🌟BUS CONVERSION FULL BUILD 🚌 2 years start to finish 🔨 DIY for family
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
- Ever dreamt of transforming a bus into your own tiny home on wheels? We did, and this is our 2-year bus conversion journey documented raw and real! Get ready for a roller coaster ride of demolition, DIY projects, unexpected hiccups, and ultimately, HUGE satisfaction.
From the moment we laid eyes on our dusty bus, to the triumphant day we moved in, witness the blood, sweat, and (a few happy) tears that went into making this dream a reality.
Follow along as we:
Bring home our carefully selected bus.
Strip it down to the bones: Witness the messy (but necessary) demolition process.
Design and build: Get a sneak peek into our creative decisions and DIY solutions.
Overcome challenges: Learn from our mistakes and celebrate our victories.
Move in and hit the road: Experience the first steps of our nomadic adventure!
This video is more than just a bus conversion. It's about family, adventure, and chasing your dreams, no matter how crazy they seem.
Ready to be inspired? Subscribe for more adventures, tips, and laughs as we explore New Zealand and beyond in our DIY dream bus!
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Chapters
00:00 Bringing our new bus home
00:25 Demolition begins - stripping out seats.
01:30 Walk through bus - all seats out
02:30 Preparing for roof raise
03:10 Raising the roof
04:41 Preparing for fiberglass panels
05:58 Preparing for Paint (outside)
06:57 Pre-wiring 12v
07:11 Blacking out windows
07:34 Internal Framing
08:01 Pre-wiring 230v
08:35 Spray foam insulation
10:23 Internal lining
10:49 Kitchen Design
12:10 Internal painting
13:07 Internal walls begin
13:41 Kitchen joinery
14:02 Bathroom plumbing
14:19 Flooring design & install
15:19 New couch squabs & new oven
15:34 Sewing window coverings
15:54 Painting bunkroom headboards
16:34 Roof wiring and Solar Panels
17:04 Bedroom, Hallway & Bathroom Door
18:22 FINISHED Walk-through
Keywords: Tiny Living, Off-Grid, DIY Bus Conversion, Family Travel, New Zealand, Homeschooling, Road Schooling, Adventure Travel, Camping
Bus Life, Travel, Family Adventure, Before & After, Timelapse, Building Tips, Mistakes & Solutions
Ok, so converting something like this is brave enough, but to cut its roof off and raise it! That takes big balls man.
LOL thanks Mark, as they say “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”…. Fortune favors the bold 💪
If you’re going to be a bear, might as well be a grizzly.
Awesome that this project was a family affair. Lifetime memories for sure.
Hi there, yes the kids enjoyed watching the video and seeing how ‘little’ they were at the start of the build compared to now! We wanted them to be a part of it as living in it is a family affair too 😃😃
Love that you're in the zone and actually DO KNOW what you're doing! Sweet kindness involving even the littlest of your kids. Such a beautiful bus to begin with
Hi Jennifer, thankyou for for lovely comment ☺️ we are glad you enjoyed it!
That basement play room was a Hella good idea. I rv...i see alot of stuff that will fall all over the ground once you move the bus but you guys will figure that out as you use it and make adjustments.
Haha yes we learnt the hard in the first few trips that’s for sure! Let’s just say…. The oven is now tethered to the wall and we have grippy mat stuff on all the shelves 😅
0:36 ي
Great to see more content about converting coaches into homes for families. So much skoolie conversion stuff from the US on here so nice to see family oriented designs. Hope you guys make more content about the conversion and systems
It's all bout family for us, fun, adventure and education. More content coming soon...😊
The music drives me up the wall. "Yuh, Yuh" every 8 seconds. JFC. We didn't need that ad lib ad nauseum.
There is a mute option 😅 but thanks for taking the time to write some feedback. We will take that into consideration for future videos 👍🏻
I absolutely love the kids play room, what a grand idea. Have fun whanau ❤
Thank you! 🤗
So good to see everything start to Finnish! Great Mahi team!
