Have any of you gents built a Skoolie?

As in a school bus/RV conversion. It looks like a fun project, but I don't know anything about school buses.

Kind of spur of the moment, I just put a bid on a bus on Ebay. I probably won't win, but I guess we'll see.

So much for not buying any more junk

Well, I've already been outbid so no worries there.

My plan would be to live in something this size about the time the kids were out of the house. I fully intend to retire on the road. North in the summer, south in the winter.

Mongo rules

The fossil rules mongo

Back about 10 years ago, when I was more involved with offroading and rock crawling scene around NW Arkansas, the bus converted into a camper/Jeep hauler combo was kind of common.

Similar examples from the googles:

Retired U-haul trucks were common too.

I would think you would really want to take a close look at the gearing.

City transit buses tend to be under powered and make up for it with steep gearing. That makes them lousy on the highway.

Interstate buses are geared for the highway, obviously.

I have no idea how school buses are geared, so (maybe) unless it's from a rural area, I would think a school bus is geared more like a city bus.

interesting tid bit ^

I definitely wouldn't use a school or transit bus if I was going to use it often. Like Evan said they are underpowered and poorly geared. We top out at 60 or so and they are screaming to do that. You also have less underfloor space to his your water tanks, generator ect. I would look at one of those wanderlodges or a coach bus.

Old wanderlodges are screamers as well. Mostly a function of old direct drive automatic drivelines and low power. But it's pretty happy at 65 or so.

Headroom is an issue in most skoolies as well. But it's the low power and bad gearing that does em in for me.

Whatever you do, do NOT perform a google images search for Schoolbus / RV conversion. It will ruin you.......it did me!

In reply to Toyman01: School buses are pretty cheap all things considered. They have either a Terrible V8 (International Harvester) or some kind of mid sized 6 cylinder Diesel.. Cummins or Caterpillar, Those are great.(except some old Cat's were V8's Yuk!!!!) . Power wise and ease of starting I'll take the six over the V8.The V8 is noisy, hard starting and doesn't live that long.. The really new Cummins six is unbelievably quiet and get's around 7.5 miles per gallon of foot flat on the floor driving from stop to stop..
Doing stop and go driving in the city or suburb the V8 get's maybe 4 MPG while the six tends to get 6-9. Most are governed to max speed of about 65 but some companies or districts may put the governor lower say 58 or maybe even less. Most schools limit buses to 10 years on rare occasions they might get 15 but used they often head south of the Border and become just buses..(Where they are in use for a decade or more) 10,000 miles a year is typical for a school bus.. Obviously the ones used for after school activities get more. Rural buses get the most. Even with as much stopping as a school bus does.. brakes last a long time and are really easy to repad.. The older drum braked versions may be difficult but not something impossible.. A small bunch of school buses have air brakes which are typical air brakes, very reliable and low maintenance. The International school bus is pretty decent if it doesn't have that V8 it tends to ride slightly softer than Frieghtliner or Bluebird.. Ride is a big deal

Toyman01 wrote: Well, I've already been outbid so no worries there. My plan would be to live in something this size about the time the kids were out of the house. I fully intend to retire on the road. North in the summer, south in the winter.

You'll be shocked what it costs to convert a school bus to a RV Even if you have a RV/Boat Junkyard in your neighborhood. You don't want to leave it a school bus. You need a class B commercial license with a school bus endorsement.. (and Maybe air Brakes) Plus they tend to be 40 feet long!!!!!! Until you try driving one you won't realize how cumbersome that 40 feet is.. 8&1/2 feet wide and many about 10 feet tall.

Noisy, rough, cold in the winter, hot in the summer.. Most don't have A/C

In reply to Joe Gearin:

Yeah, like Google wasn't the first stop in this search.

Skoolie.com was the 3rd. Lots of good info on there.

Actually the Cat v8 is a good motor. Starts instantly, very reliable and gets a solid 9-10 mpg in our bus.

After a little more digging, I not sure I want a flat nose or a pusher. They look to be a nightmare to work on. The only thing about a conventional that could be a issue is the rear overhang on some of them is tremendous. I would be towing the Samurai at a minimum and the overhang might be a problem.

Stay tuned, I bid on another bus.

This one is a 95 International with a DT466, which I know from experience is an outstanding engine.

In reply to frenchyd:

You are the first person I have ever heard refer to the IH v8, in a bus, as terrible. I've owned several school buses and that is the only gas engine I would ever consider.

The GM bosses, typically Blue Birds or Thomas, don't have half the brakes as the IH ones like Carpenters and every one I have driven has had a fire from the power steering. Fords are in between chassis wise but they don't have a gas engine up to the task.

Diesels are a whole other ball game, and while IH is usually a DT-series diesel that will last forever the other trucks are available with almost anything. The DTs are heavy and not as fuel efficient as the smaller engines, and newer is almost always better.

My last bus was a gas IH Carpenter with the body cut down to about 4-seats per side and an 18' flatbed on the back. It had a non-driven tag axle added in the back by the previous owner and air brakes. I got 5-8mpg and it topped out @70mph, but 60-65 was much better for cruising.

SD has a list of things that you need to have to call something an RV. Things like sanitary facilities, food prep equipment, heat independent of the engine, electrical independent of the engine and some other stuff. You used to be able to get it registered with 4/7 or 3/5 or whatever of them, but now you have to have all of them. Each state is different and you will want to look at your local laws.

I wish I could find one of these local to me.

My father's church had a bus with a Cat V8. It drove very well and didn't have many problems. I haven't seen a gas school bus in years.

Mongo has a tired Detroit 8V71, is a manual, runs all day at 75mph until it hits a hill, the size is not a big deal when towing down a highway. Detroits hate going uphill though.

2 roof AC units, fridge, bathroom, oven, double bed, microwave, we have run to Sebring with 9 GRMers, towed to the Challenge and the Mitty, we have plans for a long term tour some day.

8.5 to 9mpg no matter what you are hauling or where

I need to update the engine/trans and modernize the electronics so we have entertainment as good as at home.

if I were to convert anything to an RV.. I would start with a box truck. I prefer the Isuzu's as they got decent MPG any truck place can work on them. As they are air over oil, you do not need an air endorsement to drive them.

If you do decide to work on it yourself.. just flip the cab, sit yourself on a wheel, and break out the wrenches

You don't need an air brake endorsement on an RV anyway

aussiesmg wrote: You don't need an air brake endorsement on an RV anyway

You need one anywhere in Canada and at least a few US States.

I have had several skoolie conversions. All were gas motors. The worst was the GM V6. The Internationals were great. 2 of them were converted to carry the race car inside with LQ up front. 1 was a short bus. Compared to motorhomes, they were tanks. You definitely want one with highway gearing, usually found on buses from rural areas.