Hey all, Mike here. I've been lurking a while but recently signed up to ask a question and it was suggested I introduce myself (which I should've thought to do in the first place, my bad) so here I am.
I discovered the world of skoolies a few years ago and have since then never stopped dreaming of living and road tripping in one of my own. For the longest time it was just a pipe dream, but last October I gave up my apartment and shed about 80% of my worldly possessions in order to travel for a few months. Now that I'm back and ready to stay (relatively) put for a while, I find myself in the perfect position to make that dream of skoolie-ownership a reality.
My plan is to convert a short bus, though the biggest short bus I can find (I've drawn countless floor plans and my latest one has my minimum internal length down to 13'). My skoolie will be as much my home as my ride and I'll be living in it full-time. As such it'll be parked most of the year, though likely prone to the occasional road trip. It will be inaugurated in a road trip, actually, as I'll be doing the build in VA but living in TX. I've got a decent background in woodworking and basic construction, as well as basic electricity and plumbing knowledge but I'll be working on it with two buddies with more construction knowledge, and an electrician.
I've done some cursory research into makes and models but I'm still pretty lost, I'll admit. There are so many different makes, models, transmissions, engines, you-name-it that they all start to blend together. I'm reading, but it's slow going (there's a lot to read). I'd love any feedback or advice on what might be good for my needs.
I'm generally bad at unsolicited information and am not sure what else to add to my intro so I guess I'll cut off here for now and hope folks have questions because it's easier to answer questions than ramble.