Bus Pictures!!!

It’s blog time again, it’s my turn and I’ve been informed that this post is overdue. I’d like to share something personal: at the top of the list of things I’ve mentally kicked myself for procrastinating this year is waiting until October to install windows and weather-strip big openings to the great outdoors.

The time I have these days for doing non-essential activities (such as sleeping or having fun) has waned to approximately zero, as my brain quietly implodes under the immense pressures of school and work. In the little cracks of time that dot my schedule, I’ve been making slow progress on the bus. I was surprised this evening, as I sorted through a pile of old bus to-do lists, with the way big progress has been made in small, mostly unnoticed steps. A sampling of the once to-be-done and now completed tasks includes: prep + paint outside loft walls, paint + install outside window trim, install metal roof + flashing, build frames + install glass windows (loft), remove rocket stove, new concrete bottom step, fix broken bus window, paint floor, plumbing for water heater, new electrical wiring/breaker for water heater circuit, and run permanent electrical wiring for lights and outlets inside the bus. Sorry if that was a long and boring list—for some reason, I really enjoy re-reading lists of stuff I did and therefore don’t have to worry about anymore.

Sitting on bed, looking back through the living + dinning rooms, kitchen, bathroom and shop at the "front" door.

Of the recent projects, those that have had the greatest impact on quality of life in the bus (at least for me) are hot water, removal of the rocket stove, and finally sealing things up with windows. Up until last weekend, the 16 window openings that I built into the loft (raised roof portion of bus) were screened in to exclude bugs but lacked any way to close out the elements. This was fine all summer in So. Oregon because it never gets cold, but was truly starting to suck as cold and wet weather moved in. After busting ass all weekend (and sacrificing some time I probably should have spent on homework), the windows were finished and the bus has acquired the amazing ability to retain warmth. As a bonus, it is also much quieter inside when it’s raining or windy.

Kitchen sink, pantry shelves, refrigerator...
Windows!
Loft finally gets a real roof...

The original rocket stove in the bus (the second thing, after a basic wood floor, that I built inside) was a behemoth contraption of steel and cob (read: dried mud). Grotesquely funky and homegrown, I always thought it was super cool and it generally worked as it was meant to: generate heat and warm up water. The problems were, it wasn’t totally finished, was potentially un-roadworthy and took up way too much valued floor space in an already cramped little mini-home. Solution? Tear it out and start over. Yep, I ripped that thing out faster than it took me to dream it up, and as fortunate has it we were offered a free woodstove soon thereafter. I hauled our new stove home and decided to do some repairs (it’s an older stove) and upgrades that would improve the efficiency (burn less wood and make more heat and put less particulates up and out the flue). I’m currently finishing up the metalwork on that in the welding shop at the community college.

Looking forward into the front of bus.
Other side of kitchen w/ counter, shelving, dishes, mini-gas range in the background
Future location of woodstove (currently occupied by propane tank)


Last but not least, I have to put in a good word for hot water. I must admit that for a short time, I foolishly believed I could get by without it; but, now that it is hooked up and feeding the sink with nearly instant, steaming hot H20 on command, I’ve never been happier or more appreciative of such a simple pleasure. I found our little 10 gal tank heater on craigslist, scored it for cheap and plumbed it in right above the sink so it only takes a few seconds to get the good stuff at the tap.

Inside of the bathroom (view from the toilet)
Amazingly simple composting toilet setup!
Bedroom, closet, study area, computer desk region...


We haven’t posted any interior pictures of the bus for a long time, so I took some and put them randomly into the post. Some of them turned out kind of foggy - not sure why. By the way, here goes a big thank-you to Laurie for the deluxe Turkish rug that adorns the kitchen floor. She even mailed it to us after we forgot to take it home on the plane. It fits perfectly where Katarina had envisioned it. Also, I love my compost shirt and wear it all the time.

Before the floor was painted (and rocket stove is kind of visible on the right near the bed)
Unfortunately small shop space
Bathroom "door" next to front door and key-hanging, calendar-looking area.

Thanks for reading!