SOUTH BRISTOL, Maine (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The workers at Gamage Shipyard are used to building and restoring boats, but school buses have never been their forte, until now.
Mike Tatro, General Manger, and his crew at the South Bristol business have been working to convert a school bus into a recreational vehicle (RV) for two years. Jeff Osborne of Fresno, California asked Tatro to 'make it look hobbitish'.
"When we first decided to do it, he came to us and we looked at it and talked about it and realized this is everything we do. It's just in a bus instead of a boat," said Tatro.
The welding and fabrication work were business as usual at Gamage, but a lot of the work was uncharted territory.
The inside has a queen size murphy bed, copper sink and faucet, nine cameras controlled by two iPads, and retractable solar panels on the roof. The RV has cost around $1M to build so far.
"He knew what he wanted from a creative aspect and wasn't afraid to go after it," said Tatro about the owner.
You might spot the bus driving around your area at the end of the month when Gamage Shipyard expects their work to be finished. Osborne will be driving around Maine to make sure there are no kinks that need to be worked out before driving the RV back to California.