
Hi I’m Hank, and I bought a bus - frans
http://www.hankboughtabus.com/a-tour-of-the-bus/
======
quaunaut
Holy hell. I'd love to live in that. Sure, I live in a rather cheap apartment
right now, but come on. That's beautiful work, cheap, and probably could sell
for a hell of a lot more.

The only stipulations coming to my mind that would stop me from rushing out
and doing it /right now/, are

* What are the laws like, regarding parking and sleeping this somewhere? Do I have to find campground or something, or just live in Walmart parking lots all the time?

* What's done for cooling/heating? Does this require a pretty temperate environment, or is it relatively well sealed?

* Is all power generated by the bus? If so, does that make traditional tasks on the computer or other places hell, with the shaking, and if not, what generates it and how much can you support?

In general, I LOVE the idea, and the execution. That bus looks as roomie as
my(once again, crappy, but still, a real) apartment.

~~~
sliverstorm
_What 's done for cooling/heating? Does this require a pretty temperate
environment, or is it relatively well sealed?_

Vehicles leak like sieves unless you seal them up yourself, which could be a
catastrophically bad idea if exhaust starts to find its way into the vehicle
while it is running.

Aside from opening windows or bundling up and shivering, your cooling/heating
options are either typical house HVAC appliances, or extending the
functionality of the onboard heating and cooling and hoping that you bought a
diesel, which are much more tolerant than gasoline engines of idling all day.
Which brings me back to the risk of exhaust gasses when the passenger
compartment is mostly sealed.

For electrical power to run appliance-type HVAC, you could use a small
generator.

~~~
quaunaut
Shouldn't all mechanical areas be able to be sealed off from the living area,
given enough insulation at the windows? I could see the driver area not being
sealed off, but still having the living area be absolutely safe.

~~~
sliverstorm
Not a chance. Vehicles leak _everywhere_. Through the firewall, the doors, the
windows, the roof, the floorboards, the... everywhere. We aren't talking about
the metaphorical submarine with a screen door. This submarine was _built_ out
of screen.

You can seal it! Yes, you can, absolutely. The question, remember, is what
happens when you seal it and accidentally miss that one critical leak (of
which there are many) through which the exhaust then hotboxes you in your
nicely sealed cabin.

~~~
aspensmonster
I suspect this is why so many people that live out of vehicles (Cars, RVs,
whatever) have a fire/carbon monoxide detector.

~~~
weaksauce
I think having more than one for redundancy would be a good idea.

------
grecy
Traveling around countries, continents, or the world is becoming more and more
popular in 4x4s and unimogs converted in this way. See this [1] for a good
example of what the back of a Land Cruiser capable of driving around the world
can look like.

I drove Alaska->Argentina in 2 years, and now I'm in the planning stages of an
around-Africa trip which will flow into a Europe->SE Asia->Australia trip.

For anyone interested, checkout
[http://wikioverland.org](http://wikioverland.org) for all the logistical info
you'll need, and forums like
[http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum](http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum)
and
[http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/](http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)
to meet people actually doing it.

[1]
[http://www.geocruiser.nl/images26/inbouw2-100.jpg](http://www.geocruiser.nl/images26/inbouw2-100.jpg)

~~~
tiatia
Hi Grecy,

Do you speak German? www.kohlbach.org/Download/kohle_afrika.pdf

------
lignuist
Reminds me of Gabriel. He bought a Firetruck.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5432962](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5432962)

------
gambiting
Is it true that in the US you could drive this monster with a regular driving
licence? In the EU you would need either a C class licence(if it's over 3.5
tonnes) or a D class licence(if it can seat more than 9 people). Both are
rather difficult to get if someone is not used to driving large vehicles, and
require completing additional 20-30 hours of learning, not to mention the fact
that you can't get them until you held a regular(B class) licence for at least
3 years(in most EU countries, exceptions apply).

~~~
fsckin
In the US, you can drive a vehicle with up to 15 passengers on a regular
license.

The bus has been converted and _should_ be registered as a non-commercial
recreational vehicle, so it would be the same license for that... probably a
Class A, depending on gross vehicle weight rating.

It's a slight step up in training from your normal vehicle, and would probably
require a health certificate, etc... but not as expensive as a CDL (commercial
driver license), which would usually entail a few weeks of training and
~$2,500 in costs.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Class C and Class A RV licenses _do not_ require anything above a standard
driver's license.

Disclaimer: I own an RV.

