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Man transforms school bus into dream mobile home after cancer treatment

William with his self-converted mobile home

In October 2022, 59-year-old Mr Chua Aik Kia, known by friends and family as William, proudly showed off the mobile home he had converted from what was once a school minibus at an “Open Bus” event. It has everything a home should have including a double bed, dining table, mini-kitchen and shower!

A labour of love that is even more impressive because William made his mobile home wish come true after a nose cancer diagnosis in January of the same year.

A love of cars and family

The restoration of a minibus was a natural evolution of William’s other passion in life – cars.

 

William has always had a passion for cars

William’s most prized possession is a neon green second hand car that he lovingly restored. Despite owning a luxury car, he prefers to drive his restored neon love and will not even let his children drive it!

William, his wife and three children live in Singapore’s east coast. The family is very close, and William makes sure to spend quality time with each child and has developed unique relationships with each of them. For example, he shares a passion for fishing with his 27-year-old son. They have gone on many fishing excursions together which allows them to bond and share their thoughts and feelings with each other.

“My children and I are more like friends and I really value the close bond that we have,” said William.

Dealing with a cancer diagnosis

When William was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a form of nose cancer common in men of Asian descent, in 2022, it hit him and his family hard.

“I felt upset when the diagnosis was confirmed because I’m a healthy person, I jog, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink alcohol and I sleep early,” recounted William. “Why me?”

In anticipation of the treatment journey ahead, William, who was running an air-conditioning installation company, decided to retire early and his wife resigned from her job in sales to take care of him.

Treatment and aftermath

On the seventh day of Chinese New Year in 2022, William began his treatment – 3 sessions of chemotherapy and 33 sessions of radiotherapy. The side effects were hard to deal with, as he suffered from nausea and weakness as a result of chemotherapy and a burning sensation in his throat from radiotherapy. With difficulty eating and sleeping, William lost 15 kilos during that time.

Despite the difficulties, William tried his best to exercise every day, even if it was just a short walk down the road from his house. He would also find small projects to do on daily basis, like fixing a broken fan.

“My wife would tell me to just leave it or pay someone to do it, but it helped me to feel useful!”

The silver lining of the pandemic restrictions at the time was that William got to spend more time with his children at home.

Getting better and finding a new project

 

Blueprints for the mobile home project

As William regained his strength, he started to look for a big project that would excite him. Travelling around Southeast Asia in a mobile home had always appealed to him but he had previously never had the time to devote to such an endeavour. Now that he was recovering from cancer and was retired, it seemed like an achievable goal. 

With help from friends, William bought a 15-seater former school minibus from Malaysia for a few thousand dollars. After towing the vehicle to Singapore, William parked the minibus outside his home and steadily worked on converting it so that it could serve as a mobile home on the road.

He learnt how to modify the vehicle almost entirely by watching videos on YouTube and began the project by sketching blueprints that outlined his plan for the transformation. First, he removed the passenger seats in the vehicle to make room for a kitchen, fridge, table, fan storage and shower. Knowing that vehicles can overheat in hot weather, he then insulated the walls to make it comfortable to sit and sleep in, even without air-conditioning.

William installed plumbing for the shower and kitchen sink and built a storage area in the back that can be converted into a double bed. He also replaced the air conditioner, engine, brakes, redid the wiring and painted the outside of the vehicle so that it was ready for on the road adventures!

 

The mobile home is outfitted with a sitting shower, full sink and camp stove that can be used on a foldable table when the vehicle is stationary

A storage area in the back of the van can be converted into a double bed, large enough for two people!

Travel plans

At the end of last year, while William was excited that his project was near complete, he was also contemplative about how long he would spend in his dream mobile home.

“I’m not sure how long I’ll spend on the road travelling, I’m afraid I’ll miss my family too much!”

Still, after overcoming nose cancer and devoting time and effort to his mobile home project, William went on a road trip early this year and is currently travelling through Malaysia. He plans to fly back to Singapore, whenever he feels the need to connect with his family, with his mobile home safely parked in friends’ garages during this time.

 

William and his mobile home ready to go!