Skoolie Hopeful!

[anphelps31]

Hey everyone! My name is Angel. I’m 29 years old, I have two pet Maltese dogs, and I live in North Carolina, directly north of Charlotte on the Virginia border (it isn’t quite western NC but it’s very close). I’m joining this forum because I’m hoping to start my skoolie build this summer or fall.

I was 17 the first time I saw a picture of a tiny home, and right then I knew I was going to build one eventually. I’ve been looking at layouts and plans and tech and gadgets etc. for years, gathering ideas of how I’d be able to design mine, dreaming of my perfect little place to live. Until recently it’s been just that - only a dream - until I discovered the world of bus conversions and skoolies. For the last two years or so I’ve been casually looking at skoolie designs and reading things about the building process and looking up financial costs and watching videos on YouTube of people giving tours of their skoolies. Despite my excitement, it still wasn’t something I thought I would be able to afford for a while, mostly because I’m on SSI/welfare.

Fast-forward to today. I was browsing Craigslist and came across a Chevy diesel bus built in 1994 with 152k miles in really good condition, for $2500. That’s the first time I’ve seen a bus with less than 250K miles in a price range that might be doable for me. Obviously I don’t know how sound the engine is yet, but knowing that something like that is out there and nearby... it makes this seem like something I can do now. So I’m diving in. I need to make a firm financial plan for how much this’ll cost, and I know places where I can get cheap or free materials (ReHome, Salvation Army, junkyard, etc), I know some people who might be able to help me weld, and I plan on taking classes at a community college or hardware store to teach me plumbing and electrical; in spite of knowing all of that, I’m aware that I still have a lot to learn, so I figured the smart thing to do was join a community of people who’ve done this before and could share wisdom and offer advice.

I’m really excited to be here and hopefully share this journey with you all!

[anphelps31]

Oh by the way, this is the bus that I saw. Is anyone familiar with this model? There’s also some bus auctions for school surplus in the surrounding counties but most of those buses have in excess of 275k-300k miles on them and since I’m looking for this to be my residence for the foreseeable future, I’d prefer something that I can use with longevity.