Van vs Skoolie

[DreamChaser]

Hello everyone this is my first post just wondering people's opinions on vans vs skoolie .my wife and I are looking towards the future we were just looking for a little guidance on vehicles. Thanks I really like this website Bob has done a great job

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard the good ship CRVL.
You'll get plenty of answers to that one.
It's usually a personal preference.

There are a few here doing the same search so jump on in.

 

[akrvbob]

They both have great strengths and serious weaknesses. The key is to decide what your priorities are and match them to the pros and cons of each.

If you tell us your plans and what you want out of a mobile life and we can give you much better advice.

If you chose a van be very sure your relationship is up to the challenge of living in such a tiny space, in my opinion most are not.
Bob

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to CRLV    

Do you know if you intend to do much driving ? 

Long road trips full time to see major sites "Tourist"   "Camping 1"

Travel some in your own area and stay a month here and a month there. "Seasonal Campers or Boondockers".  "Camping 2"  

Or there is the third option most people know as "snowbirds". where you travel a considerable distance for a more southern climate during the winter, before returning back to the more northern base in spring.  "Camping  3"

As a kid I used to listen to my Dad describe this to his friends.    He traveled in his work and finally just chose a Van for himself.  But this evaluation technique helped him better choose between types of Vehicles within cost budget/benefit considerations.  He had a Class C RV for awhile and finally just chose Vans.

You may find small Schoolie's for sale already converted.  Some people are making a hobby of building these now days when they find two or three of them cheap enough to make it profitable.  With a bare Schoolie there will be some real work involved and expense.  I know of a couple of brothers who do this between jobs.
One is a House Framer carpenter and the other a Cabinet installer.  One may be wise to consider a starter vehicle such as a good deal on an old used Winnebago Brave that is in good condition as a Class A or a used Class C which is the RV built on a Van chassis.  These often show up when a full timer couple retire from it suddenly due to health or other reasons etc.  Some are estate sales, and were in use up until that time.

It may cost a bit more up front but you gain the advantage of going on the road that same season where with a bare schoolie you may spend the first season just building it out and getting it road ready.

If you choose the RV route you may want to know what the current used prices are on the different models.
Most RV Lots purchase the NADA RV guide but they aren't into sharing the info in them too freely.   You could purchase a used one but they aren't too common.

This way you would know the stated values.  Then you need to know the service history, break down & repairs made to it etc to be able to offer a good faith proposition when dealing with another private party.
Often people just go on the Bank Loan Value as a basis and deal from there.

A built out Schoolie is a unique vehicle, almost a one of a kind, and there is no real way of putting a value on it.

Occasionally I see some real beauties here in the Ohio Valley where I live between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.  They are built for University Sports Alumni types who like to travel to Home Coming events etc or Snow Birds
who will drive to Florida for the winter and then return.  "Camping 3" types.  Most of these Schoolies will probably have 25 to 35K of good miles on them.  Which for those in my area would translate to 3 to 5 years of Snowbirding before they find a deal on a Florida Home or Condo and sell the Schoolie.

So I offer you this as a way to evaluate some of your needs or desires beyond your choices of vehicles.  It may help you choose better.   If you buy a used RV, the first season you may try the "Camping 2" method to learn what it is like and know what would appeal to you.   It will also keep you close to home in the RV so you
can test it out and evaluate if for an extended road trip of touring or for winter snowbird camping.

All the best.

 

[LoupGarou]

Welcome to the forum.

Of the two, a van would be the way to go. If your going to convert a school bus, you'll need the tools and a staging area to do the work. If you happen to find a bus you like, take down the VIN number and call your insurance company, they may or may not cover it. You can't get a RV certification based on intent. The vehicle needs to meet certain criteria to be classified as an RV. Here in Missouri, the re-certification verification has to go though a Missouri State Highway Patrol Inspection Station. You have to go there twice, once for the inspection and the second time to have them apply a DOT number plate to the vehicle that goes with a new title.

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forum, DreamChasers! I hope you'll be happy which ever you decide upon. Glad you found us!

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Willy]

Are you including stepvans in the van classification? Cuz there's a world of difference between a stepvan and a regular van. ..Willy.

