Hello all!

This is a brand new fascination for me. I was actually opposed to the idea of a school bus and was in the process of poo-pooing my friend's idea for one, until my wife came up with an idea that hooked me. The good news, it will forever be 'her fault' since she came up with the idea.

Basically, we will be moving from Denver to northern Washington state within the next 12-24 months. We've decided to take a shot at the whole sustainable living thing after spending a life in corporate hell. We've been working on it for about three years now and want to do it right; or as close as we can get. A school bus has great potential for a number of things, such as temporary housing on our land until we can get a structure up. Storage is a bit of a no-brainer too. But what really sold me is the cost savings of the actual move.

A U-Haul, or the like, will cost almost as much as the purchase of a school bus with a running engine and good tires. So right there, I've saved money. The more odd facet of this post is the other cargo we are contemplating hauling...two miniature donkeys, or little jackasses. A used road-worthy horse trailer in these parts runs about $7,000 at a minimum, so the school bus is about half that cost. I don't foresee any real difficulties in creating a stall in the back of a bus; should actually be pretty simple based on what I've been reading here. Plus since our boys have never been trailered, we figure this might make the journey a little easier on them as we will be able to talk to them. We plan to make the modifications to the bus while it is parked in the pasture, so the boys aren't scared of it by the time it's time to load-up for real.

So my question, after all this rambling, is: does anybody know of any laws that would prohibit this? I've never actually considered transporting livestock (pets in reality) via a school bus. I've seen fifth wheels that are half R/V and half horse stall and tack rooms, but they're still trailers. Anybody have a clue?

Sorry for the long first post. I seem to have diarrhea of the fingers. Any suggestions or information would be wildly appreciated.

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Nothing to see here, just a guy in a hammock. Move along.

First thing welcome

and there is a famous saying about conceal carry...ITS CONCEALED so know one knows you have a gun and no fear is brought into the story

So as long as you don't stop at a gas station and they start making EWWWehhhh noises you should be very stealthy, and since you can have a cat, dog, fish, monkey and birds as pets...why not jackasses...some of my friends are jackasses and I resemble them

also keep a straw hat handy for showing off your pets

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Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton

First, WELCOME!!

Second, best option is to get it licensed as an RV BEFORE the move. If you don't, you will be stopping at weigh stations and they will want to see your CDL.

Third, your issue will be with the animals and shots/inspections--not with moving them in a bus. RV may be more stealthy in this respect, too, if you know what I mean.

Any issues with moving them in a bus will be with their comfort. The back of the bus is the roughest place to ride. I have a knot on my head from when I was 8, sitting in the back seat, and hit the luggage rack after going over a freshly rebuilt water bar. You do not want your animals going airborne.

HOW miniature are we talking? Stalls need to be sized to them. Just like the bus seats being so close, the stalls are built snug so they can't build up speed before they hit the wall if you do have an accident. I would do at least two layers of stall mat under them, maybe the lighter foam preschool flooring as the lower layer if they are light.

True, but lies discovered always carry more consequence than a truth told. ESPECIALLY if it's illegal to conceal in the first place. ;)
We must keep the same company.

There is nothing stealthy about my boys. As bansil alluded to, they do bray. Especially if they're hungry, or just feel like living up to the common name of "jackass".

Yes, we've learned a lot while shopping for a trailer. Most likely, we will put them into a hammock support of some kind. It will keep their feet on the ground, but limit the bounce. We've seen the system in use on horses and really like the idea. They are both about 32" at the shoulder and without putting them on a scale, about 350 pounds each; they're really miniature. Part of what I really like about the school bus idea, is being able to build the stall to a custom-fit.

I appreciate the feedback; really! Please keep it coming. Also, thank you for the welcomes. This forum looks fun from what I've read so far. Looking forward to being able to contribute at some point.

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Nothing to see here, just a guy in a hammock. Move along.

howdy! and wut bansil said..........wut donkeys?

I have built slings for animal recovery before--both llamas (who are overqualified to be jackasses) and cows. They used cheap saddle cinches as the "sling" and a makeshift spreader bar setup so it could be used with a hoist. But they were for short term lifting and support while their legs recovered from injury. Key for your use is getting the "spring" right so it gives some support but enough uptravel so they can't jump out of it.

Donkey swings....sounds...so...so...México

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Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton

No clue on your answers, but just want to say, Welcome!

That, and to say the only stupid question is one that was just answered, and you ask it again, either because you asked and didn't listen, or you didn't like the answer and are expecting a different answer to the same question if you ask it again. (Just ask Lorna about paint customers. . . .)

We are not born with unlimited knowledge. If you ask a question about some information you have never come across, your question is not "stupid" just because "Everybody (else) knows that." (Sorry GEICO.)

It is also not stupid if the answer you got the first time was answered in jargon that you do not understand, and you are asking it again for clarity. Every culture or sub-culture develops its own language, and you may need translations until you pick up the meanings. Just my 0.02 of an FRN($).

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Someone said "Making good decisions comes from experience, experience comes from bad decisions." I say there are three kinds of people: those who learn from their mistakes, those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who never learn.