The Bus

We purchased our bus as a 1996, International Carpenter 65-passenger school bus. It has a 444E, 7.3L turbo engine with an original 140,000 miles on it. Since the purchase back in November of 2009, it has become so much more than an ordinary 1996 school bus. Please read on to see some of the modifications and additions we have or are in the process of doing to create our bus into the most efficient and effective mobile headquarters; but more importantly, a home.
On the outside we have given it a new paint job to set it apart from the crowd. On the roof we installed a deck to create more usable space on our home.   It can also act as a second bedroom when we sling our hammocks across the top.  We have added a small trailer to the package to act as our garage.  We have six bikes on top of it along with tools and supplies filling the inside.  For leisure, we have 3 kayaks mounted to then top of the bus. Underneath the bus we mounted a propane tank for the stove, a fresh water supply tank, and a wastewater tank.
The inside was stripped of the seats and built from the ground up.  We have three beds in the back along with our closets and storage space.  The middle has been designated as the kitchen area with most appliances and comforts of a regular home.  These include a refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave, sinks, and ample counter space.  Moving forward we have a hand crafted table and bench seat that converts to a guest bed when the occasion presents itself.  In the front is our entryway with more storage and closet space.   

To function efficiently and effectively as a home and work station, we installed electricity in both the form of 110V and 12V. We have a battery bank consisting of six 6v batteries that are seriesed and paralleled to create a 12V battery system with 630 amp hours. We have a power inverter that takes our 12V power and creates 110V. This inverter can give us up to 2200 watts of power and easily accommodates our refrigerator, lighting, and all other accessories plugged into our outlets throughout the bus. In the future we would like to have solar charging capabilities but at the time we do not have the funds to make that conversion. At the moment we have a 2000W generator for charging our battery bank and powering other tools in areas with no shore power.