Percent of people who actually complete their build?

[DawgBüs]

That's a good point. The demo work can be rough! For me, it's the structural work that's killing me (not including the ridiculous weather here in MT this year!) I'm gaining a ton of knowledge, which is great, but repairing rusted out metal is seriously getting old....

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by DawgBüs

That's a good point. The demo work can be rough! For me, it's the structural work that's killing me (not including the ridiculous weather here in MT this year!) I'm gaining a ton of knowledge, which is great, but repairing rusted out metal is seriously getting old....

Keep at it, man.....nose to the grindstone and whatnot. You've got some beautiful country up in Montana (we did a day trip to Bozeman the other day scouting out boondocking locations). Once you've got a usable bus you'll be able to enjoy the beautiful state from your bus!

[bus-bro]

Luckily I have free long term parking. Still working on it in fits and starts -- that would be 12+ years. My bus is more of a pet as I find comfort in a large machine.

It used to be that people converted quickly and used the bus for awhile. Now, with our collective knowledge, people strip the interior, raise the roof, spray foam insulate, and then go from there. I imagine a lot of people give up somewhere during or after the roof raise.

There are some beautiful finished full conversion buses out there, but that's hundreds of hours of labor and tens of thousands of dollars later. Probably a lot less than 1 in 10 get to that point.

[M1031A1]

Originally Posted by bus-bro

There are some beautiful finished full conversion buses out there, but that's hundreds of hours of labor and tens of thousands of dollars later. Probably a lot less than 1 in 10 get to that point.

I'm one of those >10%ers.... No roof raise, but TONS of hours in prep. work, well over $10K in HF so far, with another $15K sitting in storage waiting to be installed, all waiting on funds for the thermal break.

Lesson planning, after school activities, coaching, and whatnot leaves almost no time to work on HF for now. Both wife & I are anxious to get moved into HF. We'll save a TON of $$$$ by doing so.

We're not giving up, just postponing due to life getting in the way....

M

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

Many people seem to get burned out and sell soon after they've done the demo work and before the fun part of the project.....the actual building of the camper/home/whatever. We paid someone to do the demo work after coming to the understanding that we didn't want to become another one of these statistics. We had a blast building out our bus, it's a shame more people don't push past the demo work and realize their dreams.

Good advice.

We're still in the demo stages (almost done), and are WAY looking forward to adding rather than subtracting.

I found this video, which I found very helpful (likely someone here, if so. gracias!). It really speaks to the challenge of taking on a project of this enormity without getting worn down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9tZ0zzHYrs

[JustKip]

I'm one of the ones who will never finish. I did a camper shell build out on a '95 Toyota Tacoma, and it turned out pretty nice. It had a 10 gallon water tank, and a kitchen drawer with 2 burner cooktop that pulled out from under the bed. But the Taco's bed is only 6'-2", and I could never get comfortable sleeping in it.
So then I sold the Taco and little utility trailer I carried motorcycles on, and built a 6x12 cargo trailer into a little off road toyhauler. I tinkered with that one every year for 5 years, but after a motorcycle wreck I lost much of the use of my left leg, and ride a sidecar now, and it didn't fit in the trailer. Someone made me a good offer on the trailer back in April, and I sold it. (Kinda regretting it all summer!)
So now I'm going back to living space in the tow vehicle, with the sidecar on/in a toad. But the skoolie thing is turning out to be more of a challenge than I expected, particularly in finding the perfect pre-1960 bus! I'm buying an AWD 2020 Ford Transit-350 when they hit the market next month, and I expect the primary simple build to take 2-3 months. The bus, when I find it, will take 2-3 years to be made roadworthy and somewhat livable, and will never be "finished", just like the Tacoma and cargo trailer weren't.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by bus-bro

Luckily I have free long term parking. Still working on it in fits and starts -- that would be 12+ years. My bus is more of a pet as I find comfort in a large machine.

It used to be that people converted quickly and used the bus for awhile. Now, with our collective knowledge, people strip the interior, raise the roof, spray foam insulate, and then go from there. I imagine a lot of people give up somewhere during or after the roof raise.

There are some beautiful finished full conversion buses out there, but that's hundreds of hours of labor and tens of thousands of dollars later. Probably a lot less than 1 in 10 get to that point.

I have free long term parking too!
I just like owning a bus. Or two.

[richellekohler]

As someone who is looking for a skoolie I always get nervous when I see the "we've done all the hard work now you just finish it off" as I'm terrified it means the engine went or something, Why would you do the hard stuff (SO MUCH WORK!) and then be like "i changed me mind"

[Ronnie]

Originally Posted by richellekohler

As someone who is looking for a skoolie I always get nervous when I see the "we've done all the hard work now you just finish it off" as I'm terrified it means the engine went or something, Why would you do the hard stuff (SO MUCH WORK!) and then be like "i changed me mind"

The idea, and the thrill of getting a bus , or any project for that matter is what makes some people happy. Then once they get into the hard work they just lose interest. The "hunt and kill" is over.

For others life can get in the way as has been mentioned.

[Rivetboy]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

The idea, and the thrill of getting a bus , or any project for that matter is what makes some people happy. Then once they get into the hard work they just lose interest. The "hunt and kill" is over.

For others life can get in the way as has been mentioned.

We bought our bus 2 years ago. My way of thinking is it has to be 110% reliable. Good engine, transmission , brakes, and electrical. Am working on the electrical now as the mechanical portion is complete. Finising up the paint and now am installing marker lights then the new headlites. So by the end of the week, we will have a rebuilt bus with current registration and insurance, new tires, brakes, trans, new shocks and a rebuilt motor and a stripped interior. The wife has one more year to work before she retires and that is the window for completing the interior. For myself, building things is how I relax. The feeling of accomplishment is what floats my boat.

