That is great! It will be life changing in several ways, and they will remember the experience their whole lives. But your situation is exceptional with that many in tow. BTW I have five kids.
Thank you for the information. Is that a couple of years to get the build done, or a couple of years learning and then additional conversion time on top of that?
Two years.
Yeah, I know people are going to chime in saying it should take less time or longer, or how can I say two years....but it's gonna take a couple of years unless your situation is exceptional.
You can learn the skills along the way, if you are open to learning the skills.
You can pick up the tools needed to do the build along the way, and borrow some as well. That should not be a barrier.
Most DIY builds seem to take a couple of years regardless of builder skill level. That's to get to 80%, the magic number (for livability). Most of us can't do it full time and don't have unlimited budgets.
The beauty of this forum is you can leverage the knowledge, skills and experience of a community to do it right the first time and (hopefully) avoid costly mistakes, so it doesn't take longer than necessary.
If you are building using cash flow, that may further slow the schedule depending on how hard you are willing to squeeze your budget.
I'd appreciate any additional information you can provide here. My general thought process has been that I'll no longer be paying:
1. Natural gas heating bill
2. Electricity
3. City water
4. Rent & insurance (more than $2k per month currently)
5. City garbage disposal
You'll also be paying less for things from Stuffmart (big box retail). There won't be room for stuff, so you won't be buying things.
There are some great threads in this forum about how bus life requires or drives the need (or virtue) of life simplification because you simply can't jam everything in. Simplifying has great benefits, and your children will benefit from that in the long run, but in the short run they may struggle with the transition.
New/incremental costs
1. Diesel for moving the vehicle (Limited as we will be staying in one spot)
2. Diesel for heating the vehicle
3. Filling Water Tanks
4. Dumping grey tank
5. Bus insurance
6. Garbage disposal
7. Some incremental costs for internet
8. Land rent to family members who would let us stay on their property
Is there a category of cost that I'm just flat missing that I should be considering?
Yes-a big one, and a bigger one: bus maintenance, which is required whether you drive or not; and bus repairs, which can be incredibly costly.
Bus maintenance includes oil, filter and fluid changes on a periodic maintenance schedule, and build maintenance such as storage battery replacement and other conversion costs that will accrue even if the bus never moves.
If your dream includes taking road trips, getting the bus in good mechanical shape is essential to avoid the stress of unexpected breakdowns. keeping the bus in good mechanical shape will require, over time, that you invest in bolt-on replacements (alternators, starters etc). Some of this is dependent on usage; all of it is dependent on the mechanical condition of the bus when you take ownership and park it in your driveway on the first day.
You'll also pretty much need a generator (which has it's own maintenance and ongoing costs) for power on a periodic basis, unless you have shore power. If you take the bus on trips, even with solar you'll need something to keep the lights on.
To be honest, that is part of the appeal. I'm going to be spending my night and weekends working towards something. Ideally, I'd like it to be something that my kids and wife can help with.
Totally agreed, personally, but the wife and kids may quickly get sick of it. They'll look back years from now and appreciate it, but in the moment it may be easier to do the work alone rather than listen to kids grouse. There's probably a strategy for that, but not one I've learned.
When I was growing up, I helped my parents build our house. My parents paid someone else to do the concrete, frame it up, and do the plumbing. Everything after that was on us to do.
That is actually pretty good experience. I would say those memories and the challenges you experienced during that build is tempering your expectations!
I built our house when our five were younger than yours, and it was a fantastic experience for them, even though they couldn't really contribute much.
While I didn't love that experience at the time, I think it taught me things that I've so far failed to instill in my children, so this seems like an opportunity to do that.
zactly.
Some of us wouldn't do it again, even if we are happy we did it the first time. Burnout is real, and life throws us changes that may upend plans, ending with a Craigslist or Markeplace ad that begins 'my loss is your gain'...
I'm really glad you came to this forum and are asking all the right questions. We all want to see folks successful, and the biggest factor in bus conversion success is starting out with open eyes (which only come with an open attitude like yours!) . Good on you!
PS. Have you given thought to an RV trailer instead of a (more expensive on every level) bus? Finding one big enough might be challenging, but it would be an excellent proof of concept for the family.
