Ditching the house

[brohig]

hello everyone,

So my name is Higgins, myself and my wife started a conversation about campers, about year ago with both of our up bringing having pop-up campers, and tents around growing up. I thought to myself, why not an RV, then, since we like to do things differently. I asked my wife what about a school bus conversion? Now, she is in school and I am in the navy, and currently deployed. We have at least a year before my wife is done, and I might be out in several months. So, looking to buy a bus and convert the bus ready to go, is something I am shooting for by the end of 2016. We are in the Hampton Roads of Virginia. We really don't like it here, and we don't know where we want to go to. So, we just want to go where ever until we find that place. Looking forward to learning about do's and dont's, tips, and making fellow skoolie friends.

Higgins

 

[EastCoastCB]

Welcome to the forum.
Where are you currently stationed?

 

[brohig]

Station out of little creek, Virginia beach, but deployed to Bahrain small island in the Persian gulf. EastCoastCB, what about you, were you in?

 

[EastCoastCB]

No I wasn't but I have friends who have served. I like travel though!
I like hearing tales of others travels as well. One buddy of mine is stationed in Hawaii and loves it, another hates every second while he's in Afghanistan. My uncle got drafted in Vietnam but somehow got lucky and was stationed in some part of Germany during the whole conflict.

 

[nat_ster]

Welcome friend.

Former Canadian Reservist here. We fight for the same side.

Be sure to read the pages in the build threads section as you have time. There is a ton of usefull info hidden in the pages of each build thread.

I personally like the build thread section more that any other part of this site.

My latest and current build.
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/the-four-season-prime-10138.html

Nat

 

[brohig]

hello Nat,

Same side is right, I have had some fun times with some of your boys playing in a small rugby league out here in Bahrain last year, you guys are great. I have a question for you and eastcoastCB, do you all live full-time in your Skoolie's? me and my wife are looking to take ours to the road for a bit until we find that place. So we are looking to live in it full time. How would you all do it, or recommend us to go about it, as what type/size bus, what skills would be most useful to have around a skoolie? Just how to get started in the right direction.

Thanks advance, Higgins

 

[nat_ster]

I live full time in 16 feet of my fist bus body, turned into a shed. I will live here till my Four season prime is done. I moved back into my shed in September last fall when the work season slowed, and it was no longer feasible to live in the hotel anymore.
Between my passed marriage debt payments, ($5000 a month) the hotel bill, ($3600 a month) and building the bus, $2500 a month for a place in town was not possible.

I currently live extremely basic. A wood / coal stove, a queen size mattress, a few cast iron pans, and rubber made totes for my clothes, and other belongings. I use the totes like dresser drawers in a house. This keeps my stuff clean.

I shower at the gym. I have a monthly pass, it cost $62 a month.

My lights run off my Milwaukee M18 heated jacked controller. Two 12 volt MR16 120 lumen led bulbs give me a full 14 hours of run time off one 3 amp hour, M18 battery. I charge my battery's everyday at work, as they also power my hand tools and heated jacket. I also have two kerosine lanterns as back up.

I have no TV, I use my laptop at the coffee shop in the morning before I head to work. Bad weather I stay at the coffee shop all day sometimes.
This is not a bad thing, I met my new wife there, and I find a ton of work by talking with people there. It is a good watering hole.

My comfort will start when the four season prime is done.

Your skills, needs, want's, climate, budget, and location will all play a massive role in what bus you get, and how you build your bus. Bus builds often take years. We will be here to help you along.

Nat

 

[lornaschinske]

Are you planning on converting the bus in the Hampton Roads area? Based on what little we have seen there (husband's sister and her husband lived there for several years), converting might be a problem but living fulltime in an RV park isn't. We have stayed in both a private RV park and the county park there. Perhaps keep your eye out for an already converted that you can remodel to suit your tastes while you live in it.

 

[EastCoastCB]

hello Nat,

Same side is right, I have had some fun times with some of your boys playing in a small rugby league out here in Bahrain last year, you guys are great. I have a question for you and eastcoastCB, do you all live full-time in your Skoolie's? me and my wife are looking to take ours to the road for a bit until we find that place. So we are looking to live in it full time. How would you all do it, or recommend us to go about it, as what type/size bus, what skills would be most useful to have around a skoolie? Just how to get started in the right direction.

Thanks advance, Higgins

I live in a house I own. My bus is parked down the road at a buddy's place who owns lots of property.
Will be living in it full time when its done though.
No particular skill set needed but you have to be willing to do a ton of work and learn a whole lot.

 

[bansil]

Bahrain...the stories I heard about the place in 90/91...party time, our unit never made it there [crying]

there supposedly were girls and booze...major stuff we didnt have on our tanks

Welcome!!!

 

[nat_ster]

Living on a space while trying to convert it is the worst idea ever.

Your belongings will always be in the way of the conversion, your tools and building materials will always be in the way of you trying to live. The filth of construction will get into everything you own. Most of the dust from cutting building material is deadly to humans. You will be moving stuff over and over again. Not fun.

I have lived in construction zones over and over again. I will never do it again.

That's why I live in my shed vs trying to live in my bus.

This is also one of the reasons I'm building my bus. I will always have somewhere clean to live, no matter what work site I'm on.

Nat

 

[brohig]

ske,

I am curious as to why you say that it would be hard to convert a school bus in hampton roads? My wife and I are a bit concern on how we are to approach this project while living in hampton roads due to the fact that we live in a townhouse and have no avaliable space to work on one, though I might have a friend just across the state line, just have to ask him if it would be cool to park it, and work on it there.

Bansil,

Yes, you can defintly lose your sole out here in Bahrain, some of these guys do find them selves situations they can't take back. Watch out for ladyboy!

 

[brohig]

nat,

Thanks for your post. I understand what you mean living in a construction zone. My house turn into one when I first bought it, but, we are past that now. We do have a bit on our plate. I know trying to have our bus all complete by the end of 2016 is pretty ambitious, but it will keep us focused. Learning what is really important, and what is needed in life and how to down size is the one of the very first things to tackle for us. We've recognized this, and donated a lot to salvation army. We both want a simpler life, one that is more enjoyed living then playing stupid rat race games "keeping up with Joneses". My wife loves actual books in fact, she smells them, I really just enjoy nature and we both love animals. Are intentions are to down size, rent the house out, live in the bus full time and travel, even go abroad. Find that place that we don't want to leave, and park it.

 

[lornaschinske]

ske,

I am curious as to why you say that it would be hard to convert a school bus in hampton roads?

Perhaps you have more space than was in the neighbourhoods we saw while there. My in-laws were living in one of the historic neighbourhoods and things were very tight. Both spacial and local rules/regulations. We had a heck of a time delivering building materials without upsetting anyone (David was there working on their Victorian house). Or parking more than the 2 vehicles allotted per house. Granted that was a designated historic neighbourhood but none of the neighbourhoods we saw were someplace you could easily park a bus.

 

[Barkerswife]

We are in Norfolk as well (Hubby is in the Navy) and we are looking to be in our Skoolie by 2016. Small world!

Best of luck!

 

[brohig]

Barkerswife,

Best of luck as well to you and your family, on you all is adventures. I read thread on your family plan, with three buses and a little bit of land, sounds like a fun challenge. Maybe our families could help each other with our skoolie plans, with us being local.

Brohig