ontheroad – Page 2 – Bus Life

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Bus conversion moments from this week: step lights in the bus, sunset window reflections, our brand new ‘shoecase’ in the stairwell and yesterday morning’s storm passing by. Happy Friday everyone!

Posted on November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

22
Nov

Bus conversion moments from this week: step lights in the bus, sunset window reflections, our brand new ‘shoecase’ in the stairwell and yesterday morning’s storm passing by. Happy Friday everyone!
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #schoolbusconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife #buslifeadventure

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Bus conversion moments from this week: step lights in the bus, sunset window reflections, our brand new ‘shoecase’ in the stairwell and yesterday morning’s storm passing by. Happy Friday everyone!

Posted on November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

22
Nov

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A Sunday arvo tea break in Bronte the bus. Lots of exterior work completed on the bus over the weekend. The roof is now completely shiny and clean, aluminium cover

Posted on November 18, 2018November 18, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

18
Nov

A Sunday arvo tea break in Bronte the bus. Lots of exterior work completed on the bus over the weekend. The roof is now completely shiny and clean, aluminium cover strips have been added over the window joints and tomorrow I’m hoping to get the last of the flyscreens done. ~ Keiran.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #schoolbusconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife #buslifeadventure

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Travelling lonely outback highways in my first bus a decade ago. This is one of two images that I keep focused on in my mind for motivation when the going

Posted on November 16, 2018November 16, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

16
Nov

Travelling lonely outback highways in my first bus a decade ago. This is one of two images that I keep focused on in my mind for motivation when the going gets tough with our current bus conversion project. I spent many years living in the desert at Uluru and just love the wide open spaces and the beauty of outback Australia. And I can’t wait to be exploring this magical landscape with my family in Bronte the bus. We’ve been building now for thirteen months and I’m feeling both physically and mentally exhausted. But we’re on track to be living in the bus early in the new year. There are still a few big jobs in the bus to tick off before we can hit the road and travel outback highways like this. We’ve got to fit the fresh water tanks (540L) and grey water tanks (150L), set up the composting toilet and install an entire solar power system. We’ve also got to sort through and minimalise our possessions and sell our house. But I can definitely see a faint light (of sorts) at the end of the tunnel. And I’ve got my eyes fixed firmly on the prize. ~ Keiran.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #schoolbusconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife #buslifeadventure #outback #seeaustralia #australia #highway #desert

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It’s been a while since we checked in here but rest assured, we’ve been busy working on Bronte the bus. The job list over the past week has been pretty

Posted on November 13, 2018November 13, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

13
Nov

It’s been a while since we checked in here but rest assured, we’ve been busy working on Bronte the bus. The job list over the past week has been pretty tedious. After a year parked under a mango tree, the bus roof needed a major clean with a high pressure water cleaner. The fibreglass roof seems to be in reasonable condition although I did find a few cracks here and there that will require some attention. In the coming months, we are hoping to add a large bank of solar panels to this lovely clean roof (we’re currently looking for a major sponsor for solar panels and batteries, let us know if you have any suggestions). The apprentice and I have been busy under the bus, measuring up spaces for fresh water and grey water tanks. Also this week, I have toiled away to install fly screens on the top hopper windows. The nearside windows are now complete and look fantastic. I’ve used aluminium flyscreen and bonded it around the aluminium window frames with an industrial adhesive sealant. My first attempt was a disaster. After a whole day bonding flyscreens to windows, I realised with horror that I had inadvertently glued stuck all of the hopper windows in the open position. So the next day was spent painstakingly removing the bonded screens and starting again. On a side note, I’ve finally moved away from using toxic polyurethane adhesives and am now using modified silyl polymer adhesives (which are isocyanate free and much more friendly to use). I only wish that I’d done more research into this at the beginning of the project. Anyway, the flyscreens are well and truly glued to the bus and should easily withstand the rigours of highway driving!

