The last big job I needed to finish before I could see the electrician, was to install roof racks on the bus. I needed them to mount my solar panels. There are pros and cons for using roof racks instead of mounting solar panels directly to the...

The next job on the list for the bus was to start connecting the grey water system. I'm taking the bus on her first BIG road trip in a couple of weeks, all the way to Airlie Beach (1300km!) to see my electrical guru and get my solar and 240v system...

Next stage in my electrical install was to start running all of the cables. I'm doing my conversion a little differently from most people. Instead of running the electrical cables early in the build, before doing insulation and wall linings, I have...

Continuing with preparations for the electrical installation in my bus, I've been finishing off some of the wall cladding and cutting holes to mount the various power points. I will get the electrician to do the final connection on these and check...

This was one of those jobs I'd been putting off for a while because it involved cutting a hole in gthe side of the bus which always makes me very nervous, but I finally got around to doing it this week. This plug will allow me to plug the bus into...

I feel like I'm making good progress in the bus lately and there are only a few big things left that I need to build inside. One of these is my upper cabinets, which will run the length of the wall on both sides of the bus. This week, I built the...

More work in the back of the bus this week. This time, I am starting on the laundry area. Like the bathroom vanity section, this corner of the bus has a lot of weird angles and curves and it took me a couple of days just to get the wall cladding...

This week I got to cross another job off the list - I installed my water tanks! I am using tanks from RV Tanks Australia They are specifically made to fit under my model of Toyota Coaster and are designed to bolt straight up through the floor, so...

After spending weeks focussing on painting the bus roof, I am back to building the inside, and it feels good to be working with timber again. Now I am turning my attention to the bathroom/laundry area which will be at the very back of the bus. Most...

Well this was certainly a gargantuan job! It took me several weeks to paint the bus roof. It was slow going because I couldn't start painting until around 11am each day, as I had to wait for the morning dew to fully evaporate from the roof, and you...

While waiting for the Penetrol to cure on the bus roof, I decided to finish off Pepper's bed in the cab area. I drilled a bunch of holes in the plywood base for ventilation and I painted it with two coats of an anti-mould primer on either side, and...

This week I started the mammoth task of painting the bus roof. I will be painting it with Thermoshield paint which is a heat reflecting paint. I used it on my first bus and it works really well to reflect heat from the roof and keep the inside...

More work in the bus kitchen this week. I wanted some extra depth to the benchtop in the area next to the sink because I have a benchtop oven/airfryer that I want to put there. I also want to be abe to fit a dishrack in front ofthe oven, as well as...

This week I managed to get the benchtop installed on the second kitchen cabinet. As usual, there were a few design challenges to overcome with the slope of the wall behind and needing to accommodate a very large sink. But I managed to get it all...

It has been so hot this past month! It makes working outside on the bus extremely challenging. But I managed to get some more done this week. I've been working on building the rest of my kitchen. The passenger side is pretty much done (except for a...

I bought this fridge when I had my first bus but I love it so much I was determined to get it in the coaster. I pretty much designed my layout to be able to fit this fridge in, and be able to take it out if I need to.It's an LG 310L fridge with a...

Merry Christmas to all our wonderful followers and fellow bus converters from Pepper and me! Here is a little recap of the progress I made on my bus this year. Can't wait to share more of our journey in 2023!

My latest project in the bus was to build a storage cabinet behind the driver seat which will most likely be my wardrobe. Large plastic tubs on shelves inside because I couldn't be arsed building drawers and these don't weigh as much. I was going...

I am so so happy right now! Today I walked out of the TMR office with a pair of shiny new number plates for my bus. She is now an officially registered motorhome!I almost can't believe that I am finally here, after so many years of dreaming about...

I got the benchtop done! This was very awkward to install as I didn't have much space underneath because of the stove shelf and had to use my right angle drill to screw it in. But I'm pleased with the final result.

Made my first ever cabinet doors on the weekend.I was really happy with how they turned out and I didn't notice until I took this photo that I put the panels on with the grain running in different directions. oops!And of course I did such a good...

I made some more good progress this week and built the table. I wanted a big table so I could use the space to work on my books and jewellery etc, and have room for sewing machine, printer and other things. Originally, I was going to have the table...

The next think I want to build in the bus is my tabke, but before I can do that, I needed to build a little wall in the entry that it will attach to, so this week I have been working on the entry stairwell area. I hadn't done anything with the step...

I now have my first kitchen cabinet in tyhe bus! Well, I still have to put on the doors and the benchtop which will make it look better, but the main structure is finished and I am really happy with how it turned out. I am using plastic storage...

This week I built the framing for the walls that will form my pantry, wardrobe, fridge space and electrical bay. This was by far the most frustrating job in the whole build!Trying to build square walls in a space that is not square was a nightmare!...

I had a very productive weekend and have finished the bed in my bus! I tested it out with the mattresses today and it works really well so I am very happy.Even Pepper liked it. I had her test it out and she immediately went to sleep on it!It is a...

I am very happy right now. Have finished the framing for the first wall in my bus 🙂 I have a couple more "noggins" (horizontal pieces) to put in but will wait until I decide what I am doing with the space on the other side, as I will be attaching...

I've been finishing off the cab area renovations this week. More carpet laid. New piece of ply cut and painted to line the passenger side wall and seats reinstalled. I had to clean a bunch of interior stuff like the drivers door panel, handbrake...

