possible 4104 floorplan... comments?

[Barn Owl]

I am going to brag a little here. My PO set up one of the most livable floor plans that I have seen on a '35 bus (My photos I have posted in the photo thread are before I modified it). Without having to reinvent the wheel and some moderate modifications I easily adapted it to my family of eight. Having been there done that I see problems with your preliminary design. To much space devoted to areas that you will not spend much time in and space not utilized for multifunction and human happiness. By far the biggest mistake converters make is trying to cram to much into to little space. RV living is very different than home living. Adjustments to lifestyles have to be made and the family has to rethink the way things are done. Have you gone through the archives on this topic? There is some good stuff that has been written, tried and tested to work. If you need more details I would be glad to talk to you. You can PM me if you would like and we can exchange phone numbers because I am not willing to type out everything I feel I know about this (If you choose not to I am not offended in any way, I have my opinions, but I am very supportive of just about anything). Good luck, and you are doing the right thing by putting up plans for review.

[Mex-Busnut]

Most honorable Mr. Barn Owl:

I sent you a PM.

73,

Steve, XE1UFO - KA5SUT

[MEverard]

I am with Len. The layout he posted is a typical 4104 layout. However, I don't like the walk through bath. I have a side aisle at the bath so that I can accomodate a full bath on the other side. My aisle runs to the back so I enter the bedroom on the side with the bed on the other wall. The smaller busses don't allow for all of the ammenities that the larger coaches do, but I wouldn't trade mine for anything else. When my wife and I retire we may  have to go to something bigger, but for now it is perfect. You really need to walk around in one to know the constraints you are up against. In time you will figure out what works, and then you can start the construction.

Good Luck
Mike

[robertglines1]

I have been in Marvin Pack[ Gommer]  on the other boards bus it has a very nicely done floor plan. Might try to get ahold of him.  Bob

[LesBerg]

wow. you guys flat out rock..  Sorry for the relayed reply, but the wife has been bogarting the internet  for the last few days - pending job interviews and contracting meetings and such.

Let me try to answer questions in order...

Len:
I agree completely on all points. It looked good until I realized just how small all the dimensions were. That particular design has already been scrapped.
Thanks for the info on the wall thickness, too.

Ed:
I started visualizing the overhead cabinets and that occurred to me. I'd been telling my wife that it was a compromise too, but I hadnt realized it to the full extent. We've scrapped O/H cabinets everywhere but in the kitchen area.

Tenor:
Thanks for the shower tip. That particular problem hadn't occurred to me.  We don't have a coach at all yet, but we want a 4104 or a 4106. Partly the styling of the coach, partly care given to the overall design. And I'm a sucker for SHINY.   

TomC:
That's the kind of info I'm digging for! We've already scrapped the wrap-around couch and are planning on a sleeper-sofa of some type. The 2" walls was the assumption for the exterior walls - I was hoping to use plywood for the interior walls.  I had to guess on the available room at the front and rear of the coach - I haven't seen any pictures that really show how much room there is.

Robert:
Thanks for the insight. Again, I was making guesstimates hoping to get exactly this kind of feedback from those of you who have 'gone before'. All of the suggestions and advice given here is going into my 'notes' for laying out the design.

happy;
believe it or not, my mom suggested the very same thing.  I'm going to see about building some basic mockup parts, but probably after we get a walk through of a 4104 and some good video and measurements. Thanks for the tip on the washer combo, too.

artvonne:
I'm going to take that 'take' on the interior and start another from scratch and see what I can come up with. I like it. I'll post what I currently have in a few minutes, though it doesn't have the changes suggested here. My wife made the same observation about wanting to be in one first to get the feel of it. I think you're both right.

luvrbus:
I can't really put a finger on any single reason to not to. Mostly we want to keep a small footprint in all dimensions. Partly for maneuverability in tight places. Partly because we like the design of the 4104/4106 buses.

BarnOwl:
I saw some of those pics and I'm planning on chasing them down for ideas.

MEverard:
I did a 'long' bath down one side with a center aisle.  I'll post it and see what you think.


Again, thank you everyone, for the feedback.  I'll make some changes and post a new plan.

[luvrbus]

I have never been in a 4104 that had a nice bedroom because of the wasted space in the back some build cabinets install mirrors still a lot of wasted space and head room on the 4104 because of the design,still the 4104 an 06 are my favorite GM buses but I never owned one  

good luck

[zubzub]

I think the trick to getting the bedroom to work on an '04 is to make the bed deck higher so that it can rest on the "seat shelf" that takes up the last 18" (aprox.) of the interior.  I like a higher bed so this works for me.   Especially as the PO of my bus wasted so much space in that area.