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Old 01-02-2016, 05:13 PM   #21
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 172
Year: 1993
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: GMC
Engine: GMC
Rated Cap: 42
The school district I worked for was trying to sell a 42 passenger bus and they could not get any bids for it. I looked on the internet and found this site and thought I could make a camper out of that bus. I submitted a insanely low bid for the bus and got it. I was hooked and the rest is history (a lot of fun working on it and a lot of fun using it)

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Old 01-02-2016, 08:33 PM   #22
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: St Louis Metro
Posts: 110
Year: 1978
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: Lifeguard
Engine: 366 Chevy
I needed to start hauling my car to the races, didn't want to pay for hotel while there, wanted GF to be comfy watching me race, figured why not be different.

Sure, I coulda bought a $100-200K RV and a $40K enclosed trailer like some of my friends at the tracks, but I'm only going 4 maybe 5 times a year - that's a waste. Figured I can build out a skoolie for under $20K. Saw a skoolie hauler on Craigslist, and the adventure begins...
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Old 01-03-2016, 05:34 PM   #23
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because it was a lifelong dream to see if I was able. Turned out to be easier than I thought.
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Old 01-06-2016, 08:23 PM   #24
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Silvana, WA
Posts: 69
Year: 1973
Coachwork: Gillig
Engine: DD 6V-71
It all started one day when I was out elk hunting, 250 miles from home, in the rain, and sleeping in the bed of my pickup. I wanted a shower........ BAD! But I didn't want to pay for a hotel for the night, or pack up all my gear to go to town. Plus, I figured some of my buddies might be willing to give up their secret spots if I could offer them a warm, dry place to sleep. I started my search the day I got home from that trip.

Now that the wife is onboard with the idea, I've determined it can't be the bare bones "tin tent" I had imagined. Turns out, when the wife doesn't have to live in a tent for a week or more at a time, she doesn't mind my gungho style of hunting from daylight until dark.
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Old 01-06-2016, 09:33 PM   #25
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Tavares, Florida
Posts: 157
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Bluebird
Engine: Caterpillar 3116
Rated Cap: 78?
We planned to do this upon my retirement, but as it turns out, it will happen sooner, travel, saving a ton of money as opposed to the house we have, which is going to be sold, and adventure, which we both dig.
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Old 01-06-2016, 10:59 PM   #26
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 94
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Collins
Chassis: Ford E350
Engine: 7.3L diesel
Rated Cap: 18
I find that working on the bus is kind of a neat cross between having a project car (I have an MG Midget I work on) and a fixer upper house. Some mechanical, some metal, some woodworking, some wiring - a bit of everything.
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Old 01-07-2016, 12:17 PM   #27
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Huron, South Dakota
Posts: 422
Year: 1976
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: Dodge S-600
Engine: 360 V8
Rated Cap: 66
Quote:
Originally Posted by perryT200 View Post
Going deep into the pages I have seen posts asking it people would do it again, and I have read several other comments on why people converted a bus; but no one ever seemed to ask what made them do it....

8 A new RV is a stupid waste of money, regardless of how much money i have.

9 A bus is safe because it was designed to carry children.

10 I am the creative type that likes the blank canvas after a demo to do as I like.

...
Of the items on your list, 8 and 9 are the best fits. Specifically, a bunch of things came together:
  • When I was twelve-ish years old, I first became enamoured with the idea of turning a school bus into a motor home. Since I liked both "hippie buses" and Winnebagos, rolling both into one vehicle seemed cool.
  • Being a Mopar enthusiast, I was delighted to discover big Dodge-based school buses.
  • Years later, my gf concluded that a bus conversion would be better than a factory motorhome for traveling with pets (which, while motoring, would stay in special enclosures for safety). She was the one who coined the name "Skunky Bus," inspired by the Vengabus in "We Like to Party".
Add in a windfall almost simultaneous with a local guy selling a Dodge bus with a Wayne body, and...
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Old 01-07-2016, 01:55 PM   #28
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Location: Statesville, North Carolina
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Year: 1993
Chassis: Thomas
Engine: International Navistar DT360
Rated Cap: 60
We travel with a goat, a rabbit, three cats, two dogs, and two people. The ability to upgrade from a pop-up to an enclosure that one of the freakishly smart cats can't escape, plus the customization for making all of them happy and having more space for us in a home that wasn't made of cardboard and canvas, were the major perks. There's also just the general quirky factor.

