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Old 05-27-2015, 10:41 AM   #1
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: Eastern Kentucky
Posts: 76
Talking Howdy!

Hello to all of you Skoolie Masters, Neophytes, and everyone in-between! I've only been lurking here for a couple of months, so I fall in the Neophyte category

I'm a single, 49 year old woman, and I dream of one day living for next to nothing on a little piece of land that I can grow/raise my own food on.

Up until fairly recently, I thought that living in a camper was the best option for me, but after much research, I've decided that sticks and staples are probably a bad idea. A camper would probably fall apart before I complete the dream.

Here's the plan:

Get the appropriate bus. Make only the necessary changes to make it livable.

Slowly convert it to a cozy, tiny home, while saving the money for the perfect piece of land.

Move to my little paradise, and live in the bus while I spend 3-5 years building a small house and making the land productive by whatever means necessary.

I don't want to rush the purchase of the bus, because it will be my home for at least 7 years or so. That's why I decided to register here. I'm going to need some advice on my purchase.

And probably everything else

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Old 05-27-2015, 01:47 PM   #2
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Winlcok, WA
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I suppose the first question that comes to mind is why would you need to build another home once you have your bus built?

If you make the right decisions in regards to floor plan and amenities you can end up with a pretty nice house built into a bus.

There have been several people who have chroniciled their builds that included roof raises and slide outs. With enough imagination you could build out a bus that is still road worthy that could have well in excess of 300 sqaure feet of living space. It could easily go more than that if you built a loft into a part of the bus. Sharkey built a 40' Crown that has a sunken rear living area with a loft over head. The same sort of floor plan could be achieved in a Type 'D' FE bus or a Type 'C' conventional bus.

But in order to do any of that you first need to determine what type of bus is going to be your bus of choice. Once the type of bus is chosen you need to narrow the search to which power package will work the best for you. And then to narrow it a little more you will need to decide what your budget is going to be for the purchase of your bus.

Good luck and happy trails to you!
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Old 05-27-2015, 02:09 PM   #3
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: Oklahoma aka "God's blind spot"
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Year: 1989
Coachwork: 1853FC International/Navistar
Chassis: 35' Retired Air Force Ambulance
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ElizaHasAPlan,
I've got a similar plan, but with using 2 school buses... one to live in while I work on the other one and build it the way I want... then move into it. Selling the other one, if needed.

Actually located one at local salvage yard without front end, and I have a way of hauling it where I need it. stay in it, until I find the bus I want.... saving $900 a month rent.
I won't be "building a home" anytime soon.... unless it's this
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Old 05-28-2015, 08:24 AM   #4
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Location: Eastern Kentucky
Posts: 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach View Post
I suppose the first question that comes to mind is why would you need to build another home once you have your bus built?

If you make the right decisions in regards to floor plan and amenities you can end up with a pretty nice house built into a bus.

There have been several people who have chroniciled their builds that included roof raises and slide outs. With enough imagination you could build out a bus that is still road worthy that could have well in excess of 300 sqaure feet of living space. It could easily go more than that if you built a loft into a part of the bus. Sharkey built a 40' Crown that has a sunken rear living area with a loft over head. The same sort of floor plan could be achieved in a Type 'D' FE bus or a Type 'C' conventional bus.

But in order to do any of that you first need to determine what type of bus is going to be your bus of choice. Once the type of bus is chosen you need to narrow the search to which power package will work the best for you. And then to narrow it a little more you will need to decide what your budget is going to be for the purchase of your bus.

Good luck and happy trails to you!
I'm going to build a small house that will make it easier for me to take care of myself until I can't do it any more. No stairs, minimal space to clean, etc.

Also, I'm in love with natural building methods. Strawbale and cob with a living roof. I want to do it while I'm still physically strong enough.

So, once I'm set up on my little homestead, I'd like to sell or even give the bus to someone who really needs it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by milkmania View Post
ElizaHasAPlan,
I've got a similar plan, but with using 2 school buses... one to live in while I work on the other one and build it the way I want... then move into it. Selling the other one, if needed.

Actually located one at local salvage yard without front end, and I have a way of hauling it where I need it. stay in it, until I find the bus I want.... saving $900 a month rent.
I won't be "building a home" anytime soon.... unless it's this
That's a really big house! Too much work for me, I'm afraid

It's beautiful though. I love barn style homes, especially when there's plenty of wood inside. Like ceilings and walls and floors.

That extra $900 a month savings will get you where you want to be pretty quickly, I'm guessing.

Good luck with the hunt!
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