Wow you’re extremely TALENTED 🥰 From the hidden toy/library room to the bedrooms to the kitchen to the living room I love everything you’ve done.
Thankyou so much for your kind and encouraging words 😊
Wow, the perfect bus. It is amazing.❤
Wow, I think it's far from perfect, we still have many things we want to add and improve, but we do love being able to live in it so comfortably. Thank you
OMG I'm in love with the 'secret' room and that you have bookshelves 📚 😍
See you hopefully on the road and I'll beg for a actual tour 😄 oh and awesome blackout curtains 👏 very talented wife 😁
You are quite right @kat_n_bob_roamingNZ, I have a VERY talented wife. This bus wouldn't be what it is today without her awesome design flare and creativity
Love the bus! I could easily live in it. Great work 😊❤
Glad you like it!
That ending was great
Amazing! Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more videos, if you all feel like sharing!
Well done , specially the roof !👍👍
Thank you 😃
Outstanding!!!!
Why thank you 😃
Awesome!!!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed 👍🏻
Wow thats really nice. Enjoy your journey.
Hi Dianna, thanks so much for ur lovely comment 😊
Beautiful… happy travels ❤️
Thank you! 😃
WOW what a wonderful job. Congratulations
Thank you so much!
That is so fantastic!!! Cannot wait to see it here in Brighton!! Come visit me - there are camping spots just by the beach!
Hey @Psaltrymom, Canterbury is our home region so a few nights in Brighton sounds like a great idea. What are the details for the camping spots?
One of the best I've seen. Well done. 👍
Thanks 👍
I love this!!! Awesome job guys
Thanks!
Stunning build. Well done!
Thank you very much!
This bus is amazing!
Glad you think so 😊
Beautiful job and home design
Thank you very much! ✨😃
Wow. You guys did amazing job. That was a lot of work. Your bus looks amazing ❤Happy traveling.
Thanks so much! 😊
Great Job
Thankyou 👍🏻
This is Amazing! Thanks for the tutorial.
You're very welcome! Glad you liked it.... more tutorials for "BusLife" coming soon 😊
Cracking build! Well done🎉
We had a cracking team 👍🏻😄
Great video.
Thanks @maxinevine779 it sure was a lot of work to put all the footage together. We're so glad we did
That sir is a masterpiece 💯💯
Just want to say how much we really appreciate encouraging comments like this ❤️
That looks fantastic well done 👍
Your too kind 😊
Great job 👏
Thank you! 😃
Amazing job well done ❤
Hi, glad you enjoyed!
It was a hell of a job to make out of a bus. But shit a project that you came into the house with.' You can pat yourself on the back for that! And your whole amazing family to be able to cope with these difficulties you must have gone through. For such a huge project you really know you have a really strong family,…❤
That's why I give your whole fantastic family my subscriber. 😎🤟🏼,.. Really looking forward to some great experiences in going out with the fantastic bus.☺️👌🏼
Hi @sunnyolsen3891 we're so thrilled to receive your positive comment. It certainly was a hard journey to get here but we love enjoying this as a family together. Thanks for subscribing, we look forward to posting more videos soon 👍
Great projekt 😊 Life Project 😊 BUS Life
Thankyou, we sure put a lot of work into it and it’s been totally worth it 👍🏻
@@RadiantBuslife yes 😀
Awesomeness 🎉❤
Thanks 🤗
Well Done!
Thanks 🤩
Cool 😎
Glad you enjoyed 👍
Love what you're done mate. I would love to get a bus and do what you've done. Its built from scratch they way you want it and what fits your family. I am sure when you're kids are older they will talk about the adventures they had in that bus/ mobile home. Some of my best memories are of camping and being at the caravan and tent in the summer time as a kid. And i am still a nature lover now because of it. I am in Scotland so thats why i said camping in the summer time because thats the only time you can here.👍😂
Hey @MrG77, my great grandmother was Scottish, so we have something in common as well as our love for getting outdoors! We love adventuring and spending so much time with the children while they are young, totally worth it.
