Owner: Our Time URL:http://ourtime.clickmediapro.com/ Join Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:00:23 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Brian and Sheila’s journey to buy, design and renovate a bus to travel around Oz.
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A little bit about our bus 2007-02-24 04:05:24 We purchased our 1989 Toyota Coaster, 4.2 litre bus from ebay about 1 month ago (Feb 2007).
It was a huge thing for us to do as we are both very new to the world of the internet.
Luckily for us, we found a top bloke from Kalbarri who was selling one of his tour coaches.
The motor was reconditioned less than 4 yrs ago, air-con compressor last year and the alternator 3 yrs ago.The outside body has a few rust spots and needs a little
TLC. It has a long range fuel tank, good tyres mechanically ready to drive anywhere, making it an ideal campervan!
We both have pretty clear ideas of what we want to do with it and agree, mostly, on just about all design issues. Of course, it wouldn't be natural for a married couple to agree on everything but so far, so good tags technorati : campervan, bus conversion, bus renovation, bus australia, travel around australia oz, motorhome, auto
Welcome! 2007-02-24 04:00:28 Welcome to our website!
We are so excited to be doing this in conjunction with the renovation of our new bus, a 1989 Toyota Coaster Bus Deluxe 22 seater.
We will be bringing you lots of information and pictures on the whole process from stripping the bus back to it’s shell, through to design, construction and all the things we learn along the way.
My lovely wife, Sheila, will also be sharing her thoughts and design plans on the most important parts of the bus, the bathroom and kitchen.
tags technorati : campervan, bus conversion, bus renovation, bus australia, travel around australia oz, motorhome, auto Read more:Welcome
Seats, how hard can it be? 2007-03-02 01:40:02 It’s been a busy few days for us as we try and find a couple of nice seats for our bus.
We had no idea going into this renovation how difficult it would be to find something as simple as seats!
Given that we will be spending alot of time driving and sitting in them, we want something that is safe, comfortable and durable. Our plan is to have a swivel setup so that at night we can move the seats around to face the back of the bus. They will be dual purpose, becoming arm chairs at night if that makes sense.
I searched online and quickly found what I was looking for. I almost died though when I read the price. $6,000.00 was the quote! That seemed excessive so I got back on the net and found some really amazing looking seats from the USA. They sounded better than the ones I had found from Australia and were only $US700.00 per chair. I figured that even with shipping it would work out cheaper.
I’ve been dealing with a local shipping company to try and work out exactly wha Read more:Seats
ourtime back 2007-04-04 09:30:36 Hi everyone.
I must apologise for the long time between posts. Shortly after we setup our site, our laptop needed to be taken into the shop for repairs. As we live in the country with no local repair shop, it had to be sent to Perth and took just over 4 weeks. I really missed my computer!
It did give me time to draw up plans for our new home on wheels. My daughter has promised to scan the plans for me so I will get them up and put some explanations on how it will work.
I’ve also spent some time looking at GPS navigation systems for the bus. I will also post a detailed account of what I’ve found.
So now that I’m back with my beloved computer, I’ll start posting regularly.
Happy travels!
Our little Monty 2007-04-25 04:15:15
Hi everyone,
I’m Sheila and Brian’s daughter. Today is a particularly sad day for my parents. Earlier this afternoon they had the very sad and difficult task of having their beloved dog, Monty
put to sleep.
Monty was 15 years old and they had a very special bond with him.
During his life, he travelled many parts of Australia with mum and dad including a trip across the Nullabor and across the Tasman. He was a brilliant travel companion and loved putting his two front paws on the dash and looking out the window at the scenery going by. Whenever they went off road or over a bumpy road, he seemed to enjoy it even more. He also knew when they were about to stop. He would watch my Dad’s foot and as soon as he went to brake, Monty would start getting excited and anxious, he just knew it was about time to get out and explore!
They had assumed that Monty would go with them around Australia once Our Time was completed but old age caught up with Monty.
He was a fiesty Read more:little
The all important generator 2007-05-08 01:19:39 One of the most important items needed for travelling around Australia is a generator.
However, Sheila would probably disagree and suggest that an indoor shower and toilet is the most important!
But those practical soles among us know that without a reliable generator, none of the luxaries we like to have along with us would function.
For me, it is very important that it be reliable, affordable, good output and a good weight. I don’t want anything too heavy. Because I’m building the bus from the bottom up, I have control over how heavy the bus will be. I’ll explain later why I think it’s important to keep it light.
