READY - GET SET - GO.

Back home - oops - back in NZ , we had no home .

Fortunately for us - life long friends opened their hearts and their home to us.
The layout of their home allowed for us to use 2 bedrooms ( one as a TV/lounge room ) with a bathroom and toilet . Our area could be cut off from the rest of house by a sliding door in the hallway and there was a backdoor we could use to come and go without disturbing anyone.
It was a really good setup - we were very appreciative.

We moved in and put a truckload of stuff into storage . It was September - it's only for 3 or 4 months we said - Yeah Right !

Next , up to the bus in storage, to check out some detailed parts of the design.

We spent days removing luggage racks and stripping the interior . Literally thousands of screws and lots of brackets and fittings went to the scrap heap.

Then , check out the Concept.
We were not having an aisle layout. Where there is an aisle down the middle with units / seats / etc lined up each side.
Our concept necessitated a centre door and it could be done - great.
The bedroom was at the back , over the motor.
The floor would be one step up from rest to be over the wheel arches. Looking good so far.

The en-suite would fit as planned , along with the linen cupboard , clothes and shoes storage and wet weather gear ( we were yachties in the past . )

The kitchen/ dining/ lounge would fit OK and the cab was planned to convert to a computer work station/ office area.

The Concept  would work , now to finish the detailing .

Our Detail drawings were done to a 1:20 scale and were quite specific , down to plus or minus a millimetre in places but with some non critical areas where say 20mm or so could be added or lost.

While we progressed the details we were also out looking for someone to do the fit out.
We had been to some shows during the last two years , talking to Suppliers and coach builders/fit out companies.
There was three likely contenders , based at Dairy Flat , Whangaparaoa and Whangarei.
All three were small family businesses , which suited us well.
After many meetings and negotiations  we did a deal with the Dairy Flat based Frontier Motor Homes.
Mike and Kathy and their small team had to finish a 10.5 metre conversion and we would be next.

However , the Big Yellow Fella was slow to finish .
There were many extras  and it only left the workshop on December 24th.

Patience is a Virtue , so the saying goes but is was a frustrating delay.

After the Christmas Holidays we were all set to GO.