Volvo, Plaxton Supreme bus converted to a motor home        - live on a bus!                                 

This page is offered as in insight into the conversion of Volvo Plaxton Supreme into a motor home to assist any one else thinking of undertaking such a project - don't unless you have a workshop!

I have had the vision of building accommodation from lorry trailers when I was a young and bored with hours to while away at home before I discovered girls...  (still single and wonder why - perhaps the bus may have something to do with it !!!)  Later in life when I purchased a Ford Transit van for my work as an electrician, Danny Wood lined it in M.D.F. and made a bunk over the rear tools section with forward facing seating in the back for outings and general messing around at weekends.  This was all well and good but with no heating and foam for a mattress the novelty soon wore off.  Some people also questioned my sanity when I had a perfectly good home but preferred sleeping in an un-insulated vehicle in snow and ice.  This lasted for four months but waking up in different locations of choice appealed to me and the vision was there but I sold the van soon after.

I did look at a Marine Mortgage in 2001 on a "Rinker 650". It was a 1997 32 ft Motor Cruiser from Morgan Marine In Brightlingsea.  It was very plush and had everything, Toilet, Shower, Bedroom, Lounge, Sun Deck the lot.  It was very posh and with two Perkins Diesel engines it would have been a walk in the park to go to Spain for a couple of weeks or hop over to France for weekend.  It was £27,000 and I would need insurance, A day Skippers Licence, Radio Licence, Navigation Course and a lot of cash for the Diesel to go out for the day.  It would be £1,200 a year to moor at Fox's Marina with water and electrical hook-up.  They would commission and test the vessel from scratch and take me out to get the hang of it.  I have been towing water skiers since twelve years old so this didn't seem too daunting (sorry about the time I flipped your boat Tone') (an the time I hit the groins and ripped the engine off) However - The finance company would not let me have the money.  They said I could afford the repayments on my annual income but I would not have enough to maintain the upkeep of the boat.  I was told I would have to get it out of the water each year and treat the hull and and that I could not afford this after all my expenses.  If they repossessed the vessel it would be worth to little to sell and reclaim their costs.

Some years later towards the end of 2002 I was soon going to be evicted due to sale of the property I was living in as house prices where booming.  This left me, a single bloke to get another form of accommodation sorted.  I had lived with mates and shared houses for about three years and even though I did live with some right stars and have a good time, it was a spent option.  With house prices so high and renting extortionate in my home town the van seemed an option again so while I had time to look I purchased Magazines and Exchange and Mart looking for the right vehicle.  I started looking at small coaches to copy the Boat idea but on wheels, I soon found a 1975 Bedford SB5, an ex Royal Navy 35 seater, registration 18RN21 and all for £450.  I looked at the vehicle down on the Thames and had a drive with a couple of pals and went home to plan the layout.  It would be a bit cramped but enough room for a double bed, shower, toilet and kitchen with about six seats for tours and excursions with the lads.  I decided to go for it and telephoned to find - it had gone ten minutes before hand. 

I popped into various bus garages and coach company in Southend to see what they had and they all seemed very helpful and gave good advice on what the best chassis where and where to go next but none had anything for sale.

Four months later I was in Southend following a Stephens Coaches double decker and rang the number on the back on the off chance they may have something and found Prockys Bus.  The owner advised me he had the perfect option and I went to the workshops and hitched a lift with two mechanics, to the farm where they park their vehicles.  It’s was not a good sight, moss and grime all over and very damp inside. It was shitty white with McHendri Travel all over it, faded and not in a good state.  Another customer had asked Stephens to remove all but three of the seats so at least my removing all the seats was not a burden.  All the windows where intact and the inside seemed contained and sealed. 

The lads hooked up jump leads and she started immediately.  All sounded good and it smoked a bit, the low air buzzer was singing well, the air brakes released and visions and layouts started to sprout into my mind. All the panels where intact but dented and shoved in and there was corrosion to the panels down one side that had been exposed.  It has been standing for 2 years and the tyres where flat but antifreeze had been added each Autumn and these guys seemed to think the bus was old but "sound" as it was on a Volvo rig.

I went back to Walton Felixstowe up the road from the Half Moon and planned the layout.  I had 37ft to utilise.  The only plus with all that extra space compared to the 35 seater was that I would have to do my H.G.V. and I would have to be aware of weight limits when I came of A roads and into towns.  The engine was also a personal worry,  a 10 litre turbo Volvo lorry engine turned on it’s side and the whole unit was 9,5 tonnes before I put my home inside.  I was reassured by “Big Gaz” that it was O.K. to work on so long as I left the floor traps accessible for maintenance when I planned my layout.  So with only this restriction in mind I set about planning the internal spaces and walls.  I made a scale drawing and cut out templates for double and single beds, toilet, shower base, seats, kitchen units and so on. I soon realised this could have potential for some really cool adventures as room for six people on normal sized mattresses was possible.

