Top or bottom ?

[Airbag]

I have perfectly functional bus with all the comforts of home. I flip flop between tearing the whole interior out of it to doing nothing and living with what I have. I think a more logical approach might be to upgrade one piece at a time. All of it could be improved.

Pros
It is warm, comfortable and everything works.

Cons
No shower just a tub that fits a child.
Carpet on the ceiling.
Carpet on the floor is very old nasty red shag 
Walls and cabinets are cheap paneling with edging that is falling off.

I would like to start replacing stuff but don't really know what the logical first steps should be. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. Would one start at the ceiling first or floor first? Can this be done in baby steps or should I leave well enough alone?

This interior has been installed for 25 plus years and you can see it needs help, any input is apreciated.

[TomC]

I would start with the ceiling since you could mess up the floor without feeling bad-as compared to doing the floor first then the ceiling.  Good Luck, TomC

[DSweet]

  Been there, done that; we spent a little more than three and a half years
reworking our 4104, it was converted in 1980 and we redid everything inside.
By all means start with the ceiling, we used Fibre Wall of Canada's Fibre Decor,
it looks and handles like papier mache, but it makes a beautiful ceiling.  We have
had a little cracking where we had to make a thick application.  Nothing to complain
about though.  You can email me off board for more details, we have replaced corner
materials, moldings and counter tops along with a lot of other things to numerous
for the space here.
Blessings,
David
PD4104-2977
Winton, CA

[Dreamscape]

Hi Airbag,

I know what you are going through first hand! Like Tom said start at the top and work down. I would also add to start at the rear and work forward. That way by the time you get to the front, you will have worked out all the bugs and it will show like you knew what you were doing.

You can see mine here, it didn't have carpet on the ceiling but it had tuck and roll! Talk about the 60's look!

http://www.uniquebusconversion.com/

Have fun and be safe,

Paul

[jjrbus]

Paul and Tom give good advice, start with the ceiling in the rear. Estimate how long and how much $$$, When done compare what it really takes to do it. Then you can decide if you want to tackle the rest. You will find if you take your estimate both time and money and triple it, you may be close!!
The bus is unique, It's warm, it's cozy and you want to fix this??    Jim

[Sam 4106]

Hi Airbag,
I like the ceiling, but it may look better in the picture than in person. The dark wood walls and cabinets are what is depressing to me. Brightening up the woodwork would go a long way toward making the interior seem more open and inviting. Maybe painting the cabinets a light, bright color and puting light colored wallpaper on the walls would be an inexpensive approach. A new lighter colored countertop and tabletop might also help without too much cost. Then new flooring and curtains could be all you need. Gee, spending other peoples money is sure fun!
Good luck with whatever you decide. Sam 4106

[Lee Bradley]

No No Keep it as it is just grow a ponytail and get some sandals. Get your wife to burn her bra and wear peasant skirts. You have a real period piece. 

[bobofthenorth]

Whatever you do keep it in condition so you can use it in some fashion.  It seems to me that the greatest dream killer with these projects is too much time between conception and use.  Keep it useable and it will be easier to get motivated to keep on keeping on.  As far as the looks of it goes - its whatever you can handle.  We were in one not that different last winter deep along the Pacific coast of Mexico.  The owners of that one didn't seem to mind the appearance and were completely enjoying their trip.  It certainly didn't matter to us what their coach looked like on the inside or the outside.  And it 100% didn't matter to the Mexicans.

[Lin]

All good advice up to this point.  The ceiling looks usable but could get tiring.  I could see where some people would find it annoying.  Our first bus had similar wood paneling which we painted.  It always amazes me what you can do with paint.  Because it is cheap, you can always redo the walls later on without feeling that you have lost anything.  If you are going to paint the paneling, I would do that before you attack the ceiling.  With the right colors, you may find the ceiling more acceptable.  I wonder whether there is a way to dye the ceiling carpet in place.  There are also relatively inexpensive and reasonably fast ways to approach the floor.  The biggest thing sounds like the bath, but since you already have the plumbing there, maybe you could just build a water tight enclosure all the way up and either hard plumb the shower nozzle or use a shower spray hose attachment.

[junkman42]

Airbag, Your bus looks warm and inviting, Mine looks sterile!  I am jealous because I do not have a tub.  Good luck with what ever You choose to do!  John

[Lin]

By the way, if I were to paint the panels, I might leave the cabinets alone at first.

[gus]

I love your interior.

Don't do a thing - well, maybe replace the carpet on the floor if it is beyond cleaning.

You have no idea of what you are considering getting yourself into - years of hard work when you could be relaxing.

Junkman's post about looking sterile says it all. This is the problem with all the  modern conversions with light furniture, light hard flooring. Really boring and they look like S&S inside!!

Anyway, why try to look like everyone else?? This is the last thing I want to do. I've never been able to understand this pack mentality??

Finally, you have answered your own question - "perfectly functional bus with all the comforts of home"!!

[belfert]

I thought I had seen everything, but an oriental rug on the ceiling?  I guess this is why we do it our way.

[Airbag]

From what I have heard from all you we think alike. It is usable the way it is. Maybe buy another bus and start from scratch while we enjoy this one? Sure is some good deals out there right now. Lots of factors to consider, we are busy now at the shop for some reason airplanes are coming out of the wood work. If it continues we might be able to buy another bus.

Some things have to be set right like the bathroom and the floor. You can see in the picture who ever built the bathroom did not own a plumb bob. The walls are canted toward the center of the bus and the pocket door of the bathroom weighs a ton and falls off its rollers.

I have a mental problem / when I start working on something I don't know when to stop disassembling. I suppose that is why I own an airplane restoration shop we tear em down till there is no fasteners left to remove. I am afraid I will get carried away with this bus and not have a bus to enjoy for a long time. I will just have to have my wife stand by me and not let me take to much apart at one time.

I really enjoy looking at all the fine interiors you guys and gals have created and it gets me inspired. How to break the news that we might buy another bus "hum" ??

By the way if you go to my website on the bottom of my posts you will see we vacuum form parts so if anybody is in need of a special widget for their bus made of plastic and want to thermoform it to shape I will be glad to do it for you, just buy the materials and I form it for you no charge. You can see the acrylic lenses we fabricate are very exotic in shape. I would like to use this capability for my bus interior in spots. This process is used in the auto industry for interior parts and maybe be usefull in our buses.

[Dreamscape]

Hi Airbag,

Very interesting job and site you have, nice looking Sunbeam, is it yours?

Just do your bus your way and you will be happy. Make a plan and get dirty. As has been said already, keep it usable while you work on making it your coach. Keep the wife happy and have fun!

Keep it level,

Paul