Timing the re-registration of your bus is one of those decisions that seems simple until you start asking around and realize everybody’s got a different answer. The best time to re-register your school bus as an RV is as soon as you meet your state’s minimum conversion requirements, which usually means a permanent bed, a … Read more
You’re shopping for a bus and you keep seeing “Type C” and “Type D” and “pusher” thrown around, and nobody seems to explain what that actually means for your build. Which one’s better? Does it even matter? It matters more than most people think. Front engine buses (Type C, the classic “dog nose” school bus) … Read more
You’ve got the bus, you’ve started your build, and now you’re wondering if some state inspector is going to take one look at your DIY conversion and shut the whole thing down. It’s a legit fear, and it comes up constantly in the skoolie community. The hardest states to pass vehicle inspection with a skoolie … Read more
You’re deep into planning your bus build and the water tank question is sitting there staring at you. Too small and you’re filling up every other day. Too big and you just ate half your storage space and added 600 pounds to your bus. (See our guide on How Do You Get Water in a … Read more
This question comes up in every single bus build conversation, usually right after someone realizes they need to figure out plumbing. And honestly, the toilet choice ends up shaping more of your build than you’d expect. (See our guide on Skoolie Plumbing and Water Systems: The Complete Guide for more on this.) Most skoolie builders … Read more
You’ve got a bus, you’re planning a roof raise, and now you’re wondering if there’s some magic number that makes your build illegal. Or maybe you’ve already done the raise and you’re second-guessing whether you can actually drive this thing across the country without getting pulled over. In the United States, there is no single … Read more
If you’re looking at buying a bus to convert into a home, one of the first forks in the road is figuring out what kind of bus you actually want. School bus? City transit bus? Something else entirely? They look different, they drive different, and they come with totally different pros and cons for a … Read more
So you’re staring at that big yellow bus and thinking about what it could look like in matte black, forest green, or maybe a nice clean white. The paint job is one of those things that makes a skoolie finally feel like yours and not like you stole it from a school district. (See our … Read more
If you’ve ever driven past a field full of old yellow buses just sitting there rusting, you’ve probably wondered what the deal is. I know I did. It was actually one of the things that sent me down the skoolie rabbit hole in the first place. (See our guide on 15 Things Nobody Tells You … Read more
If you’re deep into planning your bus kitchen, the stove question is one of those decisions that touches everything else in your build — your power system, your ventilation, your counter space, even your budget. It’s not as simple as picking a burner. For most skoolie builds, a propane stove is the better choice. Propane … Read more