How To Create Your Toyota Coaster Bus Life: Dyani’s Story

This is the first article in our “Toyota Coaster Bus Life” series where we interview people who own Toyota Coasters and find out a bit more about them and their bus. We dig into why they chose a Coaster bus, what they love about it, and hear their stories about bus to motorhome conversion.

We also ask them about travels in their Coaster bus, funny and inspiring stories they can share about their Coaster bus life adventures, and find valuable tips that we may be able to use in our own Toyota Coaster bus life journey.

Introducing Dyani

Dyani is the creator of A Girl, A Dog, and A Bus – a website where she documents her journey converting a Toyota Coaster school bus into a cosy, one-of-a-kind home on wheels. With a strong passion for independence, adventure, and self-sufficiency, Dyani’s Coaster bus life story is certainly inspiring!

Motivated by a desire to create a space that’s entirely her own, she embarked on this challenging yet rewarding DIY renovation journey. In this interview, Dyani shares the ups and downs of her Coaster bus renovation journey. She talks about tackling the renovation herself, and the help she received from the Toyota Coaster community. Dyani is a fantastic role model for all people dreaming of a life on wheels.

Thanks for the interview Dyani, and good luck with your Coaster Bus life!

Hey Dyani, thanks for joining us at Coaster Bus Life! Let’s kick things off. Why did you buy a Toyota Coaster? Were you specifically looking for one? And if so, why?   

Because the bus would be my full time home, it was extremely important to me to have one that was mechanically reliable. If it did break down, I wanted to be sure that it would not be too expensive to fix and that parts would be easy to get. Toyota has such an amazing reputation for this. I have owned several Toyota vehicles previously that were just brilliant, so I knew that was what I wanted.

I also wanted a vehicle that I could stand up comfortably in (I’m 5’9”) and had enough payload and space to be able to carry all the gear I need for my handmade business.

I wanted something that was easy to drive, and could also handle rough roads and get into campsites easily.

The Coaster ticked all the boxes for me.

The other huge part of why I ended up with a Coaster bus was the wonderful Coaster community. Compared to other bus groups I’d been part of, I found the vast proportion of Coaster bus owners to be friendly, generous people who were more than happy to give advice and help out when needed. I am a member of some amazing Coaster groups on Facebook and I don’t think I could have done this build without the support and advice from those groups. It gives me so much more confidence doing this on my own, knowing that I have that backup support.

Does your bus have a name?

Yes she does. I have a special name for her that embodies what this journey has meant to me, but I haven’t announced it publicly yet – stay tuned!

Now that your Coaster bus renovation is nearly complete, are you happy with the decision to do the renovation work yourself? Or do you wish you outsourced the renovation, or bought one already renovated? Why?

I am so happy that I did it all myself and I would do it all again if I had to.

Part of it was that I wanted to make sure the build was done right. Having had issues and been ripped off badly with my first bus, I simply didn’t trust anyone else to do a good job. I wanted to make sure I had a solid rust-free, leak-free foundation to build on, I wanted to know where all the wiring and plumbing was, and I wanted a layout that would suit me and my unique needs.

The biggest reason was that it wasn’t just about having a bus to live and travel in. It was also a dream of mine to build my own home. I wanted that personal connection, to be able to sit in my home and say to myself “I built this”.  While it was certainly very challenging, I absolutely loved the whole journey. The skills I learned during the process have changed my life and I am much more confident to try new things. I am so proud of what I have done.

What was the most challenging part of the renovation?

Oh my goodness – just about all of it LOL!

I would find it easier to answer the question of what was the least challenging because I could count those jobs on one hand.

The biggest overall challenge was that the Coaster bus is not a nice square box. There are so many curves and angles to deal with so finding ways to build things in that space was a constant challenge.  

For me, trying to design a layout that would incorporate everything I wanted was a huge challenge and a constant game of tetris. I had to compromise a lot and sacrifice some things in order to have room for others.

