How We Chose The Bus For Our Skoolie Conversion | School Bus Conversion | Skoolie Living | Skoolie Conversion Tips
How We Chose The Bus For Our Skoolie Conversion
When you’re going to be spending thousands of dollars to renovate a vehicle to live full time in, it’s pretty important to choose the right one! This part of our journey made me the most nervous, since neither Josh nor I knew anything about school buses, and I was so scared we would choose the wrong bus and not realize it until we were already thousands of dollars and months into the conversion. So, true to my usual strategy, I dove into research for MONTHS in order to figure out what things we should be looking for in a bus. After spending I don’t even know how many hours researching, in skoolie Facebook groups and every other corner of the internet, I finally knew pretty much exactly what we were looking for, and what to avoid.
A bus older than 2005, but newer than 1998.
Buses built after 2005 have emissions systems that make doing mechanical work on the engine more difficult, so we knew we absolutely did not want a bus newer than 2005. We also wanted one newer than 1998, simply because we didn’t feel super comfortable going much older than that. I’ve seen a lot of converted buses that are 1998 or older, but this was just one of our personal preferences for our own build. We ended up with a 2001 Freightliner Bluebird.
Either a mechanical Dt466 or 5.9 Cummins engine.
After about a million hours spent reading people’s recommendations for bus engines to look for and ones to avoid, I still don’t know how to change a tire by myself (LOL) but I sure as hell can tell you about school bus engines! We knew we wanted either the Dt466 or the 5.9 Cummins, because of the overall consensus that those engines are powerful enough to tow a vehicle easily, they’re generally reliable when properly cared for, and they’re easier to work on in general. We also knew to run like the wind from VT365s and the 6.0 Cummins (unless it’s been bulletproofed). The Mercedes MBE engines weren’t super desirable either since they are more expensive to repair, and harder to work on yourself since it’s a more modern engine. CAT engines were also debatable since the parts are harder to find and repairs are usually more expensive. We ended up with a 5.9 Cummins that runs amazing and starts right up, even in the cold.
Diesel engine with under 200,000 miles.
200,000 miles sounds like a lot, but in diesel engines, you can easily get twice that many miles if cared for properly. Our bus has around 150,000 miles on it, which we were very happy with.
Around 35 feet long and 11 windows.
School buses can range anywhere from short buses with 4 windows, to 45 feet long. The best way to determine the approximate length of a bus online (which we noticed many sale ads did not include the length), is to count the number of windows. We knew we didn’t want a 40 or 45 foot long bus since we would be towing a vehicle with it, but we also wanted a bus at least 30 feet long for the right amount of living space inside. So 35 feet long with 11 windows and 29 feet of buildable space inside was perfect for us.
Dog nose vs. flat nose.
It seems like most people have super strong opinions on if they want a bus with a flat front or not, but we were mostly open to either. At first we thought we would definitely want a flat nose with rear engine since it would be quieter for the driver, and those seemed more desired by the skoolie community. But after doing a lot of research on whether or not rear engine buses were harder to work on than dog nose buses, Josh decided that he might prefer a dog nose just to be on the safe side, and that’s what we ended up with.
An interior ceiling height of at least 76”.
When you’re going to be living in a vehicle, the ceiling height is super important for how open and comfortable it feels, especially if you’re tall. Ceiling heights can range from 74” to 78”, and many people choose to do roof raises for extra head room. Neither of us wanted to tackle the huge task of a roof raise, so after checking out a bunch of buses, we knew a 74” ceiling was out of the question, and we wanted a ceiling at least 76” tall, or ideally 78”. We found the 78” ceilings to be harder to come by, so we ended up with a 76” ceiling. Luckily I’m only 5’4” and Josh is 5’7”, so a 76” ceiling is still comfortable for us even after redoing the ceiling and floors.
Last but definitely not least, we wanted minimal rust and no serious mechanical issues.
For obvious reasons, a rusty bus with mechanical issues is not something you want to mess with for a skoolie conversion. Being in Maryland, most older buses do have at least some rust underneath from the road salt during the winter, so it was important to know how much rust was too much, and what was okay. When bus shopping, we thoroughly checked underneath each bus to make sure there was only surface rust, and there weren’t any indicators of serious hidden rust, such as the steps being flimsy and rusted out. If you can tell there are rusty holes underneath the stairs, you should probably run like the wind from that one. People who are lucky enough to live in the South are able to be much more selective and find buses with basically no rust at all, but those of us from the North just have to find a bus with not TOO much rust.
Finding the right bus took months of research and then patience while waiting for the right one to pop up online. It was definitely worth the wait though, because we’re super happy with the bus we chose!
Follow @thebeccamathews on Instagram to watch our conversion and keep up with our travels when we hit the road!
Becca Mathews
Traveling Portrait Photographer, Private Photo Editor, and Business Mentor