Skoolie Rust Concerns: Can This Bus Be Saved?

[Flores_world_tour]

Skoolie Experts, Rust Gurus, and YouTube Mechanics!

Alright y’all, I need your experienced eyeballs on something before I make a financially questionable decision and end up with a very expensive backyard planter.

I’m a first-timer (read: bright-eyed and dangerously optimistic) looking to jump into the Skoolie life, and today we saw a bus that checks all the boxes! But here’s the kicker: the floor is… well… let’s just say it’s giving “Titanic hull meets tetanus risk.”

Is this just “normal bus rust” or “no amount of vinegar and prayers can fix this” rust? Can it be saved? Should I save myself instead?

Viewer discretion advised: contains graphic scenes of flaking metal and questionable life choices.

Please drop your honest opinions below—don’t sugarcoat it. I can take it. (Probably.)

*** the bus is being sold by someone who didn’t do any of the work on it and doesn’t know much about it so can’t tell me how the floors have already been treated, if they have, which it looks like they have been…. It looks like everything else is in great shape and the price is right.

I’ll post videos once I figure out how….

 

[nikitis]

So yes it likely can be saved. I'd like to see more pictures of the undercarriage to make a final determination.
The general rule of thumb is, if you can poke a flathead screw driver through the metal it needs to be replaced. It may only require it in some small areas in which case cutting out some sheet metal and capping it/welding over it would suffice. If you tap and a hole is made or it crumbles at all, then go around in circles from there and when you hit solid metal. Mark it with an X, and keep doing around until you have a circle where it does not crumble. This is the area you need to replace up to.

It looks like from your pictures you can poke a hole through it pretty easily so that area may require patching. Light surface rust isn't a problem if it's solid and you're not able to poke a hole through it, in that case you just need to grab a grinder and surface clean it while wearing a mask, and then primer it right away, then paint.

If the under carriage is even worse it may not be worth it. Grab some under carriage pics from middle to back and we can make that determination for you. Specifically get pictures from behind the rear wheels where mud flaps would go.

 

[ewo1]

That rust does not look bad at all. grab a long nail or ice pic, poke around a bit to see just how much area is affected. Your pics do not show much but you also need to look underneath too.

OSPHO is a great rust treatment/neutralizer. I have been using it for years. On my '99 bus that came from rust belt Louisville Ky, I had to cut out and replace large sections of the floor. At least once a year, twice if I remember, using a small pump sprayer, i try to go back and spray the underbelly just to make sure no more rust is growing. It has worked great so far for me.

 

[Rucker]

Whenever something is being sold with a 'I don't know selling for a friend' I'm suspicious.

That all looks like floor metal. What about the underside of the bus? What does the frame or some of the mechanicals look like?

If the floor is that rusty I'd assume the more important frame and other components are pretty bad.

 

[Mr P]

Like Rucker, I wanna know what's underneath. My bus has much more rust than yours, and I'm gonna clean/patch/cover/cross my fingers.

 

[nikitis]

Any bus can be fixed, it's a matter of how much work do you wanna do to get it back into shape.

 

[ewo1]

Any bus can be fixed, it's a matter of how much work do you wanna do to get it back into shape.

yup!

That's what I said and did!

look at my rust pics, post 6,9 + 11

Bus # 9906

Well I am making it official, the build is in progress! Since I haven't decided on a name yet, I'll just call it Bus # 9906 as that is what it is already known as. The bus was bought in Kentucky thru a Public Surplus auction. Paid a whopping $1475 for it! It was previously sold for more but...

www.skoolie.net

Cheap harbor freight wire feed 240v welder, Ospho, new clean steel!

FIXED!

 

[Flores_world_tour]

Ok guys I uploaded the inside and underneath videos to YouTube so maybe you can see that way?

Under bus

Inside bus

 

[Flores_world_tour]

And thank you!

 

[nikitis]

Oh yeah, that undercarriage is fine. Mostly protected because it was rubber coated underside. (Which is good) Not all buses are rubber coated underneath and it's a good protection. Looks like the hole in the floor was from a spill that sat there. I'd say you're good to go on the purchase. Just patch the one hole.

I was expecting it to be far worse under there. The upper side you said was rusted is just surface rust. A quick grinding pad on it will take care of that. Any area you grind the rust away spray primer on it right away to prevent flash rust from coming back, and lay it on thick. Thin applications of paint don't always cover all the rust (It may visibly) but at a micro level will still be exposed and continue rusting. So if laid on thick coating it will help prevent further degredation at least within 10-20 years.

I'd say go for it. That bus is more than fine. Happy purchasing!

 

[Rucker]

From the videos that bus looks great other than the small patch or two of floor metal.

It's beginning to look like a keeper.

How's the mechanical part of the rig? Have you driven it, and what do you know about it's repair history if anything?