I looked into the cost and class of M.O.T. and back to Stephens two weeks later, they had put it over a pit and cleaned it over for us to inspect.  About an hour later I was paying for the vehicle and arranging a licensed driver with £50 for diesel for to return following week to drive it home on trade plates.  Some say the car following the bus home started out red and returned very grey and very high water temperatures being reported – but, job done, All I had to do now was sort out money to do it and ask my parents to park it on their small holding.

A friend said I could have it delivered to his yard for a couple of weeks as he had a workshop so he could give it the once over as he has a pit and air tools to check it all over for me.  The couple of weeks soon turned out to be twelve months !.  I owe Steve B a great debt for this invasion and cannot thank him enough for this.  I would not advise any one to undertake this task in their “back garden”, without the correct backup, pals in the know who are able to help and a lot of educated people to listen too.  So many people have popped their heads in and gave advice that rang true as soon as they gave it.  One of the 1^st pieces of advice I took was to have the underside steam cleaned.  This highlighted all the dry bearings and leaks along with any corrosion and made it easier to work on in the future.  This is also required for the M.O.T. inspection.

The over head racks and blowers where hauled out and chucked out of the back fire exit.  The existing seats removed with a grinder and banished into store.  The 1^st job was undertaken with information received from “Patty down the Pub” with the key word being “Insulation”.  Roof battens where glued and screwed to the existing cleaned floor with silicone mastic at every opportunity of sealing.  Loft insulation was placed in between battens in the void produced.  Caberfloor moisture resistant high density chip board was glued and screw over from front to back and a large mastic seam to seal the edges.  This did take 2¼” off the headroom but insulation is a must and I am only just over 5tf tall myself. Aircon was considered but put on hold

The internal walls are roof batten glued and screwed to form a frame with cut sheets Beech finished melamine.  One side was fixed with G cramps until the “Grip Fix” set. I also insulated and wired for lighting and power with the other side completed after services had been run throughout.  Wherever possible the cuts and gluing where done in a methodical manner to ensure most panels where not only held in place by contact but also trapped by neighbouring surfaces so they could not work loose in the 1^st place.  Large sheets where hard to handle and you had to ensure that everything would fit in through the front door, fire exit or sky lights.

Wiring was a challenge.  I have used 240v mains hook up located in a handy panel near the driving position and I have installed a 240v electric petrol start generator mounted in a side locker for remote power.  I had to adapt the key start and extend the wires and mount the starting panel on the dash board.  Another thought was a separate circuit feeding the TV, Video, Play Station, Music Centre and two 240v concealed strip lights.  This circuit can be run from the 240v supply or from a mains 800amp inverter from a 12v leisure battery charged by a separate charger so you watch TV and Play the games console on 240v running along the road or in a field in the middle on no where without the generator running.  This seems to be a good answer for running the T.V. and such but has ended up needing 3 heavy duty batteries connected in parallel to have enough staying power to watch many hours of T.V. with the lights on.

When all the walls where up and done for the rear of the bus It was time to look at the forward area. The 1^st job before kitting this out was to apply the window tint vinyl before I could not get to the windows easily.  Under advise from Gary Chapman at A.D.S. window films, I went for a tint that would mean no one could see in but I could still have quite a degree of vision out.  The selected range also cut out 99% U.V. to stop everything fading and it was 34% heat reflective to keep out the heat from the sun in the summer.  Only the side windows where done and also the bedroom windows at the back.  I could not do the rear window as it bowed two ways and the film would not give enough.  It is very hard to apply this is tint and it wasn’t until the last window that a Steve 'B' and I thought we had cracked it properly.  “Loads of slip Prockie, loads of slip”

I would have liked to put seats down each side but in the event of a sudden stop/tree everyone would have been on my driving position and a bottle of beer the back of the head directly followed by a 18 stone bloke is not good so they ended up being mounted left to right.  I had the seats re-upholstered by a local firm and they came out very good but cost £400 for the three to be done.  The seats where all welded onto a floor frame and set down with Coach Bolts to “Bloomers Law”,  I couldn’t risk one of the seats coming loose and transferring the impact into the seat or table of another that didn’t break free.  The table was also secured within this one piece fame for the same reason.

