BUS TOUR
'A place for everything and everything in its place.'
Believe it or not, with only 80 sq. ft. of space, we can live and travel in our bus with all of the comforts of home. As a family of four, living and traveling in a bus means we get to sleep comfortably in our own beds night after night, enjoy wholesome homecooked meals, and have everything we need with us no matter where our adventures take us.
KITCHEN
Cooking Area
When you're living in a tiny space, functionality is key. We designed our kitchen to maximize counter space for food preparation and enable us to store enough fresh food and produce for off-grid adventures.
From our full-size energy-efficient fridge to our beloved Dometic Stainless Steel Range, we're able to cook and bake our favorite meals no matter where we go.
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We store our dry goods and dishware in large drawers and the overhead shelves and can enjoy fresh drinking water on tap, thanks to our reverse osmosis water purifier.
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LIVING/DINING
Living/Dining Area
Our passenger seats and dining area serves as both our eating and living space, in addition to a play area for the kids.
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We reupholstered the original bus seats to serve as our dining area and seating for passengers while on the road. Our kids love being able to use the table for playing and drawing while traveling, and we love that we can easily remove it to allow even more space when parked.
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BEDROOM
Kids Bunk Beds
At the time of the build, our youngest was still in a crib, and we wanted to find a way to prevent her from falling out of her bed. So we designed a ladder that doubles as a safety gate for the night.
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Each of the kids' beds fits a standard toddler-sized mattress and features a reading light above their pillow.
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Did we mention that we switched the emergency exit window to the bedroom? Not only does it give us an additional exit in case of fire, but it easily opens up to reveal some incredible views!
BATHROOM
Outdoor Shower
Just because you're travelling on the road doesn't mean you need to be dirty. With our heated outdoor shower, we can freshen up anywhere on the go.
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We didn't want to take up valuable space inside, so we installed an outdoor shower at the back of the bus. It's handy to have when you're staying off-grid for extended periods, or if you need to wash off muddy, salty or sandy gear.
We have hot water on demand and the hose can be easily detached and stored away while we're in motion. For privacy, we hang a shower curtain between the open back doors and voila!
BATHROOM
Composting Toilet
When you're traveling throughout Canada and the USA, you can always find a bathroom. For the times you can't, a composting toilet is a surprisingly clean, odor-free, and environmentally-friendly solution.
Our Nature's Head composting toilet separates waste into two separate compartments. The liquid waste collects into a bottle mounted on the front, and solid waste goes into a large composting chamber filled with either coconut fiber or sphagnum peat moss.
Attached to the toilet is a ventilation fan and pipe that keeps the air fresh and odor-free.
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If you're interested in finding out more about how to use the toilet, click the 'more' button below for instructional videos, tips, and tricks.
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STORAGE
Closet
Imagine you had to pack all the clothes you need in one box. Now imagine you have to pack enough clothes for three seasons - spring, summer, and fall (and sometimes even sub-zero temps!).
With minimal storage space, we were each given one Ikea storage box to store all our clothes for an entire year!
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Each box includes everything from sweats, hiking gear, jeans, and fleece sweaters, to our favorite T's and everything in between.
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Believe it or not, it was a rewarding challenge to pack only what we needed. If we really don't need it or wasn't practical for the outdoors, it didn't make the cut.
Could you fit your entire wardrobe for a year into a single box?
STORAGE
Garage
Finding space for all of our gear required a lot of creativity and some serious Tetris skills.
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We were so excited to discover the ProSlat storage system that allows us to customize our storage, depending on our needs. Each basket, shelf, and hook can be quickly and easily re-arranged. The shelves hold everything from our backpacks, hiking boots and poles, tools, laundry items, and more. In addition to the shelving system, we also store our cold weather and rain gear in large bins.
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The rear storage is only accessible from outside the bus, which helps to insulate the interior from the heat and cold. Here we keep our larger items such as an inflatable SUP, kid bike and scooter, mosquito tent (essential for any Canadian camping adventure!), and our Thule bike trailer.
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We've driven on some pretty rough roads, and by using the bungee cables, we're able to keep it all safely secured.
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UTILITIES
Solar Power
Our bus is fitted with 3 1KW solar panels, mounted on the roof, which provide us with clean and renewable energy. We have the capabilities to connect to an exterior power source but rarely need it.
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The panels are connected to two 12V batteries which provide power to our 110V switches for items such as our fridge, lighting, plugs etc.
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A battery meter allows us to monitor our usage and adjust our habits according to the weather and conditions.
UTILITIES
Water
Our 200L water tanks provide water to our main kitchen faucet as well as our water purifier and outdoor shower.
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Our reverse osmosis water purifier provides clean and delicious drinking water illuminating the need for bottled water. We use it for cooking and to refill our reusable bottles.
We are sure to refill our tank in designated potable fill stations and the RO system removes harmful sediments, bad tastes and odours, chlorine, herbicides and pesticides and more, providing us clean and refreshing water on the go.
BEDROOM
Sleeping Area
The sleeping area is by far our favorite hangout in the entire bus. Its quietly tucked away towards the back and is the perfect spot to curl up and read a book.
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One of the most important design features was for the bus to include a separate sleeping area to allow for early bedtimes and afternoon naps. Our pillow-filled queen size bed is a couch by day and a cozy place to lay your head after a long day in the fresh air.
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The windows feature slide-down blackout blinds, offering complete privacy and blocking out light for restful nights of sleep.
Our favorite item would have to be our Maxxair circulation fan on the ceiling (not featured in this photo). On hot summer days, it pulls cold fresh air in and pushes stagnant air out. On top of that, it doubles as a sound machine blocking out noise from inside and outside the bus.
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UTILITIES
Heating
There have been many times when the temperature has dipped well below zero, especially when camping in the desert. Installing a heater gives us greater flexibility not only for the time of year but also the location we can travel to.
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We have a propane heater connected to our main tank which is controlled by a thermostat. We can set the thermostat to turn on automatically at a given temperature, which enables us to camp comfortably even in the winter.
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UTILITIES
Cooling
One of our favourite features of the bus would have to be our Maxxair fan which does an incredible job circulating the air and keeping the interior cool and fresh.
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The fan allows us to choose between pulling cool fresh air from the outside and pushing warm air from the interior out.
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A bonus, especially for families, is that it doubles as a white noise machine to drown out noises from outside - if you're parked at a campground or next to a busy road.
