Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-31-2017, 06:50 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 58
Do you still live in the valley and are you going to Skooliepalooza?

tailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2017, 06:50 PM   #22
Bus Geek
 
brokedown's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Weeki Wachee, FL
Posts: 3,056
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Rated Cap: 72
We've done the futon thing in our short bus. It lets us have a bigger bed than we would be able to dedicate space for all the time, and a nice sofa during the day.
brokedown is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2017, 07:30 PM   #23
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Super find!!! Congrats!
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2017, 07:49 PM   #24
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,753
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
nice lookin shortie!! love it!!!
-Christopher
cadillackid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2018, 02:53 PM   #25
Bus Geek
 
Brewerbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Essex, MD
Posts: 3,738
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: Blue Bird TC RE 3904, Flat Nose, 40', 277" wh base
Engine: 8.3L Cummins ISC 260hp, MT643, 4.44 rear
Rated Cap: 84 pax or 1 RV; 33,000lbs
Quote:
Originally Posted by debbiejay4444 View Post
Lol. Indeed, Robin, it was the ultimate false sense of security.
You should try contractor work instead for some real excitement.

No engine pics here either. WTH??? What are all you people standing around gawking at?
Brewerbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-03-2018, 05:27 PM   #26
Skoolie
 
debbiejay4444's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 110
Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
nice lookin shortie!! love it!!!
-Christopher
Thank you, Christopher

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
debbiejay4444 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-03-2018, 07:01 PM   #27
Bus Geek
 
Robin97396's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
Look at you. Showing us the arce of your bus. The front end isn't damaged or something, is it? I got some ice driving experience retrieving geny fuel from town when our power went out.

That is a really crisp looking bus from what I can see. You never did tell us how you found that unicorn. Auction? You're keeping a lot of us in suspense. You used to talk more before you got a bus. It usually takes a year or two before someone gets tired of us. Ok, you're a quick study.

So what color is your bus going to be? I want to be able to recognize and honk if I pass you on opposite sides of the freeway.
__________________
Robin
Nobody's Business
Robin97396 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 09:13 AM   #28
Bus Geek
 
Brewerbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Essex, MD
Posts: 3,738
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: Blue Bird TC RE 3904, Flat Nose, 40', 277" wh base
Engine: 8.3L Cummins ISC 260hp, MT643, 4.44 rear
Rated Cap: 84 pax or 1 RV; 33,000lbs
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
So what color is your bus going to be? I want to be able to recognize and honk if I pass you on opposite sides of the freeway.
Is she on your hwy? I haven't even seen if she's right coast or left coast.
Brewerbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 09:45 AM   #29
Skoolie
 
debbiejay4444's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 110
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin97396 View Post
Look at you. Showing us the arce of your bus. The front end isn't damaged or something, is it? I got some ice driving experience retrieving geny fuel from town when our power went out.

That is a really crisp looking bus from what I can see. You never did tell us how you found that unicorn. Auction? You're keeping a lot of us in suspense. You used to talk more before you got a bus. It usually takes a year or two before someone gets tired of us. Ok, you're a quick study.

So what color is your bus going to be? I want to be able to recognize and honk if I pass you on opposite sides of the freeway.
My bus is in transit to Tennessee right now. Skoolie Homes helped me find the bus. Thanks to all of you, I knew what to ask for. Skoolie homes will also be doing the conversion, at least what I can afford for them to do. At my age, and lack of mechanical/carpenter ability I needed help with the conversion.

No damage to the bus at all, and no rust. They will be taking photos for me once it arrives.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
debbiejay4444 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 11:15 AM   #30
Bus Geek
 
Brewerbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Essex, MD
Posts: 3,738
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: Blue Bird TC RE 3904, Flat Nose, 40', 277" wh base
Engine: 8.3L Cummins ISC 260hp, MT643, 4.44 rear
Rated Cap: 84 pax or 1 RV; 33,000lbs
Quote:
Originally Posted by debbiejay4444 View Post
No damage to the bus at all, and no rust. They will be taking photos for me once it arrives.
Sounds like more pixie dust and unicorn farts to me.
Brewerbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 01:54 PM   #31
Bus Geek
 
Robin97396's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
I'm thinking unicorn farts smell kind of like fresh baked goods. I'll have to get back to you on that when I've found my unicorn. My current bus just smells like diesel when it belches.

I'd never heard of Skoolie Homes before. I know there's lots of people wanting to build buses professionally. There does seem to be a lot of yuppies wanting to drive buses these days. Personally I can't understand the attraction.

Deb, we could have gotten you through your build. It would likely take a lot of time compared to having the work done, but you'd have a new skill set too. There are quite famous bus builders in Colorado, but they're all expensive. If you've ever watched the tv show "Bus Life Ever" you see how the bus builders are getting greedy.

What have you chosen to have them install in your bus? A throne and black tank? Hydronic heating? Paint? Insulation? I'm just picking the awkwardly difficult projects. I had someone else spray my insulation after I got everything ready.

