Converting a regular car into a motorhome is what makes the heart pound for a lot of people, especially in the past two years, with the stay-at-home trend imposed upon us. But Clint’s conversion is something special, no matter how you look at it.
We’ve seen RV conversions done in more ways than we can count, with cars small and large, using DIY kits, or as a clean-sheet personal project. But we rarely see this work elevated to the work of art status, and this is why this MCI charter bus turned motorhome caught our attention.
The donor car, a 1997 MCI Crusader charter bus, was bought by Clint Lewing for around $8,500. RV passionate and already owning a Chevrolet G20 StarCraft Camper Van, Clint wanted to go big on this one. Literally. What attracted his attention, beyond the polished aluminum exterior of the bus, was the presence of a generator and a power inverter, which made it an ideal starting point for his next RV conversion. Plus, it had plenty of storage space under the floor and in the cabin.
Clint kept the exterior almost untouched but poured all his love and care into the interior. Although he’s not a professional carpenter, he could be mistaken for one judging by the quality work he’s done with the floor, the ceiling, and the furniture. The wooden panels are not only skillfully put together, but also beautifully decorated using a burning kit and colored epoxy.
Clint’s motorhome is not all aesthetics, but also technology. The RV packs a custom entertainment cabinet that erects a 55-inch flat-screen TV at a push of a button. It’s connected to a couple of 1,500-watt amplifiers that will surely rock the neighborhood if necessary. The best part is the bus packs enough power to keep the party going for months, according to Clint. That’s because the generator is fueled directly from the bus’s 144-gallon fuel tank and can store the excess in 10 deep-cycle batteries.
A solar panel could push this resilience even further, but in this case, Clint would have to give up his roof deck. This is one of the main attractions of this motorhome, spanning the entire roof area, so it better stays. If you ever wonder how much this conversion costs, you should consider it took three years to build and it’s not even complete.
After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions. Full profile
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