the space where the bedroom stereo speakers will be fitted above the bed. There's a dropdown 19" LCD TV going there too.

And there are three lights on the outside of the bus, in the area where the awning will be fitted.

Quick sale

23 August 2010

Listed the Mini on TradeMe yesterday. It sold today. We're sure gonna miss that car.

Life keeps changing

23 August 2010

I'm into the swing of not working now. There's plenty to fill my days at the moment. I have discovered the joys of spending time at the library. I have the gym and various other forms of exercise. Three times a week there is rehearsal for World of Wearable Art - I'm a volunteer dresser for the children's section.

In the meantime, changes are afoot for Craig as well. The boss finally got around to asking him a direct question about his future plans, so he resigned, effective 22 October. But this week that has changed again and he is now finishing on 10 September.

Life of the unemployed is just around the corner.

Another vehicle

15 August 2010

We bought another car today. There seems to be an element of overkill here - we now have a Rodeo ute, a Mini Cooper, a 9m bus and (the new addition) a Suzuki Vitara.

As with many of our decisions, we've been round and round the wheel a bit on this. We would love to keep either the Mini or the ute, but basically we just have too much money tied up in them. Each of them roughly equates to one of the $25,000 monthly installments on the bus conversion. And neither of them is really suitable to tow behind the bus.

There's a good reason why you see so many people towing Suzukis - they just seem to be the best choice. Relatively light, not full-time 4WD and easy to attach and A-frame too. There are plenty of them around and they don't cost the earth.

So we've done one of our big weekend treks. An afternoon trip to Hamilton and an overnight stay. Then Sunday morning to Te Awamutu to buy a 1997 3 door Vitara with just 77,000 on the clock. Followed, of course, by a two-vehicle drive home.

Now our driveway looks like a used car lot. Time to get something sold.

The amazing waste hatch!

Paul reckons our waste disposal system will make us the envy of all other motorhomers.

Instead of having to kneel down - in the not very salubrious environment of a waste dump - to empty the tanks, our waste hatch is at chest height.

There are outlets for the black tank (which has a macerating pump) and the grey tank, as well as flushers for each.

It will be very easy to hook up the hose and flick a switch to empty the tanks, and then flush them out with clean water.

But I still think this will be Craig's job.

Early August 2010

We now have our first internal walls. These mark the division between the kitchen and the bathroom and shower.

On the right of the picture is a wall that will have the stove in front of it and the bathroom (toilet and handbasin) behind it.

On the left you can see two walls. In front of them will be a bench with the fridge/freezer under it. Between them will be the underbench pantry, with the microwave above it and more storage above that. Behind the walls will be the shower. If you look closely you can see the back wall has a small space - this is for the sliding privacy door to block the back of the bus off from the front.

The bottom photo shows the curved step at the front of the lounge taking shape.

Visualisation

9 August 2010

At times we've struggled to 'see' ourselves in the bus. Despite all the planning and design choices, it is hard for us to picture what it wll be like.

The BBC have solved this problem by having these fantastic sketches done. In the back window of the bedroom you can see the Theo Janssen glass sculpture we already own. Shelly says it's the first time she's designed the decor for a motorhome based on a piece of artwork.

Without work

2 August 2010

Today is my first day of not working. And I feel - fine. I don't have that twitchy feeling like I should be somewhere; I don't even keep checking my phone for messages and emails.

Mum and Dad rang this morning, just to make sure I was out of bed. No problems there - if I don't get up in the morning, there's no way Craig will get up and go to work.

Dad told me about his first day of retirement (he was a school principal and retired at 60). He walked down to get the paper, going the beach way because it was a nice day. And he realised he could just keep walking if he wanted to. Then he went home, read the paper and had a coffee. When he looked at his watch it was 10.30 - and he hadn't had to answer a hundred stupid questions.

People keep asking me what I'm going to do with myself. I think I might just try standing still for a while.

Floors and walls

Update to end of July 2010

There is still a lot of 'under bus' work going on. This month the boiler has gone in - this sounds very flash for our 22 litre hot water cylinder. That sounds like a very small amount of water to a girl who loves her showers, but it's the same size as the one we had in our caravan and we could manage two quick showers out of that. Also, being gas powered, the water heats up very quickly.

