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Building a Bus Barn
I’ve decided to finally bite the bullet and build the bus barn of my dreams. I’m still in the planning stages and am seeking input from those of you who have already built them, or just any good ideas that might make sense.
Here’s what I’ve got so far:
The building will be custom designed to match the exterior decor of my home, which is a flat roofed southwest style structure. The parking area is 20 x 60 feet with a 14 foot wide door on the street side, and a 12 foot wide door on the back side. The bus will not exit the back side because of insufficient turning radius, however, small vehicles will have no problem. Both doors are 16 foot high.
The interior of the garage will have an 18 foot ceiling. My plans call for a central compressed air system with convience outlets near each corner of the bus. The floor plan also includes a small guest quarters (15×31) and a workshop 28×14. The entire building footprint is approximately 34×60 feet. The building will also be air conditioned.
We’ll also have full water/sewer hookups and 50A electric for the bus, plus 220V in the shop.
We considered a floor pit however it seems to be a large undertaking with little direct benefit. In other words, I don’t really see myself working under the bus very often, if at all. One “gee whiz” item I’ve been contemplating are LED light strips embedded in the floor as a guide for parking, and just for good looks overall.
So, what am I missing? Is the parking space ample enough? My goal was a minimum 6 foot permieter around the entire coach and we’ve nearly met that. What other kinds of “must haves”, or “really like to haves” are there?
thanks in advance, -fred
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8 Replies
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That sounds awesome! Unless you don’t need the extra floor space, you could put the guest quarters above workshop.
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Since you are building the new garage from scratch, you really have to have a pit. Even if you don’t use it yourself, you might have a tech come out to work on the coach. From what I’ve been reading, it seems that when a coach reaches 10 yrs. old they start to have air leaks.
If you can do some things yourself, that is one thing that is apparently very cost effective to manage on your own.
Also, if you ever sell the house, that garage will be a big plus for someone and a pit will be icing on the cake.
Good luck, it sure sounds like you are on the right track.
MM.
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Fred,
You really do not need a pit. That is until you need a pit.
If you never become a bus mechanic, as an owner the pit gives you an opportunity to easily do comprehensive pre-trip inspections. You quickly find hub seal leaks, you can drain your air tanks and check for moisture, you can verify you have no loose or chafing parts, and when you do start to get annoying leaks it makes chasing them quite a bit easier. You can more easily monitor brake pad thickness, you can see those ripped, cracked or missing dust boots on the suspension or brake calipers that techs ignore and don’t tell you about, and you have safe access to the underside of the coach if you do choose to do any maintenance or mechanical work. The cost to do a pit is very inexpensive if you do it during the construction phase of building.
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Depending on the locality, you may run into significant restrictions on installing a pit. Think “confined space entry requirements”.
If you build in a farming area, not so much of an issue, but in city, could be a big issue.
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I wish I had a pit, I do not do much work on my coach myself, but when I built my barn 6 years ago I did not think about a pit, not untill I saw jons did I realize what a bonus they are, For me it would enable me to look under the coach and see any problems that may be starting and do little things myself, make sure if you do a pit you put plenty of light in it! gary
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Be sure to make your pit long enough so you can enter and exit when the coach is all the way down.
JIM
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Fred, I’m right behind you in planning mine. It will be a 24×52 with a 12×18 office on the side. I’m waiting on a setback variance to get started. It was originally a 20×60 but I couldn’t make the turn in from the side street. I am going with a 25′ long pit so I can get to anything depending on whether I back or pull in straight. Good luck on yours. I will learn to post pictures.
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You need a pit!
Also, why are your doors so high? 14′ high doors are plenty for even the highest H!
Make sure you have drains in the floor in the right spot.
It sounds like a great Bus Barn.
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