I’ve been investagating generators now for a couple of months and I’ve settled on the Ducar 6.5 Generator.
It’s features are:
6.6KVA / 13hp
Electric Start
Voltmeter
On Wheels/ Castors
2 AC Plugs
25L Fuel Tank
Circuit Breaker Switch
Battery included
I’ve picked one up for AUS$599.00 which I think is a good price.
Afte
Our little Monty 2007-04-25 04:15:15
Hi everyone,
I’m Sheila and Brian’s daughter. Today is a particularly sad day for my parents. Earlier this afternoon they had the very sad and difficult task of having their beloved dog, Monty
put to sleep.
Monty was 15 years old and they had a very special bond with him.
During his life, he travelled many parts of Australia with mum and dad including a trip across the Nullabor and across the Tasman. He was a brilliant travel companion and loved putting his two front paws on the dash and looking out the window at the scenery going by. Whenever they went off road or over a bumpy road, he seemed to enjoy it even more. He also knew when they were about to stop. He would watch my Dad’s foot and as soon as he went to brake, Monty would start getting excited and anxious, he just knew it was about time to get out and explore!
They had assumed that Monty would go with them around Australia once Our Time was completed but old age caught up with Monty.
He was a fiesty Read more:little
ourtime back 2007-04-04 09:30:36 Hi everyone.
I must apologise for the long time between posts. Shortly after we setup our site, our laptop needed to be taken into the shop for repairs. As we live in the country with no local repair shop, it had to be sent to Perth and took just over 4 weeks. I really missed my computer!
It did give me time to draw up plans for our new home on wheels. My daughter has promised to scan the plans for me so I will get them up and put some explanations on how it will work.
I’ve also spent some time looking at GPS navigation systems for the bus. I will also post a detailed account of what I’ve found.
So now that I’m back with my beloved computer, I’ll start posting regularly.
Happy travels!
Seats, how hard can it be? 2007-03-02 01:40:02 It’s been a busy few days for us as we try and find a couple of nice seats for our bus.
We had no idea going into this renovation how difficult it would be to find something as simple as seats!
Given that we will be spending alot of time driving and sitting in them, we want something that is safe, comfortable and durable. Our plan is to have a swivel setup so that at night we can move the seats around to face the back of the bus. They will be dual purpose, becoming arm chairs at night if that makes sense.
I searched online and quickly found what I was looking for. I almost died though when I read the price. $6,000.00 was the quote! That seemed excessive so I got back on the net and found some really amazing looking seats from the USA. They sounded better than the ones I had found from Australia and were only $US700.00 per chair. I figured that even with shipping it would work out cheaper.
I’ve been dealing with a local shipping company to try and work out exactly wha Read more:Seats
A little bit about our bus 2007-02-24 04:05:24 We purchased our 1989 Toyota Coaster, 4.2 litre bus from ebay about 1 month ago (Feb 2007).
It was a huge thing for us to do as we are both very new to the world of the internet.
Luckily for us, we found a top bloke from Kalbarri who was selling one of his tour coaches.
The motor was reconditioned less than 4 yrs ago, air-con compressor last year and the alternator 3 yrs ago.The outside body has a few rust spots and needs a little
TLC. It has a long range fuel tank, good tyres mechanically ready to drive anywhere, making it an ideal campervan!
We both have pretty clear ideas of what we want to do with it and agree, mostly, on just about all design issues. Of course, it wouldn’t be natural for a married couple to agree on everything but so far, so good
tags technorati : campervan, bus conversion, bus renovation, bus australia, travel around australia oz, motorhome, auto
Welcome! 2007-02-24 04:00:28 Welcome to our website!
We are so excited to be doing this in conjunction with the renovation of our new bus, a 1989 Toyota Coaster Bus Deluxe 22 seater.
We will be bringing you lots of information and pictures on the whole process from stripping the bus back to it’s shell, through to design, construction and all the things we learn along the way.
My lovely wife, Sheila, will also be sharing her thoughts and design plans on the most important parts of the bus, the bathroom and kitchen.
tags technorati : campervan, bus conversion, bus renovation, bus australia, travel around australia oz, motorhome, auto Read more:Welcome
Bus Plans 2007-05-18 12:42:48 I’m putting up the plans for the bus which are to scale.
There are three to view, the first is the floor plan and the other two are side views.
I will be posting some of the current pictures of the bus so that you can see where everything will be going.
