How does your build compare to a "professional" conversion?

[WIbluebird]

I'm sure the builders will declare bankruptcy shortly and the money will be long gone.

Sucks for the buyers but that's the way these things usually go.

[Tejon7]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

Tanks are for sissies!

Plus how venting really (doesn't) work.

Is this for real?

Ha! Just got done watching this and a few of their other videos. Gotta hand it to him... Making a concept like "we're no longer installing waste tanks" sound like a benefit to the customer takes some real flair. That's what separates the con men from the con artists.

[TheHubbardBus]

Hahahaha. I think you nailed it, Tejon.

I rewound that video 10 times or more thinking "I must be missing the tanks". Nope. Who needs tanks when you have "the city". I'm not sure what that means, but I like to imagine it's like a rolling refuel via the Crimson Permanent Assurance.

[peakbus]

Just. Wow! So all those skoolies they build have to connect to sewer in an RV park whenever they stop. Except most RV parks don't allow skoolies- especially ones looking as shabby as these.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by peakbus

Just. Wow! So all those skoolies they build have to connect to sewer in an RV park whenever they stop. Except most RV parks don't allow skoolies- especially ones looking as shabby as these.

NO NO NO it's not THAT bad.
They can connect one of those portable tanks and when they're ready to go they can just carry it up into the bus.


SARCASM OFF

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

I saw that...and am, also, not surprised! Did you see the one where he talks about the "flat front, front engine pusher" bus. Maybe I've led a sheltered life, but I've not yet seen a front engine pusher...unless it's going in reverse?

And the video about the "pecks" water tubing. And the demo of the Eco Smart water heater, which he claims can provide over 6 gpm of hot water? I looked those up and the biggest one can provide just over 1 gpm...and Eco Smart specifically writes, "Do not use with a shower or multiple fixtures."

dang even my top of the line Navien 240 Combi wont give me 6 GPM or maybe just 6 GPM (I suppose any water heater can give 6 GPM with a 5 degree rise LOL)

[rossvtaylor]

Here's another video about that builder, from a super nice couple who picked up their $100k build last month. They paid the $75k deposit amount and finally...after lots of waiting and frustration...were able to just pick up their bus without having to pay the final $25k.

https://youtu.be/dbAqn3laW84

And here's the husband's blog about their experience with that:

https://roguewaveskoolie.wordpress.com/?order=asc

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

dang even my top of the line Navien 240 Combi wont give me 6 GPM or maybe just 6 GPM (I suppose any water heater can give 6 GPM with a 5 degree rise LOL)

All the more impressive when you consider they advise closing the 'pressure relief valve' (aka the only vent in the tank) after filling

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

i dont know RVIA code but i have dealt with intenational code for many years and it specically says that there is no shutoff allowed in the specific pressure relief valve line.
sometimes and even from my govt. inspectors it can be mis interpereted and i probably spelled it wrong but a PRV can be a pressure relife valve for safety or a PRV pressure regulating valve.
the difference is one is screwed directly into the tank and is there to protect the tank and occupants around it by by popping of around 60 psi or 210 degrees of temp. out of your water heater.
in a bus i would pipe it out.
the the PRV for water inlet is different.
it is a pressure regulating valve that you put into the water coming in from whatever hookup for you connect to.
there are many types and i cant recommend a specic one?
and i caint reccomend any specific piping.
in my builds i do what i know.
copper tube
cast iron
pvc pipe
and some better
some of this stuff if just stupid much less completly dangerous

[TheHubbardBus]

I was digging on what they called it, Jolly Roger, not what it actually is. Not talking about the water heater, but rather the fact that with their set-up there won't be any water flowing to heat.

They think the only vent on the tank - and the PVC ball valve they attached to it - is a 'pressure relief valve' (to keep the tank from blowing up when you fill it - their words, not mine). And that once you fill the tank you can close this valve (once again, the only vent on the tank) and leave it closed until you're ready to fill up again.

Just another (of a multitude) of examples of how they don't understand even the most basic of basics when it comes to any of the subsystems they're attempting to implement.

[kazetsukai]

Stopped after hearing about hooking up the inverter by running an extension cord out the window... so many things to say about that electrical job, its basically all wrong.

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

Tanks are for sissies!

Plus how venting really (doesn't) work.

Is this for real?

