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Old 03-21-2022, 12:37 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Moonshyne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: Wilmington, NC
Posts: 13
Year: 2001
Engine: Freightliner
Wink Newbie Nomad

Peace & Blessings Everyone!
I'm Aquamoon but I'm going by my bus name here
Moon🌙 Shyne. I purchased my school bus here in NC from the Public School System. I dreamed about living in a skoolie for two years or more now. But it quickly became a reality with the inflation. My rent went from $900 to $1575. Now I'm forced to get my skoolie done so we can live in it.

I was injured on a temp job last year. My knee is completely shredded I'm on tons of restrictions (using a walker) I now have to have total knee replacement surgery to fix it. I have faith that I will be able to build this skoolie with the help of community, strangers, and fellow nomads. I used what money I had saved to purchase my bus.

*An electrician agreed to do the electrical (pro bono)*

Not looking to do a 30k build. Just the basic necessities are where I'd like to start. So my questions are.

What the heck do I do first (besides take the seats out)?
I have a place to park it. The school filled the tank up for me.

My concerns are getting the bus to go above 45mph.
Getting tags on it so I can drive it if necessary.
Demo (no help)

Be gentle on me

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Old 03-21-2022, 08:23 AM   #2
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Wake Forest NC
Posts: 186
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TS FE 2509
Engine: Cummins 5.9l ISB CM550
Rated Cap: 34
I just posted a thread about my build plans with an outlined 3 part plan(EarthShip), I'm also in NC there's a link to my YouTube where I have videos on what I have done so far including one on licensing in NC. I don't want to sound negative but I would think getting a skoolie build up and running will cost much more than finding a room to rent or maybe a cheap apartment. There are definitely some things you left out that would make a difference. Do you have an income? Is the bus insured? Do you have tools? Do you have any of the build components you might need or things you can re-use, camping stuff, bed etc.? Do you have local people willing to help with the labor part? How big is the bus? How many people will be living in it? So many questions.
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Old 03-21-2022, 09:51 AM   #3
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,760
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
the big thing I must ask is where you plan to go? (long term).. how you plan to park, etc for less than the rent?



fuel is $5 a gallon most places. . if you run a generator for A/C and lights theres more $$. . if you go solar you need to buy panels and inverters and batteries..


if you have cheap land then you can prob do OK, but if you are driving from place to place then it gets tougher.. how will you recover from knee replacement.. a bus that requires work and upkeep isnt the most condusive to recovering from major surgery..


many come here with the ",my rent sucks im gonna move into a bus".. and some can live cheaper.. but they often have things worked out.. land to park on, a steady source of income, their land is in tepid sunny weather where you can use solar efficiently.. and not spend money on lots of fuel for heating or cooling..



if you plan to live economically even your minimal build will need to be able to store food (refrigerator) for more than a few hours, clean your clothes, clean your body, and relieve yourself.. if you can chase nice weather then heating / cooling arent a big deal.. but if you get stuck someplace cold you need heat.. and unless you have shade and a breeze, a school bus is a literal easy-bake oven in summer sun without a complete teardown and good insulation..



Just think before reacting.. plan out your daily finances and how it will work.. and make sure it will actually be cheaper than an apartment if thats your main reason for doing this.. or if you have enough income to make it work.. everything is expensive right now.. from gas to building materials...
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Old 03-21-2022, 10:54 AM   #4
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: SW USA
Posts: 2,064
Year: 2003
Coachwork: IC / Amtran
Chassis: CE300
Engine: International T444e
Rated Cap: 23
I agree with the advice above, but won't harp on it further as there's not much I could possibly add that hasn't been better said. Just hope you're capable and willing to consider the potential pitfalls of this lifestyle - considering your specific circumstances & limitations - in a realistic, dispassionate, well-researched, and emotionally-detached manner.

Being put in a position where you "have to" get a bus build done is not a position I would want to be in. That being said, if I were in that position, my #1 priority would be making sure the bus was either 100% mechanically sound, and/or making sure I had a permanent place to park it for as long as I needed to get it to that point. Everything else you can improvise. But one major breakdown could very well make that rent increase seem cheap. One road-going accident and your only home could be no more.

Keep in mind - buses are hard to find and expensive now when you can find them. If you've been sitting on a bus in good (low/no rust?) condition for a while that came straight from a school district w/o being hacked on in the interim, it's likely worth well more than you paid. Maybe that opens up options to you? Or maybe not.

Past that, ideally, I'd want to seal up the exterior (rivets/seams/windows) before I started building anything inside. But you may not have that luxury. Just understand that between leaks & condensation, it's easy to end up with mold/rot. So plan accordingly. Personally I wouldn't put much effort or money into interior structures until I knew I had a weathertight shell.

Building materials are really expensive now. If I were budget-limited, and not dependent on creature comforts, I'd be inclined to make it as close to camping under a steel shell as possible... reliant 7-gallon water jugs, camp stove (used outside), home-made composting toilet, small DC-powered ice chest, chinese diesel heater, and making sure you're nowhere it gets hot. That being said, even comfortable camping can be hard on someone with a bum knee.

Best wishes! Hope you get your surgery soon!
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Old 03-21-2022, 04:04 PM   #5
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Swansboro,NC
Posts: 2,973
Year: 86
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Ford B700
Engine: 8.2
Rated Cap: 60 bodies
welcome what part of wilmington.
i work around there sometimes.
i live about an hour and a half away.
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