The plumbing has also been run under the bus this month.

And now some visible work is starting. The ply for the bedroom walls has gone in, followed by the basework for the flooring.

Progress is starting to feel a little slow, but that's mostly because we're impatient to see the finished result. Most things are actually running to schedule.

Just the window to come

The door

July 2010

Our bus had a standard concertina door - ugly, cumbersome and just not suitable for a motorhome.

We had decided to replace this with a motorhome door, but weren't really happy with how it would look. The door look very small and the side of the bus would need to have a frame built to take it - the side of the bus curves and the door would be straight, meaning it would very clearly look like an add-on. We've seen this solution used on other conversions and weren't very impressed.

The wonderful BBC knew we didn't like this and put some real thought into coming up with something better. In conjunction with a panelbeater/engineer they have designed a new solid steel door. It's shaped to fit the side of the bus and has double action hinges so when open it lies flat against the side. A couple of hefty bolts top and bottom run off the door handle to make it really secure.

These are the things that really show the benefit of a bespoke build. The bus builders are learning and experimenting all the time - and we are pushing them as well. We're all seeing the benefits of this.

Locker, clothesline, shower and black water tank

Early July 2010

The structural work continues. Tanks are going in and taking up most of the space beneath the bus. We have around 350 litres of fresh water and slightly more of grey - regulations dictate more grey than fresh to avoid overflows of waste water. The black tank has gone in too.

This left us with basically no storage space beneath the bus, so we have also made the decision to have a couple of extra lockers built. This is an additional cost on our build - but the BBC are very good at clearing extras with us first so there are no nasty surprises at the end.

It's easy to see our contingency money could quickly get eaten up.

We also now have a couple of essentials - an outside shower and the expanding clothesline. The clothesline will also have a set of mounts in the shower, so in wet weather we'll still be able to get things dry. The shower will be well vented and will also have a vent from the diesel heater, so we should have a very efficient drying room.

Camp sitters

June 2010

We took a week off work this month to look after a holiday park. Friends of ours manage the Mercury Bay Holiday Park in Whitianga and we held the fort for them while they went to a conference.

We spent a lovely few days in this holiday park in January - absolutely the high season for the Coromandel. Whitianga is a very different place in winter, reverting to a more typical small country town. You can still get great coffee and food there in winter though.

Part of our reason for camp sitting was to get some experience which might help us in our new lifestyle. We got to learn how to use the booking system, make up the rooms and do the general camp cleaning. I wouldn't say we got a lot of experience though - we got more activity through the phone and email than from actual visitors.

None of this was helped by a week of almost constant rain. On our last night there Whitianga was completely cut off by road - slips to the north and flooding to the south.

June 2010 - wiring and wheel arches

Update to end of June 2010

A lot of construction work has been going on. This is mostly stuff that won't be visible but it really makes the bus function.

Things like the 500m of wiring (12v and 230v), cutting down the rear wheel arches to make access to the bed easier and putting a new floor substructure in the front to take the power driven captain's chairs.

Holes have been cut for the access hatches for the drain pumps and power leads, anchor points have been put in for the seat belts - as well as the front seats, there will be two seat belts on each couch.

I now have one month left at work. However, the company we both work for don't know Craig intends to leave shortly. Those who know us well have guessed our intentions, but no-one seems keen to ask the direct question.

Small steps

21 May 2010

The design process has been very exciting so far. We seem to have moved very quickly in the last few weeks.

Some of the best advice we've had (from Paul of the BBC) what seems to be a very big decision just needs to be broken down into a series of small decisions. This has helped us not be overwhelmed by the whole process.

We did warn our bus builders that we both come from a production background - we want to be very involved, we are very detail focused and we're hell if you don't do what you've said you'll do.

Something we've been particularly impressed about is the amount of innovative thinking that is going into this build. The word 'no' is very seldom used and if we don't like one idea, they always seem to have an alternative.

Let's hope this great approach continues.