Jeannie's Reo Bus Conversion

Text and photos: Sharkey

This bus has a surprising amount of free space. My first impression upon entering was that it might have been widened to 8'6", but it is standard width. Skylights help create an open feeling, and windows are placed with light and view in mind. The kitchen is well stocked with cookbooks, and serves as the main entry from the rear, enclosed mud room.

Another view into the kitchen, including the wood stove, which is a mica-faced heater with the metal enclosure removed, making it much more quaint, and allowing the top surface to be used for cooking and heating. On the right is Jeannie's desk and filing cabinet. Many plants flourish in the sunny interior.

This bus was recently retrofitted with hydronic radiant floor heating, and a new certified second growth fir floor over the Warmboard floor system. She is very comfortable in the place, and even though she is using a little more heating energy than before, the floor heat is quiet and too nice to pass up.

Jeannie is a massage therapist, and occasionally sets up her table to accommodate clients in the bus.

The old Reo features 'Comet Power' emblems on each side of the hood. Several years have passed since this rig was started, but as Jeannie owns the forty acres where she lives, moving may not be necessary for a while.

Jeanne added the mud room to the bus, enclosing the back porch. A shower stall is tucked into the left hand corner, and now houses the electric water heater and mechanical system for the floor heating system. Jeannie is an avid gardener, and young plants get an early start on spring in the ample window. The mobile home in the background is rented by friends and is a source of community and income.