~~~
tcdent
It's a little scary just how far this applies.

We're building military 6x6's into motorhomes, and as soon as they meet the
requirements for a living space, there's no special regulation.

~~~
maxmem
What's the mileage like on those? I had done some reading up and was
considering one of those instead of a bus.

~~~
tcdent
We're picking up the newer series of 5 tons, which get about 7 MPG with the
latest revision turbo diesel. Earlier ones get about 4.

Little hard to swallow the fuel cost if you're planning on back-and-forth
trips, but my route is a long, drawn out squiggle across north and south
America, so we'll only be doing a few hundred miles a month. And, hey, no rent
to pay!

~~~
toomuchtodo
Where are you getting your 6x6s from?

~~~
tcdent
Trucks, and everything else your tax dollars go to that the US government
doesn't want, all sell at auction on
[http://govliquidation.com](http://govliquidation.com) for pennies on the
dollar.

------
jonah
Beautifully clean lines.

I sure hope he used Formaldehyde-free plywood though. It would be terribly
noxious to live in if he just used the standard stuff.

[http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formaldehyde.html](http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formaldehyde.html)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanal)

~~~
ballard
Oh man.

After smell of VOCs, etc. Fire is the other concern. Exits gotta be clear and
plenty.

~~~
brazzy
All those windows can be converted into exits on the fly via the application
of a $5 emergency hammer.

------
bendoidic
This brings back memories of the first school bus conversion I ever saw
covered extensively online, from the genius mind of Jake Van Slatt [1]. He
took the reuse of discarded materials as his main inspiration, and really
turned out something beautiful. His blog is full of all sorts of kooky
inventions and reclaimed item builds.

He posted two great summaries of the bus interior and construction on his
newer website:
[http://steampunkworkshop.com/bus2.shtml](http://steampunkworkshop.com/bus2.shtml)
[http://steampunkworkshop.com/bus1.shtml](http://steampunkworkshop.com/bus1.shtml)

[1] [http://www.vonslatt.com/](http://www.vonslatt.com/)

------
codeulike
This is great, but living in vehicles is not a new idea, I'm sure there are
thousands of people in the US living in buses/trucks/etc. Hank did a great job
on the design though. It reminds me of the interior of a canal boat - they
often have the same layout techniques.

Here's a UK couple that converted a double-decker bus:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-
kent-18651140](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18651140)

~~~
davidw
It was apparently quite popular in the 60ies. Where I'm from in Eugene,
Oregon, there are even hippy busses that got permanently parked and added on
to as they formed the nucleus of a house.

If I'm not mistaken, this is one such example:

[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fox+Hollow+Rd,+Eugene,+OR,+US...](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Fox+Hollow+Rd,+Eugene,+OR,+USA&hl=en&ll=43.952015,-123.156567&spn=0.025983,0.066047&sll=45.406504,11.891245&sspn=0.202712,0.528374&oq=fox+hollow&hnear=Fox+Hollow+Rd,+Eugene,+Oregon+97405&t=p&z=15&layer=c&cbll=43.951995,-123.156418&panoid=6sr2cT1Lhfm_rllcGE8Vyg&cbp=12,22.58,,2,-2.77)

( I'm kind of amazed that I managed to find that - I haven't lived there in
years, although I did ride my bike up and down that road dozens of times )

~~~
stcredzero
Saw an example of this in Homer, AK

------
scrumper
Interesting project, and it looks well executed. I wonder whether Hank took a
look at British narrowboats at all? The design constraints are very similar
and there's a couple of centuries of experience to draw on:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrowboat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrowboat)

