So long term plans were that I wanted to head to Tasmania to have a look around. Tasmania, the land of beautiful forests and waterways, cheap property and “old school” values and sense of community. Also notably I guess more recently, voted the top bogan state in Australia.
She was a good looking coaster bus, in a rugged sort of way.
After much searching around for vehicles I decided to go for Tru Blue a 1993 long wheel base Toyota coaster lovingly set up by an elderly couple who had owned her for about 10 years. One of the main aspect that attracted me to this vehicle was the quality of fit-out and the solar set up. Over half the roof was covered in solar panels, only the unisolar 64W panels, but they were enough to power the fridge, lights, tv etc for extended camping away. This helped me to first realize the possibilities of actually living grid free, you could do it.
The internal fit out was of very high standard.
As you can see above, the fit out was quality, everything you needed water, stove, shower, toilet, big fridge/freezer solar on the roof.
There was one aspect I wasn’t particularly keen on though, the wall between the main living area and the cab.
This wall has to go
Having this wall just behind the driver and passenger seat really makes the bus seem a lot smaller. I’m not really sure why they did it, there are blinds and curtains all around the front windows to keep the light out as well as a wrap around shade cloth cover for the out side. Removing this wall will really open things up a lot. One of the great aspects of these converted buses is that your windscreen is like a large lounge room window. You park up in a beautiful spot and gaze out of your huge front window/windscreen.
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