While it’s safe to assume that most people have done things for their mothers in their lifetime, few have probably taken on a project as big—literally—as Syed Pirzada.
The venture of the man from St. John’s: converting a former school bus into a camper.
The idea was formed when Pirzada’s mother, who often traveled to Ontario or the US, felt unsafe doing so by plane during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was suddenly stuck at home and Pirzada wanted to give her an alternative way to travel. The idea was born to repurpose a used school bus.
“It’s basically a house on wheels,” Pirzada said, proud of the result of nearly two years of work.
School’s out – the camper is in
It took Syed Pirzada and Jim Dyke two years, but the longtime friends successfully converted a school bus into a camper for Pirzada’s mother.
While Pirzada was the one who came up with it, the vision wouldn’t have come to life without the help of Jim Dyke. Dyck, who has been friends with Pirzada for decades and describes himself as “a bit of a craftsman, a carpenter, a little bit of everything,” initially balked at the idea, however.
“At first I didn’t believe it. I looked at him and said, ‘No, why don’t you just go and buy a camper?'” Dyke said.
“Anyway, I just didn’t think of it. And then a year later the bus appeared. “Are you ready to work on it?” I said, “Okay, let’s do it.”
Pirzada says he settled on a school bus after doing some research online and finding that while vans are made of fiberglass, school buses are made of steel.
“The school bus is actually designed to keep kids safe,” Pirzada said. “So I decided I didn’t want to have one [a] regular RV, I want to have something different that will last longer.”
After the bus that had been sent from Toronto arrived in St. John’s, Dyke got to work.
“It started with a sketch of what [Syed] wanted. It’s been changed three or four times,” Dyke said.
“I was busy. I was trying to understand what he wanted and make everything suitable. It was basically my job.”
Although supply shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic posed some unforeseen obstacles to the duo’s DIY project, Pirzada and Dyke doggedly worked their way down the long list of necessary changes.
Among the first on the list: removing any features of a school bus, including its flashing lights, stop sign and typical yellow paint, so you can register the vehicle as an RV.
“Before that … you couldn’t even drive,” Pirzada said. “I had to tow the bus with a tow truck … to the paint shop.”
After approximately 200 hours of manual labor and many more hours spent researching ideas and tips online, the two had a fully functional camper.
Among many other features, the bus now includes a dining area, a kitchen area with a four-burner propane stove and oven, a full refrigerator and freezer, a washer-dryer combo, a toilet, bunk beds, and a separate bedroom.
In the back, campers can sit on a small patio and enjoy a barbecue when the bus is parked.
“Days, nights, weekends… Whenever we had time to work on it, we worked on it. We achieved it.’
Pirzada didn’t just want to get her mom from point A to point B in comfort, she also wanted to represent both her origins and her current home—gold maple leaf on the hood is complemented by colorful Pakistani truck art on the rear windows.
“It’s quite famous all over the world,” Pirzada said, adding that each of the different window designs represents one of Pakistan’s four provinces.
Where previous displays on the front and back read ‘School Bus’, the camper displays the words ‘Tando Jam’ – the name of Pirzada’s hometown.
“It’s very close to my heart and I always dream of going there because we live so far away,” Pirzada said.
“It reminds me of my childhood and it reminds me of where I grew up.”
Dyke and Pirzada started converting a school bus about two years ago. Pirzada wanted to help her mother travel safely to Ontario without coming into contact with other people during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Henrique Wilhelm/CBC)
For Pirzada, all the hard work was worth it when she saw her mother’s reaction.
“She was surprised,” Pirzada said, adding that she immediately asked when she could go for a ride. “She was absolutely thrilled.”
Before embarking on big trips, Pirzada wants to get a feel for her new vehicle at home, on trips to national parks like Gros Morne or Terra Nova.
“We want to get familiar with the operation of the bus because there are a lot of things you need to be familiar with,” Pirzada said.
Between family trips, Dyke might steal the bus for a spin. After all, he knows where the keys are.
“He has keys. There are keys to our house, there are keys to everything,” Pirzada said, laughing.
“He’s lost without me,” Dyke agreed.
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