Newbie

[BigFig]

I'm a bus conversion newbie ... but an old fart. My wife looks at me like I'm crazy when I talk about a skoolie I have been getting "ready" by taking construction classes at a local college (just graduated yeah!!) Gonna take some diesel classes next year .. have a auto mechanics diploma and done a bit of that here and there ... just want to brush up on the diesel side. I'll be lurking a lot .. trying to figure out what is a good price point for a bus .. and what to look for and what to avoid. Happy to be here.

[dan-fox]

Welcome!

I see you've been a member for going on two years, and this is your first post. Hopefully, this means that you've been taking the universal advice and reading every word here. It's worth it.

Also, good on ya for doing all the education! Education is a Good Thing in and of itself; it keeps your brain flexible. I've done the construction trade classes at a community college, and I sure wish there was somewhere near to take diesel mechanics. Alas, Washington DC area is far too advanced to pay any serious attention to any manual trades.

Also, be aware that this is similar to but by no means the same as house construction. The skills will come in handy, but everything is custom and hand-built.

[BigFig]

Thanks Dan-Fox! I think I'm about able to do the conversion not ... just can't seem to talk my lovely wife into selling the house and hitting the road in a skoolie I'm thinking a rock hounding but .. pretty basic with a composting toilet. I guess .. I got to pull the trigger at some point .....

[dan-fox]

So, Don't Sell The House! Make it a hobby for a few years. Putting all your eggs in a 20-year-old basket where you don't have a warranty on anything is not for everybody. Having a really cool RV that cost you 10-15% of what one of those tacky ones would have is for everybody (IMHO).

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by dan-fox

So, Don't Sell The House! Make it a hobby for a few years. Putting all your eggs in a 20-year-old basket where you don't have a warranty on anything is not for everybody. Having a really cool RV that cost you 10-15% of what one of those tacky ones would have is for everybody (IMHO).

You're like a bus Buddha.

[BigFig]

Thats great advice ... I can't imagine anyone dumping the kind of bucks it costs to get a commercial rig into a venture until they were 100% certain it was a life style they wanted to live. So my plan is to look at the build threads as I get time and plan on getting a bus when I can. I need to ponder a bit on how far I want to go into a conversion ... I know for sure I want insulation, just not sure about plumbing and such. Thinking about a composting toilet.