Alternatives

I've spent quite a while thinking of alternative ways of doing things for the bus. In no particular order, here are some of the ideas.

• Windows - these could be removed and sheets of steel riveted over the openings. The problem is that waterproof rivets (which the bus manufacturers use) seem to be desperately hard to find in the shops. Perhaps it's a case of being forced to order from China. Another alternative would be just to hang a bamboo curtain over the windows (after making sure that they could not be opened from the outside by any wannabe low-lifes).
• The mattresses - these quite simply need to be burnt. The mattress side of the bus needs to be turned into storage boxes where I can store my stuff. That includes a tall closet so I can hang my long clothes.
• The fridge - that can stay but it needs an inverter to be installed. Fortunately there seems plenty 120v wiring installed.
• The hot water heater - that just needs to go. Far better to have an instant hot water unit and a pump to pump water from a holding tank. That makes far more use of the limited space.
• The bath - that needs to go. There's precious little point in having a bath as it uses way too much water. Far better to replace the bath with a shower unit. 
• The sinks/handbasins - some of those need to go. In fact, probably all of them. They're way too big for what's needed.
• The cupboards - they seem just to be way too deep. Too hard to find things in them. For some unknown reason cupboards all seem to be 18 inches deep which is at least twice as deep as most people need. Things simply get lost in such deep cupboards. In fact, I'd be in favor of 12 inch deep cupboards. Incidentally, the cupboards don't have locks. The doors are secured by bungee cords when the bus is moving. Needless to say, the contents will be jogging about the place too.
• The toilet - that's very simple - there isn't one. It's a case of installing one. For the moment, perhaps a porta-potty will be best.
• The rear shelf - that has metal fatigue and needs to be removed. At the same time as that's removed, the front tow hook will also be removed. No need for it. 
• A fellow a few days ago reckoned the governor could be removed but pointed out that as the busses are already low-enough geared, there's little point as the engine will just scream and be more likely to burn out. 55 is ample for most needs and nobody expects a schoolbus to go fast.
• Color scheme - I've been running color schemes over in mind and have been thinking largely about grey. It depends I suspect on what the cheapest color of suitable paint is available at the time of painting. The paint, of course, will be applied with a roller rather than with a brush or a spray can for ease and simplicity. Nobody will really care that there are ripples in the paint of a 20 year old bus!

Without a doubt, there's a lot that needs to be done. A lot of it once the sanitation is sorted out, is something that can be done while living in the bus.