The Wairarapa

Wild & free ft. Dusty

Dusty was bought as a weekend wanderer in July 2019 as a way of collecting sweet memories. Excited to explore the hidden gems of New Zealand, visit friends, and experience new things along the way.

Meet Dusty (originally Edwards no. 8)

Dusty is a 1980 wide body ~7.2 m Ford truck with a bus shell. We chose a bus so that we could be more hands-on customising and fitting it out. There's enough space for the kids to grow into and decent living space for longer trips. One of the things that drew me to it was the seating arrangement where we could all ride up the front together. We've fitted additional kid's beds, and are adding a few of our own touches, but it's mostly good to go travelling as is.

The interior and solar setup is pretty old, so my aim is to keep it travellable but slowly work through it and update where it makes sense.

Having permanent dining and sleeping areas has been a real game changer compared to our previous caravan, rather than having to reconfigure things for kid's naps, and connect water/waste tanks each time.

Year: 1980
Make/model: Ford D-series
Origin: NZ Built
Body type: Aluminium
Width: Wide body?
Length: 7.2m + spare wheel
Motor: V6 Mitsi 6l 6D14
Gears: 5sp. Man. low/high
Steering: Assisted steering

It's registered in NZ as a DOG10 model on Carjam but as far as I can tell that model never existed. I think it's more likely a D0610, D0710, D0810, or D0910. Omnibus NZ have it mentioned as a D0710.

We bought it fully kitted out with all of the basics we need for the time being.

It came with; kitchen, fridge, oven, gas hot water, toilet, shower, solar and alternator (12v/24v), swivel 22 inch TV, LED lights throughout, stainless grey/fresh tanks (200 ltrs), 4 berth with full seatbelts, double bed, separate dinning area, towbar, awning, large stand up boot.

We have since removed the T.V. and some cupboards, added some kids beds, and added some more lighting. More on the changes are on the Tinkering page.

It was previously in commision as a passenger coach up to about 2007. Owned/opporated by Edwards Passenger Service Ltd (Tuakau 1984-94), Countrywide Tours NZ Ltd (Auckland 1994-96), Keiths Tours (Manurewa 1996-2000), Mosgiel Coach Services 2000-2007. Since then it has been privately owned, we are the third private use owners but most of the motorhome conversion was done by the previous owner.

It was named Done and Dusted by the previous owners and we kept it like that for a couple years. It's spent most of its life in Auckland but has previously done a stint in Kapiti several years with its first private owner as a "party bus".

At some some stage the front of the bus has been changed for fibreglass, maybe it was damaged or it was done at the time of the engine swap? it's a shame it's lost a bit of it original character.

I have been told that the bus may have been built by Hawke Coachwork which soon after joined forces in 1983 with New Zealand Motor Bodies to form Coachwork International.

Photo: by Mike Butler in 2004, Mosgiel Coach Services

1984 2004 200? 2019 2021

Meet the crew

We are a family of 5 +dog from Wellington, New Zealand. If you want to chat, send us a message, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Paul

Instigator of shenanigans, crew lifeguard

Kim

Wellness officer, giver of common sense

Isaac (Izee)

Entertainer, grand master dreamer

Little Leon (Le Cannonball)

Ball hunter, cuddle chief

Zoe (Zen master)

Customer service representative

Tui (Tu Tu)

Security & cleaner

Days gone by...

We previously owned a small caravan that took us around the East Cape of the North Island, and many weekends away camping.

Owning a caravan gave us a taste of what to expect on the road, and we wanted more of it. We loved the time we had with it, although with the additions to the family, we appreciate the extra space of the bus.