@@RadiantBuslife hey that's great to hear. Yeah get the kids out and in nature and having adventures. Brilliant to hear. It seems this generation of kids are stuck inside in front of the Xbox or Playstation. Seems that's all there interested in nowadays. You couldn't keep me in when I was a kid, either football, skateboard, swimming with mates, building dens, out on the bikes or going places with mum and dad. Brilliant memories. Hope one day you could get your camper to Scotland. We have some of the best unspoiled nature in the world. We have it all , mountains, lakes,beaches, Forrest's ,open meadows, snow capped peakes. If it was sunny here it would be a no 1 tourist destination.👍🙏
Awesome channel find, (via Gallichan's) looking forward to following you around the country!
Welcome aboard!
Hermoso bus muy funcional rico dormir hacer de todo y viajar hasta las estrellas felicitaciones de Cali Colombia 👍🎉💝😘🤣💕😂🩶💖❣️🛸🛸🛸🤎💯❣️🛸💋🌹💋😂🙌🎂
✨👍🏻
Amazing
Thank you!
Inspired.
Yay! 🙌🏻
This a brilliant video
So glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome build
Thanks!
WOW! That looks amazing!
I want such one for my family now! 😀
Thats Nice, good Job 👌👍
Thank you! Cheers!
I loved everything but the music, great job!
😅👍🏻
Stunning content - I hope you get 100k subs soon as it would be well deserved. Fantastic job, well done! Psyche aka Psyche Thompson UK 🌹
Wow, thank you! @psycheinc-theSLC 😊
Absolutely amazing job. But I personally would prefer windows in children’s bedroom. I would get claustrophobic bing in there
They do have a window 👍🏻 and an air vent in ceiling that opens all the way…. Annnnd of course the secret trap door that leads down below to the toy room/library that has doors on either side that open completely up to the outside… so there can be a lot of indoor/outdoor flow in there which is nice 😊
@@RadiantBuslife my apologies I obviously missed that. You did an amazing job
Not a fan of composting commode's, but this is one nice bus design ! love the secret play place for the kids ! so cool ! wicked nice !
We were sceptical at first too, but it seemed like most larger family’s living full time in skoolies/rvs used and loved this type of toilet. We are full converts now! We plan on doing a video on it at some point as it is def a conversation point when talking about the bus 🚌
@@RadiantBuslife 'sceptical': nice pun :)
Epic epic epic
James spent a while finding all the footage from the past 3 years 😅 but I think he did a good job 😊🎉
1:45 bus had carpet on the ceiling but not on the floor lmao 😂
Lol yeah go figure
Not mucking around. Great effort! Tell me, understand8ng that polesteirene eats the coating off electrical cable, did you wrap the cable? I used special purple cable in our trailer designed, especially for the foam.
Hi @philstrang6907, yeah we aren't here to much around. You are correct about polystyrene eating cable insulation (although it takes decades)... Cool thing about spray foam is that it's not polystyrene but polyethylene, the chemical make up of this type of foam preserves cable insulation rather than erodes it. Cool huh
Delighted to see thre content of your this Video, I looked at the original one again & really look forward to further updates on your plumbing & electrical... & decisiond thriugh the build.......Right at this point, I like your under cabinet drawers in the kitchen, they are are very wide.. You mentioned 'Pinterest' in where you saw the idea..... Can you share those details please, I am shortly to help a friend with her small kitchen revamp of a fairly new but verp poorly designed house & can build this in......I can utalise that very well but need to understand the construction, I am assuming the process was with metal rather than timber... Easier to do with narrow drawers! but much more practical with wide ones A simple sketch detail would be greatly appreciated! I was impressed with the drivers office, The use of the Batteries from the communictions towers & your use of the elastic pockets for the kids in the bunkroom....also why your use of the flexible PV panels.... was that decision for weight or even height? (I thought the flexible panels were less efficient & much more expensive) I might be wrong but interested in that too..... I saw so many more good ides but mention these few to name a few... Marcus is my name I live about an hour SE of Melbourne
I'd love to know how the drawers go. Drawers are great but they tend to pop open 😕 well our caravan ones do...