#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #schoolbusconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife #buslifeadventure

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The birthday girl working late into the evening (last night) to get our house on wheels ready for #buslife. We are very grateful for everything that this amazing woman does

Posted on November 3, 2018November 4, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

03
Nov

The birthday girl working late into the evening (last night) to get our house on wheels ready for #buslife. We are very grateful for everything that this amazing woman does for our family. Sam somehow manages to each day juggle a busy and successful career, long hours commuting to and from work, and more than her fair share of parenting and house work (whilst we also juggle the bus building thing each day and night). We ‘gifted’ Sam some solo time this morning to enjoy a yoga session and a walk along the foreshore at Sandgate. Here’s to finding a better balance between work, rest and relaxation in our new life in early 2019! Happy birthday @littleearthstories! Love from all of your boys. xxxx
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #schoolbusconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife #buslifeadventure

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A late afternoon family drive in Bronte the bus today! We ventured over the bridge to Redcliffe for sunset and pretended for just a minute that we were already living

Posted on October 31, 2018October 31, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

31
Oct

A late afternoon family drive in Bronte the bus today! We ventured over the bridge to Redcliffe for sunset and pretended for just a minute that we were already living and travelling full-time in our bus. The boys enjoyed playing on the rocks, Sam did some yoga in the bus and I took one too many photos of our house on wheels! After a spooky Halloween dinner and some delicious cupcakes, we all enjoyed some quiet reading time in the bus before heading home (to our ‘normal’ house) tonight.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #schoolbusconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife #buslifeadventure

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Evening vibes in Bronte the bus. The 24v wiring and lighting is nearly complete now. We’ve got exterior lights (some of them with sensors), funky blue step lights and lots

Posted on October 29, 2018October 29, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

29
Oct

Evening vibes in Bronte the bus. The 24v wiring and lighting is nearly complete now. We’ve got exterior lights (some of them with sensors), funky blue step lights and lots of warm light in the living and kitchen areas. It’s been a slow process getting the wiring done, with lots of good learning along the way!

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Getting my painting groove on in the bus today. A final coat of clear varnish for the timber work in the main bedroom. We can’t wait to fill the bookshelves

Posted on October 25, 2018October 25, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

25
Oct

Getting my painting groove on in the bus today. A final coat of clear varnish for the timber work in the main bedroom. We can’t wait to fill the bookshelves with books and plants and other things!

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Paddle time! We can’t wait to be spending more time outdoors when we hit the road in Bronte the bus. Indeed, this is what the boys’ ‘classroom’ will look like.

Posted on October 19, 2018October 19, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

19
Oct

Paddle time! We can’t wait to be spending more time outdoors when we hit the road in Bronte the bus. Indeed, this is what the boys’ ‘classroom’ will look like. Lots of outdoors play, exploration and opportunities for natural learning! We’ve been out for a few paddles in our local Brisbane waterways … the boys love exploring the mangroves and estuaries and finding little secluded beaches. At a squeeze, we can fit the whole family in, so nobody misses out! This is us in some of our favourite local paddle spots in our @kayaks2fish. Happy weekend everyone!
#collab #kayak #buslife #vanlife #homeschooling #unschooling #outdoorfamilies #exploreaustralia #offgrid #rvlife #kayaking #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #travelwithkids #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #thegreatoutdoors
#environment #brisbane

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Yesterday I promised the boys that we’d go everywhere in Bronte the bus for the day (like school drop off and pick up, swimming lessons and even grocery shopping). It

Posted on October 17, 2018October 17, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

17
Oct

Yesterday I promised the boys that we’d go everywhere in Bronte the bus for the day (like school drop off and pick up, swimming lessons and even grocery shopping). It was good driving practice for me, a much needed outing for Bronte and a taste of what lies ahead for all of us when we move into Bronte on a full-time basis. It was a great day out for the boys and I! When we are driving, we convert the table into a couch (so that we can lock it and prevent it from moving in the event of a sudden stop). The drive yesterday was a good test for all of our newly built furniture. There were no nasty surprises when cornering or braking and everything stayed in position nicely (even the mini slide-out desk in the bedroom remained tucked away as anticipated). Thanks everyone for the love and kind comments on our previous post! We were blown away by the response. And a big shout out to all of our new followers here on @Instagram! It’s wonderful to have you along for the ride, as we get closer to the date when we will be leaping into the wild! 🙂

