I bought a school bus!

[Cambo]

Interior looks great what about the exterior. My brother picked up a 4wd ambulance funny as he rolls down the beach on the 4wd section .

 

[zipper]

Not to get on the same bus as everyone else, but I can tell this is going to be a C OOL bus build.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Interior looks great what about the exterior. My brother picked up a 4wd ambulance funny as he rolls down the beach on the 4wd section .

The exterior is just sun faded. Not one ding on it that I can find. Not rusted out parts or anything. If there is rust it’s just surface rust on the drive shaft, etc.

It prolly needs 2 new front tires at some point and 1 rear. Alignment is perfect too. It drives a bit bumpy as it is a bus but as far as steering goes it’s a smooth ride.

 

[JetBoatPenguin]

Hahah, me too!! I’m almost nervous that everyone will laugh at me. Lol. But I plan on making this thing look cool so hopefully lll turn some heads and I’ll be the one laughing! (Hopefully) hah

I think you'll get a lot of reactions like...I wish I would have thought of that. I am now thinking that should be what my son lives in when he goes to college. Based on the reactions of the board I think you may have some takers if you rent it out as well...just to Jb.net people of course.

You'll see crazier things. My dad used to put the 17' boat on the front hitch of our Travco motorhome and drive it through the campground backwards. He had a reason ...just can't remember what it was.

Great project...going to be fun watching it.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

I have heard of people launching boats with motorhomes with the hitch on the front. Easier to back the boat with good visibility and the rear tires are high on the ramp and not in the slimy part.

 

[swatski]

That’s a great question... I’m hoping around 7k but I’m kinda pulling that number out of my a$$, which means probably more like 10k.

There is quite a bit of work to do but at a high level:

- Remove seats
- Remove all interior paneling so I can spray foam insulate
- Paint the exterior
- Add rooftop AC
- All kitchen appliances (Refrig, stove/oven, sink)
- Add black, grey, and fresh water tanks underneath
- Toilet/tile shower
- Cabinets
- Sound proofing
- Plumbing
- Laminate floors

Offfffff a lot of work! But if I can get a reliable towing/fun RV out of this for under 15k all said and done, I’ll be a real happy man!

7k sounds optimistic. I mean, that’s what I would tell my wife, she would probably respond yeah right, honey, looks like 401k to me.
lol.

—

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

@Trevor Shipman I now remember you remodeled that Starcraft Expandable. You have a leg up already in the camper building process. If it wasn't for the fact I just bought a camper I would be PM'ing you about that Starcraft.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Hahha, you’re 100% correct @swatski, I keep telling myself 7k to convince myself that this project makes sense! We all know I’ll bust that budget!

 

[Trevor Shipman]

@Trevor Shipman I now remember you remodeled that Starcraft Expandable. You have a leg up already in the camper building process. If it wasn't for the fact I just bought a camper I would be PM'ing you about that Starcraft.

Good memory! Yeah, that certainly helped convince myself I could pull this off! The one problem is the bus is at my brothers house so tinkering with it after work kind of thing will be tough. I want to get this baby up and going sooner than later but it might take a lot longer than I really want.

The one major thing I need to figure out is while under way will I set it up with a generator so I can power the fridge and most importantly the AC. Looking at the Cummings Onan generators and those puppies are not cheap. I don’t want to just strap a generator on the back, Id like to do it right and have it in a compartment out of sight/mind. Figuring out underneath storage will be a little bit of a challenge. There are some bolt on options out there but not sure how they will fit on the bus.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

@Trevor Shipman I now remember you remodeled that Starcraft Expandable. You have a leg up already in the camper building process. If it wasn't for the fact I just bought a camper I would be PM'ing you about that Starcraft.

What did you end up buying?

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

If you end up putting generator on the underside keep future maintenance in mind. Putting it on some sort of sliding tray will make your life easier when you have to service it.
Also if you start mounting underneath stuff keep in mind how this will effect ground clearance if you are using a "sharp" boat ramp. My Winnebago motorhome had very little ground clearance on flat land. With the length combined with a steep/sharp boat ramp top I would have grounded it easily trying to launch a boat. Your bus is short and high so probably not an issue as is.

I ended up getting a used 2018 Prowler 25lx. It's a bunkhouse model with queen bed. Definitely an "economy" model with nothing fancy, no slide, and lightweight but layout will be perfect for what we need for short weekend trips to mountain bike races and weekend beach trips. Stumbled upon it on craigslist and was too cheap to pass up. I'll get some pics when we take it to Outer Banks next weekend and put it on the other camper thread you have.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Great tip on the clearance. Really like your idea of putting it on a slide for access.

Googled your unit, yeah that’s a good setup. I want to put in bunks on the bus but not completely sure how I’ll get those and a queen bed in. I wish they sold the hybrid doors or a kit... I would gain a ton of space if I were to mount one of those on the side. That would certainly add to the complexity of getting this thing done. What I really need to do is learn how to weld especially for adding compartments and tanks below.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Welding and an acetylene torch would open up a world of options. Just stay away from the fuel lines.

 

[JDFester]

Just gonna leave this here for possible inspiration!

 

[PEARCE]

Man! @Trevor Shipman I can't wait to see how this project will progress. I was really impressed with what you did with your last project camper. The pics that you posted at the beginning of this thread would be the look I'd shoot for. I've seen the YouTube channels that do the Schoolie conversions and it can go from plain and simple to the most extravagant. It all depends on time and money as most things do.

 

[biglar155]

Dang. Very cool. I never thought about it before but that's a good price for a vehicle that could be used in a lot of different ways.

You know..... my kid wants a car for school..... I can't even imagine the look on her face if I pulled up with a thing like that and handed her the keys.

 

[bronze_10]

When you get it done and get a solid weight in it you may be able to buy tires with a lower load rating that would ride better. I cant imagine u would ever approach the max weight for that thing!

 

[Trevor Shipman]

When you get it done and get a solid weight in it you may be able to buy tires with a lower load rating that would ride better. I cant imagine u would ever approach the max weight for that thing!

Great call!

 

[Gym]

A beer tap is a must.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

“A”??? Momma didn’t raise no quitter.