Bare bones: Benches and beds and counter

Well, here I am in Colorado and things are thawing out. I mean the snow and the air. The feelings between me, the bus, and the family seem to be thawing too. Well the kids have always been great. And boy am I glad for the kids! I really did miss kids. Dave and Jill seem to be getting over the buyers remorse too, so that's promising. Really, I am hoping to live a little longer and now that I lost my seats I am not really sure what life is going to have in store for me. Jill has this drawing she keeps bringing in to show Dave and he keeps marking all over it and then measuring my ribs and floor. No clue what they are up to, but it must be good. I can feel it. Hey, maybe you'd be interested in what they are doing! Here, I'll let them tell you. 

(The pictures below are of a later time when more was finished. If we can find any of the actual process I will replace them. I don't think there are any. We never thought we would do a blog until people started asking to see it and how we did this or that. So, it is what it is.)


Jill:
I had a design all ready to go when Dave sent me the dimensions from California, so I just tweaked a few things. When we walked through measuring and imagining after the floor was in we changed a few things. Well, maybe quite a few things. There was no way we were fitting 6 people in here to sleep. We are going for a basic camping vehicle, not a live-in-mobile, or even a motor home. So, out went the potty into a port-a-tent. It can move in when we don't need the sleeping space. Sad, but kids do grow up and move out. The first leaves this fall for college, so we are feeling that reality right now. 

On an online site I belong to someone was selling a counter top with a center drawer. It seemed like a good fit for the bus counter and it cost less than buying the parts to build one. So, I bought it. Ends up Dave had to cut off one end and move a leg, but it works out well. I like the drawer. (There were some real issues with that which I will tell you about later). 

We had the idea of using some under bed drawers we have had in storage for a long time for under the front benches. But, then we thought about the long camp chairs we like to sit in around the fire. Where would we put those? Out went the drawer idea. The two benches that line the walls of the front of the bus are boxes with top opening lids. Inside one we can put the camp chairs, the port-a-tent and other supplies we will get out and set up when we make camp. In the other there is storage for items we need occasionally. That same side houses the two 12 v car batteries Dave uses to run the fridge and water pump and lights. (He has another post on that!)

My dad has had the opportunity to collect some cool and useful items along the way and he is generous with them. When he got in on the plans he offered some of these treasures. Two of which are WWII stretchers that Dave handily converted into a bunk bed along one side of the back of the bus across from the kitchen counter. The top also doubles as storage for the sleeping bags whenever not in use. 

So there are the bare bones of the project.