I see smaller 24 seat city transit buses all the time going for surprising cheap. Is there any reason not to buy and convert? Are they less reliable or more prone to tipovers or something? They're just so cheap sometimes. I don't want to maneuver a full on school bus, but my van is too small.

During a heavy rainstorm I noticed a trickle of water on the floor under the steering wheel. Whilst investigating I discovered an intruder. The mouse ran under my foil insulation and vanished. I cannot figure out where it went.. it simply disappeared into the floor somehow near the gearshift. The whole area is filled with foam.

Two questions.. how would I go about determining the entry point, and two, how do I discourage these critters from returning? I'm paranoid about them chewing the extension cord my heater runs off of.

Looking carefully around the bus I see no evidence of droppings so I think (hope) this was a one off...

I found my experience to be exactly the same as this post from three years ago. I registered the bus in Davidson County (Nashville) without even having to drive it into state since there is no longer an emissions inspection. I just showed up with the title and bill of sale and asked for it to be re-titled as a motorhome for insurance purposes. After a little head scratching and a quick chat behind the scenes, I walked out with my plate and that was that!

Okay. So some context: I got a 100gal tank and since a lot of my time will be spent in AZ im putting it inside, on the lower ledge of my rear engine space.

The tank juuuuust fits width wise. And Im unclear on what I need to do on the hookups - and if I need much clearance from the inlet to the tank. Theoretically, could I just have the inlet connect to maybe 2" of tube then the tank?

And if Im doing gravity and city fill (and air vent) what order do I put them in, with the two holes on the bottom and the two on the top, one of which is the longer spout. This is the tank i got

And do city water inlets need to be locked? Anyone ever had an issue with people messing with it? Id like to get this and a gravity fill like this

My thinking right now was (Going from top left to bottom right, laying flat)

top left air vent, top right (the longer pipe) gravity fill, bottom left output to bus, bottom right city fill.

I'm pretty mechanically adept but dont know a ton about electrical stuff. I just bought a bus with solar but only 300w. The inverter it currently has supports up to 540w solar at 12v and 980w at 24v. I want to upgrade my system to be able to run a mini split and electric stove top every now and then and a small electric fridge because I like cooking at home And an electric water heater for a quick shower everyday. Depending on how big of a battery bank I go with, how much more solar do you think I would need and how many watt generator should I get to supplement it? Or should I just get a larger amperage alternator and wire that in to charge the batteries when needed? I plan on running 300 to 400 amp hours of battery.

Having a really hard time finding mechanics that will service my 2002 Ford e450 7.3L turbo diesel. Most truck repairs are only doing large trucks like semis, and regular mechanics won’t work on diesels. Mobile mechanics don’t call me back. Any leads?

My bus is pulling 9 codes: 1 for each glow plug and 1 for the glow plug circuit so I’m assuming the glow plug solenoid needs to be replaced. Problem is I can’t seem to find it nor do I want to mess around with that. I’m kinda SOL cause obviously I live in my bus and use it as a daily driver.

The ford shop in El Cajon is booking a week out as is my regular guy (Kearney mesa truck center).

TIA

I'll be taking an 8ish hour burn from my current spot to Louisiana next week and I was wondering...

I'm riding legal and all good and above board, but I was curious if overall between traffic, cops and the like if I'd be better off making the run at night, or during the day? My own sleep schedule is a general mess and I'm mostly nocturnal these days. My last run down the East Coast was mostly at night and it was pretty smooth sailing aside from the debris in Virginia which took out a tire. Just curious if you lot had any general thoughts on the matter.

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Hoping I picked the right tag. I am still VERY EARLY planning for a skoolie conversion, and watched a video about planning out the build. I can't find the video, but they had as part of it making a list of all the things that need space in the bus, then finding out the size for those things to start planning what goes where.

If you were to make a list of what needed to go on the bus, what would be on it? Or, how in depth of a list would you go? It feels silly, but my list is much shorter than theirs was visually, so I think I'm doing it wrong and leaving out a lot.

