Most people think that the layout of a school bus is set in stone. Well, it’s not. When it comes to school buses, the design is up to the coachbuilder. With that said, many coaches can have similar layouts.
I believe it’s safe to say that almost all school buses have a certain basic layout, but with a few minor differences in how they are built.
In this article, we’ll cover how you can modify your floor plan by using a specific bus model as a starting point for your floor plan design.
Find a Bus You Want to Modify
The first step is to find a bus that you want to modify. This bus can be from the same manufacturer, or even from another manufacturer. You don’t have to find one of the more expensive models.
Read the Coachbuilders Floor Plan Instructions
As you can see in the image above, there are a lot of notes in the coachbuilder’s floor plan instructions. I have included those notes in this article as well so that you can follow along with me.
However, we also want to stress that you should also read your coachbuilder’s floor plan instructions very carefully, and make sure that they are complete before beginning your project.
Select a Coachbuilder (or Build Your Own)
If you have a basic idea of what you want your floor plan layout to look like, then we would recommend looking for a coachbuilder who has similar layout plans for their buses.
You may be able to find one of these coaches online or in an RV showroom near you, or even by asking friends who have bought coaches from the same coachbuilder.
It’s not always easy finding someone who has bought from the same coachbuilder as yourself, but it can be done.
The important thing is to make sure that the coachbuilder has plans for a bus that you want to modify. Once you have located a coachbuilder, you should ask them if they have plans for a bus like yours.
If they do, then we would recommend buying those plans from them, and then building your floor plan design based on those plans.
If they don’t have any plans for your bus, then you can still build your floor plan design based on their floor plan instructions.
Build Your Floor Plan Design
If you have never built a bus before, or if you are unsure about how to build one, then we would recommend using the same manufacturer’s instructions as a starting point for your floor plan design.
This way, it will be easier to follow along with the coachbuilder’s instructions as well as build your layout design based on their instructions and drawings.
This is also recommended if you don’t know what type of shape or size of coach you want to build in the first place.
School Bus Layout Ideas You Can Use
In this section, we’ll take a look at some examples of floor plans that you can use as a starting point for your floor plan design. We’ll also include some notes about each one.
These examples are all from different manufacturers, but they all have similar layouts, and you can modify them to fit your needs.
You don’t have to use these examples exactly as is, but it’s good to know what types of layouts you can start with when designing your floor plan design.
Bunk Bed Layout
This is a great layout for a school bus. It allows you to add more sleeping space, but it also provides more room for storage.
If you want to build a bunk bed layout, then we would recommend using the same coachbuilder’s floor plan instructions as a starting point for your floor plan design.
Note: You can also modify this layout to fit your needs by adding and removing seats and compartments in the bunk beds.
This would allow you to add more sleeping space, but still, have room for storage underneath the bunks.
Split Bed Layout
A split bed layout can be used in either a traditional or modified school bus design. In the traditional split bed layout, there are two bunks on each side of the bus with one double bed on top of each bunk.
This type of layout can be modified by building a few additional seats or compartments above each bunk. This will allow you to add more sleeping space without taking up too much room under the bunks.
You could also put those seats and compartments on the opposite side of the bus if you want more sleeping space on one side of the bus instead of both sides.
Note: If you decide to modify this layout, then you may need to modify the coachbuilder’s floor plan instructions to account for the changes that you are making.
Pull-Out Queen Bed Layout
This is a layout that is great for adding a queen bed to your school bus. This layout provides enough room for the queen bed, but it also leaves plenty of room for storage underneath the bed.
This layout can be modified by building additional seats or compartments above the queen bed, or by building some of those seats on the opposite side of the bus.
This will allow you to add more sleeping space, but still have room for storage underneath the queen bed.
Note: You can also modify this layout to fit your needs by adding and removing seats and compartments in the bunk beds.
Create Your School Bus Floor Plan Now
I hope that this article has been helpful to you. As you can see, there are many different ways to modify your floor plan layout when building a school bus.
You don’t have to build a bus from scratch, and you don’t have to use the same coachbuilder’s floor plan instructions as a starting point for your floor plan design.