The oven will fit under the bed and will be on rollers so that it can slide out on the side of the bus. We do not want our oven inside as our previous bus had one inside. As we cook alot of stir-fries, we found that the smells and smoke hung around inside so this time cooking will be done on the outside under the caravan awning.
internal bus layout.png
side view layout.png
side view two layout.png
tags technorati : bus renovation bus plans rv
The all important generator 2007-05-08 01:19:39 One of the most important items needed for travelling around Australia is a generator.
However, Sheila would probably disagree and suggest that an indoor shower and toilet is the most important!
But those practical soles among us know that without a reliable generator, none of the luxaries we like to have along with us would function.
For me, it is very important that it be reliable, affordable, good output and a good weight. I don’t want anything too heavy. Because I’m building the bus from the bottom up, I have control over how heavy the bus will be. I’ll explain later why I think it’s important to keep it light.
I’ve been investagating generators now for a couple of months and I’ve settled on the Ducar 6.5 Generator.
It’s features are:
6.6KVA / 13hp
Electric Start
Voltmeter
On Wheels/ Castors
2 AC Plugs
25L Fuel Tank
Circuit Breaker Switch
Battery included
I’ve picked one up for AUS$599.00 which I think is a good price.
Afte
Ducar Generator 2007-06-17 02:59:37 A few posts back I wrote about the Ducar 6.5kva generator I had on order.
I have now received it and this is an update on my first impressions.
I have not yet started the generator but I have put the wheels on and promptly dropped it on to my toe! I can tell you that it is the 86 KL that it states it is!
The Ducar Generator
s are very well made, every thing that has been built in and on to the set is of top quality.
The thing I like the most is that you have pull start and key remote (2 supplied with unit) with it as well.
The safety features are good, it has low oil shut off and a circuit breaker.
The generator has a low noise level which is very important especially given that it’s going to be for our mobile home.
Although I wanted and ordered a 6.5 kva, the 5.5 kva Ducar generator was delivered. This was a mistake by the supplier but they have been brilliant in their customer service. They offered to pick-up the one supplied and deliver the 6.5 to me but after discussing
Insulating the frame 2007-06-16 08:29:47 Insulating the bus is the first of many jobs which need to be done before the basic structure of the interior can begin. I have insulated the roof and down the sides of the bus to the side windows.
Before doing anything, I wanted to ensure that no rust will get in. I have used a product called fishalene for years now and swear by it. Be warned, it does stink when you first spray but it does go away after a short period of time.
I sprayed the fishalene from the edge of the roof line inside to the window frames. This will protect from rust all going to plan.
The first step was to pull down the hood lining in the roof area along with the side ducts.
The grey inner lining you see was there before and is put in at the Toyota factory. I pulled as much of it out as possible and had to scrape out the rest spraying contact glue over the scratches to stop any rusting.
Click on pictures to enlarge.
Each panel is measured and then insulation cut to size. Always remember, measure
Bus seats 2007-06-21 06:56:17 I’ve been searching around for quite some time now for two seats.
I had originally planned on buying them from the USA and importing to Australia. They look to be very comfortable and I had not seen anything like it in Australia. The quote from the shipping company to import them was completely ridiculous so I abandoned that idea!
We ended up finding some really great chairs today from a wreckers yard of all places. We paid a total of Aus $50.00. They were from a Mitsubishi Magna and are very comfortable.
I will post some pictures shortly and also show how I go about fitting them in the bus.
tags technorati : bus renovation bus seats rv magna
Window rust 2007-06-19 04:27:04 I’ve had a good look at the rear window, specifically, the rust spots which appear to be scattered throughout the frame, pictures below.
I had initially planned on cutting out the rust and then making up a new window frame. But after doing some research, I’ve settled on buying a complete new frame/window from an external supplier.
I will still need to cut out rust so will put up a post on how I went about it.
I’ve gone with a slimline perspex black frame and window. It has a buble outwards. It is 450 Height x 1175 width, with rounded corners.
The cost is AUS $380.00 and will be ready in 4 weeks.
Will let you know how it all goes, hopefully there won’t be any hitches!
tags technorati : rv bus renovation window rust
Read more:Window
How to cut out rust 2007-06-30 07:52:59 I have posted previously about the rust that I had located around the rear window.
On closer inspection, I have since found more rust which is localized to the frames which isn’t a huge surprise.
This post will run through the steps I am taking to cut out the rust and put back a new section of frame.
The rust I am cutting out today is the left side passenger window and was discovered once the glass was removed. The job here involves cutting out the top and side of the window frame. This will require two cut outs to be made, once will be placed back into the frame and the other will be for the side of frame.