------
secretdark
I live on a canal boat in London
([http://everythinginthesky.com/tagged/boatlyfe](http://everythinginthesky.com/tagged/boatlyfe))
that I'm looking to do up in a similar fashion. It's a long road, though - I
installed solar panels and a basic 3G wifi setup, but it's all been delayed
while I have it stripped back to bare metal and rebuilt. The nice part about
the boat is that the arrangements for moving it / living on it are a bit more
formalised than I imagine this is and are part of the lifestyle. Still, this
seems like a much more mobile solution. Good post!

~~~
pimpl
Aaaawesome! Are you planning to post some new photos?

~~~
secretdark
Yep, will do when the work continues. It's on pause right now while I'm away.

------
gk1
I designed (but did not build, alas) a yacht in architecture class.
Researching and designing the interior cabin was incredibly fun and
challenging... I bet Hank had a blast designing this thing.

Ideas for the empty space currently being used as overflow storage:

* Water and/or fuel tanks (more necessary on a boat than on a bus)

* Shower

* Brig

* Pantry

* Rifle stowage

* Server room

(I went on to be a naval architect for a short while but never had a real
project as fun as the catamaran design.)

------
suyash
It's called living in an RV like a modern day Nomad. People have been doing it
for years in America, what is new about this?

~~~
lost_aether
I hate to be a downer...but this has been all over the news and I don't get
why. Bus conversions have been around for ages. From the most basic to the
most space shuttle like... It's a nice project and congratulations to Hank - I
converted a van myself recently - but I fail to see the wow factor here.

~~~
spiek
He himself acknowledges that it has been done before, but he wanted to explore
it further. I don't think claimed anywhere that this was somehow revolutionary
or ground breaking. Why does it have to be so? Is there anything wrong with
appreciating a well executed and beautiful project (with great documentation)?

------
lotsofcows
Nice sales pitch. Not so sure about the end result.

It's quite pretty and the bed arrangement is novel although I'm not sure how
practical it would be for a couple over time.

The loo is very basic considering what you can rip out of a 15 year old
caravan.

I don't like the long central aisle design although it makes everything look
bigger. Most boats, vans and caravans tend to use L shapes to break things up
a bit.

Still, an interesting part of the USAian dream...
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_Charley:_In_Search...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_Charley:_In_Search_of_America)

------
205guy
I didn't read all the comments, but I did see a few people mentioned boats. I
was going to say that there are many, many, many layouts for small, mobile,
livable spaces such as RVs, motorboats, and sailboats. Given that many are
more creative and better done than this example (straight line), I'm not too
impressed. In fact, I don't like the openness--it looks too much like ... a
school bus.

I do like some of the details, such as the ceiling lighting and the modular
bed/storage. But the kitchen and dining and bathroom areas are uninspired. I
much prefer the little U-shaped kitchens in modern sailboats, where everyting
is easily reachable. Also, if I had such a project, I wouldn't be constrained
by the existing ceiling either: I'm thinking a pop-top loft sleeping area or a
roof terrace with interior ladder/staircase access.

Not to be overly negative, but I don't see the connection to architecture
here. There are a few tenous links, such as the shape of the ceiling (dictated
by the bus) and the thought that went into the bed-storage. But all the rest
seems more like rough out interior design (fit and finish of the
furniture)--and the unfinished bathroom and kitchen aren't appealing at all. I
do think he got a lot done for a short project, but is it architecture?

------
hoopism
My oldest brother built a bus too. It's a different approach but similar
concept. Love these builds. Check out my brothers bus and build log here:

[http://www.bunedoggle.com/skoolie/](http://www.bunedoggle.com/skoolie/)

------
jonah
My dad did something similar back in art school. He bought a used postal
delivery truck and it was his semester project to convert it into an RV.

