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Old 07-02-2018, 07:51 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Bellevue, WA
Posts: 22
Year: 1998
Chassis: Thomas
Engine: Cummins 6CTA
Williwong Ranch Conversion Adventure

Hey there! I transplanted to the Seattle area 5 years ago for college with my husband. In the time it's taken me to graduate, I've watched the housing market nearly jump out of reach. We're not having kids, so worrying about making ends meet every month just feels like a wasted life. I've been day dreaming about living on wheels for over a year and have iterated through pretty much every possibility twice over while slowly pulling my husband on board.

To be honest, I don't like the term "tiny house movement." Sounds too much like a sales slogan for an expensive supplement nobody needs. I fell in love with the skoolie community a few months ago, seeing more folks that felt like my people. Unlike the miniature houses on trailers, a search for skoolie still returns mostly diy projects owned by people with callouses. The ingenuity of you folks is astounding! So thank you all for taking the time to share your work and knowledge. The day we found this forum was when I finally saw the light go on for my husband.

SOOOO.....fast forward to Thursday, we jumped in! We're now the proud owners of a huge 98 Thomas pusher with a Cummins 8.3L engine, an MT643 transmission, and less miles than all 3 of our other vehicles (around 150k). The seats and flooring were already out, and people, this bus is clean! No repairs needed so far. We'll be moving in next summer. This still feels surreal.

The best photos are on the hubs phone, but here's what I've currently got. I'll be posting our build here, so I hope y'all like what we do and I look forward to your comments or critiques.
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Old 07-02-2018, 07:53 PM   #2
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Year: 1992
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Welcome and congrats! Bus looks great.
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Old 07-02-2018, 08:06 PM   #3
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Location: Bellevue, WA
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Year: 1998
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Here's Derek (husbad) welding the bolt holes closed. I spent the day prying off pallet wood and staining it to make a fence surround. The city we live in is so stuck up you can't have an rv unless you fence it off. Already had one obnoxious neighbor complain how it's going to hurt their property value if they sell in the next 6 months. Please. Their 60's rambler that's been in the family since it was built is worth nearly $700k now. Folks, this housing market is insane. Looking forward to not having permanent neighbors.
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Old 07-02-2018, 08:16 PM   #4
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Oh, forgot to mention Williwong Ranch is what we named the bus. We don't share last names and Williwong was the best of all terrible attempts from friends to combine them. It's become a joke name over the years, like celebrating the anniversary of Williwong Incorporated or Williwong Partners in law. We've driven by a number of properties with overly pretentious entry arches declaring themselves a ranch or estate. Calling our non-pretentious old bus a "ranch" tickled my funny bone. So that's the story. We'll probably get it engraved into a plaque for the side 😂
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Old 07-02-2018, 08:31 PM   #5
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Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
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Year: 1999
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Welcome. Spent my first few days in the bus on Bainbridge Island. It was difficult even finding a place big enough to park a bus on that island. The first night I parked on a dirt pullover and left a sign saying it was overheating and would have it gone by noon. As I was leaving was when the officer pulled in. He was cool with it and didn't give me crap about no tag. Here's my 40' FE in my brothers, Derek, driveway. If I stepped back any further to take the pic I would have fallen into the Puget Sound.
You mention housing costs, you're looking at a $1m house.
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Old 07-02-2018, 08:48 PM   #6
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Welcome to the Madhouse! Sounds like you guys made a great find. That is a superb engine/tranny combo. Best of luck with the build and please do keep the pix coming. We LOVE watching other people work!
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Old 07-02-2018, 09:21 PM   #7
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Welcome to you both and what a great find for your platform to build. You will love having no neighbours!
Hey Derek, when you use that grinder, use eye protection. They are hard to replace.


All the best,


John
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Old 07-03-2018, 01:24 AM   #8
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Location: Bellevue, WA
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Year: 1998
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackJohn View Post
Welcome to you both and what a great find for your platform to build. You will love having no neighbours!
Hey Derek, when you use that grinder, use eye protection. They are hard to replace.


All the best,


John
Thanks for the safety reminder! Super important. We try to look after each other in case one of us forgets to wear the right gear. He actually did have eye goggles on, but I can see it's hard to tell from the pic.
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Old 07-03-2018, 01:32 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
Welcome. Spent my first few days in the bus on Bainbridge Island. It was difficult even finding a place big enough to park a bus on that island. The first night I parked on a dirt pullover and left a sign saying it was overheating and would have it gone by noon. As I was leaving was when the officer pulled in. He was cool with it and didn't give me crap about no tag. Here's my 40' FE in my brothers, Derek, driveway. If I stepped back any further to take the pic I would have fallen into the Puget Sound.
You mention housing costs, you're looking at a $1m house.
If that house is water front, I'm surprised it's ONLY 1 mill, lol. Our friends said they couldn't afford to buy their house at today's value and they only bought it 4 years ago.

Did you leave your bus unatended or were you sleeping inside? It'll be interesting finding all the areas we can and can't pull to the side over night. Our build is going to be self sufficient for frequent boondocking so we can explore more of Washington.
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Old 07-03-2018, 09:47 AM   #10
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Welcome! Also a Seattle-ish resident here, we're gonna be empty nesters in a few years, at 39 I've got a lot of good years left and don't plan to spend them mowing the lawn for the neighbors' approval.
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Old 07-03-2018, 11:27 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midori View Post
If that house is water front, I'm surprised it's ONLY 1 mill, lol. Our friends said they couldn't afford to buy their house at today's value and they only bought it 4 years ago.

