Hello, from southeast Wisconsin!

[miwealia]

My wife and I are new to the skoolie community - so new that we haven't even bought a bus yet! We plan to get a 5-window sometime this spring or early summer, and then build it up with just enough of the bare essentials (mainly a bed ) to take it for a few camping trips, to see if this is what we want to do long-term. If it is, you'll see us here a lot more as we begin our build in earnest!

[Meathead]

Welcome. That’s a great idea.
Minimal [emoji1314] hit the road. I’ve seen busses with like a 2 day build.
Bang some 2x4s together for bunks, old sofa, and lawn furniture. Or as he called it indoor/outdoor furniture. Coleman stove and you’re ready.

I’m not suggesting that that’s your plan. I just don’t knock anybody’s bus. Starting small is a great way to figure out what you want to do.

Peace

[miwealia]

Originally Posted by Meathead

Welcome. That’s a great idea.
Minimal [emoji1314] hit the road. I’ve seen busses with like a 2 day build.
Bang some 2x4s together for bunks, old sofa, and lawn furniture. Or as he called it indoor/outdoor furniture. Coleman stove and you’re ready.

I’m not suggesting that that’s your plan. I just don’t knock anybody’s bus. Starting small is a great way to figure out what you want to do.

Peace

Yep, we've got a camp stove, lawn chairs, and card table. Other than getting a toilet seat that fits over a 5-gallon bucket, we just need to bang those 2X4s together for a bed and get a decent memory foam mattress. We are SO over the blow-up mattresses that we've used for years in a tent, sometimes getting wet in a deluge, usually waking up several times during the night to re-inflate our "high quality" inflatable mattress. We are definitely ready for the next step up!

If we fall in love with having a skoolie (and I think we will!), we'll then take a more serious look at what kind of build we'll do.

[Mountain Gnome]

I got a $35 metal frame double-twin bunk-bed off craigslist (using the top for a shelf), a wire-frame shelf at HD, and attached a coleman look-a-like stove to the shelf, and called it good. Oregon gave me a motorhome tag with that.


Sleeping on that twin mattress was like the luxury to me. I'm used to a 1/2" thick 3/4 length inflatable backpacker's ultra-light pad (Thermarest) and sleeping on the ground. Even when I had a house and a futon, I slept on the floor in the loft on that pad. Fortunately that mattress was extra-firm, the way I like it.



Since then, I ditched the bunk-bed (too wide, too low headroom, and squeeky as hell when driving) and built my own bed-frame that allows more storage underneath and that can widen to just bigger than a twin or convert to a couch, with a shelf above hung from the ceiling and attached to the wall just above the windows. Much better!


For a sleeping pad, now I splurged and got an REI "camp-bed". It's 2" thick! But I prefer it when it is filled to da max stiff. I've used it since last spring, and I had to add 2 breaths 2 or maybe 3 different times since then. It's got an R-value of 7.6, so it keeps me nicely warm below freezing. I have a 0°F down sleeping bag, and last winter I had to zip two (left- and right-hand zippers) together to stay warm at night, cocooned inside, even with a rubber-foam pad, 2 blankets, and the 1/2" thick Thermarest. This winter, I use only one of the bags as a blanket, sleeping under it, not in it. Much more comfortable, and I don't need to widen the bed to keep the bag(s) from falling on the floor.



But anyway, I got by in the meantime.....

[miwealia]

Originally Posted by Mountain Gnome

I got a $35 metal frame double-twin bunk-bed off craigslist (using the top for a shelf), a wire-frame shelf at HD, and attached a coleman look-a-like stove to the shelf, and called it good. Oregon gave me a motorhome tag with that.

That's my next goal - to figure out what I need to do to a school bus in order for Wisconsin DOT to let me switch the tag.

[Mountain Gnome]

Originally Posted by miwealia

That's my next goal - to figure out what I need to do to a school bus in order for Wisconsin DOT to let me switch the tag.

Most states I hear require more than Oregon. Usually a sink also, miminum. I have mine installed, but not plumbed in any way. I can pour in water from a bottle, and drain it into a bucket, for now.