Once completed, he'd take weekend trips. Leave SF Friday evening and drive an
arbitrary direction until he was tired. He'd find a place to park and in the
morning wake up in a new and unknown location to explore for the weekend.

------
erikstarck
Imagine this being a self driving car/bus. You could fall asleep in Berlin and
wake up in Barcelona.

Now imagine it being electric and solar powered.

Is that the future of cities? On wheels.

~~~
dalore
Or not wake up at all.

~~~
moondowner
I think you're implying dying from carbon monoxide poisoning? I think that it
can't happen if it's "electric and solar powered".

And leave at least one window fully open (or the sunroof) for fresh air and
the other cause (suffocation) is eliminated as well.

~~~
drdaeman
I'd think of road accidents.

I'm not sure vehicle's AI would gracefully handle a case of meeting some idiot
full-speed cruising through a red light.

~~~
samatman
Well, we're not equipped with radar and they are. Also, when self-driving cars
become reasonably common, there is no excuse whatsoever to allow idiots to
continue driving. Things like DUI should lead to a lifetime loss of privilege
to operate a manual vehicle, and the penalty for violating should be reckless
endangerment, not "driving with a suspended license".

~~~
stcredzero
Usually it's lidar.

------
Raphmedia
Out of curiosity, what are the laws on these? (in USA, Canada or UK)

Can you legally sleep in a vehicle?

~~~
jonah
Same as an RV. Varies from city to city. In mine, (in California) they try to
prevent people from sleeping in their vehicles by posting signs like "no
vehicles longer than x feet" or "no parking between 3am and 6am" on certain
city streets. Fortunately, they allocate some parking spaces in city lots
specifically for RVs. Also, some private organizations (churches, etc.) allow
a few RVs to park in their lots during off times.

It's definitely a challenge though.

------
ljf
If you want to some of the more 'rustic' end of the bus conversion world check
out [http://www.travellerhomes.co.uk](http://www.travellerhomes.co.uk) \- full
of interesting traveller bus conversions, mainly from the 80s. My sisters bus
is somewhere on the site, though she gave up living in it years and years ago.

------
ballard
As to possible improvements (it's both a house and a vehicle, so there's
plenty to keep one busy if that's the choice):

Solar panels are much better these days and a bus has obviously tons of space
to put them.

AGM batteries are also the way to go.

If there were an raspberry pi + app to remotely report battery charge level on
a mobile, that would be awesomesauce.

------
ChuckMcM
Very nice, I was also very inspired by this guy's bus :
[http://steampunkworkshop.com/bus1.shtml](http://steampunkworkshop.com/bus1.shtml)
which has a Victorian theme going on.

Converting school busses into RV's is quite a hobby, there are _lots_ of them
out there. But more importantly there are lots of good resources for not
getting screwed in terms of buying a bus with 3M miles on it that needs a new
engine or something. Also "filling up" is not for the faint of heart when you
drive a bus.

Things I like about this conversion are the simplicity and ability to re-
configure easily. Things that might be a challenge are stuff flying around
when you turn corners and what not.

------
awjr
I would say that in the EU you would have a nightmare with this bus. You'd be
able to drive anywhere, but parking over night would be a major problem.

I did a 6 month stint over winter, in the UK, 'stealth' living in a converted
Ford Transit HiTop LWB Van (had bed, cooker, toilet, bank of 3 batteries and a
diesel heating system.) It worked well, but primarily it worked because you
could pull up anywhere and park for the night without calling attention to
yourself.

Showers where provided by whichever local sports centre I could find :)

Oh and this is an exceptional site if you ever want to try this
[http://www.parkopedia.co.uk/](http://www.parkopedia.co.uk/)

------
droidist2
Really awesome. About the heating/cooling, maybe you could just drive to a
nicer climate, like down to Florida for the winter. Of course, life
obligations permitting. Seems like a great setup for retired people. Ultimate
snowbird vehicle.

