New Guy from New Jersey

[MikeRodia]

Hey Guys,
Completely new to the bus conversion/tiny house community. After college I moved back home and have been unable to move out due to loan payments. Now I'm ready to leave, and I want to do it my self. I love tinkering and building after after a ton of research in bus conversions and tiny houses I think bus is the way for me to go. Goal is to make a bus one person fully livable within a year. I am sure I'll need tons of help. First step is to find a bus and somewhere to park it while I work since my driveway in the suburbs won't do.

Look forward to asking you all a million questions.
Mike

[headinthetrees]

You'll find all the knowledge you need (and plenty you dont) here to make your dream happen. Just put some good legwork into finding the right bus, preferably one that didn't put in its dues on the east coast where salt is abundant. Picking a good starting point makes a huge difference.

If you've got the scratch to pick this up for whatever it sells at, it would make a great conversion. Its in Ohio by the way, not sure how far you're willing to go.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/showth...0&goto=newpost

Anyway welcome to the forums.

[EastCoastCB]

There are more than PLENTY great buses on the east coast.
My bus has virtually zero rust and its a freshly retired 1992 Ward. Its a 23 year old bus thats spent its whole life here in the east.
By the way buses from Ohio tend to be very well cared for but some of the absolute rustiest in the nation. Same with Michigan.
Op some of the best bus deals I've found have been in Maryland and Jersey. I saw a very clean Thomas RE go for 1800 recently in Md.
Buses from Ga are usually really.good, too.
Merry Xmas to all btw! Hohoho!

[headinthetrees]

Ya I know virtually nothing about buses anywhere east of the sierras, just from what I've heard you should be extra cautious about the rust on buses from snowy/salty states.

[EastCoastCB]

Florida buses command much higher prices than surrounding states for some reason. They do rust here, especially in the south florida area. Both my buses came from Ky and had virtually zero rust. They even salt the roads there and mine looks almost new underneath.
There are only a few states I'm kinda leery of buying from. South Carolina buses, at least in my experience, are often pretty rusty and poorly maintained. That's one state I have never found much of interest in as far as buses. Thats one example.
I can handle a little rust, but there are certain states one should be a little careful of. Michigan and Ohio...
I've seen some great buses from New England. Lots of salt and snow there but many of their districts rake great care of their buses. New York and New Jersey have both tempted me with some great bus deals before, but Ky is as far as I'm going for a bus thus far.
Hope everyone had a great xmas!

[dond]

Long way to travel but I got an AZ bus in Oct.
Spent lots of time under buses, the one I got doesn't even look like it's been on a dirt road let alone in snow.

Good luck in your quest and welcome.