Got the bug in Oklahoma!

[montanatown]

There are so many options its not really even funny. The cool thing about skoolies is that each person has their own desires and expectation and gets to build to suit. I have seen many vehicles come thru the shops buses, trucks, etc. and there is always a surprise or two waiting for you somewhere. So I agree, do as much due diligence as you can in selecting a bus. think about as many of the things as you can when you read the other builds as to what you would do in that situation. I have to say I haven't heard that many major issues from most folks over all but it can happen. Size matters! Inside and out. I find most of the builds to be more gentle giants and there sure some huge space advantages to the flat front units. I however come from the mountains of Montana and plan to do a lot of dirt road and back country living with mine. This makes ground clearance and suspension a major concern for me. Turning radius also is an issue. I drove a flat blue bird unit that was quite a bit longer than mine and it needed twice the room to turn around. Not so good on a mountain top and some places like glacier national park have restrictions on size. So I say that not to sway you in one direction or another but to say the best interior conversion in the world is worthless if the bus doesn't meet the rest of your needs. So think a lot about whats the most important things for you in the bus and make sure you stay focused on those requirements when you start looking to buy. my personal experience with any auction even government ones has been disappointing. Mine was a recent out of service unit from a school district who traded a few in when they purchased replacements from Midwest transit. Then Midwest did an inspection fixed a few details and cleaned it up to sell.

look forward to hearing more about your process and the other comments here, so many here on skoolie or just awesome.

[Chadluc]

I bought my tc2000 40ft bluebird from TNT auctions in las Vegas,nv. All the buses were from the las Vegas school district and all buses were full of fuel.I paid2000. Turn key and go w full tanks.

[Invisicat]

That's great, Chadluc! Montanatown, I have been learning more about the buses on here. Read someone's post last night that the flat-nose have understorage, so that's one more thing to consider. I want to be off-grid as much as possible, so I'm going to need more space to store water. Glad to get this tip about driving and maneuverability. I might see if someone with a bus locally would care to give me a parking-lot driving lesson, just so I can get a feel for it.