bus or van...

Hello all.... i am planning a trip this summer and have the money saved to buy my vehicle of choose but i am kinda having a problem... do i want to buy something like a school bus or a conversion van... i am planning to travle with my boyfriend and three medium size dogs... a schooll bus has more room but i have alot of questions about them do you have to have cdl to drive your own personal bus... how much is the insurance... and the cost of gas is so expensive... but a van is so small ... anyone with some info on or ideas... please help... pics of your own would help with ideas too.. thanks

 

no cdl on the bus, you can convert it to veggie oil pretty easily and there are really good resources www.skoolie.net is a great forum, http://www.journeytoforever.org/ has great info on the veggie conversion and there is insurance info ubiquitous but you could ask about it on skoolie.net

 

Its a personal choice, id not have a large bus nor would I have anything that looked like a hippie ride as attention of the wrong kind sucks.

Ive never had a bus but have had several vw camper vans which worked well for me, two people and a few dogs is not extreme for a van.

If you do go for the van Id do alot of thinking on whats practicle for you, I will never own a vw van again for many reasons, now I have a one ton camper van with a strong v8.

Good Luck.

 

thanx all... i have been looking around online a lot and thinking about it... and still have yet to decide so more ideas would be appericated...

 

lol...school buses don't have to look hippie...if you don't want them to...it all depends on how much you are willing to invest in them...here is a pic of one i found on schoolie.net

school bus conversions gallery

 

Seems a smaller van could park anywhere without much notice being taken.
Better on fuel. Easier to sell. I hate being lost in a strange city, I'd really hate riding around lost in a large vehicle.

 

It just seems to me that a converted school bus to anything is just a ghetto way of a cheap rv, but its all good and ive seen some nice ones.

As for the gas mileage comment, my prior vw`s got about 22. My current one v8 van sucks and gets only 10 due to the 4:10 rear end gears, so id say alot of bigger rigs get better mpg than me.

 

lol....yeah it is the "getto way" or the do-it-yourself way.....thats all the fun of it... knowing you built it......you can always go with the very high priced bus conversions....also school buses are built to hold children they have safety built into them ...and they are well mantained thru their use .... it would surely beat living out of a van...too small unless its just a short road trip.... it all depends on how much you plan to travel and how much you are taking...as for fuel ...can't beat free...gotta love veggie oil

but if you want to waste your money on a cheap, plastic rv so that you look common and pay alot more for inferior parts...i say go for it....

 

Here here, yummy.

So what if I don't go the way of the rest of the sheeple who have plastic foam RV's. And after watching a $2 million dollar RV built from the ground up and what goes into it, I'm so very happy I have my bus instead.

The Cloud Dreamer, 35' International Ward Diesel (easily to convert to veggie or bio-diesel) has clearence enough for me to go just about anywhere, parts are readily availible, runs great as I purchased it from a school district where they have to keep them up, has a total usuable space of 29 feet inside, plus the undercarriage and school buses are some of the most safest large vehicles on the road. They have to be to carry people's kids all over. School buses are highly regulated though they do go through some heck with those little wild monsters in them LOL!

Sure, she isn't some gasser but then again, one gets better long distance overall in the disesels. Don't think so? Ask those truckers how long they can go between fill ups. Not really the same with gassers. Each has their own pluses and minuses as do both buses and vans-in the end only you can decide what will work best for you. If you need more than that, check out the mid-size bus/van combos. They are usually 15-25 feet long, faster to convert

Anyway, your best bet my friend is to check out the various online skoolie/conversion websites.

www.busnut.net (eye candy for the converter, eye opening for newbie just starting)

www.skoolie.net (friendly group, takes time answering but they do like to get detailed in answers)

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/schoolbusconversionuts (check out extensive archive before asking questions-sometimes mod is an asshole)

I won't kid you-converting a vehicle isn't for the faint at heart or non-techie unwilling to learn. You do have to spend some money though doing the work yourself will save lots of $$$. Also, finding a RV salvage yard that has some cool folks there will be a big help. An old rv that is being parted out can provide lots of appliances/walls/furniture etc that normally you'd have to buy or find. Also unless you happen to have all the free time in the world, adhering to a schedule will move things along smoothly esp if you've already got some solid plans down on paper. Adjust as you move along converting. Get to know Lowes/Home Depot/ya local parts store (support the local community always!) Barder with someone who might know how to wire or woodworking, or whatever, that can be a good cost cutting measure as well.