------
slm_HN
My favorite bus conversion is at
[http://digitalmastery.com/creativecruiser/?page_id=107](http://digitalmastery.com/creativecruiser/?page_id=107)
or
[https://www.facebook.com/CreativeCruiser](https://www.facebook.com/CreativeCruiser)
for more recent updates.

Lots of design and construction pictures.

------
TezzellEnt
This reminds me of the shipping container turned relocatable dwelling:
[http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbay/059MDU-
lotek/...](http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbay/059MDU-lotek/MDU-
UCSB-home.htm)

Of course you'd need to rent a truck to drive it around, but it expands
similar to some RVs.

------
maxmem
That looks like a very limited conversion. Did you do an electrical system at
all or a powered water system?

------
deepGem
Love the morphed school bus. I'd just take this idea to the next level and
design a nice Volvo/Scania bus into a mobile living space. Would cost a hell
lot more but this design is way way way better than any of the custom
Scania/volvo designs that I've seen.

~~~
stcredzero
There's someone who converts Volvo semis into RVs Asa business.

------
perlpimp
What is the milage on the thing by the way? Wonder what part of his monthly
budget is allocated to Gas.

~~~
maxmem
Most full sized buses get 7-8mpg. It's like driving a Hummer.

------
sequoia
[http://tinyhouseblog.com/yourstory/the-novelty-unschool-
bus/](http://tinyhouseblog.com/yourstory/the-novelty-unschool-bus/)

Another, slightly more lived-in one, slightly lower-design one.

------
cjensen
Beautiful and neat hacks. Wood is a good choice for the project since it's
cheap and looks good if you put labor (which he has) into it.

Wood is also extremely heavy, which makes it a terrible choice if you actually
plan on driving.

~~~
giardini
Buses are designed to be driven everywhere while full of human beings so,
although the mileage might be atrocious, there should be little concern about
the safety of a wood interior.

------
fluxon
A friend of mine has a school bus, but it needs a new suspension bladder and
those a) aren't cheap and b) are hard to replace. There's nothing more
expensive than a cheap (insert noun here).

------
10098
All I can see in my imagination is Hank Hill working on that bus.

------
nchuhoai
Because there seem to be some people that have seen similar projects: Is there
like a website for such cool conversions of vehicles and other places into
living spaces?

------
eyeareque
Not to knock his accomplishment, because this is really cool. My first thought
was: this thing must creak and squeak like crazy as you head down the road.

------
burritofanatic
I did a search for the word splinters, and found none in the comments or in
the post. Has this issue been addressed?!

------
capex
What are the rules for this in Australia?

~~~
A1kmm
That is up to each state. Here are the rules for Victoria:
[http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/19ADFB21-5D33-49...](http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/19ADFB21-5D33-49BC-B0CD-1CFC642AFD07/0/VSI5_WEB.pdf)

~~~
capex
Thanks for pointing it out.

------
andyidsinga
that is sofaking amazing. cheers to Hank!

If he can figure out how to convert it to a serial gas/electric hybrid that
would be cool. cover the roof in solar panels - blinds could be solar panels
too.

------
hayksaakian
Could it be viable to refurbish old busses into mobile homes?

~~~
nazgulnarsil
While cool, I'm betting a used mobile home + mods is cheaper. Of course you
have to give the bus some points for the wow factor.

~~~
keithpeter
There was a chap living in an old 20 seat bus some time ago in the Midlands,
UK. No conversions, just basically sleeping rough in a bus.

I've seen much nicer converted railway carriages in Scotland, and there is at
least one converted railway carriage you can rent for holidays. These are
static of course.

This chap should do a line of those storage bed units for people in small
flats!

------
Yuioup
My question is: Do you take turns smoking and driving?

------
blufox
Wonderful....Great blog and photos..Keep em coming.

------
basicallydan
Bloody hell. I want to do this. Good job, dude!

------
ktd
This is a refreshingly good post.

------
ballard
Probably ~16 mpg, so a donation link for fuel budget would be fair. I think
people would help because of the awesomeness.