If you can run a grinder and a drill, you can make a skoolie. Like the rest of us you get good at covering up mistakes, and there will be mistakes. The reason it takes several years for most of us to build a bus is mostly because of personal indecision about how to proceed and questions about the best materials to use.

Skoolie Homes says they start at $35,000. Very well done skoolies usually sell for $20,000 or less. Most of us on this site usually complete a skoolie for between $10,000 and $20,000. I'm hovering at about $8,000, including the cost of the bus, but most people want a fancier build than what I've chosen.
__________________
Robin
Nobody's Business
Robin97396 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 02:13 PM   #32
Bus Geek
 
brokedown's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Weeki Wachee, FL
Posts: 3,056
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Rated Cap: 72
My bus is rolling at around 8k if you include the cost of repairs I have done! 30k is a big number.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
__________________
Keep up with us and our build!
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter
brokedown is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 03:20 PM   #33
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,753
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
Quote:
Originally Posted by brokedown View Post
My bus is rolling at around 8k if you include the cost of repairs I have done! 30k is a big number.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

and you have done quite a bit of mechanical repair that gives you more reliability on the road.. i doubt skoolie homes touches anything under the hood..
-Christopher
cadillackid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 03:29 PM   #34
Bus Geek
 
Brewerbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Essex, MD
Posts: 3,738
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: Blue Bird TC RE 3904, Flat Nose, 40', 277" wh base
Engine: 8.3L Cummins ISC 260hp, MT643, 4.44 rear
Rated Cap: 84 pax or 1 RV; 33,000lbs
Grand total is $8,177.79 This includes EVERYTHING.

Supplies thus far are $2,373.37 which also includes everything from MIG welder to sandpaper to rivet to wire. I've got back up cameras and other things that I haven't even installed yet.

Because I'm keeping the bus road legal even while in storage I'm at $5,804.42 for the bus registration, storage, insurance, etc.
Brewerbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 03:30 PM   #35
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,753
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
if i was going to pay that kind of money to have a skoolie built, I think id take my bus on a 2000 mile shake down trip in some hot and cold weather to make sure it does what I want it to do. and that id actually like driving it before paying 35 grand to have it converted..
-Christopher
cadillackid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 04:50 PM   #36
Bus Geek
 
Robin97396's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
I like the idea of a shake down trip, but during the summer. Even for a trip like that you'd need decent tires and a few things.

It's no wonder there are so many people getting into bus building. On tv they drop $150,000 to have someone go through the bus build process, and then the builders will commonly have a $20,000 overrun. I've never heard anything about mech maintenance from any of the builders. I'm pretty sure I could build a bus with all the reasonable toys needed for living off grid that we talk about here for about $20,000 give or take a little. I could probably get that done in a decade or so.

I bought a $2,500 bus, put $2,600 worth of tires on it. Spray foam was $800 to have it sprayed. And then for my bad decision I had a stereo/gps/cd blue ray player with backup camera installed for about $2,000. Hmmm, maybe I am over $8k now. But the point to exposing my budget is to show how little the cost of actual building materials are in a space this size. It's just not that expensive to build these buses. You can see where buying a bus with good tires helps immensely with the budget. Also I'd skip the stereo gps thingy.
__________________
Robin
Nobody's Business
Robin97396 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 07:28 PM   #37
Bus Geek
 
Tango's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
One thought regarding "bus builders" at 30 grand...what would that same 30K buy as a stick & staple?

A: A total piece of crap

At least starting with a Skoolie, you have a solid base.
Tango is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 07:54 PM   #38
Bus Geek
 
Robin97396's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
That's true, and a bus will last much better than the stick and staple. In 20 years the bus will still look like a bus, while the motorhome would look like a crack den after 20 years.

Hmmm, apparently all this menial labor on these builds does add up.
__________________
Robin
Nobody's Business
Robin97396 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 08:30 PM   #39
Bus Nut
 
Defjr333's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Culpeper, Virginia
Posts: 302
Chassis: Step Van
Engine: Prefer Diesel
Rated Cap: 14'-16' Step Van
It is not hard to spend a lot on this stuff. Just dropped $3k at Ikea, just for the bus(that i still have not bought)
Doud
__________________
Ebike Build Thread: https://electricbike.com/forum/forum...need-your-help
StepVan Build Thread: Coming Soon
Defjr333 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2018, 09:13 PM   #40
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,753
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
I agree on all points but I’d rather see axsokid bus get built.. driving yourxbus is the only way you’ll know..,and what if you don’t even like driving a bus .. for me it’s a total blast.. the sitxup high industrial feel , diesel sound, etc. but some may be expecting it to drive and sound like their pickup truck ..
it’s a. Lot easier to ditch a $2500 bus that you discover needs 10k of work before you convert it.. vs be stuck after..
Christopher
cadillackid is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.