Advice/requirements on building a Skoolie to sell

[Mtkuhl]

I think if you have lots of time and love doing it you could do one for sale. You might make a few bucks, or you might not. I think the prepped shell with paint probably has more of a market than a finished one.

Remember though that with schoolies, fundamentally people build because they like the process or they can't afford what they want in a ready made form.
Either way keeps the sales price down and makes the market for it kinda picky.

I think if you're trying to make a living at it you won't make a whole lot unless the buses you get are good and are very cheap.

Tapatalkin from da phone.

Great points. Fortunately state law requires buses here to be retired after only ten years. Most have <100k miles on them and no rust due to yearly POR15 treatments. IMO these are excellent buses that I can get for an excellent price. Your right about the DIY culture though. My main concern is that folks would rather do most work on their own instead of pay for it in this situation. I think I either have to sell really good and ready 'shell' buses to the diy folks OR very high quality full conversions to RV folks

 

[Mtkuhl]

The real market is just buying them and yanking out the seats and spraying them a diff color. For a $3000 upfront investment and a month of your time you can triple your money, I think.
Someone that can do roof raises quickly and affordably could probably make a lil side money for themself. You'd need a stack of legal forms and waivers to have folks sign, though.
I've got a commercial lot in downtown Leesburg, FL. I'm applying for the permits and such to open it as a "car sales lot".

I think I agree about the first part. Maybe progresses into selling 'packages' for which color someone wants, how much demolition they want, and whether they want solar, plumbing, etc.
any idea how many vehicles you can sell in a year without needing all of the paperwork and such to be a car salesaman?

 

[1olfart]

As I've watched SkoolieNet over the last several years, I have noticed that there are more, and more "How do I do this or that" type questions. My feeling is that the there are plenty of members who might be interested in a bus that someone has done the grunt work in. They could feel comfortable that seat removal, followed by whatever kind of insulation they choose, has been installed correctly. From there the sky's the limit in what they want to do, or have done. Some may want design help, plumbing, and so on. The problem is logistics. Not sure there is a living wage in this, but ya gotta start somewhere. Remember that there are many folks who don't post questions, and only wait till someone else does. THEN they have to go back and redo something, they missed. GO FOR IT.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I think I agree about the first part. Maybe progresses into selling 'packages' for which color someone wants, how much demolition they want, and whether they want solar, plumbing, etc.
any idea how many vehicles you can sell in a year without needing all of the paperwork and such to be a car salesaman?

IDK its like 6, maybe... varies from place to place I'm sure.
I'm goin for it this year, though. One way or another.

 

[lucasd-SKO]

The way the multiplexing works is based on built in resistance in the system. Each switch has a specific value built into so that wherever it gets plugged in it will turn on and off the function for which it was designed.

Multiplexing is a pretty standard way to handle large amounts of inputs when you're dealing with microcontroller driven devices. It definitely cuts down on the number of wires you have running between different areas, since you can send many more signals over few lines.

On the other hand, if you don't have some kind of guide or diagram showing how the multiplex is set up, then you're really shooting in the dark to try to fix or modify anything. Hmm. At that point, for modifications, you might have to get a spec sheet for what signals the control system is supposed to be receiving and build a device that sits between your modified inputs and the actual signal receiver. It would have to feed in a bunch of fake signals to make the bus think all the dodads and whatsits were still connected and functioning even after stuff had been removed. Then it would have to accept user inputs to make real-time changes to its spoofed outputs for whatever limited number of manual inputs or sensors remained within the system.

It's not impossible by any means, but it would be a project. The end result might actually wind up being more reliable than having a bunch of multiplexed switches. The more crazy wire runs and other things you have going into a multiplex setup, the more chances you have for one tiny thing to lose a connection and throw the whole setup out of whack. If you had a microcontroller feeding a spoofed input in, then it could do some basic error checking of its own input and output thresholds, and at least a busted switch would only mean you couldn't turn on/off whatever that one thing went to. I'm not sure why they don't already do that, to be honest. I mean, that kind of setup could even open up options for multi-purpose, digital control panels to adjust rarely used functions rather than dedicating manual boards, since it's all being run from code anyway.