The next stage to finish off the floor in the cab area was to lay new carpet.  I chose to purchase a moulded carpet from Trufit carpets that was specifically made for my model coaster. However, despite it being supposedly premade to shape, I still...

The next part of the bus that I want to work on is the driver's cab area at the front.  It needs a good clean, and I need to replace the manky old vinyl that was on the floor orginally. This week, I laid down sound deadening matting over the entire...

The ceiling is done!Well the boards are up at least. I still have a lot of filling and sanding and painting to do but that will come later.It went up much easier than I was expecting and having two people helped a lot, although I did manage to get...

I finished putting up the ply on the side walls this week.It's only a small job but it makes a huge difference to how the bus looks inside. It is starting to look a little more like a house and less like a bus which is exciting.Most of this ply...

After weeks of not being able to work in the bus because of constant rain, I was finally get back into it this week! I installed the final stage of my insulation - lining the entire inner surface of the bus with Ametalin Thermalbreak to add extra...

  Another massive job ticked off the list! I just finished laying the sheet vinyl flooring. I decided to go with sheet vinyl because a lot of people have issues with vinyl planks moving and lifting in their buses, and I wanted the added...

  Another big job on the bus is now complete - the first layer of insulation is installed! I am using Foilboard (polystyrene sheets with aluminium foil on each side) in the cavities of the walls and the roof for a number of reasons but mostly...

Finally, after all this time spent stripping the bus, and making repairs, the inside build has finally begun!It may not look like much yet, but it felt so good to be starting the next phase of the bus conversion. This week, I built the framing that...

As if the wet weather wasn't causing me enough problems due to leaks, I also discovered that the brand new floor I had installed in the bus last year was growing mould!

This week I installed the two Maxxair fans in the roof of my bus. It was a bit nerve-racking cutting the holes in the roof because you only have one shot to get it right, but it turned out ok.I still have to connect the wiring to the fans but will...

It has been a frustrating week! I was hoping to be able to install my roof fans this week, but instead, the heavy rain we've been getting exposed quite a few leaks and I spent the week trying to deal with them. I patched up holes, resealed windows,...

I was finally able to pick up my bus this afternoon after three weeks being at the repair shop. Windscreen rust looks to be gone. Driver door is fixed and now shuts properly (so hopefully won't leak now)And all the windows have been tinted.I am...

It has been so long since I've been able to post any updates on the bus project. My elbow tendonitis continued to trouble me and I ended up having to get a cortisone injection and take time off to let it heal. It still isn't 100% but it is...

Before I could reinstall the windows there were a few more things I needed to do to fix up the frames. Firstly, I gave them all a fresh coat of paint since the black was wearing off and quite a few of them were scratched and scuffed.  And I...

After taking out the windows, I pulled them apart and cleaned up the frames. They were covered in caked mud and dirt as well as spider webs. And then there was the remnants of the mastic - the horrible black sticky stuff that was used to create a...

I spent the weekend taking out most of the bus windows. Man now that was a big job! (LOL I seem to say that with every part of this bus build lately!) A couple of the windows were leaking and all of them had very old, deteriorating rubber seals...

The next phase of my build. before I can get to the fun part of building the inside, is to get the bus watertight. This week, I tackled the taillights, which both leak. (Toyota Coasters commonly leak in this area and it is a common source of water...

FINALLY!  After months and months of spending poretty much every waking moment thinking about different layout ideas for my bus and agonising iver how I was going to fit everything in, I have finally decided on the interior layout plan. I'm sure...

 The next big jobs I want to get dome on the bus involve taking out windows and cutting holes in the roof. Because the bus is booked in to have the windscreen rust and driver's door repaired in a couple of weeks, I want to hold off starting those...

Just a quick update on the bus. I haven't done a lot of work since installing the floor. Mostly because work has been busy, then I got sick. I did paint a couple of coats of sealer on the floor. I intend to lay vinyl flooring over it at some stage,...

I have had a big week in the bus. Worked solidly most days and am pleased to say that I have finally got the new floor installed. There were a few design challenges due to the fact that I decided to use 18mm marine ply and the original floor was...

Yesterday I treated all the rust patches in the floor frame. There was actually quite a lot and the more of the white paint I ground off, the more rust I discovered underneath it! At least it was all still pretty minor and I didn't stress too much...

This week I gave the floor a thorough clean and washed off all the dirt that was caked onto the floor frame. I also pulled the driver seat out temporarily so I could remove the old, very worn vinyl that was covering the floor in the cab area, and...

This week I tackled one of the biggest jobs so far on my Toyota Coaster bus conversion - removing the floor heaters and pulling up the old plywood floor.The two black things in the photo above are the floor heaters. They are connected by hoses to...

The next task in stripping the interior of the bus was to remove the ceiling panels and airconditioning ducts. This certainly opened up the space a bit more and once again, I was pleased to find that the underlying frame was in excellent condition....

I'm excited to be starting the conversion of my new bus this week. The first job is to remove all of the passenger seats. Thankfully, this was a relatively easy task since they were all just bolted in and the bolts were easy to remove. I was hoping...

It was a bit nerve-racking cutting the holes in the roof because you only have one shot to get it right, but it turned out ok.I still have to connect the wiring to the fans but will do that at a later date when I do all my electrical work. I have...

I'm so excited to introduce you to my new bus and (hopefully) future home! I started calling her Mia (pronounced mee-yah) because up until the day I purchased her, she was the Mt Mee school bus. And it kinda stuck. Mia is also the Spanish word for...