The vehicle itself — types, brands, top picks, where to buy
You’ve probably driven past a field of old yellow buses sitting behind a chain-link fence and thought, “I wonder if those are for sale.” I did. More than once. It’s actually what pushed me deeper into the skoolie world than I ever expected to go. (See our guide on Is a Skoolie Cheaper Than Buying … Read more
If you’re shopping for a bus and you’ve looked at more than a few listings, you’ve probably noticed some have the engine up front under a hood and others have a flat face with the engine tucked somewhere in the back. It matters more than most people think, and it affects almost every part of … Read more
Buying a used school bus is one of those things where excitement can completely override common sense. You find one that looks good in the photos, the price is right, and suddenly you’re ready to drive six hours to hand someone cash. But the bus doesn’t care about your enthusiasm — it’s either solid or … Read more
When I first started researching bus conversions, I assumed “skoolie” meant school bus and that was pretty much the only option. Turns out there’s a whole world of buses out there that people are converting into homes, and each one comes with a totally different set of trade-offs. Some are cheap and easy to find. … Read more
You’re shopping for a bus and you keep seeing the same engine names pop up in every listing. Cummins this, DT466 that, something about a Cat 3126. But which one do you actually want under that hood, and which ones should you walk away from? (See our guide on Should You Buy a Gas or … Read more
Finding a bus to convert sounds like it should be the easy part. You’ve got the plans, the Pinterest board, the YouTube playlist. But then you sit down to actually buy one and realize there’s no “school bus” category on AutoTrader. So where does everyone actually find these things? (See our guide on Where Do … 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
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
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
You’re looking at buses online, trying to figure out if you’ll actually be able to stand up inside one. Maybe you’re tall, maybe your partner is, and the last thing you want is to buy a bus and spend six months converting it only to bonk your head every time you walk to the kitchen. … Read more