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Old 02-25-2015, 02:01 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 12
[NJ/VA] New Blood checking in

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.

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Old 02-25-2015, 03:38 PM   #2
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Always room for one more.

Welcome.

Nat
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Old 02-25-2015, 06:08 PM   #3
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Gainesville. Georgia
Posts: 544
Year: 1992
Coachwork: bluebird
Rated Cap: 72
Welcome Mike...Good luck in your adventures.

I don't know much about buses so all I can add is that based on our experience is "when you see it you'll know it".

Our bus has most of what we wanted:

Hubby had been a bus mechanic for one of the local counties for 8 years and based on that kind of felt that he would prefer a flatnose, front engine, diesel.

and we ended up with 96 Bluebird, front engine, flatnose, deisel.

....and we also got more than we wanted:

She was already painted a color we can live with and having come from a Private Jewish School had alot of the public school requirements removed or modified.

From there she went to the boneyard where she ended up being rented out a couple of times to star in a movie called Firelight or Firefight starring Cuba Goodin Jr and got modified again, this time as a correction school bus, that as the movie goes carried a group of girls training to be firefighters to fires.

From that we got bars on all the windows to use in our conversions and a gate with lock to keep the inmates in, the back door sealed off with a large piece of wood covered in Formica and a large roof rack with heavy duty ladder.

So far we have used the gate in the rear to keep dogs or one specifically, confined when we need to leave the bus for any period of time. The formica sheets of wood have gone to a friend to use as we had no use for and the rest still sits outside to be used in our conversion, along with the roof rack which Hubby will remove at a later date, also to be cut up and used in the basement for storage.

Anywho....the moral is still, "when you see it you will know it"
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