I just got a 2002 Thomas safe t liner and ive been looking for the diagnostics port, The internet, google, chatgpt, etc isnt really helping.

does anyone know where it would be? it doesnt seem to be by the steering wheel like you would think

Hi there! My girlfriend & I are both new nurses and we plan to take traveling assignments together within the next 2 years. We are heavily considering RV or Skoolie life. We would most likely outsource the skoolie conversion (either buy fully converted or hire a service to convert one) as we are not confident in doing at by ourselves. We want to travel the country working as nurses, and skoolie life sounds like an amazing way to do it, but I have some concerns/questions.

Can two people both have full time jobs while living in a skoolie? Would an RV be better since there are more parking options? Will we be able to make it work in an urban area or would we be better off sticking to rural hospitals?

I am in love with the idea of skoolie living but I’m not sure if it is the right choice. If there are any travel nurses or experienced skoolie travelers I would love your input. All advice is appreciated!

Which insurance companies have cheap RV insurance that a skoolie qualifies for, like State Farm? They have been really dishonest. They changed my plan without informing me. When I asked for an explanation, they gaslit me for over a week and I had to have a customer service representative explain because I'm pretty sure what they did may have been illegal. Then there's the whole thing with the California fires. So, really wanna switch

My wife and I traveled in our bus that has yet to be built out down to North Florida from central New York and we're wondering if there's anyone in or around Gainesville/Ocala and surrounding areas to connect with. We are specifically in Bronson. We don't know anyone in this area and would love to have some sort of social interaction with like minded people.

Hey all - my first post here. I'm currently at the tail end of my interior demolition and have just put in new subfloor with insulation underneath. For context, l've got a 2009 International full-length CE that I'm turning into a camper for long weekends and festivals, not a full-time live-aboard. The wall panels covering the insulation seem to be connected to the body of the bus, which I was expecting to see. The insulation underneath seems to be in good shape, and this isn't a full-time live-aboard, so my question is. Is the juice really worth the squeeze to cut out each panel just to replace insulation that's in good shape and get rid of a little thermal bridge? I know l'd be saving about a half an inch of space on either side as well but l'm seriously considering just framing my wall overtop of the metal. Thanks in advance for any help!

This is what the install looks like. The turret is used to seal 100% of the exhaust nubs and exhaust hose where it’s attached to the nubs with the cheap clamps OUTSIDE of the vehicle so that you have no risk of exhaust and CO into the living space. The exhaust hose and cheap clamps are a weak spot and often wear through at the cheap metal as it’s bounced around by driving the vehicle.

Hello all and thanks in advance for any help. I have an opportunity to by an dt466 (haven't confirmed if it's maxx force yet) and accompanying 3060 transmission. Motor is rebuilt and the transmission is used. I currently have a Cat 3126 with 106k miles paired to the 545. Thomas bus Freightliner fs65 .It works great but hills are terrifying and a it would be awesome to have another gear for fuel economy.

Main question (s), is it common to pair the 3126 to the 3060? Is this a kit thing or a transmission shop custom thing? It would need accessories like shifter, cooler lines etc.

Assuming it's not the maxx force is it worth swapping out the good motor?

I think I can get the motor and transmission for $2000 as a pair. Sorry if this is all over the place. I love my bus but love the idea of having a dt466 and 3060 as well. I'm lucky to have what I have already and sincerely appreciate all the advice and comaraderie.

Hey everyone! I have a bus with its fuel gauge out- can add 50 gallons and the low fuel light will still be on and gauge won’t move- is there any type of relay I can check or if the unit on top of the fuel tank itself the most likely culprit? The boss truck shop local to me said they “don’t have the tools” to drop the fuel tank which I understood as “this is gonna suck we don’t wanna do it” any thought? Would like to fix this within 3 days can pay anyone that helps me figure out the issue!

so I didn't know this subreddit existed till a few days ago when it popped up as recommended,

i've had this idea for a few years, but never pulled the trigger.. yet but after finding this sub, i may this spring.

i want to get a "short bus" skoolie and convert the interior to storage for my basic hunting and fishing gear, add a safe for firearms transportation, a dog cage and a single folding bunk.

when not using for sport activities i plan to use some other items i'd need to be a "small animal mobile butcher" as the need in my area is there, also a short skoolie has the torque and power i need to tow my pontoon boat to the dock.

has anyone else done something like this? i'm looking for inspiration.