Canterbury couple turn bus into a new home

[PaxVobiscum]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18651140

A young couple who could not afford a deposit for a house have turned a double decker bus into their first home.

Daniel Bond and Stacey Drinkwater from Canterbury bought the bus for £3,000 and have spent £11,000 installing plumbing, a kitchen and a bedroom.

That looks like fun! Any other unusual conversions for a double decker apart from exhibitions and mobile youth clubs?

 

[Badger]

Damn, they got there before me.

The problem I had when I was going to do it was finding out how and where to connect it to electricity and plumbing, etc. I didn't know anything about it and couldn't find anything. I was going to wrap it in brick-like cladding and construct a gable roof out of MDF though

I'd have used a Metrobus.

 

[Ivo]

Damn, they got there before me.

The problem I had when I was going to do it was finding out how and where to connect it to electricity and plumbing, etc. I didn't know anything about it and couldn't find anything. I was going to wrap it in brick-like cladding and construct a gable roof out of MDF though

I'd have used a Metrobus.

I've had that idea too, and would probably have used an early Trident (maybe an ex-Southend W-reg one to spite them ) to make it easier for my sister when her second baby comes in a few months. I wonder if this couple actually know anything about the bus in question - although surely they would still need a PSV licence to drive it?

 

[ushawk]

Think thats an ex-Eastbourne Bus, the Welcome Aboard sticker i think is the ones they used before the Stagecoach takeover and subsequent withdrawal, bits of interior look exactly the same too. Bit weird thinking that i have probably used a bus which people are now living in !!

 

[Ivo]

Think thats an ex-Eastbourne Bus, the Welcome Aboard sticker i think is the ones they used before the Stagecoach takeover and subsequent withdrawal, bits of interior look exactly the same too. Bit weird thinking that i have probably used a bus which people are now living in !!

I can just about make out its number plate at the start; it appears to be J642 CEV. This is an ex-Eastbourne Leyland Olympian, acquired from Dublin in the mid-2000s (i.e. towards the end of its active life).

Interestingly, note this comment on Flickr. Coincidence? Perhaps not...!

 

[richw]

Ivo- a Psv licence to be required would depend how many seats remain, I believe if it has less than 9 seats remaining a Psv licence is not required. I noticed it said 8 on the number of passengers notice.

And haven't travellers been living In old buses for years.

 

[Schnellzug]

And it's not a routemaster!!
I couldn't think of anything better to live in than an Olympian.

 

[anthony263]

Ivo- a Psv licence to be required would depend how many seats remain, I believe if it has less than 9 seats remaining a Psv licence is not required. I noticed it said 8 on the number of passengers notice.

And haven't travellers been living In old buses for years.

You are correct RichW since it has been converted to a home a Psv licence will not be requiried. The same applies for driving some older vintage buses as well.

I have not seen this done with a double decker although there are a few ex First Mercedes-benz minibuses running around which have been converted to camper vans

 

[mbonwick]

Would still need a PCV licence I think as it has an unladen weight of greater than 3.5 tonnes.

 

[richw]

Would still need a PCV licence I think as it has an unladen weight of greater than 3.5 tonnes.

Would it not become need for a lgv/ hgv licence rather than pcv. and if the driver has an older licence, issued pre 2001, then (s)he would be able to drive up to 7.5 tonnes on normal licence

 

[deltic1989]

This is what Direct Gov has to say about driving a Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) on a car licence. It would appear that if it has 8 or less passenger seats and is not used for hire or reward then they are in the clear, but may need and HGV due to the weight.

 

[GearJammer]

I think it looks really good.... on the inside, as has been said, travellers have used buses to live in for years, so as not to get labelled as pikies etc i think id get the out side resprayed so it looks a bit more presentable.