The day we bought the Bus.
October 2021 and we’re sat on the sofa watching YouTube videos of people finally getting out and about exploring after all the lockdowns due to Covid 19. As most of you may already know, I’ve been living off grid in my vans since 2017. I’m currently in a 2007 VW transporter which I converted simply for work and to escape to the mountains as I qualified as a Mountain Leader in the summer. We instantly decided we needed to get exploring ourselves and even live OffGrid due to the rumored rising energy cost due in 2022. The only way we could see ourselves doing this would be to buy a larger van I’ve ever converted as they would be two of us living in this space, not only that, we would want a bathroom, toilet, and space to Eat, Sleep, Dance, and Explore.
28th October 2021, I found a rare Mercedes 16-seater minibus that had been in use for a local council in its early years, then a wheelchair-accessible bus for a company called SevaCareGroup. I went to view it and take it for a test drive, although it had some mechanical issues, it was perfect for us due to its size, windows, height, doors, and a bonus, the guy had already started to convert the bus by stripping all the seats out and ceiling. The price was haggled due to work needed on the suspension, service, and brakes, basically getting it ready to pass an MOT but overall we got a bargain on the van.
A week after viewing the van, we arranged to pay the amount agreed upon and drove her to a garage in Sheffield for a month while they worked on her around jobs they already had booked in. We bought the bus for £2500 and the garage fees were £1624.09.
Total cost to date: £4124.90
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