Did you leave your bus unatended or were you sleeping inside? It'll be interesting finding all the areas we can and can't pull to the side over night. Our build is going to be self sufficient for frequent boondocking so we can explore more of Washington.
It is a small house and the improvements he's made have surely appreciated the value. Here's another shot facing the street and sound. You're right it's worth more than I think, the shack next door is over a million. Because the "beach" is all rocky pebbles, my brother said when he goes to the beach he wants to be able to stick his toes in the sand, so he built his own beach in the front yard. You can see it in the other pic.

Left it unattended for 2 nights.
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Old 07-03-2018, 01:46 PM   #12
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Welcome! Also a Seattle-ish resident here, we're gonna be empty nesters in a few years, at 39 I've got a lot of good years left and don't plan to spend them mowing the lawn for the neighbors' approval.
I've never liked lawns. Hugely wasteful and time consuming for very little payoff. We're renting a house and keep the front lawn mowed to keep the neighbors happy, but we grow the back yard out so the grass can reseed itself and get good roots. Plus it's funny watching our little dog run through grass taller than he is. Totally with you on looking forward to mother nature's landscaping.
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Old 07-03-2018, 01:51 PM   #13
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Bellevue, WA
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Year: 1998
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
It is a small house and the improvements he's made have surely appreciated the value. Here's another shot facing the street and sound. You're right it's worth more than I think, the shack next door is over a million. Because the "beach" is all rocky pebbles, my brother said when he goes to the beach he wants to be able to stick his toes in the sand, so he built his own beach in the front yard. You can see it in the other pic.

Left it unattended for 2 nights.
That is heavenly. Is your brother looking for new 30 year old friends? Or maybe ocasional driveway tenants? ;P
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Old 07-05-2018, 09:39 PM   #14
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Year: 1998
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Floor holes are welded shut and most of the wall panel screws are out. We'll have to cut off a few that the previous owner stripped. Didn't realize till trying to remove a panel and then hopping back on skoolie.net that the panels tuck under the windows. Current plan is to try to maneuver insulation boards in. Back up plan, more reading. Any advice here would be great!

Also mocked up this sweet floorplan. Some proportions are off since furnishings were limited in the free options, thus the 2ndary rulers. For example, our bed is a king (6'6" x 6'10"), the couch and bed will actually be right next to each other with a curtain partition and the bathtub will be smaller, allowing room for a small linen closet. Rear closet will cover the entire engine space. The toilet is going to be a natures head composter built on a platform over the wheel well (no plumbing to worry about) that slides out of a cabinet so we don't have to look at it all the time or waste the extra space. We're basically planning on using the back emergency door as our main entrance and only going through the front to drive.

Key drivers in this plan were to keep our temperpedic king bed and our huge leather sectional, both are very very loved and expensive. Secondary, having a bathtub, avoiding weird placements and the bowling alley look as much as possible, and putting the toilet close to a door for easy dumping. Honestly I love this layout. I think we're going to be very comfortable in it.

Cats added to annoy Derek. We only have one.
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Old 07-05-2018, 09:50 PM   #15
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Thas a lot of cats. ;)
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Old 07-05-2018, 09:55 PM   #16
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Thas a lot of cats. ;)
When an app has more cat options that bed options, you kinda start to wonder who their target user really is 😂
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Old 07-05-2018, 10:17 PM   #17
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Quote:
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That is heavenly. Is your brother looking for new 30 year old friends? Or maybe ocasional driveway tenants? ;P
There is the issue of his wife, she won't let my brothers kids stay in the house if they visit. I had to stay in the loft above the garage you see in the back of the house.
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Old 07-06-2018, 05:00 AM   #18
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Bellevue, WA
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Year: 1998
Chassis: Thomas
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There is the issue of his wife, she won't let my brothers kids stay in the house if they visit. I had to stay in the loft above the garage you see in the back of the house.
.......wow
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Old 07-11-2018, 03:37 PM   #19
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It appears as if you got yourself a really nice used bus.

Any idea from which school district it came?

Your floor plan is rather interesting. With the tub all the way to the front like that it doesn't look like there is much room for a co-pilot's seat. Devising a fold down cover for the step wheel for when you are traveling or at night to really block the door would allow for a jump seat for the co-pilot.

Make sure as you close up all of the holes in the floor that you clearly mark any access panels in the floor. They are there for a reason and if you cover them up so you can't find them easily you will most definitely be asking yourself "what was I thinking" sometime down the road. In particular the access to the fuel tank, the engine, and the transmission are extremely important. Without the access servicing or repairing different parts of the power package will become very difficult. In bus repair difficult=expensive$$$$!
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Old 07-11-2018, 05:47 PM   #20
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Smile Nice layout!

Greetings from another Seattleite! That layout looks really sweet. I sympathize about the griping from neighbors... our plans to build got derailed when we moved (temporarily; we're back in the city now) to Whidbey Island, where it's illegal to live in any form of RV or mobile home outside a formally recognized trailer park, of which there is exactly one on the island at the wrong end for us. Something about wind, we were told, although we've seen a lot of people park RVs all over the island (without living in them... ostensibly) and we've never seen any of them have trouble from wind.

Oh well. Right now, we're back in the city in a rented house and saving money to build our dream Skoolie. My last round of savings had to go to replace our car, which died unexpectedly; but we're not in a hurry. Six years till we're empty nesters ourselves... we can have it done by then.
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