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Rainy day procrastination in Bronte the bus. The interior is nearly finished now. As for that beard, it’s still a work in progress! Happy Monday everyone! ~ Keiran. #busconversion #buslife

Posted on October 15, 2018October 15, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

15
Oct

Rainy day procrastination in Bronte the bus. The interior is nearly finished now. As for that beard, it’s still a work in progress! Happy Monday everyone! ~ Keiran.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife

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Sometimes our bus conversion project feels a lot like spinning plates in a circus, with so many different tasks currently underway. The gas storage box is taking shape under the

Posted on October 11, 2018October 11, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

11
Oct

Sometimes our bus conversion project feels a lot like spinning plates in a circus, with so many different tasks currently underway. The gas storage box is taking shape under the bus. I’ve been busy studying the regulations and standards for gas installations in caravans, to make sure that we’re on track before the gas fitter connects everything up. We’re also revisiting some waterproofing work on the exterior. My initial experiment to seal around the windows looks terrible and is proving unlikely to last. I used a water based flexible membrane with sealing tape but it was never really meant for use on a vehicle. I’m peeling it off and replacing it with aluminium cover strips between each window panel and an industrial adhesive sealant. We’ve replaced the nearside exterior mirror with a larger mirror, and fitted a side camera to assist with overcoming a problematic blindspot on left side of the bus. Inside we’ve painted the floor at the front of the bus with a non-slip paint and also fitted some sexy new step lights in the stairwell. There’s more happening at the moment but I’ll save that for another post.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife

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Now and then. Celebrating twelve months since we bought Bronte the bus and began the enormous task of transforming her into our house on wheels. This time last year I

Posted on October 7, 2018October 7, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

07
Oct

Now and then. Celebrating twelve months since we bought Bronte the bus and began the enormous task of transforming her into our house on wheels. This time last year I was nearly home from an 1800km drive across three states in our new bus. It’s been a big year and a huge effort, but we are nearly finished and can hardly wait to hit the road in Bronte the bus! ~ Keiran.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife

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On this day twelve months ago, I flew to Melbourne to buy our bus. It took me all day and many modes of public transport to reach the small country

Posted on October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

04
Oct

On this day twelve months ago, I flew to Melbourne to buy our bus. It took me all day and many modes of public transport to reach the small country town of Alexandra where Bronte the bus was waiting for me at the local bus depot. I spent that first night in a caravan park at Seymour, trying to sleep on the back seat of our new bus. It wasn’t as comfortable as I thought it might be! Over the next few days, I covered 1800km to get the bus home to Brisbane. It was an epic journey but I was filled with excitement for the dream that we had started. Twelve months later and our house on wheels is nearing completion. It’s been a really difficult year and we have worked tirelessly to keep the project moving along whilst juggling long hours at work (Sam) and the stay-at-home parent role (me). There have been many times throughout the year when we have questioned our own sanity for attempting such a project. We long ago exhausted our budget for the project and have lately resorted to credit cards to help us get the bus finished. We’re not finished yet and still have some major projects to finance and tackle (including the solar power system) but we’re heading in the right direction. We have so far completed all of the work in the bus ourselves and are immensely proud of our achievements! The boys and I celebrated the 12 month anniversary of Bronte the bus by assembling two new kitchen bar stools and having afternoon tea in the bus. Thank you to everyone for following our story over the past twelve months! Your enthusiastic support and encouragement here on @Instagram have helped to keep us motivated. ~ Keiran.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife

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It’s full steam ahead in Bronte the bus lately. Sam has been on holidays for the past week, so we’ve been doubling down on our efforts to get the bus

Posted on October 1, 2018October 1, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