You will need to following tools and materials to do this yourself, most hardware stores offer rentals for electrical tools if you do not have them yourself so check for pricing and availablility.
Item
Brand/model Brian uses
Ruler and pencil for measuring new frame
Angle Grinder
Ryobi
Sheeting
Metal bender
Home-made
Flat Mill Bastard File
Cooper T
How to remove rust using electricity 2007-07-04 07:05:50 I came across this video over at YouTube.com and found it to be really fascinating, check it out and see what I mean!
How to remove rust, using electricity
…
tags technorati : rv bus renovation window rust
Back window - removing rust, replacing frame 2007-07-10 08:37:16 I posted recently about the rust I discovered on the back window. It turned out to be pretty bad so I opted to cut out the rust and purchase a new window which is on order.
My main objective was to remove the rust, make a new frame with window cut-out, sealing and then sand and coat ready for final spray coat.
This is what I have done so far, to see how I cut out the rust, you can read my first How To: Cutting out rust
Here you see the metal glued, sealed and riverted into the finished place.
If you look closely, you will notice that the bottom metal sheeting has a few cuts. The reason for this was due to the fact that the original frame has a sill.
This was part of the buses original design which curved out across the back.
There was no way I could bend the frame to this shape so several cuts were needed to cover up the original sill.
I have allowed about 20 millimeters with the new metal to cover over the old bus frame.
It was then glued and riverted which is something I
A short break 2007-07-16 20:04:34 Hi everyone, it’s Brian and Sheila’s daughter here,
Just to let you know that my Dad is going to take a short break from posting on Our Time while recovering from knee replacement surgery.
He is doing very well and is expected home this Thursday. It’ll be a while before he can do any major work on his bus but he is planning on using his recovery time to research some pretty interesting alternatives for their bus.
One such plan is to convert the diesel engine to run on chip oil (waste vegetable oil), he will bring you more information on this when back home.
Thanks for reading!
tags technorati : vegetable oil conversion rv diy bus conversion
Induction cooktop 2007-07-15 02:13:24 I have done a fair bit of research regarding cooking options for the bus.
Because we intend on making use of our new Ducar generator as often as possible, we feel it is important to install the most efficient appliances.
I have been weighing up the options of conventional and induction cooking methods and have settled on induction.
Induction
cookers consume half as much electricity as electric cookers and are more efficient in heat transfer, achieving an absolute efficiency of 84% in US Dept of energy tests (compared to a typical 40% for a gas cooker).
According to CEG Electric Glass Company, power savings of 40-70% are realistically achievable in comparison to conventional cooktops. CEG Electric Glass Company also states induction cooking has an efficiency rate of 90%, while Electric and Gas have efficiency rates of less than 50%
We have since purchased a cooktop which will be installed at a later date.
The cooktop we settled on is the Omega Induction Electical Cooker (OIC16S) and we
Sound system 2007-07-19 07:39:48 Just a quick post to keep you updated on all the purchases for Our Time.
Sound
is pretty important to me but not so much to Sheila . I would feel that Our Time was well and truly cheated had I just whacked in some basic speakers. Sheila, would be more than happy with a little portable radio with one of those tiny black and white televisions. But hey, this is Our Time, we want this to be our home away from home. Everything in Our Time is important, none more so that the stereo system.
Sheila has been a long time sufferer of sound. Unfortunately for her, I love loud, earth shattering sound. I’ve spent more hours that I care to remember tweaking the amplifiers I have owned over the years. For me, there is nothing like sitting back after spending those countless hours mulling over the settings, eagerly holding the remote and slowly turning the sound up. I sit there, in pure heaven just totally entranced by the sound. I have a complete surround sound system at home and I t
Update - Before and After shots of back window after rust removal 2007-07-22 23:06:59 Update!
Here is the finished product after final spray of under coat along with the names of products used for this job.
Before
After
Products used:
Here are some of the products I have used for this project.
The big tin on top is Motospray Aclac 20 Acrylic Thiner. This is what you need to thin the paint down for spraying the under coats and the final coats.
The tin under is the bog, I used Daytona Auto Bodyfiller.
The product along side is the Motospray prepwash wax and grease remover.
Next , is the MotoSpray Acrylic Primer Surfacer, which is the under-coat.
