We built this bus a few years ago so there should be no surprises, right? Wrong! You wouldn’t think that just moving a few pieces of furniture around would be difficult, right? Wrong again! I was in for a few surprises, here is what I have noticed so far:
I can’t believe all the stuff we have! We live in 80 square feet, there are two of us and two large dogs so how could we possibly fit all this stuff in here. I found sweaters that I forgot I even owned. Extra first aid kits, crafts and paints I’ve yet to use on the bus. How did it all fit!
My bus was filthy! Michael has been away for the past month and I while he was away I cleaned everything. I thought the bus was the cleanest it had ever been (even the ceilings were shiny). As we unbolted the couch I was disgusted by all the dirt that had somehow managed to find its way underneath the drawers. But that was nothing compared to the dirt, grime and dog hair that had collected in with the house batteries (for our solar panels). Later when removing the dressers I was shocked to find mold growing in between the dressers. I had been pretty proud of the fact I had kept the bus clean (especially with the dogs) and that it was dry enough that I thought it was mold free. How wrong I was!
There are some things that are better accomplished on your own. Even though Michael and I have an amazing relationship and can handle living in a tiny space together, tearing apart our bus is not something we should ever attempt to do together again. I found myself getting frustrated almost immediately and my level of frustration only grew as the day progressed. At the same time I could see that Michael was getting just as frustrated as I was and that was making me angry. Finally by mid afternoon I decided just to step away and go find something else to do.
Furniture that is meant for a house is not the best option for a bus. The cheap ikea dressers that we installed under our kitchen counters are probably perfect for someone’s bedroom where the drawers are only opened once a day. They are definitely not suitable in a small space where they are used for everything under the sun and opened multiple times a day. Even with the extra magnets installed on the backs of the drawers to keep the drawers closed while we are mobile the dressers took a huge beating. Most of the rails need replaced and I actually broke the corner off one of the drawers earlier on when I took a ninety degree turn a little too fast. Fortunately we had planned on only keeping one full dresser and cutting one down for drawers under the bed. We chose the best of what we had, salvaged any parts we could and then destroyed the rest.
As it stands right now the bus doesn’t look livable. New electrical outlets have been hardwired to our off the grid system and the fridge is mounted in its new place. Everything else is just sitting in its spot but not bolted down. The frameworks RV has been started for where our new bed will be set up but that’s it. Technically, it’s not even safe to drive right now! It’s a good thing I don’t need to go anywhere tomorrow!
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