Skoolie Dreamin

[Beachfever]

Hey everyone! My husband and I, along with our two young kids are looking for a good candidate bus for a skoolie. Ours will primarily be used for summer camping and travels near and far. We literally have no clue what we are looking for. I mean we have some ideas, but that's about it. We currently have a small camper (21 feet) that we love but we need a lot more room and love the idea of creating exactly what we want and need. My husband is very handy mechanically speaking so we are excited for this adventure and anticipate with taking time to research and economically build this, that it may take a year or two and we are fine with that.

We disagree on the size factor. My husband has fallen for an 81 passenger Thomas with a cat engine. Flat front. Rear engine. Approximately 40 feet. That's the extent of my knowledge. I would be happier with something smaller and easier for me to feel comfortable driving. I have concerns with the size/length limiting where we can take it in terms of National Parks. Any info on that would be helpful. I've been searching and feel like I'm not getting a black and white answer regarding the elusive 35 foot myth.

We literally just visited our first set of buses tonight. Husband is excited. Hes a love at first site kinda guy. Dealer says hey this bus might be the one. And I'm the one who puts on the brakes and says hey we need to research this first! Just reading some of these intros lets me know we dont know what we need to know yet and I'm open to all feedback.

We live in Nebraska but love heading to the beaches of Florida, the Mountains of Colorado and the Grand Canyon is also on the list.

Help a girl out and tell me where to start my research in terms of engines, transmissions, etc.

Thanks!

 

[EastCoastCB]

My van is from Nebraska. Stuff up there rusts pretty bad.
I'd avoid rust and dealers.

 

[cadillackid]

definitely take your time! and as ECCB says avoid rust!!.. there are many places to buy busses.. dealers, auctions, individuals, etc..



one thing you will find is that once you do it a few times, driving a 40 ft bus isnt super tough.. the hardest part with a flat nose is you sit in front of the wheels so the friont end likes to move fast.. however the big windows and mirrors help alot with seeing where all of your bus is..



it sounds like the small camper is an issue because oif size.. you'll find that size goes fast.. so your hubby looking at 40 footers may just be thinking about the future.. your young ones wont be little forever.. and im guessing the idea would be to have your home built RV be something you can grow into and enjoy for years to come..



one of the reasons for using a school bus is its strength, and design for lasting a long time.



-Christopher

 

[Beachfever]

Thank you. And yes I'm worried about the rust. I'm not offering anything until I can crawl under it for a better look. Plus the prices are too high in my opinion. I plan on looking for a bit to see what comes up. Have any of you ever contacted your local school district to see if they have any coming up for sale?

 

[EastCoastCB]

I buy em on Public Surplus and GovDeals.

 

[cadillackid]

Thank you. And yes I'm worried about the rust. I'm not offering anything until I can crawl under it for a better look. Plus the prices are too high in my opinion. I plan on looking for a bit to see what comes up. Have any of you ever contacted your local school district to see if they have any coming up for sale?

some of the smaller town districts sell to the public... here in columbus ohio I was told that they had some "shady sales" in the past and threfore all their busses go to auction at public surplus or 422sales. .. they used to sell direct.. so you may find some do , some dont.. I think one of the carolinas.. has their complete own sale system just for their busses.. ive seen lists of busses for sale on a spreadsheet from i think its north carolina..



govdeals and public surplus have the most busses it seems like... others likje 422sales, purplewave, and online pros have a few now and then
-Christopher

 

[Beachfever]

Thank you. I will check those out. Have seen some on gov.deals that we liked. Are there certain states to avoid buying from due to environmental wear and tear....like all the rust here in Nebraska?

 

[EastCoastCB]

Thank you. I will check those out. Have seen some on gov.deals that we liked. Are there certain states to avoid buying from due to environmental wear and tear....like all the rust here in Nebraska?

Google "rust belt".