Geraldton Oct 2014

Climbing Gear Guide 2014: Editors’ Choice Awards | Climbing

Climbing Gear Guide 2014: Editors’ Choice Awards | Climbing

Minvani Visits Mini Craft

The Minivan went to the mechanic so I though I give you a look at Mini Craft in Bayswater Perth WA 

Taking delivery of our Hino rainbow bus.

Its claimed that to convert a bus to a motor home takes 800 hours. By the time we took delivery the project was already four months in. Maybe at best, a couple of hours down. All big projects are nothing more than a lot of little projects put together. We were on our way. 

You can secure a permit on line to move a unregistered vehicle. However, as the bus was still on TC plates the bus company was good enough to let us use the plates to get it home. Go West, the company we bought the bus from are great company to deal with. Professional, friendly and very help full. A kind friend drove it as neither of us could.

The first job on the list was the windscreen. Twenty cent size chips meant that it needed to be replaced. A trade person was secured and agreed to carry the work out on site as long as I helped. Perfect. Most companies needed to have the bus at their workshop. Work took about an hour. Not much change from a $1000 but cheaper than I thought.

If you are thinking of using one of the pre made Fiberglass bathrooms and need a windscreen change. Now is the time to put it in. This will eliminate the need to cut the bathroom/shower cubicle to fit through the door. More on bathrooms later.

Mountain Quarry Photo Synth

This photo syth is from my home crag in Green mount hill Perth Western Aust.

Make certain to click full screen

POLISH PILLAR,HA LONG BAY, VEITNAM

THIS IS A PHOTO SYNTH THAT'S MADE UP OF HUNDREDS OF INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS. 

CLICK ON AND CHECK IT OUT

This is the most photographed island in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. It is a Trad climb of 55m. Pictures taken in April 2009, a number of different photographers, with a special mention to Kristal Stys. Climbers include Andy stys, Mel Nisbitt, Andreas Feichter, Andrei Balaj, Christian Hasler, Richard Martinez, Tina Kapoor and Zee

[CHECK OUT POLISH PILLAR FROM HA LONG BAY VIETNAM]

intro no fixed abode

The Day Of The Auction

The Day Of The Auction we arrived early. In order for me to check out the bus for myself. In the process of inspection we noticed the shadows of the decals of the company that owned the bus. A phone number could be made out, so we called them. After answering all our questions about the bus on auction. They explained that they had a "Sister" bus they considered to be better. It has air con. Less on the clock.  They had thought the auction process took too long and was too costly. In short If we could come up with $8000 then we could have this one.

The deal was struck. We stayed for the auction and the other bus went for $8500. It would not have made any difference as an older couple, who we had noticed earlier really had the heart set on it. They out bid every one, from first bid to last. No one was getting in the way of them getting that bus.

Pre Purchase what we thought and what we learnt.

As with most who start out with the dream of converting a bus to a motor home I wanted a 'full' size bus. Thinking basically that the extra space offered would make life on the road more comfy. However, champagne taste with beer budget. More importantly the on going cost of running a full size coach would mean we would have to work more. So with further research we narrowed the field to two. Based on size and availability. The Toyota coaster or the Hino 145 rainbow. With the Hino our first choice due to the flat floor and more usable space inside offered by the square body shape.

We stared to look in all the usual spots, gum tree, eBay, Quokka, Trading post as well as a local auction company where we had bought items for our eBay store from time to time. 

Quite early in the piece, so early in fact we had not even saved enough money to cover the budget that we had planned to spend on the bus. We had decided that  our budget would be $15000. We  thought that's what we needed. In order  to purchase us a bus good enough to kit out and live in. At this point we had only half that. As with most things the more time and effort put into it the better results that is obtained. This is true for buying any vehicle. So I thought we would start looking early and build some time, even if we really didn't have the cash. 

So we received an email about an auction for a 145 Hino rainbow . Perfect, the right model and right hear in Perth. On the day of the auction I inspected the bus that my wife and friend we good enough to do a pre inspection on. It looked good. 1987 model 350 on the clock. Good for its age. Could not wait for the Auction to Start.

We Sell Stuff On Ebay 

 

Our first stop on "Our life on the road!"

Our Hino bus that we bought just on two years ago is now on the road and we have been living in her for almost a month. We have not left Perth yet as my wife, who is the main driver, has a few more days of work left. However, it will not be long. Just enough time for one last garage sale then we are hitting Kalbarri.

Murchison River Gorge, Kalbarri, W.A. Aust.

Anyway, let's not get to far ahead of our self. Really this hole adventure started with wanting to climb more and work less. I had always had dreams of decking out a bus and living in it. I must admit these dreams were always with me alone, who would have thought I would have married a wonderful women who more than happy to share this adventure. As I alluded to above both my wife and my self are climbers. Have been for some time. It shapes our world.

Climbing

So this blogg will  not only be about climbing, but life on the road. How we make money, where we going what we are doing and who we meet. And of course any challenges we face along the way. From time to time I discus some of the process in decking out the bus and explain why we choose one option over another. Happy to answer any questions on bus build, but by no means am I a professional just one man trying to finish his project.