New To Skoolie Project? Start Here!
Hi! Welcome to the Skoolie Project!
Thanks for spending some time on our site! We hope this will prove to be a valuable resource for you in your DIY skoolie conversion and lifestyle journey!
We are Nat & Don and we purchased our first school bus to convert in 2018.
Having no idea what to do or where to start so we looked at FB groups, forums, and Youtube and learned all we could as we went along.
During this time, we started a Facebook group with just the two of us keeping track of everything we needed or thought we needed, as well as any info on building out the bus.
We learned as we went and began journaling everything we were learning to create a book/site/group, etc, containing all of the info we wish we had available to us to build our bus.
We created this site to help people like us in any step of the skoolie conversion process.
Some of our favorite topics are:
Where to Find A Bus to Convert
There are a few dozen ideas when it comes to where to look to find your school bus.
Find Your Skoolie Here!
This post guides you thru our favorite places to look for a bus and goes into detail on how we negotiated and received 4 new rear tires (installed) and two better mirrors at no additional cost.
How to Demo Your Bus
Some people take the seats out, throw a mattress in with some pillows with a 5-gallon bucket and call it good!
How much you want to demo will vary among people, but we touch on why we did a very thorough demo, cleaning. Why we did do all of the prep before we built anything on the inside?
Read about How To Demo Your Skoolie Here.
How to Install Solar On Your Bus
This can be an overwhelming thought for most people when thinking about how you will power your life on your tiny house on wheels.
Solar installation scared us so much, that we did not even do it on our first build.
By the time we got the van, we were ready to have that be the main source of power so we learned it and installed all the components ourselves with some guidance from the internet.
Learn More About Your Skoolie Solar Array Here.
Skoolie Floor Plans
This topic is searched a lot!
Do you have a Short bus? Long bus? Dog Nose? Flat Nose?
Not only do we have 7 Free Floor Plans to inspire your build, but we are also putting together a workbook with editable floor plans so stay tuned for that! In the meantime, you can check out Skoolie Floor Plans
For our first build, we used good ole fashioned graph paper and a pencil. We did our best to try and figure out what can go where! I lost track of how many times we changed that floor plan and moved things around.
At the end of the day, we went with an open floor plan. That made our bus feel similar to a studio apartment. We had a few walls up near the front. As well as an interior door that made our home feel more secure and insulated.
We have already begun the layout for our 3rd build. To say we are excited to have a full bathroom in the back along with a garage is an understatement. You can see that floorplan here.
No matter what your goals are for your bus build, spending time to really consider how you will live in your bus will help you with your ultimate floor plan!
Legalities
Where do you get insurance?
How do you title your school bus as an RV?
Can you park here or there?
It would be amazing if we could just build our buses and hit the road happy and carefree. Unfortunately, there are some legal issues, insurance, and best practices for driving, living, and parking in a converted school bus.
We have done all the research and continue to keep up with new information as it comes available. When we do, we will pass that along to you.
That being said, it’s still a good idea to check your local DMV, HOA, and city ordinances before you decide to bring your bus to your neighborhood and work on it in your driveway!
We Will Be Adding Videos and More
In addition to being a written resource, we have begun to record companion videos. They will be going along with blog posts to help with detailed instructions on your skoolie build.
Those should start appearing on the site over the next couple of weeks.
Depending on where you are in your journey, we’ve got you covered!
Join Our Community Section
You can even take a peek over at our Skoolie People section. It's a great way to meet friends who are living the skoolie life right now!
If you would like to be featured, you can fill out THIS FORM. Just upload a photo and we will be happy to post your skoolie story to inspire others.
Thinking about building a skoolie? This is where you will want to start! Before You Build Your Skoolie
Already have a skoolie and are ready to demo it? (Start Here)
Are you in the process of figuring out your floor plan? We've got you covered with 7 FREE Floorplans. Hopefully, they will inspire your skoolie build and how to figure out your own floor plan.
Maybe you have started your build but you need details on setting up your skoolie plumbing or electrical. We were pretty scared to try doing our own electrical in our first skoolie. So, we had an electrical engineer work with us on building our traditional 110v system.
For our van build, we created and built the entire solar and 12-volt system. We did that ourselves and plan on doing this for our next build.
Meet Other Skoolie Peeps!
You might be done with your build and you just want to connect with the community. We have an ever-growing Skoolie Events page. There is also a Community page for meeting new friends who live this life
.
One of our favorite aspects of living this way is meeting others who live and travel in a skoolie!
We now have a group of friends with that we relate. Travel with, or meet up with at events throughout the year!
This journey began with us wanting to get away from people. We ended up meeting more people and gaining lifelong friendships along the way!
We Look forward to connecting with you and being a small part of your Skoolie journey!