 

[eDJ_]

Good point about the stepvan Willy.    Some of those Aluminum bodied Bread delivery Trucks don't haul heavy loads like the Schoolie's and are quite roomy and their rectangular interior would be well suited to building out quickly and inexpensively.   These may be easier to work on and maintain if you can find a deal on one.  I'm thinking they may be geared better for mileage economy than the schoolies too.  And the aluminum doesn't rust.

 

[Willy]

I currently live in an '86 Grumman stepvan w. 14' box and, yup, tons of room. ..Willy

 

[Konaexpress]

Wow that is a bunch of room! Does anyone know the MPG on them? Do they come in a Diesel?

John

 

[Seadog729]

I LIKE it, and interested in the MPG. You can do lots with that space!!

 

[eDJ_]

When I was pulling up those images from Google,  I saw some that had 7.3 turbo diesels in them.  I've read where the aluminum bodies weigh in at  around 800 lbs depending on the size of the Van.   Also you have to
be careful as there are some automatic transmission combination issues, where the auto tranny isn't up to the
diesel that they are put behind.  The GM TH400 behind a 4BT Cummins. 3.9 Liter diesel in common used is
a source of low mileage engine Step Vans retired from service early.  But the GM TH 400 behind a small block gasser is a good combination if you can find one with lower mileage.

Some Step Vans have fiberglass roofs to skylight the cargo area.

Some Step Vans are using aluminum axle hubs, cab mountings, and clutch housings which can cut down the weight of the Van by as much as 200 lbs.  The use of aluminum wheels may reduce weight by another 500 lbs.

If considering retrofitting the dualie rear axle to a single wheel rear axle for fuel savings, you should check the States you will be operating in for "compliance".  Some states have different pavement weight laws.  The dualies may work better in all 50 States even though they get less MPG.  A 3.50:1 to 3.33:1 may be the happy medium rear axle ratio.

I've shopped around the Step Van market and spoken with quite a few Mechanics that service fleets of Bakery Trucks.  I purchased my E 350 high top cause I got a deal on it, but I had looked at some very small Step to just small Step Vans in the past with various drive trains.

 

[DreamChaser]

Thanks for the all the info never thought of a stepvan have to check it out looks like alot of space to work with my wife will like that.Anybody out there using tour buses or are they to bIg for a diy home?

 

[BusGirl]

We have a converted school bus, '92 Thomas.  I LOVE the bus!. There are 2 of us and 3 large dogs and it gave us enough space to not feel cramped.  It also allowed us to have a bathroom area as well. We installed a compost toilet and have a shower set up with a garden pond and battery/rechargeable shower head. It was a blank slate and you can go as basic or as fancy as you like.  We found a bus that had already been converted to a tailgate bus on Craigslist...so the seat pulling and interior gutting was already done.  It is sturdier and has a higher clearance than a typical rv.  We were able to make it feel very homey and I love that about it.  There are some drawbacks vs a van depending on your plans.  They are bigger...so tougher to get into smaller spots and not great on rougher roads (although better than an rv).  They are not stealthy!  Lol.  You do attract curiosity.  We had no issues with insurance or titling (we are in Ohio, Grange is my insurance company). In Ohio you also do not need a CDL license.  You may want to check your state's requirements as they vary widely.  Good Sam offers an awesome roadside assistance and includes bus conversions as a vehicle option...this was esp helpful to us recently.  Other companies can give you hassle about a bus conversion.  Repairs can be costly depending on your engine type and tires are EXPENSIVE! However with a good engine and good preventative maintenance you can get hundreds of thousands of miles out of it.  We take a 2nd vehicle with us for running around once we're camped and that has worked very well for us!  Good luck!  And if you're looking for more info on skoolies check out skoolie.net if you haven't already done so.  They have a ton of information on bus conversions of all type.  They have some tour bus type conversions on there too.

 

[SaltySeaWitch]

I have decided on a mini school bus over a van because I want more room and there is just something about them that I love. There is a lot of info on here if you decide to go with a bus. Make sure you know about the various engines in them. Use the search bar and threads will come up. One is mine titled Torn between a mini bus or van (I think) and I had lots of great advice given to me there.

In TN they are are easy to title as an RV. Someone on here got insurance through Nationwide for $23 a month as an RV. Good Sams was also mentioned above. All depends on your state. If you post what state you are in someone may be be able to answer better.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing what you decide on