This family of four have no regrets trading in the bricks and mortar for the road and rubber!
Our next guests are Ben, Caroline, Bella, Penny and the ‘84 Express! In late 2017 this adventurous tribe set out in the ‘84 Express to experience bus life as a family. After a long search all across Victoria, Ben and Caroline found her – a magnificent school bus conversion. Already decked out with an open plan living area, bunk beds for the girls and all the other essentials, the only thing needed was a full tank of fuel and a destination!
Name of the Van:
84 Express
Size of the Bus:
10 tonnes
Vane Make:
84 Bedford
84 EXPRESS
ONBOARD
Imagine what it would be like starting a business while living in a bus!! We’ll that’s exactly what this family did by making elegant and practical baby wraps!
Living in a small space can take some getting used to, so why not do it properly with rolls of material, sewing machines and kids! Caroline built her business over the past few years to help the family finances along.
Ben also chips in by getting on the tools as a carpenter.
INTERESTING FACTS
The ‘84 Express has 600W of solar panels that powers their 12V needs. 305 Ah of batteries, 150 litres of fresh water, toilet, shower, gennie and aircon all combine to allow a comfortable couple of weeks of grid. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget Caroline’s favourite appliance, the Thermomix!
A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS
WHERE DID YOU FIND THE BUS?
- We found it online. Once we sold the house and got back to Victoria, we started searching really hard across every website. We drove all over Victoria looking at buses and we saw this one. The most difficult thing with old buses, is their roadworthiness.
- It took us around a month and a half to find this bus (the ‘84 Express). We found there are a lot of buses on the market.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BUS LIFE?
- The freedom! Tomorrow you can just drive south, north or west. Just go somewhere new and stay, and if you don’t like it, then just move again and keep cruising around.
