Hello All!
Thanks in advance for all the great info I've found on the site so far in my Skoolie journey. It's been really reassuring to know all this great info, and helpful people were here while considering making the leap and buying a bus.
We are a family of 3 at the moment. My wife, our 11 month old, and myself. We expect to have another baby sometime late next year. We currently live in NYC, in a 450 sqft apartment. It once felt very small and cluttered to us, but after we began seeking a more minimalist approach to our lives 6 months ago, find we actually some room to spare now. This seems like the perfect time for us to pull the trigger and get started on the conversion we've talked about.
We plan to do work converting the bus on the weekends, and as much as possible otherwise. Our hope is to have it finished in the next year. We've ran the numbers, and are able to afford a total budget of $20,000 for our conversion. We have the money now, and are ready to dive in, for real.
We want to live full-time in our bus when we move to North Carolina next July. We want it to be as boondock-able as possible. Mechanically sound with maintenance records, rust free, and tall enough for me to fit (6'2").
I don't have a real preference for FE or RE at this point... I like the rear door with FE busses, but find the increased traction of RE appealing also. We would like to take our bus off the beaten path from time-to-time, so ground clearance would seem to be of some concern. Especially considering school buses vs. transit buses. I like the extra headroom on the transit buses, as well as larger windows, things I may be willing to sacrifice head space for. What would be the pros/cons of school buses vs. transit buses? Eventual goal is to tour the country full-time but that's a couple years down the road right now. Near future will be short trips on the weekends/vacation.
I've attached some pics of a bus we found on CL a few weeks ago.It's about as close as we've found to what our "Dream Bus" would be. We would do some things differently, sure. But overall, I think this is sort of what we would hope to accomplish. We're very thrifty and good at finding used goods/materials etc. New York is full of great deals, and my research has shown we should be able to outfit the bus well for our budget if we do it right, and do the work ourselves as much as possible. Planning to buy from auction... Seems like the best deal. Will be doing more research here on good auctions in the NE.
Thanks for any responses, looking forward to the project
How exciting! Good luck! 
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