Considering living in a bus... Need advice from those who know.

I wasn't sure where else to put this on hipforums, but there seems to be a lot of threads about living in buses or similar, and people who do so here.

I'll just get right to it. I've left my husband for reasons of my own personal health and safety, and so far have existed solely on the good graces of friends right now. You see, I'm disabled, sick and unable to work. I have absolutely no income whatsoever. Because I own the house we lived in, I can't get any government assistance right now. So I'm kinda pretty much screwed as far as income. I have some savings, but that's about it, I walked away with pretty much only my clothes and my 3 dogs. I'm sure once I get situated I may be able to get some more of my "things", but that's neither here nor there, and I'm not really counting on it right now.

As I sit on the airbed in the spare room of my friends house, the idea has been rolling around in my head the last couple of days that there is no better time than now to chase my dream of living in a converted bus. I've had that dream for years, but just never could chase it because I was tied to my husband and family holding me down. Well now most of my family is dead and I've left my husband... I am free. Not exactly the way I imagined being "free", but free nevertheless. If I want to be a bus living person, now's as good a time as any, I guess. I could sell the house, and use the money I get from my half of it (or more if I get it) to buy the bus I'll be living in.

The problem is I have no idea where to even begin. I don't know if I will have enough money to buy a bus then convert it, as I've been told unless you do the labor yourself that usually costs more than buying one already converted. And even if I do go with buying one already converted, there's still the issue of they are not widely available and the ones that are, don't meet all my basic standards. I'm not a princess, but there are certain things I really need out of what is going to be my home, most notably good insulation and being very sturdy, having good safety and security, and so on. I'll consider RV's, but I really like buses better. An RV is usually kind of overwhelming to me, and buses seem to be a bit more flexible in terms of where you can park it for long periods of time. But everything I want in my "home" is basically like an RV, just in a bus, I guess.

I don't really plan to live "on the road" or anything. I'll enjoy the freedom to move to new states and such if I want, but I'll be happy if I find a place to settle with my bus. I'll want access to running clean water, electricity, and broadband internet (part of my issues are that I am deaf, so I rely VERY heavily on the internet for basic communication). I'd like to be able to park in someone's driveway and hook myself up to theirs and pay them a small fee for using it, or something like that. I'd also like the option of RV or motor home parks to be open to me with it. And of course I'd like for it to be flexible enough to work even without water or electric once in a while. I'd also like for it to have a tiny kitchen and bathroom to serve my needs so I don't have to go outside every time I need to go to the bathroom or get food. And I will need room for my dogs, obviously, and their crates as well as maybe an extra dog crate or two in case I find any dogs in need of help once in a while (or maybe an addition to the family).

I just have no idea how to go from being a newly divorced homeowner to a happy and free lady living in a bus with her dogs. How do I find a bus to convert, and how do I get it converted? I am unable to do ANY physical labor right now because of my health. So I'd have to hire out everything. But I won't have a lot of money to do that with. I don't know what to do. How do I find decent already converted buses? How do I find people to make necessary modifications to one that I like but needs changes? How do I find a place to park it and live without paying a lot fee? (Keep in mind I have NO income). How do go about earning money for food and upkeep of such a home when I am too sick and disabled to work right now?

I would appreciate anyone that is able to provide insight on how I can make this dream become a reality.

 

I’ve known a few people that lived in busses the biggest hassle seemed to be finding places to park them. I’ve thought about getting one before but when I started to think about where I would park one?

If you had places to park one it would be a great idea especially with 3 dogs.

 

I have been looking very hard at this idea as well. So far in my research I've found that it is usually cheaper to find a bus that is already converted than to do one yourself. I personally was looking at ones that have been converted but were being sold cheap due to mechanical issues. I am a diesel mechanic so that approach is especially practical for me. I'm not sure about everywhere else in the country, but out west it seems to be that KOA campgrounds don't tend to like busses, while the smaller mom and pop type campgrounds are much more accepting. I have also found that it is important that your bus be clean and neat looking. Colorful murals are cool and all but it draws a lot of attention. I have had some decent luck finding busses by driving around in the boonies, they seem to pop up out on farms and ranches around here. Schoold districts in some places auction off their busses fairly cheaply, others cost more. I haven't had very good luck with the auctions.