Hi Marcus, wow you really took notes! Here are a few quick answers... The kitchen cabinetry was done by a kitchen joiner, as with any normal house build. We simply asked him to "turn the toe kicks into draws please" ... and that is what he built. A great use of the toe kick space which is usually wasted in a normal kitchen. The use of flexible panels was because they were cheap, you are right they are not as efficient as other solid panels, we may upgrade in the future when we can afford it (same with batteries)
Push lock knobs when installed well seem to be really good!
Not often you see a kiwi bus conversion on UA-cam! Kia ora from north canterbury!
Hey hey! Most of the work was done in Sefton, North Canterbury Represent 🙌
Очень классный дом .
Намного лучше чем у Стрекаловского
Looks fantastic I think I would have left the aircon unit on what about ventilation
Hi David, the original aircon just simply wasn't suitable for the conversion. It only ran off the running bus motor and a cousin of mine who is an aircon and electrician informed me that the whole unit was out of date and would not be able to be serviced. We installed large high powered extraction fans in each bedroom and the kitchen which really get the air moving nicely.
Сподіваюся що у вас досить швидко буде 2.36 міліонів фоловерів . З найкращими побажаннями . Слава Україні ❤
Looks seriously cool.
Though the kids ain't going to stay small forever.
You sure you'll fit 6 of them when they're in their teens?
This is just a season for us, not forever! And yes, they will keep growing which is why we knew we needed to do it now, before we won’t all fit! 😅
Nice conversion!! Withbwhat did you guys made the window covers? I used magnets but that doesn’t work that well..
Thanks! We used Velcro strips. I made the window coverings and sewed the fuzzy side of the Velcro onto the edges, then James glued the scratchy side of the Velcro into the window edges using a silicon based glue. Has to be silicon base otherwise it won’t adhere to the glass properly
@@RadiantBuslife thanks!! This would be a great solution i think that would fit my old van! Enjoy your travels and have fun!!
I'm intrigued..wat did u fo with a that seats
Hiya, just wanted to clarify what your question is?
👍👍👍👍👍
😊❤️
👍
Estou a pensar construir uma casa sobre rodas.
Penso exatamente nessas alterações.
Doooo iiiiit 😃🎉👏🏻
The only thing i think is needed is a window or escape hatch in the Children's bunk and that reading nook incase of fire or other emergency.
There is a window in the kids room ( and big ones all down the hallway. The toy room has big doors that open up on both sides 👍
@RadiantBuslife oh I missed it. Fabulous. Safety first. God Speed to you all and fun adventures.
I bet you have to work on finding places to park that bus... lol
but I could live in that full time..
I tend to drive ahead in our van (Maddy here) to see if there are any low branches etc and to make sure there is room for Pearl…. And so far there isn’t anywhere that we have wanted to go that we haven’t been able to get into! James is a clever and careful driver too 😅 so that helps. And NZ doesn’t have a very big population so that also helps 👍🏻
Hey guys awesome job on the vid and the bus! I am converting a nine meter Fuso at the moment to tiki tour round NZ also, did you manage to get the side facing belts installed on your couch? Would you be able to do a short vid on that one and did you have any issues on getting the cert for it? The guy I have been to see says he won’t cert side facing belts?! Any help would be appreciated thanks.
Daniel
Hi Daniel, seat belt certification is a long and expensive road to travel, that's for sure. If you're in the South Island, reach out to Fiddymont seatbelts and they should be able to point you in the right direction 👍
I LOVE it! Great build and a spacious, comfortable floorplan. The playroom underneath is an excellent idea and well-executed. The placement of the master bedroom is genius! Are you all going to live in the bus full-time, or is it just for getaways?
Hi there, we are living in it full time to travel and explore New Zealand 🫶🏻 Glad you enjoyed the video 👍🏻😊
@@RadiantBuslife That's wonderful! You're creating so many beautiful memories for your children (and as a couple)!