Following on is the HiChem Super Etch Primer and anti corrosive properties, you spray two coats on bare metal. The first spray should be a very fine thin coat, leave for about 5 minutes and then spray another coat over it. And then you under coat it checking that it is nice and smooth
tags technorati : rv bus renovation window rust DIY
Read more:shots
, Update
Curving metal, removing rust - Part Three 2007-07-24 07:16:19 Well, I am home now and recovering nicely from knee replacement surgery. Needless to say, I am pretty keen to get back out there and start working on Our Time but I think I’ll be a few weeks away from actually being able to do anything really productive.
Before the surgery, I managed to get the frame finished and ready for the windows to be installed. It was a big job and I found more rust that I anticipated but I will sleep much easier now knowing that she is rust free!
In previous posts, I detailed the rust I discovered on the back and side windows and provided a guide to removing rust. You can check out those posts by visiting the Dealing with rust section.
This is this next part of our series on How to cut out rust, we focus on two things, firstly, don’t assume there is no rust if you see no visible signs and secondly, how to bend metal to sit nicely in your window frames. You can also see Parts 1 and 2 to learn how to prepare the rust area and creating the metal sheet Read more:Three
Oil and Magnets 2007-07-30 01:32:00 This morning I asked my daughter if she happened to have any old computer hard disks laying around.
I think she was initially puzzled when I explained to her that I required the magnets from inside the disk to use on the oil filter of the bus.
The reason is that many of the parts in engines are made up of ferrous metals. When the parts begin to wear, they create small particles that float in the oil. Placing Neodymium magnets on the oil filter and sump will trap the particles.
It is then a case of when changing your oil, you can easily remove all the trapped particles.
it just gives the engine a lot longer life which is always a very good thing!
For your information, you may find the following sites of interest if you would like to try this yourself. You can buy commercial products as well but as you all know, I prefer to make my own!
http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html Scroll down about three quaters of the page and look for the title: Magnetised oil traps - doing it Read more:Magnets
Preparing for final undercoat, Removing rust - Part Four 2007-07-29 05:20:40 Welcome to Part Four in our How To cut out rust series.
In previous posts, I detailed the rust I discovered on the back and side windows and provided a guide to removing rust. You can check out those posts by visiting the Dealing with rust section.
In Part Four, I run through the steps required to get ready for the final paint of your rust free vehicle.
Part One - How to cut out rust
Part Two - Back window - removing rust, replacing frame
Part Three - Curving metal, removing rust
Item
Brand/model Brian uses
Sander
Acrylic Thiner
Motospray Aclac 20 Acrylic Thiner
Auto Bodyfiller
Daytona Auto Bodyfiller
Prepwash wax and grease remover
Motospray prepwash wax and grease remover
MotoSpray
MotoSpray Acrylic Primer Surfacer
Primer
HiChem Super Etch Primer and anti corrosive
At this stage I have replaced all the metal previously cut out when removing the rust. You can check Part Three for further details of how this was achieved.
First
Eliminating bearing wear due to dry bearing abrasion 2007-07-31 22:49:11 I found this product recently and will be purchasing it for my bus and would like to share it with you.
As you may be aware, the crankshaft in combustion engines drives the oil pump that pressurises the lubrication system. This means that when the engine is started, no oil is present to lubricate the bearing
s resulting in dry bearing abrasions. The end result is that this causes engine wear, not good!
I’ve been looking around for a product that addresses this problem and think I’ve found it.
The product is called the AutoEngineLube kit and can be installed by yourself. Looking at the site, it is a very simple exercise to install. Visit site http://www.autoenginelube.com/howitworks.html
When installed, filtered oil is stored in the Accumulator tank ready to pressurise the engine oil system on the next startup, BEFORE the first revolution of the crankshaft.
Thereby completely eliminating all of the bearing wear due to dry bearing abrasion.
The manufacturer states that betw
Which GPS? 2007-08-05 22:51:02
I’ve started taking a bit more interest in a GPS
system which we will have on the road with us.
It seems a bit premature for us to go out and buy something now as the bus is still at least 12 months away from completion. Technology changes so quickly these days that whatever we buy now is going to be superseded pretty quickly.
But I have been researching and thought I’d share a few websites that offer reviews of all the latest models and technology enhancements that go along with GPS systems. Some of these sites offer some amazing detail.
Here’s my list so far, if you know of or run such a site, let me know and I’ll add!
pcmag.com
ConsumerSearch.com
cnet.com
zdnet.com
GoodGearGuide.com
GPSMagazine.com
GPSReview.com
tags technorati : rv bus GPS travel
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