Converting old buses to custom motorhomes and full-time tiny homes isn't anything new, but it's significantly increased in popularity over the last few years. However, we've seen very few do-it-yourself builds that make such creative use of wood for the entire interior. The result is something you simply must see to believe.
Clint Lewing is the owner of this 1977 MCI charter bus, and let's take a moment to appreciate the polished aluminum exterior of this classic machine. According to the video from FLORB on YouTube, he bought the rig for around $8,500 and it already had a generator and power inverter built-in. Being a former charter bus it has plenty of windows, and unlike school buses, it also has prolific storage underneath. In short, it's a great candidate for a cool RV conversion.
That brings us to the amazing interior. In the video, Lewing states he's not a professional carpenter but you'd never know it with the floor, ceiling, and even much of the furniture being various types of wood that he cut, shaped, and finished himself. The wood trim up high in the main living area? He hit it with a wood-burning kit to create the abstract patterns, then filled the gaps with colored epoxy. There's more colored epoxy on the massive walnut table that also stretches into the kitchen counter, and the theme continues in the bathroom and bedroom. It's literally art you can live in, and we've never seen anything like it.
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Aesthetics aside, this old bus is packed with new technology, not the least of which being a high-definition 55-inch flat-screen TV that electrically rises from a custom entertainment cabinet. Two 1,500-watt amplifiers and a bevy of speakers provide aural entertainment, and the bus packs enough power to keep the party going for months. The generator is plumbed to the bus's 144-gallon fuel tank which can charge 10 deep-cycle batteries, and Lewing claims he went 10 months before needing to charge them.
That's quite impressive considering there are no solar panels on the roof of this rig. A ladder near the rear of the bus takes occupants to the upper deck, which is literally a wood deck that spans nearly the entire roof. It's the ultimate outdoor space for grilling or soaking up the sun, and it's a very appropriate feature for this wood-adorned motoring masterpiece.
How much did the entire build cost? Lewing doesn't offer a specific figure but he says it did take three years to complete, and that's what he views as the primary investment. As such, if there's any truth to the old adage of time is money, then this beautiful bus is priceless.
Sources: FLORB via YouTube, Clint Lewing / Instagram