How I converted a skoolie while boondocking / urban camping

[TheBusExperience]

Hey everyone, Thanks for welcoming me to the community!

I spent the summer converting my skoolie while doing the free camping routine. Including a full Rustoleum "roll on" paint job that was completed on a Portland side street.

Here is a link to my blog for the full story.

Let me know if you have any questions about the process. I'll be happy to help.

Michael Matarrese
TheBusExperience.com

[TN Redneck]

I have been following your build on your Blog page. I like what you have done. Once we get to AZ, I think I am going to start finally working on our Bus. Weird to say, but what you have done is just what I imagined ours would look like when done. Thanks for the inspiration.


Michael

[Versatile]

I think your paint will peel before long.

[Lowkee]

Originally Posted by Versatile

I think your paint will peel before long.

Can you please explain why you think this? I am getting ready to paint...

[Versatile]

I think so because in the blog he said "I only sanded the spots that were shiny like new because of being protected by decals".

Bus Conversion Paint Job (Part 1) - The Bus Experience

Spend about 5 times longer on the prep and you will be glad you did. Go back and look at it as if you were paying big bucks to get it prepped and ask your self how good a job did they do.

[TAOLIK]

I like the simplicity and openness of your bus. I also like your shower post with all the pictures walking through your instructions. Respectful criticism, you may want to find a way to vent your water heater to reduce moisture, co2 and other undesired bi-products of burning propane.

One of our users here Milkmania did a pretty cool vent for the an ecotemp L5 (same as you I think) outdoor water heater.

You can find more information about it in this thread here.

I stalked through your reddit profile a bit when you made after that post about the penny table. I liked reading about your security compromises and the transients on your roof as well. Sorry to hear about your window, maybe we can grab a beer in 8 months if we're both in Portland after my bus conversion is done. Best of luck to you for your future adventures!

And stay warm, it's freezing right now!

[tobeamiss]

Wowee! I checked out your build link and i love it! It's inspiring

Welcome to the club!!

[TheBusExperience]

Thank you so much for the positive words! It means a lot. I definitely questioned myself when working in a random Home Depot parking lot at 1 a.m. lol

[TheBusExperience]

Originally Posted by TAOLIK

I like the simplicity and openness of your bus. I also like your shower post with all the pictures walking through your instructions. Respectful criticism, you may want to find a way to vent your water heater to reduce moisture, co2 and other undesired bi-products of burning propane.

One of our users here Milkmania did a pretty cool vent for the an ecotemp L5 (same as you I think) outdoor water heater.

You can find more information about it in this thread here.

I stalked through your reddit profile a bit when you made after that post about the penny table. I liked reading about your security compromises and the transients on your roof as well. Sorry to hear about your window, maybe we can grab a beer in 8 months if we're both in Portland after my bus conversion is done. Best of luck to you for your future adventures!

And stay warm, it's freezing right now!

I like the vent idea. Right now the water heater is plumbed to the outside and not permanently installed. It's pretty quick to deploy and attach the lines. I lived in an off-grid cabin for 6 months and had a similar set up with the water heater outside the cabin. Guess I'm sort of conditioned to the inconvenience, but it's not ideal.

Thanks! That reddit post really blew up. I'm glad that security post was helpful.

[TheBusExperience]

Originally Posted by Versatile

I think your paint will peel before long.

You may be right. We'll see. It's 5 months old at this point and seems fine. I was surprised at the potential of these Rustoleum paint jobs. I wouldn't mind redoing it with more experience and in a controlled environment. I was working solo and had to pick my battles along the way. Certain decisions came down to time and energy conservation.

[Versatile]

I hope for you. This one is 4 years old. I have done quite a bit of scraping,wire brush wheel and sanding. I will post it when i get done.