01
Oct

It’s full steam ahead in Bronte the bus lately. Sam has been on holidays for the past week, so we’ve been doubling down on our efforts to get the bus done. Whilst I’ve been busy with more 24v wiring, making cupboard doors and bathroom cabinets, and measuring up underneath the bus for fresh and grey water tanks, Sam has been working on staining and varnishing our plywood furniture, cupboards, drawers and window sills. We’ve also decided to paint over a few of the plywood walls with some white paint, to break things up a little, with pleasing results. I’ve also painted a coat of non-slip paint on the floor in the ‘front zone’ (driver’s area, aisle area and under the two sets of coach seats at the front). It’s looking a million bucks! We’re aiming to have the interior finished and the gas connected within the next few weeks. And then, we are planning to move into the bus and live in our backyard! ~ Keiran.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife

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My apprentice and I have been putting the finishing touches on the main bedroom in our bus this week. We’ve built drawers and doors for the cupboard and a bedside

Posted on September 21, 2018September 21, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

21
Sep

My apprentice and I have been putting the finishing touches on the main bedroom in our bus this week. We’ve built drawers and doors for the cupboard and a bedside table with drawers (and a slide-out desk for Sam). The bedside lights have been wired in and I’ve painted over one (just one) of the plywood walls with some white paint. The main bedroom is nearly finished now. And we are one step closer to having the whole interior of the bus done and dusted.
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #mybuslife

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Flashback to an epic solo roadtrip in my first house on wheels – Alice the bus. It was in January 2009 and a very hot Australian summer. After many years

Posted on September 18, 2018September 18, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

18
Sep

Flashback to an epic solo roadtrip in my first house on wheels – Alice the bus. It was in January 2009 and a very hot Australian summer. After many years living at Uluru in the Northern Territory, I packed up and drove Alice back to Queensland via some of my favourite outback roads in South Australia and New South Wales. Alice kept overheating so there were frequent stops, a couple of breakdowns and more flat tyres than I care to remember! But what an incredible adventure. We sold Alice the bus earlier this year to make room in the yard for Bronte the bus. I can’t wait to travel these roads again but this time in Bronte and with my family. Not long now!

#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau #outback #roadtrip #australia #adventure

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We are currently powering towards completion of our bus conversion project. This week we’ve been working on two separate areas – the shower walls and the underfloor gas bottle storage

Posted on September 15, 2018September 15, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

15
Sep

We are currently powering towards completion of our bus conversion project. This week we’ve been working on two separate areas – the shower walls and the underfloor gas bottle storage compartment. They’re both jobs that had me intimidated, so naturally I’ve left them until nearly last.
We plan to carry two 9kg gas bottles and will be connecting them to our gas stove and also our hot water service. With no existing underfloor luggage bins on the offside of the bus, I am creating a storage compartment from scratch for the gas bottles. I have fabricated and welded some steel ‘L’ brackets to bolt to the chassis rails and will be installing a shelf for gas bottle holders on these brackets. I’ve also cut another hole in the side of the bus and installed a pre made access hatch (which was surprisingly easy to do and looks quite professional! ). We will be finding a qualified gas fitter to run the copper piping, connect up the appliances and issue the required certification.
In the shower area, we’ve used 3mm aluminium composite panel (gloss white) to line the walls. Although cut to size when ordered, I needed to trim each piece to accommodate the curved roof of the bus and the not-quite-square nature of my self built walls. I have bonded the shower wall pieces with polyurethane adhesive to the internal plywood walls (which I waterproofed and painted previously). Each piece also rests on and is bonded to the top lip of the poly/fibreglass shower base. Finished with a small bead of silicone, the shower walls have come up a treat!
#busconversion #buslife #bus #tinyhouse #skoolie #skoolieconversion #vanlife #offgrid #busbuild #rvlife #busnut #busrollwithit #livesmaller #nomad #happycamper #wander #wanderlust #homeiswhereyouparkit #ontheroad #buslifeaustralia #buslifeau

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A productive start to the weekend in Bronte the bus. I finally built the small bench and cupboard to the right of the stove. The kitchen is just about finished

Posted on September 8, 2018September 9, 2018 by Tales From The Wild

08
Sep

A productive start to the weekend in Bronte the bus. I finally built the small bench and cupboard to the right of the stove. The kitchen is just about finished now! And I continue to tick off various wiring tasks like pantry cupboard lights and reading lights for the coach seats down the front of the bus.

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