To ME having a bus isn't about being a hippy, its about RECYCLING something that normally would end up rusting in a big auto yard or someone's front yard, leaking fluids onto Mother Earth. Its about RENEWING the lifecycle of an vehicle for good times and protests, Its about REFUSING to let just one more item possibly go to the dumps for years- a good running bus becoming yard art (decorating it is only half the fun!)

TCD will have cheap curtains made from rejected fabrics, renewed appliances, reusuable tires, hand built or recycled furniture or better still recycled items from the junkyard. And when the bills are all gone bye bye, she'll go on bio-diesel.

To me there is nothing "ghetto" about wanting to Renew, Reuse, Recycle a bus/VW giving it new life to explore our world. It also makes TCD loads better than some plastic RV.

urby

 

I would probably look for a shorter diesel powered school bus.

 

for being at the beggining of your journey, i would suggest a van. they are easyier to find a spot to park, easier to manuaver a bit better on gas, blend in better, you'll get harassed less, cheaper to fix, etc.
a bus is nice but fairly impractical at this point. thats my 2 cents.

 

You know, get what you want man. Everyone can drop opinions but like I said, it ultimately is up to you want your needs/wants/desires are.

No matter ease of driving, parts, type of vehicle, what color you paint it, etc etc...YOU gotta be happy with it or don't even bother, you know.

urby

 

true, but sometimes your desires increase your needs. my style is a lil more streamlined for ease of movement and more free time. i myself feel i could captain a ship (bus) but i prefer not to, cus i liek to sit around and be lazy and drink coffee when i get there, not search for money.

 

I did the van thing. Now I do the bus thing. I don't think I could ever go back to the van after haveing so much room in the bus. I am also full time in the bus. They both have pros and cons I guess. With gas the way it is now it hurts me when I have to fill up. How much room do you nead? I like driveing big trucks. Are you up for it? Try NCY in rush hour. It is a blast !


Dan K

 

Hey I've had lots of camping vehicles including buses, station wagons, vans, etc.

Buses are fun for certain purposes like doing a festival tour where you have a set destination knowing beforehand that there will be paved roads, decent sized parking spots, and where having a bus is cool and lets you invite guests to join you for tea, 420, and music. Then it's worth the extra gas and trouble. But since it sounds like you folks are going for the freestyle road adventure with a lot of random driving then I highly recommend AGAINST a school bus. First of all there is the gas mileage and maintenance issue, which is NOT trivial! For a cross-country trip you could spend an additional amount of fuel money that could otherwise get you a motel room every night if you just drove a car. Then there is the parking issue. I went on a bunch of road adventures and found that driving a van or station wagon gets you everywhere, whereas even a small bus would not have been possible. I was so glad I didn't have a bus on those trips because I drove on a lot of little sketchy dirt roads to find really cool camping spots.

Also, you'd have to do a lot of work on a school bus before summer and there is not enough time to mess around with that. It took me 3 months, working 10 hours a day, to get my 40-foot city bus converted to just a basic rv with a bed, sink, toilet, plumbing, solar power, and lights. And the interior still needs a lot of work before it even resembles a living space. I needed to do all of that work just to get it properly registered, licensed, and insured as a private RV so I wouldn't have to pay commercial fees or get a CDL. Looking back on my efforts, however, I must say that it was so NOT worth the trouble and expense!

