Just a few questions...

[KiekoRuno]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Amanda from Houston and I'm new to all this. I currently do not own my own bus, but I do drive a Propane bus full time for Houston ISD. The reason i got interested in Skoolies is due to driving one all the time and Pinterest. I've seen a lot of posts on there that show just how awesome a school bus can be when it is transformed. So, while looking at different pins I was brought to skoolie.net and here I am. LOL. Anyways, I have some simple questions (I hope) for everyone.

1. Electricity.. How much power does just solar power provide for things like appliances, A/C and heat, and electronics? Is it possible to use multiple types of power at the same time? Such as solar, wind, and generator?

2. Water Tanks.. I know that i will need a fresh water and a grey water tank, possible a black water tank. How big of a tank can you get? My bus (when i get it... 5 year plan) will be used for traveling around the country and doing things like burning man, edc, and other concerts. I want to be able to live in it for a couple of weeks at time, possible have a trailer to pull behind it with extra water tanks.

3. A/C and Heat.. I've been looking at ductless A/C-Heater combos for my garage apartment, and figured that a couple of those would work well for a bus also, but i know that it would have to be hooked up to a generator that runs all the time. And if a generator has to run all the time, can it be ran while the bus is moving down the road?

4. Bus styles.. I know I want a conventional bus as the thought of the driver being in front of the wheels makes me nervous, but how much room is actually in a conventional bus? How much can i actually put in the bus as far as storage and living arrangements? I'll need a living room, dining area, kitchen area, bunk room, and master bedroom. The living room and dining area can double up as I'm not really into traditional sit down meals so that isn't much of an issue.

5. Storage.. I've seen on Pinterest how people have used peg board and pegs in slide out vertical cabinets to hang pots and pans, spatulas, ect on them. I know i can build something like them, as well as to hold plates, cups, saucers, and have one that has some holes in them for utensils in them. (If you want to see links message me.)

6. Bathrooms.. I know some people advocate for composting toilets and detest toilet/shower combos, others like them. Which is better? and how much plumbing would need to be installed if i used a separate toilet and shower as apposed to the combo. Is a composting toilet really better then a regular toilet?

That is all I can think of right this moment. I am in the process of making a floor plan in detail as well as looking for a bus to work on. I might be needing some help once i find the right equipment as I've never worked on electrical or plumbing before. I look forward to reading every ones opinions to get a better understanding of what i can and can not do!

Thank,
Amanda

[EastCoastCB]

Hello there and welcome. You'll get lots of opinions on this stuff. Check out the many build threads and you'll get a ton of ideas. Individuality is a big theme in the bus thing.

[bansil]

yeah, welcome and just start reading the posts in this section, and then when you see stuff you like, you can check out their build threads

Tons of info here, also!

if you google like this:

skoolie.net + water + tank

it gives better hits only on this site, same with other things, almost always better than site search engine

for example:

skoolie.net + bansil + la tortuga + solar = will give me on this site, in La Tortuga doing solar...kind of like clue

[nat_ster]

Welcome.

Build threads are where the info your looking for can be found.

Nat

[KiekoRuno]

Thanks, I've been looking through the build threads and i guess i just haven't seen what i'm looking for. Oh well, ill keep looking. Thank you all.

[taskswap]

Maybe start with just one question instead of a whole conversion's worth?

[bansil]

Good point lol

Start with a notebook or folder and add everything you find and like to it....that's a start

[KiekoRuno]

Ive started that Bansil. Writing down things, and questions, design ideas. But then i seem to jump form one question to another and back again, which is how i came to all these question. And seeing more while reading over the conversion and discussion threads lol.

[bansil]

It will only get worse as you learn more, it will get better until you have to pick colors for bus, ours has been several colors, we finally settled that problem after a few years