Starting my research. Not sure what to look for in busses.

[dbhost]

Okay so I know what my required final build will be like, I just don't know what busses are available or what to look for in busses.

The idea for a Skoolie is to suit a custom RV to fit my requirements.
Durable, reliable, and safe. Once built done, I expect to have only regular maintenance to do for, well the remainder of my life. I am in my late 40s now...

I am a big guy, my wife is also nice and curvy, we need space. Including a nice comfortable king bed / storage area in the master suite.

I will be doing double duty with this bus, including potential for tour bus (I am also a musician, and my band is currently playing out at local venues, this has the potential to grow to regional).

Here is what I know...

#1. I want a Forward Control type of bus, no hood to have to look over all the time. Maximum interior space, minimized exterior dimensions.

#2. Master sleep section must accomodate king size bed.

#3. Comfortable, safe in travel seating for a maximum of 6 adults.

#4. Sleeping for 8 adults, including the 2 in the king bed. The others can be bunks, dinette conversions. HOWEVER if a dinette is used, it MUST be adjustable. Like I said, I am a big guy, A normal dinette is too tight for me.

#5. Full kitchen, bathroom, and shower facilities. Onboard washer / dryer stack wouldn't break my heart either.

#6. Full band gear currently fits in a 5x6x10 enclosed cargo trailer.

I am reasonably adept at woodworking, and auto repair, however RVs are something new to me.

So any pointers, and advice you might have to help me out would be great!

[nat_ster]

Welcome

Head on over to the build thread section, read 40 build threads, report back, and tell us what bus you need.

If you pick the right build threads, it will only take 5 to figure it all out.

Nat

[CaptainInsaneo]

You don't need a school bus you need an old motor coach/touring/greyhound. As a recovering stagehand you need all the under storage you can get school busses don't have any, if they did it is a pittance compared to a MCI/ GMC/ Eagle/ VanHool. Think about it if you have 6 other adults where is their stuff going to go? A Skoolie won't cut it for you, there is a reason you don't see skoolies used for touring busses.

[Kutter]

Yeah, get the biggest wide body coach you can, school buses are not enough for that.

[dbhost]

Been doing the research, and I should mention that as far as touring goes, we are for the time being a blues rock trio.

I had mistyped however, I meant sleeping capacity for 6 adults, not 8...

Now having said that, need to keep thinking on this, and building up my requirements to make sure a skoolie would fit the bill, or if like you guys say, a larger coach is in order...

[somewhereinusa]

Like I said, I am a big guy, A normal dinette is too tight for me.

I think that if a king bed is a deal breaker you may be in trouble. A school bus is 96 inches wide on the outside. The walls are approximately 2 inches thick if you don't do anything to the interior walls. That leaves about 92 inches. A king is 76 inches wide. Can you get down a 16 inch space, or 8 if you put it in the middle? How do you make the bed? Get in and out in the middle of the night? A rear engine would also have wheel wells to deal with if you have the bedroom in the back. A front engine flat nose has the engine, that you would have to get around to get to the drivers seat.

A normal size RV bathroom/shower, and aisle space may also be a problem.

There are some coaches that are 102 inches wide, but that only gets you another 6 inches.
Have you visited any RV dealers to see if you can be comfortable in any of the layouts?
I suggest that you find the measurements and do some mock ups with tape/boxes to see if what you "must" have will work in the space given. Sit on your toilet and see how much room you are comfortable with.
It sounds like you aren't planning on full timing, can you "rough it" and make do with some inconveniences when "camping"?

As was mentioned before, 6 people take a lot of luggage and food, and make a lot of waste. You also have musical instruments, is there a bass? Drums? You could still pull a trailer, but then you wouldn't be able to pull a towed.

Just some things to think about.
Dick