The design brief started as nothing more than that, and was further scoped out into a detailed plan and project, following meetings and many phone conversations between the owners and VMS Management.

The Food Van Fitout

The Rockin’ Donuts van was have the facilities to make and serve fresh donuts, coffee and cold drinks under its own power or with mains 240vac power that would be available at sites the van would attend. To that end, two 5.8Kw EFI Cummins/Onan generators were sized and installed to power the van’s refrigerators, coffee machine and grinder, hot dog machine, hot water service, water pump, automatic tap, MP3 Player and lighting.

In order to keep the perishables fresh and cold, both during transit and at venues, in accordance with local council health rules, the perishables need to be kept below 5degC and that means during transit also. The Cummins/Onan generators are designed specifically for that purpose and are quiet in operation. VMS are a wealth of knowledge and well experienced in having the food vans designed and manufactured to be compliant for each of the councils they will be operating under.

The chassis of the van is a locally built, 2 pack finished, twin axle  trailer chassis, complete with electric brakes and an electric brake away system installed by VMS. For compliance, the tow ball weight had to be a key consideration of weight placement in the van throughout the design and build process. During all parts of the build and at the end of the project the tow ball weight was kept within specification and came as per the requirements. The owners say the van is solid and tows very well behind their car.

Coach Building Expertise & Innovation

As this was a one off design, with many unique curved surfaces, the staff at VMS, with their strong coach building background, had to innovate throughout the design in order to deliver what the customer wanted and to bring the project in within the budget allocated.  VMS helped the customer specify the equipment they needed to make the food van fully functional, everything in the van is custom sized for the application and custom fitted. A necessary part of the work is to listen to what customers want and to work to help them realise their dream.

The electrics, both AC and DC, are done by VMS staff and compliance tested and approved prior to hand over. In order to keep weight down and power usage within the power budget, LED lights were used, as they are compact, light and bright.  Circuit breakers were used in place of fuses as they are able to be utilised, once a circuit fault has been rectified, which is particularly helpful, when on site and the business of running the van is paramount.

The Rockin’ Donus food van is now in circulation, attending venues and earning its living, a showpiece and an attraction in itself and will be on show and operational as part of the VMS exhibit at the Geelong Revival.

The ManSpace bus demonstrates the ultimate in man caves and those hosting the show, including Shane, toured the country exampling man caves for all to see while travelling in the lap of luxury in a bus refitted entirely in the look and feel of a luxury private jet.

Building the Manspace Bus

As part of the rebuild, the bus was completely stripped down to its shell, with all of the internal walls and flooring removed, leaving just the running gear and the frame of the former coach.

The bus had a completely new fit out of AC and DC electrics for the range of new equipment on board to support the mobile mancave and to support the cast and crew of the TV series when on set, complete with fully functioning bar with beer keg capability for after the day had come to an end.

Inside the Manspace Bus – Luxury

VMS Management was responsible for the interpretation of the customer’s ideas and bringing them stage by stage to reality in a project that was to have a national audience and a household name, an Australian film star, heading up the TV show as producer and regular host.

The bus has sleeping quarters for 4, completed with 5 star hotel quality fitout for its ensuite, mobile bar and lounge area. Outside the ManSpace bus there is an outdoor kitchen with roll-in-roll-out eski cool storage and beer on tap for guests along with an outdoor TV.

The plush leather touring lounge seats were installed complete with integral seat belts for luxurious touring and after the day was done, for lavish relaxation. All electrics for the in-house entertainment systems were specified and installed by VMS, adding first-class information to the first-class comfort of the bus, demonstrating anything is achievable when it comes to a man cave, even if it is a mobile one.

Twin AC air conditioners are powered by a Cummins Onan 8Kva generator which also supplies power to the 4 on board TV’s, cappuccino machine, 3 Play Station 4’s, on board entertainment unit, bar fridge, keg chiller, water pumps and water heater. The shower for the travellers has equivalent mains pressure, with sufficient fresh water from the 1000 litre stainless steel tanks. All specified and fitted by VMS’s staff in North Geelong.

Inside, the flooring is a French Oak laminate floor, complimented by alligator wall paper surrounding the bar area to provide the suitable ambience. And to finish and secure the fitout, internal and external security cameras with full on board recording facilities secure the vehicle both inside and out.

The ManSpace bus will on show at the Geelong Revival along with other vehicles modified and outfitted by VMS.