New Skoolie

[aaprcob]

Hello, everyone!

I’m 18, fresh out if HS and looking into starting a skoolie conversion. I’m excited to share my ideas and get feedback, as well as learn just about everything there is to know from you fine folk.

My hope is to find a 40 footer flat nose (preferably Thompson, but I know how difficult that might be.) and then it into a “business car” of sorts— inspired by the old RR Tycoons of yesteryear. I’d love to have a Master stateroom, Guest room, and leave the rear open with the stock windows as a beautiful lounge/dining area.

Looking forward to meeting all of you!

[Rucker]

Welcome!

Pick the best bus you can, mechanically and body-wise. You'll be putting 3-4 years worth of work in and you want it to be reliable when done.

And to quote another colleague here, plan the work so you can enjoy the bus even before it's complete. Phase the work so you aren't just working on the bus, but getting use out of it as well.

Finally, spend time in this forum looking for tips and tricks, and take notes about which threads may be helpful to you in the future. I'd start by searching 'best bus' or such, to see what people have said about bus selection.

[nikitis]

Originally Posted by aaprcob

Hello, everyone!

I’m 18, fresh out if HS and looking into starting a skoolie conversion. I’m excited to share my ideas and get feedback, as well as learn just about everything there is to know from you fine folk.

My hope is to find a 40 footer flat nose (preferably Thompson, but I know how difficult that might be.) and then it into a “business car” of sorts— inspired by the old RR Tycoons of yesteryear. I’d love to have a Master stateroom, Guest room, and leave the rear open with the stock windows as a beautiful lounge/dining area.

Looking forward to meeting all of you!

Good on you for jumping right into this situation. If I were your age and starting out in life after HS, I would do the same thing today. This is the only way to get ahead in my mind today. You may need a small loan to buy the bus and repair any items it may have. Make sure you have a solid engine and body first before buying. Other items can be replaced simple enough in most cases, but an engine replacement is 8-18k. Look for something with 140k miles or less so you have some genuine life left in the bus. If you can do this and live in the bus for 10+ years, and land a good Technology job that allows you to work from home (bus), during those 10+ years, you can really get ahead of your peers monetarily wise as they will be throwing money down the rent hole.

Also as an 18 year old this kind of endeavor can be a bit frightening, but don't fret. It's a wise choice but does require a little starter capital for the purcahse and initial maintenace items. Good on you!

[Ronnie]

I like the business car idea. "Mansions on Rails" is a great book for ideas. I do have to say I see many with grand ideas, but they never get finished. Maybe you already have done projects and finished them so this may not apply. If you have not done a big project before I would suggest getting any bus and doing a basic conversion just to get the feel for it. Also you will find yourself changing things, a natural part of bus life. Then start building the dream bus.


By the way I have started my 3rd bus. This one mostly because I can, and it will be a fun shorty just for weekends, and pulling my boats. So big engine, little bus, and air brakes, just swapped the front axle today.