From here...
To here, in 10 weekends!
Hello, fellow skoolie enthusiasts! We bought our bus on May 18, and over the course of about 10 weeks (mostly weekends, since I travel for my job 5 to 10 days at a time), we were able to get it "functional". I had hoped to update this site with our progress as we went, but with all the work required, I simply didn't have the time. I will post pics, starting from the beginning, once I get them hosted somewhere, and walk you all through our process.
The bus isn't quite finished yet, as we just did what we absolutely had to do in order to get the title changed over to a Motor Home, get insurance and license plates, and get the bus to the infield of the Michigan International Speedway in time for the August race. We still need to do some trim work, plumbing, electrical, and a host of other things before we can consider it finished. Are they ever finished? Lol
Here are the details of the bus, which my wife found on Craigslist, very close to us. It is a 71 seat, 2002 Thomas Built Bus, on a Freightliner chassis, with a Cummins 5.9 liter and an automatic transmission.
I will get deeper into the build in a few days, but I wanted to get this thread started tonight. We have been lurking this site since we picked the bus up, and have learned a lot from all of you and your projects, and I wanted to say thank you to everyone here for sharing your experiences. Hopefully, our build will also help others the way you have helped us.