 

if its just u and the dogs, i would suggest gettin a short bus. much easier to drive/park and find places u can go. a big bus is best if there is a captain, and some riders. as far as converting one, it depends on what all u need/want in there to live in comfort.
i think 'blinkn' has converted a few, he might even have one to sell.

 

Ive been planning on this as well. Money is my issue right now. One site that I have found EXTREMELY helpful is www.skoolie.net . They have a forum there and pictures and all that good stuff. You could probably get some neat ideas there. These busses arent terribly expensive. A good bus from a school auction (not a dealer) will be around 1000-2500. After the bus is yours, you just have to decide what you want in there and start looking up parts.

Hope this helped

 

I've never seen that site before. It looks like just like what I was looking for. Thanks!

 

You're welcome.

 

Hi! My partner and I are in the throws of converting a bus. We bought our bus from Greg at www.floridachurchbus.com, but I know that there are sometimes posts about school buses for sale sometimes on the skoolie site (they are indeed very helpful and friendly). We are converting an 84 passenger bus into a home, this seems like it may be a little bit big for your application, I agree with a previous poster, that a short bus might do very well for you.

I'm not certain if you'd find any takers, but maybe you could ask on one of the school bus conversion websites if anyone would be able to help you do part of your conversion? It seems like the people on there are pretty open and really enjoy converting buses.

So far living on a bus has been great, and I would recommend it.
Best of luck!!

 

Here is a link to one of the oldest school bus conversion sites out there.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SchoolBUSconversioNUTS/
Another type bus you might look at is a smaller shuttle bus.
I currently travel around the country in a van. It's my home about 10 months a year.
DH

 

I'm currently living in/converting a bus. Finding place to park is kinda tough, depending on what part of the country you're in. I'm currently parked on a friend's land.

I originally bought the bus for $300 off some kids who didn't know what to do with it. I've put about $1000 into the conversion so far. I've so far put in beds, wood stove and insulation. My ultimate plan is to do solar electric, compost toilet, full kitchen, greywater system, etc etc... basically make it as off the grid as possible.

you can check out my progress at http://desertdawnbus.blogspot.com
I'm also on skoolie.net under the same screen name (staggerlee917.)

This is actually my second bus I've owned. If you decide to get one, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

 

I assume you know about The Highway Child and Higway Child in Canada. They've been at tibal gypsy bus living for years, and I'm sure could give you lots of pointers. The founder, Drew (aka, Blinkin) is about to drop out, but he might be willing to communicate via email. You can find out about them and contact them on the Communal forum, or check the emails provided on their personal pages.

 

im converting a short bus atm.
its definitely doable, but it might be cheaper to buy one already converted, depending on how house-like you want to make it. im really enjoying making it my own little space though and i probably havnt spent more than a couple hundred dollars all together (the bus was free). i dont have a toilet though or electricity or a stove yet.
definitely check out skoolie.net, theres a ton of info there.
good luck

 

Well, I went with an RV. I still would rather have had a skoolie, but unfortunately I just didn't have the physical resources to convert one, or financial resources to buy one already converted. I ended up with more living space and amenities for the money with a fifth wheel RV than I did a bus... so although it's not %100 my dream, it could be worse! It's got everything I need. That's all that's important.

 

Im glad to hear that. And just remember to save up as much as you can because RV's get expensive as they get older. And the busses going up for sale are just getting newer and newer each year.

One day youll make it.

 

Hi Lily and others

I’ve lived in my skoolie for almost 6 years now and I find it to be one of the smartest things I’ve ever did. I put my daughter through 4 years of college in cash because of not paying rent and we’ve been able poke around and be in different places as we pleased. As to parking, I’ve found farmers to be some of the nicest people around. I have 3 farms and 2 vineyards that let me come and go as I please and they ask very little in return. No money, Most of the time I help out on the farm or fix a stuck door or some other repair around the place. They like it when you speak plan English, just tell them that you will be glad to work 1 or 2 days a week if you can quietly park in the back of there farm.

Here are a couple of my favorite sites

www.mrsharkey.com

www.housetrucks.com Roger Beck has a great housetruck and bus book for about 30 bucks and worth every penny

Peace along the way
Dennis the bus dweller N.Y.

 

It's always good to put a face to a post


Peace along the way
Dennis the bus dweller N.Y.