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Old 02-20-2018, 04:19 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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NJ bus to cali

So I just got my first bus
Within the first week I've got the seats out and the roof painted

If gotten as far as where to get the weight ticket required in NJ and so far I've found a quarry that should be able to help out

I'll have the bus painted
And ready to go by may

Just intrested in people's idea's and experiences from already running through the process

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Old 02-20-2018, 05:29 PM   #2
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Our theory seems to boil down to "It's a lot of manual labor". It's a fun process and we all do it a little differently. There are a lot of opinions here that will help you avoid mistakes and save money.

So tell us what you've got planned. How far is this build going? Complete strip down with insulation, plumbing, electrical and interior? Or a weekend camper with minimal internal changes and a woodstove?
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Old 02-20-2018, 05:39 PM   #3
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Our theory seems to boil down to "It's a lot of manual labor". It's a fun process and we all do it a little differently. There are a lot of opinions here that will help you avoid mistakes and save money.

So tell us what you've got planned. How far is this build going? Complete strip down with insulation, plumbing, electrical and interior? Or a weekend camper with minimal internal changes and a woodstove?
One consideration is what to do with an eye on the future ... if, for example, you need to sell and move on, or want to do a different bus.

I would always advise folk to do the basics properly. It's not expensive and pays dividends.

We all start by taking out the seats. Many then go on to remove the floor, walls and ceilings, then build back to an empty shell with decent insulation.

That should be the starting point for everyone. Get a bus to that state and you have increased its value and fabricated a base vehicle that you can pretty much adapt in any way you like.

Crucially, so can anyone else. If you leave the OEM walls and ceilings in place it simply means that the interior will always be either hot or cold. Condensation will be an issue and any prospective buyer would know that they have to rip out everything you did, to do it right.

Yeah, it will cost a little in time and dollars, but surprisingly little given the investment you are making. You can fully insulate and reline even a 40' bus for under $1000, and even on a $10k build that is only 10% of the total.
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Old 02-20-2018, 05:41 PM   #4
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HI there

Well I bought the 01 internatonal t444e
For 1500 118000 miles and 6500 running hours
Air brake's
And 21 seats
I have all the seats removed and working on getting them to the scrap yard and I've just painted the roof white with rolled on rustoleum
Looking good
Also talking to an artist guy we know to get a mural done on the side cheap
I'll be taking the bus with minimal changes besides paint from here in NJ to San Diego for a move and unfortunatry I'll be selling the bus there
But I've had it for about a week and once I get the weather I'll be painting the rest white and letting our friend go crazy
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Old 02-20-2018, 06:17 PM   #5
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Well our bus is more of a 1 time camping sight seeing rv and once Im in California I won't have storage so I'll have to sell the bus with seats removed working radio stock roof and walls and I'm adding 2 temp walls 1 to separate our storage and 1 for our cat and bathroom

Our bus is mostly paint and exterior work I'm doing 1 week of traveling
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Old 02-20-2018, 09:25 PM   #6
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Wait, wait, I'm confused. You're keeping it to live in for a week or you're selling it in CA? And you're driving it to CA from NJ? You're going to want to keep that bus when you see how much rent is in CA.
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Old 02-21-2018, 11:26 AM   #7
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Haha no we currently have a very nice house were renting in egg harbor NJ
And we are moving to San Diego
My theory is I do handyman work for a living and have gone thru auto tech school
And have been doing carpentry for over 13 years
We are basically using the bus as a temporaey camper and moving truck instead of renting u haul and throwing the money away
This way I can resell the bus and get some of my money back
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Old 02-21-2018, 11:35 AM   #8
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I wouldnt do anything to it.. id pull the seats, change the oil / lube the chassis pack it full and drive it.. list it on sale as you leave... biug issue wit hselling ion california is will it be hard to regiuster an out of state bus in cali for its new owner... others can chime in but cali can be a PITA for out of state registrations..
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Old 02-21-2018, 12:12 PM   #9
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That is exactly my plan wereally having a mural done on the sides by a local friend of ours and hitting the road save the hotel money and try and sell the bus
But yes cali could be a pain in the ass but I'll be asking a very resonabe price for a bud with the seats already out as most people just don't have space to store seats and all the nonsense that's coming out of it
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Old 02-21-2018, 12:50 PM   #10
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That is exactly my plan wereally having a mural done on the sides by a local friend of ours and hitting the road save the hotel money and try and sell the bus
But yes cali could be a pain in the ass but I'll be asking a very resonabe price for a bud with the seats already out as most people just don't have space to store seats and all the nonsense that's coming out of it
So pics of mural? Yeah, if resell is the get that big metal as far south as possible to beat the last of winter...of course, life is what happens when you make plans...you may get to Cali and decide that bus is indeed the best option for housing

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Old 02-21-2018, 12:54 PM   #11
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We will be in san Diego by June 1st leaving NJ may 25th so we should get pretty good weather on the road
And as of now I have the seats out and roof painted white I need to white wash the entire bus
Hopefully if weather is decent tomorrow
And I should be meeting with our friend this Saturday so he can start as of now probably going to be rolling waves
Or desert to beach kind of setting but I'm leaving in our friends hands as we are not artits by any means hahaha
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Old 02-21-2018, 02:04 PM   #12
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Murals differ depending on taste. It may be a negative to a potential buyer. Why waste money on a non essential item that you're going to sell shortly anyways.
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Old 02-21-2018, 02:08 PM   #13
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Just something cool and different and hey if they don't like it I can knock the 150 off for rustoleum haha but my girlfriend is my partner in the bus and she loves the idea and so do I so just something cool to talk about on rocking chairs haha
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Old 02-21-2018, 04:06 PM   #14
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I say paint the mural, drive it to cali, unload it in your new apartment / house. then toss some mattresses down in it and take a nice ride up the pacific coast highway in it!!!
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Old 02-24-2018, 01:41 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Njlou View Post
So I just got my first bus
Within the first week I've got the seats out and the roof painted

If gotten as far as where to get the weight ticket required in NJ and so far I've found a quarry that should be able to help out

I'll have the bus painted
And ready to go by may

Just intrested in people's idea's and experiences from already running through the process
Congrats! Your moving along! Did you seal the roof prior to painting and if so what did you use. Mines gutted and I'm still researching what to use to seal before painting it a color. Super rainy in PNW so I need to get it right the first time [emoji6]

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