Hawaii skoolie conversion

[Regulus]

Hey y’all, aloha!
My family was just gifted a school bus after being fired from and kicked off the farm I was managing due to covid.
Seats are out and just ripped up subfloor yesterday. Was a lot easier than I anticipated! Anyway, this bus will not be driving, and will be under cover for the remainder of its life. We also are gonna build kitchen and bathroom outside.

I’m wondering how this changes things? Most all the conversions I read about, are on the mainland, dealing with hot and cold, driving, and have kitchens and bathrooms.

I am removing screws and grinding rust, gonna fill the holes with something, do I need insulation on the floors?? Does the steel create moisture? The temp usually drops about 10-15 at night. I’m not worried about temps, just moisture.
After that decision, heavy rust primer, rust enamel. Then the floors, 1/2 inch or lower plywood to get me more head room (I’m nearly 6’3”) then will probably put in some 100% waterproof click flooring (for the kids, you know)

Anything I’m missing? or is there something you said to yourself you would have done if you didn’t have to worry about hot summers, cold winters, or the kitchen and bathroom taking up a bunch of space, please share!?

[nVisionary]

I would like to inquire of any update to your ventures? I'm planning to buy a lot on big island and the only thing I could afford off the bat would be a non-running skoolie so that our cat can have a safe place to stay. I'm unsure on the laws of what I can and can't renovate as a shed/living space on agricultural zoning however, and after some decent research I still haven't found an answer.

[Meathead]

80 degrees and an ocean breeze!

Welcome.

Moisture forms on the warm side of a heated space. The more heat, the more moisture. Based on my limited knowledge ( Ive been to HI twice and visited 3 islands) I don’t think you will need much heat. A/C will create moisture on the outside. No big deal.

Heat in a bus is mostly due to the sun hitting the roof and western side. Being under cover is good. I wouldn’t do floor insulation in your climate. Floor insulation is for cold climates in my opinion.

Breeze thru a bus on a beautiful day is heaven on earth. If you can position it to maximize breeze and still be under cover, you can adjust your windows….

Oh man, I’m in the mood for a nap! I going out to the bus now[emoji3]

[emoji3522]Dave