As some of you may know, we have been making plans to travel the states for a time after we get married. The where and for how long still isn’t entirely nailed down, but the how is pretty much settled as of last week.
Let me introduce you to our bus:
It is a 2001 model Thomas Saf-T Liner with 126,600 miles, relatively new tires and brakes, very little rust and surprisingly good paint. This is a 78 passenger model, so it is quite large- approximately 38 feet long, 8 feet wide, and somewhere over 9 feet tall. It is powered by a 5.9 liter Cummins turbo diesel and an Allison 2000 series 5 speed automatic transmission and rolls on semi truck-sized 11R22.5 tires.
I’d originally been looking for a smaller bus to convert, but was won over by the 6'6" of headroom and the space efficiency of the transit bus body. Even losing a few inches to insulation in the floor and ceiling, we will still be able to comfortably walk around and will have ample space for bikes, backpacks and other adventure gear. The enormous roof has plenty of space for a 1.2 kW solar array in the rear and a likely deck/camping platform in the front.
I took the seats out the day after I got it home and am now in the process of stripping the interior out in preparation for insulation and rewiring.
More to come! I’ll be documenting progress throughout the summer and hope to have this in a somewhat livable state by the time Hannah gets here this Fall.