Bus conversions and schoolies

[lvmci]

This article, does not distinguish between them

[pabusnut]

Consider the source.  It looks like one of those "uppity" sites that want everybody driving a new $60K pickup towing a $40k trailer.  Then they are trying to find cheap campsites!  Some folks seem to be sinking a lot of money into worn out school busses these days in search of the perfect tiny house.

Just my $0.02 worth. 

[Nova Eona]

Yeah, anytime the first link on a site is 'Industry News', you can tell immediately who's paying the hosting bills.

[silversport]

Campreport.com must not have lasted to long, the name is for sale

[someguy]

Consider the source.  It looks like one of those "uppity" sites that want everybody driving a new $60K pickup towing a $40k trailer.

$60K doesn't really buy much of a pickup truck these days.  An F150 XLT with a few options.  Nor does $40K buy much trailer.

For the life of me I can't figure out when these full time "van lifers" don't start out with a better chassis.  They put a bunch of work into a conversion on a piece of junk chassis and then spend their time dealing with issue or making due with something that is really marginal. 

Sprinters are junky rust buckets, but about half of the van lifers use them.  School buses have no storage bays, have a low ceiling, most are uninsulated, get terrible mileage and are geared for about 45MPH comfortably.  I guess the good thing is that they are cheap.

To each their own.  Such a shame that so many people do pretty nice conversions on poor chassis.

[pabusnut]

And that is the beauty of this hobby---to each his own--or said another way --free to pursue your own happiness, almost whatever it is!

I started out with a city bus, and deeply regretted it, but I don't learn quickly or cheaply.  After I rebuilt the engine, I decided to cut my losses and get something that my Left Hand engine would fit.  So I bought a GM 4905 with a tired engine, did a heart transplant, and started over with a shell.

To quote Elvis "I did it my way."

[someguy]

I really get that everyone has a different approach and that is good.   I spent some time on an certain Prevost forum asking questions about H3s.   They were appaulled at my plans.  To them a coach isn't a coach unless it has 14 layers of clear coat in the $50K paint job.  Sorry, not my cup of tea.

But I do feel sorry for a lot of the vanlifers.  For many of them a van is their first real brush with high end mechanical things.

[Brassman]

Some, not many, school bus conversions are top-notch.  If you buy the right low rust bus you can go highway speed, and get some under storage too.  There are high-roof models, and raising a roof on a skoolie is relatively easy.  The gospel is to gut, raise roof, spray foam, and re-window. Plus add a roof full of solar panels.  What I can't quite get is the popularity of the "composting" toilet, often a glorified 5 gal. bucket.

[Jim Blackwood]

I had a school bus, Bluebird body and IH drivetrain. Bought it for $800 for storage and a mobile workshop. It was fairly well suited to that use. I eventually sold it to a church that wanted it for a concession stand. But when I started to seriously consider a bus conversion that was after owning a 32' Coachman and it was very clear to me that an intercity coach had a lot more to offer. It was less of a choice and more a matter of picking the right one to start with.

Jim

[luvrbus]

I have seen school buses the interiors were so well planned and the craftsman ship put the average bus converter back into the dark ages then I seen some that were cobbled up on both sides of the isle that looked like the Beverly Hillbillies it get downs to the budget in the end on both sides   

[luvrbus]

Consider the source.  It looks like one of those "uppity" sites that want everybody driving a new $60K pickup towing a $40k trailer.  Then they are trying to find cheap campsites!  Some folks seem to be sinking a lot of money into worn out school busses these days in search of the perfect tiny house.

Just my $0.02 worth.

That is sorta on the low side some pay $150k for the 5th wheel and 200k for the toter truck kinda stupd to me but it's their money

[Jim Blackwood]

It ain't the ticket, it's the payments. Just gotta understand the mentality.

Jim

[chessie4905]

I think starting out with a school bus is fine. Much cheaper, fewer mechanical issues. Easier to get repaired out on the road. I would rather see a school bus butchered than an older coach. Some that do a real nice job and actually use it, have a good chance to move to a coach or conversion down the road. The experience of converting a school bus will definitely aid them down the road to do things differently to improve future conversions. The ones that fool with schoolies because of being popular right now, then lose interest and move on to the next fad is fine. Junking a schoolbus is easier for us to stomach.

[someguy]

That is sorta on the low side some pay $150k for the 5th wheel and 200k for the toter truck kinda stupd to me but it's their money

$180K for an M2 Freightliner with less than 300HP when you can buy a brand new class 8 truck for $150K.  And the only vehicle you can reasonably haul on the truck is a Smart car.  Doesn't make sense to me either and believe me, I've considered it.

[someguy]

Some that do a real nice job and actually use it, have a good chance to move to a coach or conversion down the road. The experience of converting a school bus will definitely aid them down the road to do things differently to improve future conversions.

Truth^^^