If you’re shopping for a bus to convert, the dimensions are going to dictate pretty much everything about your build. Your floor plan, your headroom, whether you can fit a real bathroom, how much storage you get — all of it comes down to the numbers. And I found out early on that those numbers … Read more
Every appliance decision in a bus build connects to three or four other decisions you haven’t made yet. Pick a propane stove and now you need gas lines, a tank mount, ventilation, and a CO detector. Go all-electric and suddenly your battery bank needs to be twice the size you planned. It’s one of those … Read more
Gear ratios aren’t something most people think about when they’re shopping for a school bus. But pick the wrong one and you’ll either be crawling on the highway at 55 mph with the engine screaming, or white-knuckling it down a mountain pass with brakes that are getting hotter by the mile. (See our guide on … Read more
Wiring a bus is the part of the build that scares people the most, and honestly, I get it. But after spending a ton of time digging into this and talking to builders, I can tell you it’s not nearly as complicated as it looks once you break it into steps. Wiring a school bus … Read more
Once you’re parked somewhere in a 35-foot school bus, you realize pretty quickly that you need a way to get around town without firing up the big rig every time you need milk. Towing a smaller vehicle behind your skoolie is how most full-timers solve that problem, but the method you choose matters a lot … Read more
You’ve got the bus, you’ve got the build plan, maybe you’ve even started ripping out seats. But at some point you’re going to sit down and realize you have no idea where you legally “live” once you’re on the road. This is the part of bus life that nobody puts in their YouTube thumbnail, and … Read more
Windows are one of those things you don’t think about much until you’re standing inside your bus staring at fourteen of them and realizing every single one has to come out, get sealed, or get replaced with something better. I spent a ridiculous amount of time figuring out how the different window types come apart, … Read more
So you’ve decided to actually do it. You’ve measured the ceiling, stood inside with your arms up, and realized this isn’t gonna work without more headroom. Now you need to know how to actually raise the roof, not just whether it’s possible. (See our guide on Can You Raise the Roof on a School Bus? … Read more
Winter is coming and your bus is basically a steel box on wheels. If you’ve never been through a cold season in a skoolie, the list of things that can go wrong is longer than you’d think — frozen pipes, dead batteries, condensation dripping off the ceiling onto your pillow at 3 AM. Getting a … Read more
Summer in a skoolie is a different animal than winter, and honestly I think it catches more people off guard. Everyone worries about cold weather because it sounds dramatic, but heat is the thing that actually makes people miserable day to day. Getting your bus ready before the temps climb is the difference between enjoying … Read more