Home Is Where You Park It

To help answer some questions we have been getting we decided it was time to take you on a little tour of our bus interior. I hope the photos show enough detail, feel free to post a comment if you have more questions.

We start up front with the captains chair and giant steering wheel. The air ride seat is fairly comfortable, and having the little fan actually helps quite a bit. The little handmade Bluebird is a gift from our friends in Michigan. All the gauges work except the speedometer, but I have gotten pretty good at judging our speed from the sound of the engine. Sitting right next to the engine is hot and loud, having a rear engine bus would sure be more comfortable! There is also a control panel for the old Scott Air AC setup, which is powered by a 17HP Yanmar 3 cylinder diesel. I still haven’t figured out what to do with that yet.

Next up is the box next to the front door. This was built over the wheel well as a storage area for shoes and spare parts and tools. It also allows quick access to two fire extinguishers. Across the isle there is a small bench built over the other wheel well, this is the only passenger seat available (besides the dinette).

Moving back we have the dinette, each bench has a small storage area underneath. The table was an old kitchen table we got for free. It was pretty beat up and didn’t look very nice, but after removing the side wings and some strategic sanding and staining it works out well and is very comfy to sit at. On the other side is a little bookshelf we installed to hold various supplies, and our secure bike storage area. Ratchet straps sure are useful!

We built a very simple but effective kitchen area, using a small Camp Chef propane camping stove/oven, a portable Edge Star fridge/freezer, and a foot pump sink. The stove is nice to use, and the oven works surprisingly well. Lindsey has successfully made many delicious biscuits and even a berry cobbler. We also made some amazing bus pizza while we were camping in Michigan. The little fridge works great, we are very happy with it. We have plans to add a small chest freezer converted into a fridge so we have some more food storage space. Our sink is run by a foot pump and two jerry cans, one for the drain and one for fresh water. The setup is very easy to use, and really teaches us about water conservation! When we are cooking and eating in the bus regularly we have to empty the grey water and refill the fresh at least once a day. We have separate containers for drinking water. The “faucet” is some copper pipe stuck together. It looks neat but I think we will need to come up with a more permanent solution. We also store two propane tanks under the sink, with a 10 foot hose running to the stove. Under the counter there are a couple shelves for food and cookware storage. It all works well while traveling, but I am excited to redo this area to be a little more user friendly.We want to be able to open up a more traditional cabinet and have a little more organization for the utensils. Across the aisle is another counter top and a storage shelf underneath. It is really nice to have all the counter space, especially when we start cooking up some bigger meals.

Behind the kitchen is the tiny bathroom with our dry-flush toilet. We are still coming up with some different ideas on how to build a bigger bathroom with a shower, there is a lot to learn about tiny home/RV plumbing! Across from the bathroom is my tool box. There wasn’t room for it anywhere else so we built it into the interior. Once we find a place to call home I will move the tool box outside the bus and free up that space for more storage.

In the back is the bedroom and closet area. We each have our own clothes storage, built over the rear wheel wells. The tops are built out of old pallet boards sanded down and pieced together. The plastic totes hold smaller clothing items, we put down rubber grip mats underneath so they don’t move around while driving. We attached a couple of antique cigar boxes to the tops to hold small personal things. You can also see our New Oregon Trail sign, a handmade gift from our friends in New Hampshire. The bed is built up on a tall platform to allow for lots of storage underneath. We also have our small inverter/charger under the bed, with heavy cables running through the back wall into the storage compartment where the battery bank is.

Leaving Michigan was difficult, but we have a long ways to go until we are back in Oregon. After spending several days exploring the areas around Holland and Grand Rapids we have grown to love the state, it is full of delicious craft beer and beautiful scenery. Saying goodbye to Allison and her wonderful family we hit the road again, with Colorado in our sights.

This next leg of the trip was going to be interesting; we had a lot of prairie to cross and we didn’t know what to expect. When we would tell people of our plans, most everyone told us that the drive through the Midwest would be the most boring and desolate part of the trip. And while it is definitely a change from being in the mountains we found ourselves enjoying the drive, there is a lot of beauty in the patchwork of farmland that makes up the heartland of America. Leaving Holland on Friday morning we quickly found ourselves cruising through Indiana and Illinois, once we got out of the Chicago area we drove on through countless miles of corn and soybeans.

Our stopping place for the night was another Wal-Mart parking lot, in Hannibal, Missouri. We discovered that Hannibal is where Mark Twain grew up; there were a lot of buildings and stores in the area with Tom Sawyer themed names. Unfortunately by the time we arrived there wasn’t much time left in the day to explore the area, so we contented ourselves by making some dinner and watching a movie on the computer. Parking overnight at Wal-Mart sure isn’t the most romantic place to camp, but they actually work out pretty well. We haven’t been bothered by anyone yet, and there’s always a quiet corner of the lot to park in.

Getting back on the road in the morning we headed across Missouri, the big straight highways inspired Lindsey to take a turn at the wheel, the first time she has driven the bus so far. She did a great job, and drove for almost 2 hours while I got to lounge around and relax. It is an interesting experience to hangout in the bus while it is in motion, it was pretty fun to sit at the table and work on the computer while she drove. I was also able to pay more attention to the funny looks we get from other people on the road, it is interesting to see all the different expressions on peoples faces when they pass us.

Crossing into Kansas we noticed more wheat fields along the road, and lots of interesting old farm buildings. We pulled off the highway onto a dusty county road in Randall and followed directions out into the prairie, where we found Roger and Jan’s house and shop, where we would be spending the night. Once we had the bus settled and plugged into the barn, we sat and talked with the couple for a while. They live in a buried concrete home they built themselves in the early 80’s, the entire roof, sides, and back side of the house are buried under a large dirt hill with grass growing and vent pipes sticking up. Their reasoning behind the interesting construction was to keep it extremely energy efficient, and to provide a safe shelter from the occasional tornado that comes through the area. The foot thick concrete walls and several feet or earth really make for a good insulator, we walked in from the oppressive summer heat to find the house cool and comfortable.

Roger then took us out on a little tour of their farm, his family has been farming the same area since the late 1800’s, although now they have 2000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and milo, instead of the ~160 they started with. We got to see the original homestead, with the home built in 1878 still in use by Roger’s son. Listening to Roger made us realize how adaptive you must be to stay in farming for so long. His family used to make their money hog farming, until Tyson came in and monopolized the industry. Changes like that, as well as massive changes in technology keep farmers on their toes. It’s a constantly evolving environment.

Also on their property are several abandoned buildings and homesteads, the most interesting one is an old school house, built in the late 1800’s and used into the 1950’s. It is still standing, although very run down. Roger’s mother actually used to teach there, and he himself had some schooling in it. He said that back in the day, all the kids lived within 2.5 miles and would walk or ride their horses to school. Grades 1 through 8 were taught at the same time, with about 20 students total. It was an amazing time capsule to walk through, making sure to avoid the rotten floorboards and rusty metal. This building would make such an interesting bar or restaurant, our minds were full of ideas.

To cap off the day, Lindsey and I climbed up to the top of the 120ft tall grain leg, a giant grain-sorting tower. It provided some spectacular views, it was a clear day and the land is so flat that you could see for miles. It was a great place to take photos from while the wind pushed us around. We enjoyed a peaceful night sleeping next to the wheat fields, after a quick breakfast we were back on the road, headed for Colorado.