Hello From Colorado

[TravelingFamily]

Hi there!

We are a family of seven from Colorado. We have decided over the last couple of years that we would enjoy traveling full time and spending more time in nature. We are avid campers and would live in the mountains if I didn’t have to be able to work. We finally found a city mini bus for not too bad of a cost and we are just weighing now if we can afford the expense currently. Ultimately it would save us money in the long run, even if we just used it for travel, but with a family of seven, funds are tight as it is. In contemplating my decision to purchase the bus, I wanted to join this forum and get some feedback on this purchase.

I hope everyone else is enjoying skoolie living as much as I think I will! I’m truly envious of those with skoolies.

 

[Rucker]

Welcome to the forum.

I raised a family of five and couldn't imagine trying to live full time in a bus. That said, there are a couple of youtubers out there with (I think) larger families doing it. Radical, and I think a radical lifestyle change only possible for some very adventurous types.

Consider this:

• Bus selection will be key. Some buses don't do well on mountain grades. Others are real slow on the highway.
• Converted buses are not welcome at all campsites. This may be the biggest challenge for a larger family as some of those restrictive campsites also have amenities such as playgrounds, day activities, laundromats etc.
• Boondocking on public land requires lots of research (or experience), and much advance planning. Your family will be on the move every 14 days.
• Climate control is a huge challenge, both when you are driving (using the bus' climate control system) and when parked, where you will need some way to condition the air. If you plan to travel the Southwest, camping in very warm areas can make people miserable.
• Water storage for such a large family is another factor. You'll need large holding tanks for freshwater and graywater.
• Bathrooms: well, let's just say with kids it's going to require quite a change of behavior.

I don't know if it would be any cheaper than fixed abode living, even if someone gave you a completely converted bus. You will also need to plan for breakdowns.

My reckless side says just go buy the darned bus and minimally equip it. Take the family for a couple of spins, then a couple of longer spins. Suffer through, and see how the kids handle the change. What an adventure!

Where are you in CO, where would you like to travel, how old are the kids?

 

[TravelingFamily]

I have an 18 year old, 17 year old, 15 year old, 5 year old, and a 3 year old. We're from Northern Colorado, right by Fort Collins. It's pretty van-life friendly out here from what I can tell. We do a lot of camping, almost entirely dry camping. Initially I was thinking the bus could be an upgrade to our camping experiences. We have a smaller vehicle with extended seating so it would give us a lot more space to travel with as well as a larger cargo capacity to be able to bring bikes, kayaks and other things with our camping gear without maxing out my GVWR like I do currently. My dream however is to live in one and travel the majority of the time. I like moving constantly and have a lot of family my kids have never met. I thought if I could double our travel as our living expenses as well, then we can do all of that travel while still having a comfortable place to sleep at night. My older kids have been through thick and thin with me and would love to just spend more time together. The younger ones are a bit more spoiled, but love being outdoors and traveling to new places. They both want an RV currently.

We're looking at an activity bus that was used by the city. It has a little bit more head height than the school buses. It's also a shorter bus so parking should be a bit easier. It was maintained and is currently operable. It sounded like a steal and I just wanted to go for it.

I'm with you, the reckless part of me says I want to do this every year and I always regret not doing it so I should just go for it. Ultimately, at first, I'm just out the cost of the bus and the cost of getting it to my property. Then I can just make it an upgrade to our camping experiences and keep working on issues we notice until it gets to a more livable situation. At that point we'll likely be down some children as both of my oldest are currently saving to do van conversions. We'll have less people and have had more time to add any upgrades we would like. I just struggle with "Is this too reckless?" We won't miss rent or any bills by getting it now so a big part of me is saying "Just do it!" I hope I'm not being too blindly optimistic.

 

[cadillackid]

in my opinion, buy the bus and roll wheels.. , you arent full timing, just going camping.. alot of how you lay out your bus, whether you tow a trailer, etc can be hashed out on your first few trips..



you are already used to camping which is half the battle, you understand whats important and whats not when it comes to supplies and such..


full-timing with 7? I personally cant imagine it.. nevertheless bus life isnt a cheap life if you are going to travel all over... you have to be able to work (and have a good space to do it).. even work from home IT jobs require space to be able to get away from everyone to work...



running a bus isnt cheap.. me personally, I have busses like others have classic cars.. so much of my time is spent driving them.. fuel is expensive, the MPG is dismal, tires, oil, repairs, etc are all much more expensive than a regular car..



as a means to travel for 7, a bus can be a much nicer long road trip experience vs stuffed into a van, a bus gives you some versatility as far as road days where you can crash out in a rest area or a walmart parking lot for a night vs having to find a place that is tent camp friendly


full-timing you have to look at the cost of heating, cooling, keeping your food stores (refrigeration, cooking).. laundry, bathing, etc.. big difference from weekend jaunts for camping or even a week/two on the road..