Post Hurricane Skoolie - Help Please?

[anndr0id]

Hi! Vandweller here, so a friend who lost their car and home came to me to ask for help because she wants to buy a bus. I have no clue what to tell her (I told her to look for an RV but they are pieces of crap for what she could afford), she's running out of money and about to be homeless, so I guess it's less of the fact that it's a bad idea, and more it's better than nothing.

She has $5k max to spend, and found some school buses online and wants to buy one and live in it (essentially mattress and camping stove at first) and slowly build it out. I don't know anything about school buses and I've tried to do some research but honestly I felt like I could ask and get better info than what I could cobble together myself in one night to write up for her.

What's the minimum one would need to go from school bus to something they could live in (in the Carolina Fall heat), and is it really even plausible for that amount of money? Couldn't find existing conversions anywhere close. I assume even the initial task of getting all the seats out isn't easy. I also was thinking that if it's going to be her primary vehicle, I know the big ones get like 10mpg. So secondly, is there a model or size you'd recommend that's going to be find-able at that price but still doesn't get too bad milage and would be more likely to be mechanically sound?

We are in the southeast, and have just found things on Craigslist at the time.

Thank you sooo much for any answers and your time, you all are awesome! I'm still doing as much research as possible myself.

[magnakansas]

I think you could find a short bus that is already able to be lived in. Here is how I find stuff I am looking for on craigslist, go to the menue and pick state, then one by one go through each town/city/region listing and on the top left menu type the word bus.... then select the thing that says "bus in for sale" and scroll through and look. takes time but there are buses out there that can be had.

william

[magnakansas]

https://hickory.craigslist.org/rvs/d...684459123.html

[hollywood]

Don't freak out about taking seats out, any one with wrenches can do it. It will take very little work for someone to have a dry roof over there head with a bed and cooking(like you said, camp stove). Running water will be a little more work, but storage containers or 5 gal. buckets are fine if its a emergency deal. Search "Hurricane Toilet", I have a bus for sale, PM for details if she is interested. I'm in VA, have family and friends in NC, you guys got hit hard, prayers still.

[hollywood]

this may be a great deal for her, the one in Hickory

[Booyah45828]

Originally Posted by magnakansas

https://hickory.craigslist.org/rvs/d...684459123.html

I would seriously consider this. Although taking seats out is uncomplicated(I wouldn't call it easy), it is work that I would skip in a heartbeat.

That and the heat pump and generator are an added bonus.

[dan-fox]

Man, someone should jump on that! If the generator is a diesel, you could strip it out, keep it, and sell the bus for what you paid easily enough. Good bus for a post-apocalyptic lifestyle.

For the record, the method that MagnaKansas outlined for doing national CL searches is fine, but a quick Google on "craigslist search engine" yields the following:

"SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & morehttps://www.searchtempest.com/

Search by state, driving distance, or just search all of craigslist*, eBay and more. The most trusted classifieds search engine. *Not affiliated with craigslist.

Craigslist Search Engine: Easily Search ALL of Craigslist
zoomthelist.com/
Want to search ALL of Craigslist at once? Or do you want to search an entire state at once? ZoomTheList is the Craigslist search engine you've been looking for.

All of Craigslist
All of Craigslist
The easy way to search all of Craigslist pages in craigslist.org."

Handy stuff. I use searchtempest, myself.

[dan-fox]

Hmmph. Sorry for all that useless whitespace showing up. Next time I'll pass the text through a text editor and try to scrub it a little better.


Edit: I edited! No more useless whitespace.

[magnakansas]

I used to use those same search methods, although much more mundane, going city by city yields more targets. I am not faster but I am able to be more thorough.

william

[NotAClue]

Forgot all about search tempest, use to use it years ago!! Hunting for bus myself but do not want to have to drive it across nation to get it home- I am 14 miles from the ocean in Oregon so ruling out East Coast and Midwest. Book marked it, thank you for info!

[anndr0id]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! Waiting to hear back from the Hickory bus, fingers crossed.

[anndr0id]

Thanks again everyone. Found this and think we’re going to drive out to buy it today, I hope it’s good. Fingers crossed! There’s a lot of displaced people around from the hurricane still it seems.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/c...706708541.html

[Michael E James]

Here is what you need to do. YouTube see Navigation Nowhere, Jax Austin, Google "The Ultimate Van Conversion Cheat Sheet", ross@alternativehomestoday.com. This will get you on the gight path to learn how to buy a bus.

[dgorila1]

There are about 6 or 8 buses parked on a lot on route 168 around Currituck or Moyock. Drove by them last week on the way down and back from Nags Head. The school district logos are blacked out so I’m assuming they’re former auction buses that someone bought. Probably for sale but I wasn’t looking hard as we drove by. Check CL for that area. There are some buses listed in the Norfolk CL, might be those. Good luck.

[Lherrlinger]

That bus in hickory is a steal she’ll probably only get8 mpg but if she has a bike to ride she should be fine she just needs a place to park it

[cowlitzcoach]

I think it would be very possible to make a quick and usable conversion for $5K.

Spend $3K on a bus and find a motorhome or travel trailer that is a total mess but has usable fixtures for under $1K. Salvage what you can out of the RV, install it all into the bus, and then sell the scrap that is leftover and you should be able to do it all on the cheap.

Good luck!

[Four Dogs Farm]

Hello. I have a '97 Thomas school bus for sale in the Charleston, SC area. It has already been stripped of all the seats and is ready to be built into whatever you can come up with. It is a good running / driving bus. I am asking $5000 or best offer. I have it listed on this site as well.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Four Dogs Farm

Hello. I have a '97 Thomas school bus for sale in the Charleston, SC area. It has already been stripped of all the seats and is ready to be built into whatever you can come up with. It is a good running / driving bus. I am asking $5000 or best offer. I have it listed on this site as well.

Has it been underwater?

[Four Dogs Farm]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Has it been underwater?

No it has not.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

I am in NC also.
Sorry just now getting my stuff back together and starting to catch up but if anyone in nc needs a place to stay instead of being homeless PM me
My house is a mess but I am doing the roof this weekend and room buy room after that but it's still a place to sleep or you they can sleep on my bus in my driveway with bath and all to see if they like the bus life.
Full fenced in backyard for animals.
Any one around me needs help call.
Still have plenty of food and water stored from this one ready for the next and anyone in need is more than welcome.
If around my house doesn't work I can and will move it to the local state campground and help pay the fee as long as I can. But the offer is always open