August/September

After the last update, we brought the bus back to storage. We can do several things without the bus in the driveway. Those are caulk, electricity, and paint. This is what we did in the last few weeks. We filled the screw holes in the ceiling, caulked, and painted that. Then we painted the plywood in the back and the trim. All in all, three coats each, so with the bus in storage and dry times accounted for, this took a few days.

Girl’s Beds

Once the painting was completed and we had a free weekend, we brought the bus back to the driveway to start the installation of the girl’s cubbies. The girl’s beds are at the back of the bus, side by side running front to back. We divided the space with plywood walls to create their own “cubbie”.

They picked out their own paint colors and spent the weekend painting their cubbies, making it their own space.

Meanwhile…

While they did that, we added a storage shelf in the back for future storage baskets. It is starting to look like a real livable space in there! Once the cubbies were painted, we added the top supports and ran the electric tubing so we could add wires while the bus was back in storage. A lot more caulk and a lot more trim are making it look more and more like home. The girls are very excited to start seeing the end product!

Working our way forward

With the cubbies and trim completed, we could add the wheel well covers. We filled those with insulation to cut down on the road noise. There is no real usable storage space in there, so we just closed them up. Eventually, they will be covered with flooring.

Walls and ducts

Then, it became time for the bedroom walls. We stained the tongue-and-groove wood to balance the paint colors. Last, we added the AC ducts. One side will go into the bedroom and bathroom, and the other will lead to the living room. We hesitated between painting the ducts or leaving them metal, but we are glad we painted them white allowing them to blend in with the ceiling better.

After a week, the bus went back to storage. While there, we will finish the electrical work in the bedroom, continue working on the back door, and finish the walls.

It is slow, but we are finally starting to see some progress! Next up – the bathroom….