Interested in learning more about school bus conversions.

[Wayne]

Hello
My name is Wayne and I just joined this forum, so hello everyone.
My wife and I are considering taking our children out of school, home schooling them for 2-3 years and hitting the road.
My wife and I have drove around the country twice before , but without kids and in a Scotty trailer.
This time I would need something much larger, I think I have narrowed my search down to the coach I want ( A Blue Bird )
But I do not have 50K + to spend even though I might get a good portion of the money back when I resell it from what I have read?
I have been looking at School buses, that’s how I ended up here. I cannot believe how inexpensive a late model school bus really is.
My question is.. Does anyone know of a company preferably in Florida that converts school buses into touring motor homes?
It sounds like a great project - converting a bus, but I do not have the time and space to do it.
I would like to see if there is anyone out there doing conversions and get an idea of how much it would cost?
I seem to be getting obsessed with school buses now, I have noticed that there are no compartments for gen, water heater and storage and other stuff,
Where you guys normally put these items when you do conversions.
Thanks a lot,
Wayne.

[lornaschinske]

http://www.rv-busconversions.com/index.html has a page with LOTS of links. Some are converters but I don not think anyone converts skoolies. Why don't you just buy buy an already converted bus.

Be careful about starting homeschooling. You may never go back to a public school. I pulled my kids out of public school after the 3rd grade. Homeschooled them til graduation.

[bus-ted]

Like Smitty said, I think if you researched a good bit your self about what you wanted in a conversion, and then hired out for help- I think you could get a great conversion for a slice of what you'd pay a "professional".
Speaking for myself, if I saw a request for help installing various aspects of a conversion on, let's say, craigslist, I'd be willing to contact that person. Though my own bottom dollar wage is a bit more than $10/hr- I'm sure there are people that would enjoy the opportunity to help with such a project and could contribute more than just their back, if you follow me.
Anyhow, I think your whole goal is a noble one, and I wish you the best in your pursuits.
I home school my son, and have since the first grade. We live an average of two to three months of the year on the road, and without going into my own personal ideals too deeply, I think that my choices have helped shape a well adjusted and tuned in "to the good stuff" human being. Not only that, but he is free to get up and urinate anytime he pleases! Doesn't even have to raise his hand- imagine that!

[Wannabe]

Agree with majority. You can do the conversion yourself far cheaper and better than any pro. We are doing our conversion in our driveway starting out and then we will be moving the bus to the backyard. So far, we have taken the seats out , cleaned and washed (sanitized with Bleach) the interior, removed the stop signs, and taken off two of the front mirrors (it had 6). Two weekends total and 2 days of work. I can't help but wonder if anybody had ever cleaned this bus of ours.

[crazyidea]

Personally, when the time comes, I have no idea where I will work on the bus, find the time, or acquire the skills needed to complete the job, however; these things seem far too personal to be completed by contracted labor. Even if you hire help, chances are you'll need to be there a lot of the time to guide the project in the right direction because, let's face it, this whole skoolie notion isn't exactly mainstream.