Living in a Bus Step 12: THE BUS IS FINISHED!!!

My bus is finally finished!!! Well, it’s livable at least.  And I’ve hit the road on my first solo-road trip.  I’m driving across the west from Missouri to San Francisco, California, and then it’s off to Burning Man. My family had a nice party for me in which we set up everything in the bus.  And then I had another party to celebrate with friends.

We had a blast picking out a name for the bus. I set up a little survey on and had my friends vote on a name.  The winner was Lovely Rita.

Naturally, I had to paint the name on the top before taking my trip out west. The paint job is pretty ghetto, so I’ll have to come up with something better.

Now that the bus is finished, I’ve spent my first couple of nights in it. The futon is surprisingly comfortable. However, there are a few temporary solutions that I would like to sort out and make more permanent later on:

• mini-fridge (I’m using a cooler at the moment until I can come up with a better way to power a small refrigerator.)
• solar panels (my brother mounted a generator on the back, but my electrical needs are so low, that I’d like to have solar panels just to top off the battery.)
• compost toilet (I made a compost toilet and I’ve only used it once. I’m not sure yet how I’ll like it. Eventually, I’d like to buy a proper one.)
• gray water tank (In my haste to start my road trip, I forgot to install a gray water tank. I’m sure it’s against the law to let the water just run through the drain onto the ground. Eventually, I’ll need to fix this.)
• shower (I bought one of those solar-heated shower bags that people use for camping. I haven’t used it yet, but I’ll try it out soon. It’d be nice to have a proper shower.)

I have plenty of time to invest in this bus, but one thing at a time. For now, I just need to get used to driving it and living in it. What better way than to take a 30 hour trip out west! Fortunately, I’ve got a great family cheering me on. And now my first road trip begins! Wish me luck!