If I had bought an old used RV I wouldn't have been able to convince Dan to spend the money on a paint job. I've always wanted my ride to be green!
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Old 01-14-2016, 02:41 PM   #29
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Fairfield Bay, Arkansas
Posts: 163
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Chevy
Chassis: Ward?
Engine: 8.2 liter ?
Rated Cap: 24 Passenger
Because it's made of steel!
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Old 02-20-2016, 03:00 AM   #30
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Manitou Springs, CO
Posts: 219
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Ward
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DT466
Rated Cap: 65 passenger
1) A school bus parked in the side yard is funny.
2) At 42 my body said "No more sleeping in a tent!"
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Old 02-20-2016, 06:30 AM   #31
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Location: EHT New Jersey
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Year: 2003
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: International 3000RE
Engine: T444E/AT545
Rated Cap: 75
Mid life crisis. Instead of getting a sports car, I went with the bus
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Old 02-20-2016, 09:15 AM   #32
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Location: Houston, Texas
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Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
And believe it or not...a bus is WAY cheaper for an old guy than a 19 year old girl friend.
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Old 02-20-2016, 10:22 AM   #33
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Location: NUNYA
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Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT408, AT545
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
And believe it or not...a bus is WAY cheaper for an old guy than a 19 year old girl friend.

But not as much heart stopping excitement.
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Old 02-20-2016, 11:22 AM   #34
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Sydney, Nova Scotia
Posts: 35
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: Ford B700
Engine: New Holland 6.6 Diesel
Always wanted a toy hauler bus from the first time I saw one. When I started going to the drag strips back in the mid 60s there were a few buses converted to car haulers. In the 70s they were as plentiful as today's motorhomes pulling enclosed trailers but as the years went by I started to see less and less of them. Last year at Atlantic Canada's biggest event of the year I counted only 3 buses in 200+ pit spaces.

This is a big step up for me from a a 22 year old truck, an even older open car trailer, staying in motel$ and eating in restaurant$. This way I can pack food from home, sleep in the camper part and even have a place to store the race car all winter. Right now I'm really getting impatient waiting for decent weather so I can get at it. All that needs work is the exterior and the camper part because the rest of the bus is almost totally rebuilt or new(brakes, exhaust, suspension, fluid lines, tires, etc) You got to love taking over an abandoned project when all the expensive stuff is already done...
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Old 02-20-2016, 11:41 AM   #35
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Location: Vacaville, Ca
Posts: 1,634
Year: 1988
Coachwork: Crown / Pusher
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycal View Post
But not as much heart stopping excitement.
You just havn't found the right bus.
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Old 02-20-2016, 05:10 PM   #36
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Fairfield Bay, Arkansas
Posts: 163
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Chevy
Chassis: Ward?
Engine: 8.2 liter ?
Rated Cap: 24 Passenger
... and it's made of steel!
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Old 02-20-2016, 06:50 PM   #37
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 217
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freightliner HDX
Engine: CAT 3126B250
Rated Cap: 84
December 2014, my buddy was telling me of his idea to convert a bus to an RV. I laughed at him and tried to beat down every idea, but in the end I couldn't find a reason not to do it.

- an affordable and super strong RV for retirement
- living space if times get tough
- living space when developing property in the boonies
- something to take to Wasteland Weekend
- another hobby
- develop some crafting skills
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Old 02-21-2016, 12:30 AM   #38
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Location: Erie, PA
Posts: 62
like my my intro thread, im here for the hauling. the only motorhomes that can handle the amount of payload i have is a diesel class A, and I am sure everyone here knows how costly those are. only need about 20 odd feet of living space, so the big class A's are also way oversized for what i need.
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