… we got a bus.
Well, not just like it fell out of the sky. A wonderful Steampunk craftsman, Jake Von Slatt documented how he built an RV out of a used school bus, my wife found it and showed it to me, and I thought, ‘hey, I could do that’. I can do carpentry and plumbing and electrical and mechanical work, and I’ve always loved the idea of driving big vehicles (I drove my first bulldozer at five).
So, I did what we always do when faced with a new project – we researched. One of the best resources that I got was from the The School Bus Conversion Network where plenty of people owned school buses that had been retired from service and sold, becoming ‘Skoolies’. I discovered that school buses are not all the same. Different manufacturers have different building techniques. Even within a manufacturer, there are many different options in terms of size and amenities. And the bodies and engine/drive train/chassis are from different manufacturers as well. It means that the bus that one person gets need not be much like what someone else gets, outside of the National School Bus Yellow and red and amber lights on the outside. This was 2008.
By July of 2008, further research found a local dealer who had what looked to be a great bus, full size, front engine, used locally, with only 70,000 miles (with a diesel engine rated for a lifespan of 450,000-600,000 miles), but it got sold out from under our agent, and they weren’t going to have another like it for maybe another year. We were a bit crestfallen, but kept looking.
In August, we found a dealer in Herkimer, NY, who had a full size, front engine bus, with the same engine as the first (but 135,000 miles on it), but because it was from a different manufacturer, it had taller windows (which was another of the selling features on our getting a bus over factory-made RV, since we like to enjoy the scenery of travelling so much).
So official looking, but the high windows are evident.
#267 had one more thing in it’s favor – it was a standard!
The gear shift is a plus, the dash left a little to be desired.
Both my wife and I prefer standards, and they get better mileage and control than automatics. And mileage can be a big deal. Many modern factory-made RVs boast only 2-5 miles per gallon of diesel (and less for gasoline). (As of our last trip in 2013, it’s looking like our bus gets 9-11 miles per gallon.)
In October of 2008, #267 arrived and we started the conversion. Due to many factors, not as much progress has been made, and this blog is going to be the place to document what will hopefully be the final ‘push’ to getting the whole project as close as can be to being finished.
I’ll be documenting what I’m doing with the water system, the electrical system, the propane system, the air system (for horns/chimes, not air conditioning as of yet) and all the finishing work. I’ll show the parts, give reviews and as much step-by-step as I can manage. I’ll also go over what I’ve already done, and discuss a bit about travelling and camping by bus.
Come along for the ride.