Not many schoolies here?

[StarliteRambler]

Schoolies don't seem very popular around these parts. Why might that be??

 

[highdesertranger]

they are a little pain in the ass to register and insure. there were quite a few at the RTR. for some reason they hide in the shadows on the forum. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

To me it seems a lot of the people that come to this site are new to fultiming and do not know for sure how much space they need to live on the road. They are looking to live simply as quickly as possible with as little prep as possible. Buying, insuring, having the skills, equipment and space to convert a school bus is overwhelming to many.

 

[ckelly78z]

For me, a schoolie screams redneck personified....just not what I want.

 

[bullfrog]

I resemble that remark, guess I should have kept my schoolie from years ago so you could see me a coming and run! LOL!!! That reminds me I need to pay my Escapee's dues.

 

[highdesertranger]

I am a redneck hippy. what's wrong with being a redneck? highdesertranger

 

[Gr8ful]

I have an ambulance & love it. No problem with registering, insuring, etc. PM if I can help!

 

[ByeBye]

If I wasn't invested in off road camping I'd be looking at schoolies real hard. 4x4 Truck camper just give me some of a lot of worlds and a lot of some worlds.

 

[ped]

Schoolies def not redneck. A bus is wildly better built than any RV. RV's are all kinda garbage. A schoolie doest leak, doesnt rot, will hold up to prolly small tornadoes, incredible ventilation, many use wood stoves, can make them into toy haulers with a substantial workshop in the back, build them with huge amounts of water and solar.

 

[bullfrog]

I worked on and drove school buses for many years and found that they were big, heavy and not real comfortable to drive on long trips with MPG's from 5 on gasoline engines to 13 on the best auto trans diesels. Tires, regular maintenance as well as daily use kept them in really good condition as long as they were on paved roads operated by state regulated school systems. Once they were sold, usually to church or other large groups that wasn't the case and sitting caused things like tires, breaks and hoses to go bad and usually they weren't maintained or repaired properly. Because they had heavy duty drive trains when they broke they were more costly to repair. If you are able to drive and maintain one, afford the oil, fuel,tires and travel to new locations 25 miles away every few days they would be okay but with a curved roof not as much space as a box truck.

 

[Gr8ful]

Here's A LINK TO A FORUM on skoolies that should help http://www.skoolie.net

 

[Gr8ful]

I sent you a PM with a skoolie only website that will have the info you need.

 

[Seminole Wind]

i love my skoolie. i have a 20 foot short bus and i love it. there was no "problems" registering it but it was quite expensive to find insurance as it was considered a commercial truck. my solution was to go through the process of converting to a motor home on the title and then while there were not many companies that wanted to insure it, i was not really an issue and it was way cheaper by a factor of 10.

when compared to the other common van dweller rigs there are some more potential issues. if you start with a rig that is already licensed as a rv/motor home the above mentioned steps dont need to be done. if you take a "regular" rig like a van and "convert" it then as far as reg and insurance it is just the same as that regular van or truck

since there are far fewer of the buses the parts and repair manuals can be harder to find and not every shop in town will be able to handle all repairs. the base vehicle stuff like brakes/engine and such are no issue. but finding wiring diagrams/lights/door parts/windows and such can be harder to find through normal channels

but they offer some things that just are not as available from other rigs like crash safety/price/and variety...

 

[Weldman]

Not a school bus here though runs on the same components as one. I have a 86' S1954 International class 7 truck my insurance runs about $124 month without a CDL (this truck is listed as commercial vehicle) with a truck camper on the back though the components are pricey or can be cheap if you select the right one. Due to mine being a 10 lug axles I just dropped $615 on rotors alone and that took 2 days to find the right ones which only can be had through "stealership" and they didn't even list the right ones on this truck through VIN number. Reason saying this sometimes parts are hard to come by too so be prepared to do some research. Don't ask about mpg's yet as I have yet to gone far enough with it due to current repairs though with DT466 diesel it shouldn't hurt too much.

 

[squatting dog]

I can't imagine any box truck getting much better mileage. Now, I can't speak for the newer buses, but my older ones never got less than 10 mpg, and I've had enough of them to form an opinion.

My bunch
1963 Dodge big block 318 and 5 speed w/2 speed rear
1965 Chevy 283/with granny low 4 speed
1969 Ford bus. 391 industrial eng. w/5 speed and 2 speed rear
1970 Ford bus 390 w/5 speed and 2 speed rear
1966 Ford bus 352 4 speed w/ 2 speed rear. (my heavy hauler)
1946 Ford bus  390 w/ c6 automatic

 

[Gr8ful]

The best built 2 vehicles made are ambulances & busses. Busses IMHO make the best toy haulers. So why snub busses? Most are well mainntained, easy to find super deals & they must be safe or they be hauling kids. Ambos & busses will survive a roll over & built better than any RV as cost is not a factor. I bet the people dissing busses never drove one. Go Skoolies!