Now I want a skoolie with LCARS panels...

Lucas

 

[cadillackid]

multiplexing doesnt mean you cant get rid of stuff.. at some point to turn a fan on there still needs to be a power and a ground to that motor..

multiplexing simply means that you dont jerk the whole harness out that goes from the front to the back of the bus.. there WILL be a relay panel someplace that feeds the 14 ceiling lights and 4 heaters.. you just have to go through the wiring Backwards from the device and follow to the source of power and then stop there...

none of that stuff scares me.. in fact ive built data-bus style split systems with good luck.. MOST times you can remove the device and the switch without an issue.. if you save the switch and mark the wires it controlled you could even reinstall and reuse it at some point if you wanted to...

multiplexers based on pure resistance do get gremlins if the transport wiring is compromised in any way.. chaffed, stretched, etc..

-Christopher

 

[Thomas1985]

There's a guy in Colorado who recently started a business converting buses. You will see he has a list of standard prices of what each part of conversion costs. That seems smart to me.
Tiny Visions, Inc.

-Thomas

 

[cadillackid]

Bus dxealers like BGA arent Bad and they dont "take" people's money.. they offer a service that some find convenient.. yes they charge for that service, however they dont misrepresent their busses.. They will tell you anything you want to know and its truthful if you ask..

I used them as an example that there are people who will pay for services... is the bus I got from there a bad bus? not at all, other than one failure 500 miles into my first trip that bus has run me all over the place ..money wasnt my obstacle time was..

people that have time, money, and skill as an obstacle are not likely going to use a service like BGA or any partial skoolie comnversion.. people that have time and skill as opbstacles but have more money are very likely to uitilize a service to partially convert..

did Learn from my BGA expeirence? not until I easily went and bought my second bus where it cost me 1/3 and has pretty much all the features i wanted in the first place..

im sure theres probably a LOT of skoolies on here that will say "would I do it again i would have done 'this instead of that'" including the bus they bought.. that second bus they may find cheaper but they have also learned alot and most likely would be more able to perform most of the conversion work themselves...

the only subset of bus converters I know of are the community here.. if the product of partial skoolie conversions could be listed, sold, and made aware of outside of this decidedly more adventurous and more skilled than average community then the market could be big.. esp if a financing arm could be part of it...

just like in the classic car community there are those that would Love to buy and restore their own car over time, however a bank will laugh at you if you want to finance an incomplete car.. but banks will easily write loans on ready-to-drive classics or at least those that look good..

take an auction skoolie, remove the seats,school lights, and lettering insulate and clean up the interior with a decent floor, slap a coat of nice white paint on it.. and the banks would loan people money on it..

some people purchase brand new stick and cardboard campers because they can get them financed with low payments...

for many people the bottom line is the initial outlay of cash to buy a bus and convert it.. esp those that are impatient (like many of us).. or have a bucket-list to complete in a timeline (take the kids all over the country before they get too old)...

-Christopher

 

[EastCoastCB]

Gutted school buses will be available at my place in Leesburg sometime soon, kiddos! Stay tuned! WOOT!!!!
Most folks charge like $200 an hour... I charge that for a whole day! :whistling:

 

[Mtkuhl]

Bus dxealers like BGA arent Bad and they dont "take" people's money.. they offer a service that some find convenient.. yes they charge for that service, however they dont misrepresent their busses.. They will tell you anything you want to know and its truthful if you ask..

I used them as an example that there are people who will pay for services... is the bus I got from there a bad bus? not at all, other than one failure 500 miles into my first trip that bus has run me all over the place ..money wasnt my obstacle time was..

people that have time, money, and skill as an obstacle are not likely going to use a service like BGA or any partial skoolie comnversion.. people that have time and skill as opbstacles but have more money are very likely to uitilize a service to partially convert..

did Learn from my BGA expeirence? not until I easily went and bought my second bus where it cost me 1/3 and has pretty much all the features i wanted in the first place..

im sure theres probably a LOT of skoolies on here that will say "would I do it again i would have done 'this instead of that'" including the bus they bought.. that second bus they may find cheaper but they have also learned alot and most likely would be more able to perform most of the conversion work themselves...

the only subset of bus converters I know of are the community here.. if the product of partial skoolie conversions could be listed, sold, and made aware of outside of this decidedly more adventurous and more skilled than average community then the market could be big.. esp if a financing arm could be part of it...
take an auction skoolie, remove the seats,school lights, and lettering insulate and clean up the interior with a decent floor, slap a coat of nice white paint on it.. and the banks would loan people money on it..

