The Flxible Clipper Handbook
- by Pete Snidal (C)2007
Coming Up With A Floorplan
The floorplan is the first step in decision-making about your bus
conversion.
You'll probably draw a lot of floorplans before beginning actual
construction. They should be drawn as close to scale as possible. Start
with a rectangle the size of your interior floor, and draw in the
wheelwells, since they're the major feature you have to work around.
The Drop Floor
The drop floor is a major concern for most convertors. Some choose to
cover over the aisle, but then, you'll have to listen to the complaints
of every 6-footer who ever comes into your coach - and the headroom's
kind of nice for we short people, too! It's possible to retain most of
the drop-center aisle, after all, you'll have some dinette space and
counter space, and a closet, counter space, and possibly a settee of
some sort, all of which can easily be "stepped up" to. We chose to
cover the aisle at the rear, in our bedroom area, since neither of us
needs the headroom, and it gives a great under-floor storage space for
tools, a wine rack, or whatever comes to mind.
The Windows
The window placement is another consideration which needs to be worked
around with floor plan design. The dinette, for instance, wants to be
confined to a space between inter-window panels. The basic Clipper
gives more flxibility (sorry! - couldn't help it!) in this regard, since
there are more intra-window spaces of more sizes. The Visicoach gives
you 3 big windows and one small one, around which you must fit all your
"spaces."
The drawing shows how we worked it out. Down the right side, from the
rear, the long window and the short one define the bedroom area. A
bulkhead separates this from the dinette - one long window. The
remaining long window defines the space in front of the settee, which we
will initially use just for a settee/box over the wheelwell, and a
drawer cabinet. On the the left side, the first long window is covered,
and defines the area of the closet and refrigerator enclosure. The second
one the countertop and stove space, then the small window and remaining
large one the other side of the bedroom area. We decided to retain the
bulkhead separating the baggage area, and used Plexiglas windows to
admit more light.
One of our original floor plan
drawings - after a lot of thought, we switched the stove with the sink,
and added a wash sink to the bedroom desk.
The drawing is of course just one of many many ways you may choose to
partition the inside of your Clipper. In fact, by the time we finished
ours, there were modifications to this original plan. But it is madness
to begin without a fairly detailed plan in mind, as the cabinetwork and
interior bulkheads must be designed around the realities of plumbing,
tank positioning, etc.
House Wiring And Plumbing
It is a good idea to plan your house wiring carefully during the
floor planning stage. You'll need to run wiring for lights and power
points - receptacles - both 120 and 12V. You'll also require speaker
wires, TV conduit between outside antennas, cable connection points,
VCR and such. It's best to have the wires and connection points ready
so that you can string them under the panelling and within the
cabinetwork as you proceed with the "large muscle" activities of
interior finishing. Pulling down edges of panelling and slipping
wires up underneath for the whole length of the bus can get really
boring, sometimes. (Don't ask!) And the same applies, only moreso, for
plumbing. So, from the beginning, plan for eventual locations of sinks,
toilets, light fixtures and switches, heating ducts, thermostat, air
conditioners, power points, and cords for all this. Also for planned
locations of TV set, VCR, sat receiver, shore cable connection, and
therefore vhf connections and cable run in advance of panelling.
Personal Considerations
It seems everyone has a different idea of how they want their motorhome
to be arranged. From "party bus" through "band bus" to "full-time
live-aboard," the specs vary widely. But here are some considerations
that seem to me to be universal.
Entertaining
When you're on the road, entertaining becomes a real consideration.
In times of less than perfect weather, you're going to find yourself
inviting new (today) or old (yesterday) friends in for a chat or a
drink. I've always tended to think of which area to have where in terms of
closeness of potential users to the "inner circle." Meaning, for
example, that, since only a few of those who enter the rig will require
entry to the bedroom, the logical place is at the rear - furthest from
the door. Let's look at such considerations in detail:
Casual Seating
Short-term visitors should be able to find a spot to sit down fairly
close to the front door - no need for them to be traipsing the whole
length of your home, after all. So a casual seat or two up close to the
front is usually a good idea.
Closet Space
Don't forget Closet Space! If you don't have somewhere for wet coats,
for example, the first time you come in from a rainy day, you'll soon
discover a need for somewhere to put those wet coats! If your closet is
halfway up the bus - or worse still, at the very rear, in the bedroom -
you'll soon have a mess of muddy footprints testifying to the fact that
it may have been better to have a closet up front. - And this
consideration becomes even more important for the "casuals!"
Dinette Space
Where is your dinette space? Once again, most people prefer to have
this slighly more intimate "visitor area" as close to the door as
possible - no reason to have non-family personnel wandering all over
your home just to find a place to sit down for lunch or coffee!
The Galley
As we go down the list of need for access to the front door, next is the
food prep area. You will likely want refrigerator access to be close to
the visitor/hospitality area, and the sink and stove can be further
away - no need for "stranger" access to these, in most cases.
Toilet And Personal Washing
You will most likely want to place these behind the kitchen, although if
you envision a great deal of entertaining, possibly ahead.
The Bedroom
For reasons already covered by now, most people will put the bedroom at
the very rear. - And don't forget, in your planning, an emergency exit
of some kind. Putting your bedroom at the rear means escape
considerations - No fun to wake up to a fire in the kitchen in the middle
of the night and not have a rear entrance - a pop-out window at the very
least. We have one of those, and a doorway at bunk level into the
baggage area as well.
General Stowage
This should be a consideration from the beginning of your planning
process. You will want to have a place for provisions - groceries,
beverages, etc., pots and pans, extra clothing, dirty laundry, trash,
books, puzzles, games, etc., tools, spare parts, the list can be endless.
These can be under seats, the kitchen cabinets, overhead cabinets, the
base of the closet, under the bed, and, in the case of the Clipper
Baggage Room, closet space there as well.
Summary
I hope this quick overview will prove to be of help in planning your
interior. These are only some of the considerations, and please bear in
mind that it is very important to get these properly planned for.
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