I'd go with a van conversion, preferably a diesel van since you'll get better mileage and diesels are usually more reliable since there are no spark plugs and no ignition system. There will be enough room for two people plus a dog or two. You'll like all the little features the van has like air conditioning, stereo, quiet ride, folding bed, interior lights, curtains, storage, spare tire, etc.

And like a previous poster said, when you go on a road trip, the last thing you want to do is stress out over something. Buses make you stress out while a regular car, van, or wagon, just purrs along while you sing with your pals and smile along with your dogs. That's the easy way to travel and the best way.

Bring a tent too because it will get too hot in the summer to sleep in the van depending on where you go. Sounds like fun!

 

ive had vans and lived full time in them with my three children. i love my bus , we are safer, more comfort, and with the milage my v8 gas engine van got its not much diferent to my bus, but alot less space. i only got 10 miles to the gallon in my van , and that what my diesal bus gets. you have to maintenace any ride you get. but consider the price of things, a bus fresh out of a school district at an auction can cost as low as $500 up to $3000 is the most i ever heard. i paid $2000 tax and title and been living full time for almost two yrs. price what a van will cost you and remember you usally get what you pay for, most vans that are worth having are about $1000. i priced vws and for one worth having there even more than a regular van, the camper vans are even more. as far as being hassled or not getting my ride back in the woods i dont usally have any problems. ther have been some places i didnt want to go but then again i wood have wanted a 4x4 anyway. i only got pulled over once and that was in likely ca. out side of the national last yr for my bus being yellow ( i still havnt painted it yet) i simply talked the cop out of it being as i was following my state law and told him we were on vaction and were to be out of his state real soon.i had traveled the whole state by time. i have only put about 1000 into to it so far, using alot of scrap and recycled rv parts. by the way nice looking ride yummy. we are enjoying our bus evey day. it all goes with what are your want and needs. some people just cant have a bus for what ever there reasoning, and if you take the t off of cant you can.there has been some good advice here on this thread about buses. you can always park at the local walmart right next to the other rvs, and bus people are the friendlyest people to other bus people and they are not all hippies. people have never stopped to get me high in any van i ever owned. you meet so many cool people being in a bus. people have brought us home for dinner ( use discretion) and brought us food and not just hand outs but family wanting to suport their brothers and sisters on the road.there is so much i could go on and on, maybe thats why there are web sites on them. i dont see to many web sites about vans.

 

im sorry that last post was by papabear i guess i didnt sign out.

 

a van will be much better, not just because of how comfortable they are, but especially because of what the gas prices are supposed to be this summer.

 

i dont know.. .a bus would look cool as hell... lol but a van just might be easier.. telll us what you decide!

 

Our insurance on our bus,because it is classified as a motor home is only $125 a YEAR we were paying much more than that for any car or van we ever had. Really though it is a personal choice.
I hear alot of FEAR given for reasons not to get a bus. Fear is not a good thing to have. Not everyone who has a converted school bus is a "hippy" and I have seen some really nice ones.
Fuel is expensive, it doesn't really matter what you drive, its going to be an issue. I however can run my diesel on waste vegetable oil, the price of the conversion can be easily made up in fuel savings. depending on what state you are in diesel can be anywhere from $.75 cheaper to $.75 more than gasoline.
In almost two years we've replaced 2 parts on our bus, both less than $50, so really parts are not that much more expensive, again its fear, not real knowledge that some people are spreading. And we were able to easily do the work ourselves.
My bus has great ground clearence and can go places that no van will go, my bus is also 35' long and will not go someplaces that a smaller vehicle will go. It has never stopped us from finding that perfect camp spot. We have a 14 ton suspension compared to 1/2 to 1 ton for a van, it allows us to have more. As for a hotel every night, why would I need one?
Vans have there advantages too, I can't really think of any except that your less likely to be noticed, but I know they do.
In the end you have to do what you feel most comfortable with, your needs and wants are different from ours and everyone else on this board.