I like it but how does everything stay in place while driving
We learnt very quickly what needed to be moved or tied down for travel 😅
Great job on the bus 👌, but next time you do an edit please don't ever use that god-awful music again,it got VERY irritating.
But again great job on the bus!
🎧🤫😂
How hard is it to find someone that wants to get a bus??
Hi @tee4182 I'm not sure I fully understand your question. I can say that living in a bus is something more and more people are choosing to do as an alternative lifestyle. We are enjoying it as family and highly recommend the experience 😊
Great project. Lazy use of audio enhancer
Great feedback. Thanks 😊
Love the bus. Are you required to have carbon monoxide monitors on it? Just wondered, especially in the secret room towards the back.
Love the Bible being prominent.
We have the carbon monoxide and gas meter in the kitchen area (at the base of the pantry) so any gas will be detected before it goes up the hall anywhere near the children. We also have extraction fans in the bathroom and in the bunk room which run every day to circulate air. In summer the vent in the children's room runs all night. 👍And yes, Bible in the living room is so important to get our "daily bread" Amen 🙌
How high did you made it?
Our normal travel height is about 3.9m ... The legal limit for vehicle height in New Zealand is 4.2m
great video, very informative......bloody annoying jump jump music, did my head in
😅😂🎵🎶
Could you sell those sets to a junkyard.
We did try to sell the bus seats but found that no-one wanted them. So yes the scrap metal dealer got them.
Whats next? EV conversion?
Funny you say that, I've been thinking about a small EV project... like a go kart for the kids in the shape of an old military Jeep
Did’nt see any table? Eating area?
Hey check out our other video showing the full tour of the bus 🚌 we have a table that folds down and is tucked away when not in use. It was important for us to be able to seat and eat meals around a table as family!
@@RadiantBuslifeI think they mean….what did you do with all the original bus seats?
Two years of work, unfortunately, in only twenty minutes, and for half of that, I only see your face....
The video is not, but the bus is a nice job!
Hey, thanks for the feedback... video maker or bus builder? I'm taking that as a vote for bus builder 😄
You have wheel on the wrong side there!
Haha yes, on the Right side! 😉😆
@@RadiantBusliferight is normal isn’t it?
the FOAM was be a mistake .. :/
No the foam definitely wasn’t a mistake, it was just hard work. The insulation it provides has been invaluable AND it’s also very soundproof 👍🏻
Obnoxious music I'm sorry.
Glad you enjoyed the video 😃
i mean its fine now, but in like 2 years those kids are not fitting in that.
LOL, you're not wrong. This a season for us and we're enjoying it while they are all small. Fine for now 😊
ʕᗒᴗᗕʔ乃
The music is so annoying!
🎧🤫🤣
That spray foam job was one of the worst i have ever seen, made you so mutch extra work.
The spray foam company are actually great. I agreed to allow a trainee to do the work so our cost was much cheaper than normal
Kendini çekmiş sin sen araba yı değil
Teşekkür ederim 😁
Hello. Sorry, I must say that poor space distribution for a large vehicle. Sending children to those holes is even in bad taste. They would have placed the rooms on the sides of the vehicle. The kitchen and living room are larger than the bedrooms. Honestly, what a waste of space.
Thanks for the tips! We totally screwed it up, how stupid!! Wish we had had your advice when we were building it 👍🏻🤪🤓
❤
That song is one hella annoying earworm… 👀 Aside from that though, wow, what a job! 🦾
😅🤪 feedback noted for future vids
Great job but it looks really cramped and small rather buy a huge caravan and tow that
Hi keepyournoseout, looking forward to seeing ur huge caravan adventures 👍🏻
@@RadiantBuslife lol sarcastic ya bus is shite mate 🤣
2 years dit you hire Philippines to do it ?
I love Filipinos, I have thought that if I was to ever build another bus I would love to have the help of some skilled friends from the Philippines 😊
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