Skoolie For Rent or Trial Run

[LeeniePercy]

I am sure that there are folks out there that have asked this question but I am struggling to find it on this forum.
Is there anywhere that one can say ...rent a skoolie for a week to try it out before I shell out 30K and break my back putting our dream into action?

Please don’t kill me if there is a thread out there that already tells you how to do this...

LeeniePercy

[family wagon]

There are places where a person could rent a production RV easy enough. If you did that, liked the RV concept, but felt that the manufacturer did everything all wrong or too cheap and you want to spend untold hours customizing your own... then yeah a skoolie might be for you. I haven't heard of anybody renting theirs out.

[LeeniePercy]

Yah totally I get that... We already looked into the RV idea but were unhappy with things like crappy insulation, building materials and smell.

I guess we can rent one...I just hate the plasticky smell of the RVs....

[johnbloem1974]

borrowing my mother-in-law's RV is what drove us to the skoolie world. I was amazed at how cheaply made something that cost over $50,000 was! I bumped into a drawer - it broke. I lightly kicked a panel near the floor - it cracked. etc. etc.
We ended up making a list of the things that were wrong with the RV and that's how we started to attack our build. Obviously, just starting with the bus shell was a *major* improvement over the flimsy fiberglass RV. We don't call 'em "sticks and staples" for nothing.

To answer your question though - I have not heard of anyone renting/lending out a skoolie. However - keep in the loop and as people have gatherings/get togethers - you could have a chance to see a bunch in person if that helps...


Good luck!

John

[LeeniePercy]

Thanks John
Yes to everything you said about RVs....its good to see all the things not to do.

We are going on a trip this summer and I thought it a good opportunity to test ourselves in a tiny environment... also we have not driven anything bigger than a full size van so this could also be a learning experience...

Thanks for your response
Eileen

[johnbloem1974]

You might also want to consider checking out a bus dealer (not sure if there is one in your area...) as they may let you test drive one. At least that way you could get a feel for the size/handling of a full-size bus...

John

[Twigg]

The problem RV makers have is weight.

They use lightweight chassis to keep the costs down and as a result they have to make the build as light as possible.

You would be astonished at the low allowance the average RV has for adding just normal luggage and equipment.

I saw one van conversion recently that was technically over-loaded as soon as the driver and passenger climbed aboard. The GCVW and the unladen weights were only about 300 lbs apart.

If they used truck chassis they could build them much more substantially, but the costs go up. The better Class A and coach conversions are very well built, but a Prevost costs $400k even before the RV manufacturer converts the empty shell.

I have a 40' Thomas. If a coachbuilder wanted an empty shell to build an RV for sale, that shell would probably cost 100k. He'd probably spend another 100k building it out and need around $250k to make a decent profit.

[Tigerman67]

There are a couple of sites that are basically Air B&B for RV's I don't remember their name offhand, but they shouldn't be too hard to find. Someone I know rents out their popup trailer on it several times a summer and has really helped pay for it.

I also did see a bus at a fixed location that was available for rent through Air B&B. I think they were hooked to water, sewer, electricity.

I would check out those sites and see if anything is close to you.

Since I plan on using my skoolie for RVing only a few weeks a year, it is tempting to rent it out, but I just can't see it being worth the risk if they clip a car while they have it. I assume that would be a hit against your liability insurance, and get the insurance agency to look at your policy again and decide if they want to keep you.

The other risk I see is that they don't know what they are doing, and could drive with the thing floored up a mountain pass and overheat my transmission. Probably last long enough to return it, but then what do you do when you blow a transmission which is worth 10x what you rented it out for.

If anyone has rented out their skoolie, would love to hear the experience, as I could imagine there are a few people a year that would like to try out the skoolie experience with the training wheels on.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by Tigerman67

There are a couple of sites that are basically Air B&B for RV's I don't remember their name offhand, but they shouldn't be too hard to find. Someone I know rents out their popup trailer on it several times a summer and has really helped pay for it.

I also did see a bus at a fixed location that was available for rent through Air B&B. I think they were hooked to water, sewer, electricity.

I would check out those sites and see if anything is close to you.

This^. I think it might have been England or some such but I saw a bus converted to a B&B type cabin. That particular bus was NOT going to move under its own power anytime soon.

Since I plan on using my skoolie for RVing only a few weeks a year, it is tempting to rent it out, but I just can't see it being worth the risk if they clip a car while they have it. I assume that would be a hit against your liability insurance, and get the insurance agency to look at your policy again and decide if they want to keep you.

The other risk I see is that they don't know what they are doing, and could drive with the thing floored up a mountain pass and overheat my transmission. Probably last long enough to return it, but then what do you do when you blow a transmission which is worth 10x what you rented it out for.

If anyone has rented out their skoolie, would love to hear the experience, as I could imagine there are a few people a year that would like to try out the skoolie experience with the training wheels on.

There's nothing different between an RV and a bus is this context. I could rent your $300k motorcoach, drive it over a Civic, and rip the oil pan off it. I would have to assume whatever the RV sites require for insurance would still apply. Most make you get a $1M coverage. Not sure what mitigation steps can be taken for drag racing the RV up a mountain. You could GPS it and depending on the bus, turn the ECU into a nanny.

I doubt you'll find many skoolies that aren't on cinderblocks for rent. My Provost may be a $500k bus but all I did was go down to the dealer and write a check. My $15k skoolie took me months of blood, sweat, and tears to build. I've left rawhide in it from knuckles. You ripped the door handle off of what? I'll kill you!!!!