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Old 03-04-2009, 01:12 AM   #1
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So many questions

Alright so I am entirely new to the whole skoolie thing, and i have a whole bunch of questions I would really appreciate everyones help with before I go and drop a few grand on a bus

-I plan on using my bus as more of a mobile hangout, a moving living room rather than a full time dwelling. As such, I plan on having a TV, fairly large stereo system and speakers, lighting, heating/cooling, and a desktop computer. what kind of electrical system would i need? and how large of a battery bank is required to keep it all running while im on the road?

-is there anyway to recharge the batteries from the motion of the bus?

-do i need a special permit to park my bus in my driveway?

-where did you learn to even drive a school bus?

thanks for any input you guys can give me, much appreciated

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Old 03-04-2009, 01:35 PM   #2
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Re: So many questions

you can recharge your batteries when your buses engine is running using your alternator. most buses come with physically HUGE alternators.

as far as parking, that's up to the local authorities to decide

A pair of 8 D batteries will allow you to draw a lot of current for a long period of time when parked. When driving, you don't need much of a battery bank at all since the alternator is in essence powering the electrical system. Stereo's don't tend to use much power, neither do tv's. I am fond of 2K watt inverters. They are available for under 200 dollars, and they will run pretty much any one single 110 volt appliance commonly found in any household, or they can run a bunch of smaller stuff like entertainment equipment.

Example of things that do use a lot of current: Toaster, Microwave, Air conditioning, hair dryer, electric heat. These items are much more difficult to run off of batteries and an inverter, especially when parked.
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Old 03-04-2009, 02:01 PM   #3
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Re: So many questions

that site was amazingly helpful, thanks a lot for providing that.

and thank you to the second guy, i wasnt sure if i was gonna kill my batteries while driving.

i dont really need anything in the market of coffee makers or hair dryers or anything, im just looking to make my skoolie like a living room i can take anywhere to lounge.

How difficult is it to add more batteries to the battery bank? money is not much of an issue, i plan on investing fairly heavily on this since i have nothing else to blow my money on haha. i would like to make as large a battery bank as i could, since as a lounge room the lights and TV will probably be on quite often, upwards of 6+ hours a day.

And does anyone have wireless internet for their skoolie? that would be quite bangin haha
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Old 03-04-2009, 03:23 PM   #4
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Re: So many questions

wireless internet?
look into a dish setup, lots of people over on the escapees rv site are hooked up to satelites.
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Old 03-05-2009, 09:07 PM   #5
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Re: So many questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by jksmileyface
How difficult is it to add more batteries to the battery bank? money is not much of an issue, i plan on investing fairly heavily on this since i have nothing else to blow my money on haha. i would like to make as large a battery bank as i could, since as a lounge room the lights and TV will probably be on quite often, upwards of 6+ hours a day.
It's really just as easy as adding some cable and more batteries. You need to figure out where you're going to put the additional batteries. They need to be in a vented compartment due to outgasing so most people put them under the bus. Make sure they are accessible! There are some specifics as to how to wire them depending on what voltage you use, but it really is just as simple as adding battery lugs and cable from one battery to another.
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Old 03-05-2009, 11:00 PM   #6
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Re: So many questions

alright random question now, do you have to get something special to add a deck or a second story to your bus? i was looking at pictures of people whose buses looked more like a cabin on wheels than a bus, and one had a full blown wooden deck added to the back! i was blown away and it is definatly something i would want to invest in. what would i have to consider if i wanted to do something like that? and how tall is a typical bus? im looking at a lot of tc2000 flat nose buses and i just think a bus with a rooftop deck is by far the coolest thing ever
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Old 03-10-2009, 10:36 PM   #7
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Re: So many questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by paul iossi
wireless internet?
look into a dish setup, lots of people over on the escapees rv site are hooked up to satelites.
Verizon Card For Your PC or Laptop is convenient and has no hardware to permanently mount to the bus.

I think verizon calls them mobile broadband devices under "wireless"
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Old 03-11-2009, 08:37 AM   #8
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Re: So many questions

likewise, i have a sprint card for my laptop and i love it! works while driving or parked. You can get a wireless router for your air card and share the internet connection with your friends. About the only disadvantage is that your limited on the amount of data per month you can download...like 5 gb. If you're not downloading music and movies 5gb seems to be plenty of data for surfing.

i love my sprint card, but i will prob go with att when my contract is up. I moved to a new house last summer and have a poor sprint cell signal, but i can see the att tower from my house.

I used my sprint card while driving to/from washington dc, new york, out to nevada, and all over. I've been very happy with it. IT doesn't work everywhere...like the middle of utah. IT's pretty fast when you have a good signal, about dsl speed.
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Old 03-11-2009, 05:30 PM   #9
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Re: So many questions

Still amazingly sweet... who'd a thunk we'd have cool mobile broadband like this! Wait till the next gen of bandwidth comes out to play!
Pretty soon we will be doing online gaming while driving our Skooliez around .
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