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Dusty's Bus

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:28 am
by Rudy
Dusty sent me this photo. I knew I had seen this bus before. It is amongst the 2600 photos in my motorhome file. It's nice to attach a name to a photo that I had. The first photo is the one Dusty sent me. It's a 50s Bedford that Dusty put a diesel engine into. I'll see if he'll send me some interior pictures.

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:06 am
by Dennis The Bus Dweller
Sweet 8)

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:27 am
by splummer
nice i would really like to see more pics

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:10 am
by Dusty
Well Rudy , I really didn't expect to you to post that pic , but now you have , I can give you guys a few more.
Thanks to for showing me how :D

When I first bought the bus in 1990 it was already converted and had been parked at a beach camp for the previous 6 yrs.
The old man was past using it and the family had parked the bus out on the main road with a for sale sign.
I drove past it every day , for months , Xmas was getting closer , my wife had decided that she had "done" tenting , and what was I to do for a holiday...

TIN TENT I thought 8)

The girls were very little , in fact the youngest was still in nappies, hmmm , all the comforts of home ??

Closer inspection revealed that the 6 yrs lay up had resulted in the brakes rotting , but the engine started right up and it seemed to be a sound body despite the tired paint.

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:24 am
by Dusty
The immediate issue that I found , after the brakes , was that mains electric is useless without a 500mile cord ...... :shock:

There was a mains fridge , mains cooker, mains hot water, mains lights...

USELESS !!!

So I changed to gas and 12v over the next yr or 2 , we went away often , got hot , got cold , got wet , got sick of it .

We were away once at a place in the Graham Valley , looking at the Pokororo school , an interesting alternative bunch of home schoolers, it was cool and raining and I was heating the bus with the gas stove , the kids were wet , the condensation was streaming down the windows , the bedding and wardrobe were damp.

ENOUGH I said . we NEED a dry source of heat !

OK , so where to put a fire??

This eventually resulted in a complete redesign , including gutting it completely , insulating it , and the whole drama of a full rebuild. All done nights after work.
It took 9 months.

So here is what it was like.
Lots of "formica" and 2 divan beds , neither would fold , 'cause each blocked the other . And kitchen in the way of easy access to the door.

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THis is all a very typical '70's NZ caravan look. kinda yuck really.

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:34 am
by Dusty
I'm not going to give you another "30 yrs in a house truck" . I find this Typing difficult (one fingered).

So , no progress pics , straight into it .

A suitable coal range was found , stuff constructed around it , and , on the whole , I find that there is more free fuel (pine cones) lying on the side of the roads , here in the south island , than I can carry :D

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OK, that's it , I'm exhausted .

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:16 am
by Rudy
Dusty, Thanks for posting some more pictures. It looks great inside. Rudy

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 1:50 pm
by dburt
Dusty, I like the stove- and the rest of the bus is not too bad either! :lol:

Now if you would learn to type, so we can hear more stories about your project and travels, then you would be not half bad!! :wink:

At least you can post pictures, so instead of writing out your stories (can't teach an old dog new tricks, eh?) you can put pics with small captions so we can enjoy seeing more of life in NZ.

For some reason, if you ask Americans what place they would like to visit, a recent poll showed NZ to be the most wished for place to visit by Yanks.

Since some of us can't affort to get there, we can at least enjoy pics about travels, life, etc in NZ. So keep those pics and captians coming! We will look forward to more! DB

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 1:59 pm
by Dennis The Bus Dweller
Hey there Dusty, Thats a nice homey rig you have there, I love the stove

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:05 pm
by Dusty
I have been in the process ........ hmmm ........ yep ,, thats a project ...

I have a project on the go.

I bought another bus, shorter this time , so more manouverable and easier to drive.
Thats the plan , not getting any younger you know.

It was just off the school bus run , so still had all the primary school seating in it. It seemed a shame to toss it all away , but no one wanted it . Too bad.

It is almost identical to the big green one, just 2 meters shorter and 2 ton lighter, also its on 16" wheels and the big bus is on 20".

The shower and toilet are built , insulation is in , most of the wiring is done and most of the lining is back on..

Much to do still..

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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 8:12 pm
by Dusty
I think , therefore I am ..... oops ,

I think I will add more of my pics here , 'cause they are mostly taken when we are off in the bus.

Except for the ones when I am off in the truck :)

I left you in the photography section on StateHwy 1 . near Kaikoura.
So here we are travelling down the coast some more.

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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 8:17 pm
by Dusty
The road , and rail closely follow the coast line here , its pretty , I think.

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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 8:27 pm
by Dusty
There are several places where the seals have made them selves at home , stinks too.

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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 11:58 pm
by Dennis The Bus Dweller
The Bedfords have great faces 8)

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:03 am
by Dusty
about an hours drive away , is a forest area , there is a nice space of maybe 35acres set aside for camping, it has a toilet block and water on tap, and lots of space with tall trees for shade.
Also this cool river (Hurunui) for fishing in.

On the opposite side of the main road, is an old fire lookout high up on the hill, a nice walk/climb if the day is cool.

As you can see from the guy wires holding the lookout down, it can get a bit windy up there too.


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