The toilet was a big question when friends where enquiring about "the need to go".  I purchased a toilet from a caravan retailer and the appropriate chemicals and toilet paper that breaks down in the chemicals.  It has a section that splits the top from the bottom and you take the bottom to a normal toilet and poor it in a normal toilet or waste point on a camp site.  It is a shitty job, literally.  I have still got to decide what floor to put down as I always spill the blue chemical when I load it up.  You need to be strong minded, very drunk, and without an audience for this task as it not good.  The toilet is very much like the door staff at a Night Club, It does take a lot of shi* and empties out as late as possible every week.

The shower selected ran from a caravan gas water heater that fired up on water passing through and the water pressure was provided by a 12v demand pump sitting at 45psi.  I didn’t touch the gas and got a qualified engineer in to do it.  When the tap/shower is turned on the water flows and the pump starts.  I did use push fittings and didn’t realise the correct action for securing only to spring a couple of leaks.  One of these being the case of having to remove the whole shower – until – Bloomers popped his head in and removed a panel in three minutes flat, re-connected the menacing item and all was fixed – without removing the whole shower !.  Phwey… Having a shower is cool 'cause I have put the same tint as the windows on the door and you can see out but no one can see in when you having a shower.

The self devised motor home shower works fine and is larger and more powerful than most peoples own home shower.  The gas bottle is located in an outside locker with the water storage being a plastic water butt purchased from B&Q with a sealed screwed and masticated lid.  I have put the water tank in the bus and not underneath to avoid freezing in the winter.  This has lost a little room but I feel it’s worth the saving in split pipes and trouble and having to heat the water tank area in the winter.  It has a ball valve and you fill up from a hose located in the same locker as the gas bottle using a standard hose connection.  There is a chimney on the roof and it doesn’t look to much like a gipsy wagon and I have only secured it with sealant and two screws in the event of a low branch it will sheer of and not rip the roof about.  I had some vinyl left over for the back window and used this on the shower door and it’s weird having a shower looking at people trying to see in while you moon and stick your fingers up at them at them and they just stand there with a screwed up face un-aware of the sight before them.

Having a national kitchen supply company has helped with the kitchen components and they were surprisingly cheap !.  The sink works from the same system and people are surprised when they turn the tap and water runs out without noise or need to switch switches or operate foot pumps.  The waste tank is not fitted yet but so long as it is 10% bigger than the supply tank there should never by a problem.  The gas does last a long long time even using the gas hob, but water seems to run out quick when doing a lot of washing up.  The shower seems very economical but washing up is very consuming.  (so I don't tend to do much !)

I have had a few tours out including the Peterborough Truck show Camping in May, and the extreme "vert" games also at Peterborough and my mates birthday down in Romford.  It’s is cool driving your home about and people that have stayed on for the night recon it’s fun.  The only trouble is people want to go and get hammered out of town and we have to remember it’s my house we are going to end up smashed in.  I have checked the legislation with the police with regards my being drunk in charge when we are parked and so long as it is clear to the officer that I have no intention of driving – even though the keys are hanging up on a hook near the bunks, I cannot be prosecuted unless they feel I am intending to drive while intoxicated.  I have a bunk, shower and toilet so it is clear I do not intend to go any where as I am already home and have no need to get myself home by drink driving.  One thing I have found is that mates get exited about staying over and end up getting pissed on the journey down and I then have to catch up when we arrive !.

Doing my H.G.V. was also needed and this was cool.  I have been educated in dictating to other traffic to make a path and avoid getting into sticky situation before they happen and reading the road and forward planning.  This has improved my car driving also. 

I was worried about the size of the Bus when I 1^st got it but am very complacent now and see it as a large van really,  so does J.M., i.e. the time we went to the Levington ships !.   There used to be a law about two bunks and a working sink and only needing a car licence,  that has changed and anything over 7.5 tonne needs H.G.V.

If your thinking of doing this - I would advise against it unless you have.

• True friends to help you, or allot of money. 

• A workshop big enough for the vehicle.

• Two safe places to park and access to water and electric at both. 

• Perseverance and a partner who will support you if you are in a relationship.

• Understanding of woodwork skills

• Basic electrical understanding

• A lorry mechanic

The bus still lives on (2008) and can be seen here on Google earth in Newbourne Suffolk.     

live on a bus!               

Thanks to Steve Bloomfield, Gary Wells, Martin Graves, Malcolm Flokhart, Mickey, Gary Chapman at A.D.S Window Films, Alan, Ed, Mum and Dad Bloomfield's Patients, Toddy's Flooring, Will's Technical Advice and Insight, Justin's Painting, Dumper, Mums Washing, and all the Walton High Street Neighbours.

Lookups since 10th September 2004 Prockys Bus for Bus conversion - but converted to a motor home - live on a bus!