There were some parts of the conversion that were challenging because of the sheer amount of physical work involved, such as ripping up the floor and cleaning the frame underneath, and climbing up and down ladders all day to build the roof racks (which I ended up having to do twice!)

The scariest job was installing the Maxxfans in the roof. I had to overcome my fear of heights to get up there, and then had to cut that first big hole in the bus which was very nerve-racking.

Do you have any tips for looking after and maintaining your Toyota Coaster? What should people be doing to make sure their Coaster stays in good condition?

Regular servicing is essential. Find yourself a good mechanic you can trust. I am very lucky to have found a mechanic (through the facebook coaster groups) who is not only honest, but is an expert on Toyota Coasters.

Your YouTube channel, social media and website are a fantastic resource for all Toyota Coaster owners. Congratulations! And thank you for doing this. Why did you decide to film and document your renovation journey? And have you enjoyed the experience of doing this?

When I was researching my plans to convert a bus and the whole Coaster bus life dream, I spent hours and hours on Youtube watching other people’s videos. Back when I first started saving for a bus, there were not many people in Australia filming the process. I learned so much through Google and Youtube. I could not have done my build without them, so I wanted to give something back and share my experience in the hope that it would help others.

I’m not going to lie, it was hard work filming the whole build. There were days when I wanted to just crack on and get something done, and didn’t feel like being in front of the camera. And everything took so much longer to do because I had to set up the camera and make sure I was getting the correct angles etc.

Now I am so glad I did it. I have a wonderful visual record of all the work I did. It feels a bit surreal sometimes when I look at my bus and find it hard to believe that I actually did it. Because of my videos, I have all those memories to look back on.

I had no experience making videos or doing Youtube before this, so it was another skill I learned along the way. I found that I really enjoyed it, especially video editing.

I am keen to continue making videos and improve my skills.

Do you live and work full time in your Toyota Coaster Bus?

Yes. I officially moved in just yesterday! I’ll be parked up in one spot for next few months.  I’m still working in town and need to help my parents with some stuff too, but hopefully will be full time on the road early next year.

You travel with your dog, Pepper. What are the benefits and challenges of Coaster Bus life travelling with Pepper?

How do you ensure your safety while living and traveling solo?

I’ve travelled a lot over many years and almost always travel alone because I prefer that.

For me, staying safe comes down to common sense and being aware of your surroundings. I trust my instincts and if a place doesn’t feel right, I just move on. Being self confident and not looking nervous or vulnerable helps, as does having a big dog who barks at strangers LOL.

How do you manage and plan your finances while living on the road?

Same as I do when living in a house. I don’t make a lot of money so live very frugally. I have a budget and I stick to it. I keep a big notebook divided into sections for things like groceries, fuel, bus expenses (rego, insurance, repairs), medical expenses, Pepper’s food and vet bills etc. I make sure to allocate a certain amount of income into each section each week and record this in my budget book, along with any spendings.

Most of my money is in one bank account, but I can look in my book and see how much money I have available for each type of expense. It means I always have enough set aside to pay for bills when they are due. I have built up a decent sized emergency fund that is in a separate account and I don’t touch it. I have another separate interest-earning account for savings that I add to whenever I have spare dollars.

Right now, I’m working two jobs trying to save as much as I can before I hit the road. I have to admit that I worry about my ability to work on the road now that I have Pepper, so I’m trying to build up an income buffer to tide me over until I can get my handmade business back up and running and also hopefully grow my Youtube channel to make a little more money from that.

What advice would you give to women over 50 who want to start their own Coaster Bus Life journey, but don’t know where to begin?

Join some facebook groups – there are some great groups dedicated to women’s travel, motorhomes, solo travel and Coaster Bus life. If you’re considering a particular brand of motorhome or caravan, join a group for that. Watch youtube videos, talk to as many people as you can who are living the lifestyle and ask questions. Maybe hire a van for some short trips to see if you like it before committing to buy one for yourself.