An interesting piece on converting an old school bus

I thought the author of this article was very thorough in his approach to converting this old school bus- including the price. I wouldn't bother myself, considering that I believe most roads this thing is capable of traveling on will be clogged or shut down. It would make a nice RV anyway, just as it is.

How To Build A Cozy Modern Comfortable Bus Home With $9.000 | Self-Sufficiency

I'm just wondering what the cost of diesel would be when operating this thing! My guess is, like most RV's, it would be stationary for most of the time. At least getting parts for it should not be an issue.

 

Busses always sound like a great idea, and we went that route as our first motorhome...

The problems tend to come from the drive train, which has normally received some serious use and abuse before it is declared surplus and sold to a private party. If one is just using it as a residence and not doing a lot of moving around, they can be great little units, but traveling is a whole 'nother story.

We went from the converted school bus to a new motorhome on a bus chassis (to the tune of just under $200K 1992 money) and, while mechanically it was much less problematic, it was just too big, too imposing and in general just "too". It also had "bells and whistles" that seemed to require as much attention and adjustment as an old British motorcycle.

Happiness turned out to be a then 15 year old (now 25) mid grade Class A MH on a Chevy truck chassis...much more comfortable than the bus conversion, built as a mobile living space from the factory. It gets used pretty regularly and needs some kind of attention on an average of once every couple of years, has all the comforts of home (including a surprisingly good sized shower) and isn't absolutely horrible in it's gas usage (it is not really intended as a BOV in case of an EMP, though I do have spares of the 2 simple computers used). It has provided us with much entertainment, will most likely be my primary home for a while after my wife is gone (getting very close now...hoping to make it until grandkids visit in August), and has always kind of been viewed as possibly being moved to one of the bugout claims as a backup location if things go to crap. I certainly wouldn't recommend one as a primary means of escape from a city, but for a backup residence capable of carrying it's own water and fuel for cooking and a 4.5kw genny (not to mention a roof seemingly built for solar panels) with a comfortable environment that would sell today for around $5K-$6K in great shape, it isn't a bad way to go.

 

Sorry to hear about your wife. The rest of the post, I liked.

 

An interesting design exercise, but too unrefined in actual living capability, and too much attention to being modified to too many configurations. It's a road-going 'multitool', and multitools seldom do anything great, just many things so-so. It needs a lot of rework to be a 'home on the road'. Lots of useable space, for instance, for solar, underfloor space for water and holding tanks, better bathroom and kitchen, reduced seating, better thought out sleeping.....

 

Also have gone the route of different types. Started with a pop-up, then a two axle tow behind, and now a small RV on a GMC chassis. Bought an old bus but decided on the other route. Still have the bus and may bury it.