[brokedown]

I'm a firm believer that "done" is a four letter word and doesn't really make sense in the context of a skoolie. There will always be another 5% you could do, some of us have an easier to spot 5% than others but you get the idea. We've been living full time in our buses for much longer than we'd call them anywhere near "done".

I think a lot of folks buy a bus and discover that it's not actually the easiest thing in the world to build a home inside a steel tube, and you find those buses in craigslist. When it comes to partial conversions, there are legitimate people who decide it isn't what they thought it would be and don't have their heart in it, but sure there will be some folks who are trying to get rid of a problem.

[Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Rivetboy

We bought our bus 2 years ago. My way of thinking is it has to be 110% reliable. Good engine, transmission , brakes, and electrical. Am working on the electrical now as the mechanical portion is complete. Finising up the paint and now am installing marker lights then the new headlites. So by the end of the week, we will have a rebuilt bus with current registration and insurance, new tires, brakes, trans, new shocks and a rebuilt motor and a stripped interior. The wife has one more year to work before she retires and that is the window for completing the interior. For myself, building things is how I relax. The feeling of accomplishment is what floats my boat.

I do understand the feeling of accomplishment, it drives me too. You are taking the rebuild to a very high level, and will certainly have a very nice to bus when done.

[Rivetboy]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

I do understand the feeling of accomplishment, it drives me too. You are taking the rebuild to a very high level, and will certainly have a very nice to bus when done.

Thanks Ronnie, looking at completed beautiful busses as yours, in shiny tu-tone colors helps a lot It is a big part of the motivation. Thanks for the kind words.

[cadillackid]

ha! my busses are never finished.. and im not even converting them.. im one of those wierd ones on here that is just here for the BUS part of it and not so much about the RV / Home / Camper part of it.. i really have zero interest in building a motorhome and definitely not into the idea of "roughing it" in off-grid living.. I just really have been a Bus-Geek since i can remember.. I love to see all the neat and creative uses for busses that people come up with here.. busses that otherwise would end up as a pile of broken glass and twisted metal in some scrapyard..



I drive my busses everywhere.. finished a 2900 mile trip through the south. and then turned around and just did 1400 miles to the north.. both in my DEV bus..



to me my busses are like classic-car projects.. restore and resto-mod projects.. motors, transmissions, electricals, etc.. but I tend to keep most all the seats.. lol
-Christopher

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

ha! my busses are never finished.. and im not even converting them.. im one of those wierd ones on here that is just here for the BUS part of it and not so much about the RV / Home / Camper part of it.. i really have zero interest in building a motorhome and definitely not into the idea of "roughing it" in off-grid living.. I just really have been a Bus-Geek since i can remember.. I love to see all the neat and creative uses for busses that people come up with here.. busses that otherwise would end up as a pile of broken glass and twisted metal in some scrapyard..



I drive my busses everywhere.. finished a 2900 mile trip through the south. and then turned around and just did 1400 miles to the north.. both in my DEV bus..



to me my busses are like classic-car projects.. restore and resto-mod projects.. motors, transmissions, electricals, etc.. but I tend to keep most all the seats.. lol
-Christopher

I for one, and I'm sure it applies to all, am glad that you have the skills and patience to answer questions from us newbies and wanna be's - I'm sure questions that you've answered 100 times before - thanks

[Native]

This sure has been an interesting thread.


As for our build ... I believe we will have a LONG build-out. I just LOVE working on The Beast. I could only love it more if we did not have self-imposed deadlines.


In our case, our bus will have two lives. First, it will be a moving van. It is close to completion for that purpose. Second, it will become an RV for us. The RV conversion will be a long process (based on the moving van conversion). The vehicle is really a blank canvas for us to play with. We have let our imaginations run wild several times and have enoyed the result. Seeing your imagined idea come to life s a great feeling. It has made the long process so much worth it.


Will it ever be done ... perhaps or perhaps not. I do doubt it though.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

I for one, and I'm sure it applies to all, am glad that you have the skills and patience to answer questions from us newbies and wanna be's - I'm sure questions that you've answered 100 times before - thanks

I reallty wish we had a How-To guides on this forum that was searchable.. so much information people write up and then it gets buried..


the HVAC forum and jeep forums I have been on have a write-ups section where if you make a how-to guide it gets placed in there and you can search for it.. so like here people write all kinds of great how-to on everything from installing their water heayters to insulation etc and then its gone..

[joeblack5]

Yes Chris. Ditto that.

Johan

[Rivetboy]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I reallty wish we had a How-To guides on this forum that was searchable.. so much information people write up and then it gets buried..


the HVAC forum and jeep forums I have been on have a write-ups section where if you make a how-to guide it gets placed in there and you can search for it.. so like here people write all kinds of great how-to on everything from installing their water heayters to insulation etc and then its gone..

I also agree with you. A lot of us here love to share the tricks and then it disappears. Then Presto, the same question appears and it is rinse, lather and repeat.

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by richellekohler

As someone who is looking for a skoolie I always get nervous when I see the "we've done all the hard work now you just finish it off" as I'm terrified it means the engine went or something, Why would you do the hard stuff (SO MUCH WORK!) and then be like "i changed me mind"

I'd guess in many circumstances they've gotten to the point where they begin to sense the enormity of a project they likely underestimated at the start, and have decided to cut their losses. Others surely sell for a profit as they know the destruction phase is the suck and something many people would gladly pay for.

The way my wife & I look at it, it's a no-going-back sort of deal. If the engine goes, we'll rebuild or replace. Same with the tranny or suspension. These potentialities are built into our budget, and even if they manifest, will still cost less than a comparable RV would have in the long run. I don't look forward to 'big' things happening like this, but we're not going to trashcan everything we've done just because something breaks.