Bus floorplan layout resources?

[windtrader]

We are planning for an incinerator toilet. No black tank for us.

Had never heard of such a pooper. Are you planning to be hooked to a pole most of the time? It seems the electrical versions pull some serious amps to get the job done. Wonder how that throws off the solar and battery calcs off? lol

[epretot]

We will have shore power, solar and generator power.

I'm fortunate enough to have an electrician and a low voltage expert helping me to design and build the system.

[dtcerrato]

Too bad they don't have them in pill form!

[chessie4905]

As long as you and others close by can deal with the smell while burning it.

[freds]

We are planning for an incinerator toilet. No black tank for us.

I had a friend who worked as a port crane operator and since they were 200ft off the ground they had incinerator toilets. First that I heard of such a unit.

Of course we hear of Vietnam era stories of burning the $#!% collection with diesel fuel which was a despised/punishment job.

[epretot]

As long as you and others close by can deal with the smell while burning it.

I have 5 kids. All but one are teenagers now.

I'm immune to the smell of poo.

[chessie4905]

yeah. doing away with black tank, then the composting toilet doesnt work out. then tear out and install black tank.

[Jim Blackwood]

That's just how those oddball toilet plumbing situations happen. Try something new in the build, end up having to step back, and now the drain has to travel and the tank gets short so there's enough slope. Nevermind that it now has to go through the generator.

Jim

[richard5933]

yeah. doing away with black tank, then the composting toilet doesnt work out. then tear out and install black tank.

The newer composting toilets are doing quite well. I understand that not everyone is able to get onboard with them, but I'm seeing them installed on some pretty high-end narrowboats in the UK as well as some pretty nice RV rigs in the US. They don't have the stink most people assume, mostly due to the separation of liquid and solid waste.

I've seen lots of reviews of them after owners have replaced a black tank toilet with a composting one, and none of them have indicated any intent to go back.

Would they be for everyone? Of course not. If you have 5 kids or regularly travel with more than just 2-3 people they probably would need emptying more often than I'd prefer, and I'm sure that there are some who just won't like the general concept.

One way or another though, we're all going to need our fecal facilities.

[wolrah]

Sorry for the delay in response, some mistaken math about the end date of a lease led to some temporary panic around my household and I've had "more important" things to think about.

My understanding is you have not yet picked or found the vehicle? Good suggestion above is look at all of them you can. Doing slides? No slides? Big difference on what you can do.

Correct, I have not picked a vehicle, I know a general range of vehicles I'd like to stick within if I do in fact go with a bus, but even that's not entirely certain.  Right now I'm at the "draw up layouts and see if I can make it fit" stage.

I would like to get away without slides if I can, both for avoiding slide-related problems and being able to potentially start with a passenger bus rather than having to find an existing coach that was either close enough to what I want or bad enough to be worth gutting.

Long story short my girlfriend and I both work from home and would like to work from the road, potentially turning in to full timing, but we need more than just a place to put a laptop.  We have desktops with multiple large monitors and need more desk space than the common "replace dinette with desk" setups deliver.  We also both like a lot of bed space, so the name of the game is basically "can I fit a king bed and two decent size desks in the available space without sacrificing livability too much when we're not working?"

Here's what Custom Coach was doing in the 70s for design layouts. This is my bus, #1915.

That's closer to what I'm looking for, dimensions of the spaces available to work within.



As for toilet talk, while I have looked at the idea of various alternative toilets when considering a skoolie or box truck build, I feel like if I were to use a proper nice bus I'd want to have a normal sewage system.

[usbusin]

Have you seen Cherie and Chris' website https://www.technomadia.com/?  They are doing what you are talking about for quite a few years.

[wolrah]

Have you seen Cherie and Chris' website https://www.technomadia.com/?  They are doing what you are talking about for quite a few years.

The name "Technomadia" feels familiar so I think I may have stumbled upon them a few years ago during a short lived fascination with the GM buses, but I hadn't come back across them recently.  Their layout is actually very close to what I've been picturing, so that's a good sign for it being possible to accomplish what I want in a larger bus.

[windtrader]

Just get a early 90's MCI 45' bus. You have lots of room to make a living room/big office for all your stuff, nice sized kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. You could easily make a master bedroom big enough to contain one office and one in the living area.

[Jim Blackwood]

My '96 floorplan is somewhat similar. Queen sized bed in the back (could fit a king but a bit more cramped) with wardrobes and headboard storage. Next window section is bathroom and shower. Toilet at the forward end of that compartment puts the drain over the rear of the rear baggage bay. Next window is desk and workbench (windows are about 5 ft). Then kitchen/dining and living areas. Could have moved the bathroom section forward one window for another desk area but that means removing the overhead air-con units which I wasn't willing to do.

Jim

[richard5933]

If you want king size sleeping space you might do better with two twins against the outside walls and a center isle. This gives much easier access and much better walking space. I've seen some do this in a way that the beds can slide together at night to make a larger single bed.