There's just something missing here... The first working iteration of something like running water or fitting a fridge into a spot, that's just proof-of-concept stage. "Can I even open the fridge door in this orientation" stage. To get something usable/worthwhile you then have to apply known use cases to try and break the proof of concept (if I move the bus will the fridge stay in place, if I boondock / dry camp with no sewer hookup will the drainage still work, etc) and you apply as many edge cases and "nitpicky" refinements until you've satisfied your requirements.

These folks got to proof-of-concept stage for every aspect of infrastructure and just left it there. I agree with another poster, don't "fix" it, start over.


There are so many problems with my build, so many things I wish I did differently, things I want to fix in the next build- but nothing remotely of the scale seen here. I mean, if you know you need a valve to fill the tank without expanding it, you have to be able to put 2 and 2 together, to realize that your pump will now be fighting a vacuum as it pulls water out of that ventless fresh tank, right? Are they going to hide that valve behind a wall somewhere?

I could understand making these mistakes on the first build. But I'd never sell that to someone, I'd use it and iron out the bugs for a while first. These people, if asked to live in their creations for any period of time... I wonder how they would fare. I would guess not well.


Thanks for the video, OP.

[TheHubbardBus]

The more I think about this, the more I've gone from mirthful laughter to growing anger. $75+K is the difference between a home and being out on the streets for many folks, especially if the people purchasing them are expecting a mobile 'home' as a result. Then to think of the electrical alone... how long will it be before a family including young children burns to death in one of these builds?

If anyone from Lone Star Skoolies is reading this thread, you might wish to consult a lawyer. Because no amount of Docu-Signing is going to exempt you from gross negligence and the associated legal burden when one of your sh*tboxes goes up in flames.

[EastCoastCB]

I just gotta say that "Skoolie Homes" is another company to outright avoid.
They're dirty, sketchy and downright dishonest.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by WIbluebird

I'm sure the builders will declare bankruptcy shortly and the money will be long gone.

Sucks for the buyers but that's the way these things usually go.

With "skoolies" in full fad mode I think people will continue to collect the $$ from the naive and gullible.
This is the same situation with shitty car restoration shops. They'll post up and stay there ripping people off for decades.
A sucker is born every minute.

[milkmania]

It’s kinda off topic... but, it’s business related.
I own and operate a limousine service, and I absolutely refuse to fleece my clients!
I have no problem meeting a client out in the public and engaging with them, it happens all the time. They all love their experience!
I operated 2007-2014 previously... bought another limo September 2021, getting a lot of return customers!
Anyway, drives me nuts to see companies get all they can out of unsuspecting customers,.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by milkmania

It’s kinda off topic... but, it’s business related.
I own and operate a limousine service, and I absolutely refuse to fleece my clients!
I have no problem meeting a client out in the public and engaging with them, it happens all the time. They all love their experience!
I operated 2007-2014 previously... bought another limo September 2021, getting a lot of return customers!
Anyway, drives me nuts to see companies get all they can out of unsuspecting customers,.

When you get a reputation for being honest and fair you gain a higher quality customer base. People that won’t trash your equipment and won’t take advantage of you. As a result you can be fair on pricing and not need to fleece people as your reputation and respect by customers keep business flowing ..

[WIbluebird]

Getting a roof raise AND a conversion done in 6-8 weeks?!?!

The end result sure looked like it

[TheHubbardBus]

Love the ongoing saga. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Did they tell the customer they put in insulation & lied?
"What's this red lever do??" "I dunno. Let's cover it up!"

[PhilipE]

As everyone has noted the electrical is a nightmare. Poorly layed out and installed. Plumbing is just as bad. What no one has mentioned is the very poor quality wood working in the build. I lay no claim to being a wood worker but I have thrown away better quality wood items I have built that didn't look that bad.

Every aspect of that build is wrong. Those people should be paying the owners while they learn. I watched the first video all the way threw. I stopped at the outside of the second bus. I knew it wouldn't get any better after the bad outside work.

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

Love the ongoing saga. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Did they tell the customer they put in insulation & lied?
"What's this red lever do??" "I dunno. Let's cover it up!"

Crazy, right?! Who would even think of covering the door emergency release knob? Or the breaker panel latch? Idiots... that's who.

And, yes, about the insulation. They even sent a photo, from just the right angle, showing foam board in place in one part. I think I found that one spot with the camera.