~~~
m_ram
He wrote 10mpg in the comments [1]. That means $0.39/mile on average driving
in the U.S. [2].

[1] [http://www.hankboughtabus.com/a-tour-of-the-
bus/#comment-508](http://www.hankboughtabus.com/a-tour-of-the-
bus/#comment-508)

[2]
[http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/](http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/)

------
HipstaJules
It beautiful, I really like it!

------
pettycash
awesome. he should sell advertising on side of bus as he tours the country.

------
pearjuice
>about $6000 in improvements

He could have saved around $2000 if he didn't include the riced Macbook.

------
debashis23
This is great....

------
ronaldsvilcins
This is awesome!!!

------
marincounty
I'm a big fan of this type of living. We need to provide cheap places to park
overnight RV's/buses. We have been conditioned to believe we need to live in
high priced boxes. If things don't work out for me, it's a boat off Dunphy
Park. It will have a very well designed 12v solar system.

~~~
claudius
> We have been conditioned to believe we need to live in high priced boxes.

The housing market in the US (and the UK) always surprises me. People here
just rent medium-priced parts of boxes, often far after they found a family
and only move into their own homes in their thirties/fourties, if at all.

In the US/UK, on the other hand, it appears to be much more common to buy and
sell houses like commodities whenever you feel like moving.

~~~
shawabawa3
I'm in the UK and my general impression is that people absolutely hate
"throwing away" money paying rent, and would rather they were "investing" in
property. Of course, they often don't take into account that they might end up
paying more on mortgage interest than they were on rent anyway, and if they
hate the place they're going to be out potentially 10s of thousands in fees

------
o0-0o
So much taste. So much style. So much... Coors light? Gosh, Hank. Ick.

~~~
vonmoltke
That's Coors Original. Not much better, but still.

------
songzme
Its this kind of out the box thinking and guts to follow through with your
idea that makes a true difference in this world.

~~~
joelrunyon
> Its this kind of out the box thinking and guts to follow through with your
> idea that makes a true difference in this w

I'll be the first to say this is a sweet bus & transformation and kudos to
Hank for finding something he wanted to do and going after it. BUT, I think
it's a bit of a stretch to say it's going to change the world. Maybe Hank's
got bigger plans for it - but is it too much to ask to just call this a
"freaking awesome project" and congratulate Hank on his out-of-the-box
thinking without saying it's "revolutionary", "world changing" or some other
hyperbole?

~~~
sliverstorm
Maybe the best thing to do is just run with the hyperbole, join in with
songzme, and pray like hell that when the hyperbole reaches critical mass it
will implode on itself.

~~~
solistice
Maybe it'll lead to a hyperbolic chain reaction, destroying everything in a
hundred mile radius. That fallout will linger in the environment for decades,
from molehills to mountains, killing all living discussions or grossly
mutating them into beastly overstatements.

It's a horrid picture.

~~~
sliverstorm
See, you've got the right idea already!

~~~
solistice
Fools, turn back. In 1908, Tunguska, my grand-grand father, at least so he
tells, was involved in a similar happening. Two russian farmers in the area
had come up with a new breed of cold resistant potato, and after sucessful
tests, they took to a local inn to celebrate. Little did they know that the
congregation had just a little too much liquid joy, and how focused the praise
would be. After several days of nonstop praise, the hyperbolic density reached
critical levels, and the russian authorities were alerted. Realizing the
magnitude of the problem, they knew that they couldn't disperse it by
themselves. They sent a letter to Prussia, world reknown for its somberness
under Bismark, to send a congregation of the most straight faced military
officers that they could find. My grand-grand father was within that troop.
But alas, they came too late, as by the time they reached the village of
Kezhemskoe, a flash was visible and loud explosions were heard, as the inn had
reached critical hyperbole. You may not want to believe me, as all signs of
the potatoes, the inn are gone, and all records were wiped during the cold
war.

Overstatements are hell.

