When Chris first contacted us in 2020 there was no way we could have imagined the final outcome of his bus project would end like this!

He had purchased a 12m long 1991 Volvo B10, of which had the body built in Ashburton NZ by Designline. This particular bus we have learned was actually the prototype for the new body shape that was originally made exclusively for the tour company “Real Journeys” for their Milford sound tours.

The shape of this bus is a bit funky to say the least. The floor is on a 3 degree slope and the ceiling runs parallel to the floor making it look like a big wedge. This 3 degree slope had to be factored in to every furniture piece that we designed, built and installed on this project. It kept things things spicy!

The bus also has skylights running the entire length of the bus above the seat rows which would make for epic views on a Milford sound tour as originally intended by Designline & RJ’s.

Chris’s original requirements for the interior we were to build are as follows:

The requirements – pretty simple really.

• Front of the bus remains as is, including the two rows of seats. I don’t want to strip areas unless absolutely necessary. 
• Double (king) bed in the back, with a door.  
• Shower toilet somewhere not above the rear axles as the raised side floor will need to be altered (I’m north of 6 foot). Happy to be innovative here. 
• Simple Kitchen bench and plumbing. Think boat galley sized…
• Fresh/grey/black tankage and plumbing for the above.
• We have teenagers but we don’t want the bus to be so comfortable (for them) to want to come along all the time, so some bunks that can be folded up and down and used for seating when not in use and a folding table.

“Copy that Chris. Lets take a walk through the bus together when it arrives and mark some area’s out on the floor with tape once we have stripped it out completely”

The bus arrived and I had arranged for my friend Theo Clement to come and help with the strip out, laying of the hardboard and vinyl.

Around about this time we also fabricated a cage to support the shower tray cut 150mm down into the floor & at 3 degree angle to the floor to level it up & to account for the customers exceptional height.

During this time we started having some issue’s with the tenants next door complaining about Zone 2 to the Queenstown Lakes District Council ultimately resulting in the search for a new workshop and then a big move of all of the machinery to a new site.

I purchased a Ford transporter truck to help with the move but it took a few months to figure all this drama out and be up and running again in our new location, which needed a bit of patching up first.

I had some amazing help and support from Kingston locals that I will never forget during this time!

Chris Manning (the client) was exceptionally supportive and understanding during this time and I can’t thank him enough for sticking with us!

The new workshop came with some challenges as I had to build doors to close off the west face of the building and although taller it was about half the floor area of the old one. However these challenges were totally worthwhile for the location and freedom that it came with.

Fortunately our new neighbors are sheep and the farmers don’t seem to care if we make a bit of noise.

Shortly after the move another good friend Leo Chelle came help with the build and would become a key member of the project until the end.

Here’s some photo’s of ceiling works.

Bellow are some photo’s of the construction on the master bed.

And next we started to build the bathroom, working our way down the bus…

We had to tend to re-upholstering the window trims along the way and Leo became pretty good at upholstery jobs and re did the whole front cab area around the front windscreen also!

The final wall for the bathroom gets pretty complicated just here as it is to include the bathroom door and the door for the master bedroom which when open is to blend into the bathroom wall as if it is just a continuation of the negative detail wall linings. it is also meant to perfectly meet with a half height cavity slider coming out of an opposing wall. The goal here was to keep an open and continuous ceiling lining and spacious feeling flow but still be able to close off the master bedroom fully for privacy.

After the door adventures it was time to build the kitchen. I wanted to play with the 3 degree angle a little bit since the whole bus was sloping down towards the front and all the furniture is built to be level. So I we choose to slope the kitchen splash backs top edge 3 degrees off level in the other direction to the floor slope which gives it a bit of a funky Puzzle world disorienting feeling when your walking up the isle next to the kitchen.

Meanwhile a lot of heroic work went on under the bus running wires, pipes, fitting tanks & bolting down furniture units. It’s not the most photogenic of places therefore there’s only a few dirty underworld shots.

The next mish was the corner seat that when coupled with the dining table & the fold out seat from the seat/wall/door unit would turn into another bed when the table is lowered. this unit would house the diesel heater, solar hybrid inverter/charger unit, fuse boxes and mains breakers, the massive 200AH 24V Lifep04 battery & of course the 12” Rockford Fosgate subwoofer.

We also removed the middle door from it’s pneumatic opening system and put it on some hinges so it can work when the bus is off. We removed the double latch pin mechanism from the door & chopped it in half and mounted it on the wall instead & extended the latch pin to strike our the custom door handle to secure the door real good whilst driving. The latch pin is pneumatically operated still.

The next unit to be built opposite the corner bench seat, was to be able to function as an office stand up desktop & also could be used as an extra kitchen surface. It will house the audio amplifier and head unit to control the surround sound and also has an extendable worktop so the client can use it as a standup desk and take advantage of the deferent floor levels created by the steps. It also is a large storage unit for big items like backpacks & will conceal the pneumatic door pin mechanism.

At this point we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The client wants to build two opposing bunk beds in the living room area that fold away and become couches. From an aesthetics perspective I didn’t want to see any permanent supports rising above the couch backrest level. I also didn’t want to hang things from the ceiling which would interrupt the clean ceiling line with attachment points. The client also wanted to incorporate an undercut edge detail on the sofa/bunks.

It was a fun design and engineering challenge for sure! These bunk beds were a massive episode on their own. The gas struts on the arms take the weight of the upper bunk base components and assist you when setting it up by raising the whole lot for you, then you just have to put the stays under the front edge.

Then it was finishing touches. Bits of upholstery and fitting off the bathroom. The aluminum floor trim really made the whole thing come together when we got that back from the powder coaters. Leo and Carl made an awesome job of that floor trim. It was fiddley. Leo welded all of Carl’s miter joins together so they were in large one piece sections and looked super clean.

Chris (the owner) has since had the bus painted and send me these photo’s: