interior design

[mikke60]

hi there, does anyone out there have their driving compartment separated from the rest of their coach?  thanks, mike

[lostagain]

No.

But at times, particularly at night, I wish I did.

When I drove the hockey team, I would turn the interior lights off as soon as we got going. The reflection in the windshield is too bright. I would tell them to use the reading lights.

An other issue was the loud volume when they watched movies, which was most of the time. I wore ear plugs.

I have ear plugs to wear now when the kids and my wife watch a movie going down the road. The TV is right above me.

Head sets would be nice both for the passengers and the driver's peace and quiet.

At least a wall behind the driver's seat would be nice.

JC

[Kevin Warnock]

I have a wall and house door right behind the driver's seat. I love it, and I don't know why this is not the standard for all Class A style buses and motorhomes. The huge glass area of the driver's area is hard to insulate. I just let that area when parked stay unconditioned.

A big additional bonus is that there are two doors an intruder must break through before they are in the living quarters.

Finally, when I get around to installing driver's AC, I will only need to cool that well defined area.

Kevin Warnock
http://kevinwarnock.com - my blog

[johns4104]

Mike I see pros and cons.
I have a swivel on the drivers and pass. seat, so its part of the living area.
I also travel with my family so i could not just ac the front section.
so to answer your question, it depends on what you want/need!

[Uglydog56]

I have an insulated sliding door between my living room and the rest of the bus. Leaves the noise in the back and I only have to heat and cool the one room while running down the road. 35 footer, I need every inch
for living.

[Kenny]

Why not install a curtain - Kenny

[robertglines1]

I noticed mike ask question but never said why?/  doesn't like family    to much noise    hauling prisoners   .  they smell.?  To each his own we all build as we like.  I use every inch of our bus as it main function is living in and not the travel part. If I spent more time on the road than at my destination I might want to be separated. Do it your way for your way of life.  Give and take for all decisions.   Bob

[TomC]

One of the advantages of a transit bus-they have slanted windshields to keep night time reflection off the driver's eyes. Course, don't do much night time driving either-prefer during the day to see the scenery (I didn't do much night time driving when I drove truck either-liked to see the scenery then too).  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

Our driving area, which is downstairs, is naturally separated from the living area upstairs.  Since it's just the two of us on the bus, 99.9% of the time, we love this arrangement.  We have no steering wheel or other driving accouterments in our living room, we have an unobstructed view from our easy chairs out the front window, and we don't have to heat or cool the driving area when parked.

The down side comes in on those rare occasions when we have guests aboard.  With only two seats downstairs, and seven upstairs, it is inevitable that one of us will ride upstairs with the guests, leaving the driver basically cut off from everyone -- you can't really even hear what anyone is saying up there.  In fact, if we did this more often, I think I would put in an intercom system similar to a baby monitor, where I could hear what everyone is saying, and push a button to speak if needed.  When we have more than one guest aboard, sometimes folks will rotate down to the navigator seat so I can have some company.

Overall I much prefer this arrangement to the conventional "Class-A" layout where the driver seat is in the living space.  But if we were a family of three or more I would prefer the more conventional layout.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[mikke60]

The reason i asked was noice on the road. My bus is still under construction so still quite a few rattkes

Thanjs for input. Mike

[robertglines1]

how about a temp curtain or wall then you can remove later if desired.  But remember do it your way.  Bob

[mikke60]

The reason i asked was noice on the road. My bus is still under construction so still quite a few rattkes

Thanks for input. Mike

[belfert]

I sealed off the driver's area of my bus on the way back from Arcadia in early 2011.  My limited heat couldn't heat the whole bus so I stopped at a Home Depot and bought some 1/2" pink foam insulation sheets to make a temporary wall behind the driver.  It actually worked pretty good.