Cheers to that

Gutted school buses will be available at my place in Leesburg sometime soon, kiddos! Stay tuned! WOOT!!!!
Most folks charge like $200 an hour... I charge that for a whole day! :whistling:

Interesting strategy to advertise that on this particular thread. I'll have to keep that in mind down the road. :wink:

 

[DoubleO7]

Interesting strategy to advertise that on this particular thread. I'll have to keep that in mind down the road. :wink:

Relax
you have not mentioned where your "territory" might be.
You mention your source of busses being annually treated underneath with POR15.
Which, if they really do that, your up north somewhere far away from any customers that might be in the southeast.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I'm not like, entirely even capable of doing anything huge. I'm buying one. Maybe two at a time.
Relax.
I'm just "thinking out loud" more than anything. But the idea has been thrown around on here in several threads over the last couple years. We ALL should be trying to do this while we can. Flip these things on Ebay to yuppies for top dollar. Show them at "tiny home" gatherings.
We're SMALL fish in the school bus market. TINY ones.
Best of luck to you in all your endeavors.

 

[cadillackid]

the other piece of it could be consulting without actually buying and marking up busses and selling them..

look at all the new members that come here "I want to buy a bus and all I know is I rode one to school when I was a kid"...

we all know that bus dealers can "match the bus to the person".. However that also includes generally huge markups...

coming to this site results in 20 of us chiming in on said newbie thread " AT545's Suck, 'I love my AT545', "dont get 5.9 cummins its too small", "I just drove my 5.9 1800 trouble free miles"... nothing confuses the poor newbie more.. so he goes out looking and fretting over that elusive 8.3 with an MD-3060 when it turns out he just wants to go to the lake on the weekends in the summer...

if someone could truly quantify what a customer is looking for, help to develop a plan, a budget, match the right bus type, drivetrain, and even model years with that customer...

I thinkl people very well might pay for such a service, esp if you could even help to locate the bus, and consult them how to bid on and win said bus..

coimpile information on which types of cabinets hold up best, how much A/C and heat they need, what compost toilets work and which ones dont.. draw plans for them on the computer.. not quite at an architect level but at least enough to help them out..

that type of business could be run over video conferencing, screen sharing, webinar, etc.. thus helping to take the distance out of the equation..

-Christopher

 

[cowlitzcoach]

Christopher makes some really good points!

Every person who comes to this website has some sort of plan in their head and most times the only thing their plan has in common with anyone else it their plan started with a bus.

We see all sorts of conversions highlighted here. From single rear wheel Type 'A' buses to Crown 10-wheelers. And just as there is no one "perfect" bus there is no one "perfect" conversion.

The important thing to consider before you even start thinking of purchasing is to determine how you are going to use it and where you are going to use it.

Urban camping is much more doable in a Type 'A' bus than a 40' full size bus.

Camping off pavement in Forest Service campgrounds are much better suited to a shorter Type 'C' bus.

A large family traveling a lot of miles will require the largest bus possible or even a bus towing a trailer.

Do your homework to determine what will work the best for you and then start to glean the information for which power packages would be good, better, best, and best to avoid.

Good luck and happy trails/trials to you!

 

[Mtkuhl]

Second Stab

Reviving the old thread here.

Went to the bus company to check out some of their old stock, and ending up working there for 2 years. What a crazy life these buses have. Funny how things work.

Anyway, I’m thinking about taking some time off and digging into three dt466 flat noses we have.

I’m into the notion of stripping them and doing a basic layout. Think paint, insulation, floors/walls, structural framing for bedroom-kitchen-bath, and some power source.

Wondering how CB made out and if there’s any interest that has sparked in this market the last couple years.

As always, thanks to all