A School Bus & Tiny Home hybrid

[eDJ_]

Recently I met some folks who were from the north west USA. They had built quite a rig to travel & live in. By living in I mean for extended periods in one place if work presented itself. But their build was rather unusual. Over 50 years ago this may have been a more common sight.

At the rear was a loft over a porch which I thought was quite interesting for addressing creature comforts. I'm sure a roll of screen wire could be wrapped around the porch to make it nice if the bugs or mosquitoes were out.

 

[ABC-life10]

What an intriguing build! The porch is a brilliant, cost effective way to expand your living space when you're parked for an extended period. It's a testament to resourcefulness and inspiration.

I'm curious about the total weight of the rear addition. Did the owners mention if they had to reinforce the vehicle's frame or upgrade the suspension? Safety is paramount especially with a structure that can affect the vehicle's center of gravity. A screen room in buggy areas is functional and responsible.

 

[eDJ_]

There were only three people traveling & living in it. The frames of these vehicles are massive and I'm sure the build would weigh much less than if the Bus were loaded with high school kids.

When traveling I believe they occupied the area from the drivers window to the window behind them. Thus air conditioned comfort. Not sure the evening sleeping situation. I didn't get too good of a look at it and only spoke to them briefly.

They were having problems with a tire being low of pressure. What I didn't know at the time was there was a Lowe's store only about 600 feet away that had a free air for tires pump. (on the contractors side of the store but it was free to anyone. Like Sheetz gas stations has free air)

Wish I had known to tell them. They could have limped that far to get all the air that they needed for that tire.

 

[ABC-life10]

Thanks for the update! If they're only using part of the bus while driving, how they've laid out the rest of the interior for stationary living. Did you happen to notice if the rear porch was accessible from inside the bus or only from outside?

As for the tire issue, that's unfortunate timing. A low pressure tire can really throw off handling and fuel efficiency, not to mention safety. If they were parked long enough, it could have been a slow leak from sitting or a valve issue.

What kind of bus was it? Some of the older Blue Birds or Thomas models have different frame specs and knowing the make could help others here gauge what kind of modifications are feasible.

 

[eDJ_]

Yes, I noticed a door at the back when I drove all around it. Or what looked like a door. I'm sure they could have left the door partly open when driving on a pleasant day to get thru the house ventilation.

Now, the front & frame unit was a Ford. But I didn't notice any references as to who built the coach that mounted onto the frame. A Google search indicates that Thomas is the only builder producing type C & D School Busses on Ford Chassis.

Well, the people with the bus are long gone from here now so I'll never know. But Google offers this which may help.

Yes, Ford does publish specifications for its school bus chassis. These specifications are available on the Ford Pro website and in their brochures

This help?

 

[ABC-life10]

Yes, thanks for this @eDJ_. Thomas is likely the coachbuilder as they have a long history of using the Ford E-series chassis for their buses. It's always interesting to try and piece together the history of these rigs when you see them out in the wild.

 

[Alan]

Recently I met some folks who were from the north west USA. They had built quite a rig to travel & live in. By living in I mean for extended periods in one place if work presented itself. But their build was rather unusual. Over 50 years ago this may have been a more common sight.

View attachment 9

At the rear was a loft over a porch which I thought was quite interesting for addressing creature comforts. I'm sure a roll of screen wire could be wrapped around the porch to make it nice if the bugs or mosquitoes were out.

Has anyone had any sightings of this lately?

 

[eDJ_]

These people were here to explore the Apalachin art glass industry & community as they explained it to me. This area is rich in natural gas, silicone sand, and apple trees which makes it highly desirable for those in the art glass trade. (why apple trees ? Glass blower's molds are generally made of apple wood)

My guess is that they have found work and aren't on the road now. Possibly
working a local Glass company of acclaim. But there are lots of glass companies in this area. I haven't seen their rig on the road since.

Blenko Glass