SB_Edition_42_web_small

smorgasboarder
get on board
words: dave swan
As we mentioned a little earlier in the piece, a surf shack is what you make of it.
Neal Cameron is a little different to most and so is his idea of a shack. That’s what we love about
him. Ever since we first met Neal when he had parked his “surf shack” in a derelict, abandoned
building site at the back of Maroubra, we have been enthralled by everything he does.
We have featured all manner of his fibreglass creations but in this edition, we thought we would
“probe” him, as Neal likes to refer to it, about his chateau d’autobus. To ensure I didn’t miss any of
his golden retorts, I have adopted a Q & A style for this part of our Shacked feature.
Q A
Why did you choose to live in
a bus?
I first got the idea when I used
to go to school on those old
Leyland Leopard school buses
and I did own one for a while.
They were those old rough idle
Pommie buses that used to give
you a boner from the vibration...
A “travel fat” we used to call the
affliction at school.
So, it was always a bit of a
fantasy to have the coolest surf
camper in the carpark.... A bit like
wishing you had the largest willy
at a co-ed gym class at school.
Actually, I had about $80k and
figured I could build a bus with
car trailer /workshop attached
and be off-grid and independent
...OR...I could put a deposit
on a home unit In the suburbs
..,be unable to choose my
neighbour,.. and have them get
whingy when sanding dust got
on their washing and get all “bent
outa shape” over the smell of
something I’m concocting at the
time.
Yeah, it didn’t take much thought
as to which way to go.
When did you first move into
the bus?
Next year will be my 19th year in
the bus.
How did you go about fitting it
out and how long did it take?
The fitout including the roof raise
took about 2 months. Some of
the materials were new and a lot
was scrounged or repurposed.
When you build something like
this from a bus you soon realise
nothing is straight or even. Jed
Done and I spent a lot of time
measuring once and cutting
twice whilst working on the
interior.
The special features of your
home on wheels?
When the bus was first made it
was a bit unique however these
days many people do it and
spend a fortune on them. They
are like stepping into a home
unit.
The most challenging part of
the bus was the bathroom. The
wooden floor is suspended
over a reverse pitch fiberglass
underfloor so if parked off
camber, anywhere that water
spills in the room, it goes down
the drain hole.
The bath was an earlier project.
I’d never had a comfortable bath.
I don’t know who came up with
the first baths and water saving
and ergonomics where obviously
not light discussions with tea
and scones. So, I made one. And
then the wall tiles to match.
When the roof was raised there
was a wasted area at the back so
I repurposed some old fiberglass
seats from Central Railway
station in Sydney and placed 2
up there facing each other. I then
radiused the leading edges so
tree branches would glide up
over them rather than get hung
up. The result is a four-seater
area for beers and prawns up on
the roof.
The Bus is also converted to
run on old vegetable oil. I have
a centrifuge and heater /pump
mounted to an old beer keg and
it will clean around 60 litres per
hour. I carry 350L of vegie on a
trip and 500L of diesel.
Some interesting places it has
been parked?
As you know it’s been parked in
a few weird spots. The best one
in Sydney was the Anzac Rifle
Range at South Maroubra…
hundreds of acres to myself most
of the time.
The best spot since leaving
Sydney has been on a 35-acre
property with a 200-metre
lakefront and freshwater
Billabong to draw my water from
(he forgets to mention it is right
near one of the most awesome
wave magnets in the entire
world). Lots of birds and fish and
a very cool kangaroo who would
come and snack on chocolate
in the afternoons. I named him
Cadbury.
32