When I started with this journey, I set an idea in my mind of how I wanted the bus to be. Since I began at the beginning of September, the bus has continued to evolve. One of the best things about skoolie builds is how you can truly make them your own. Try that in a $100k Sprinter van. You have the opportunity to adapt the bus floor plan to fit your needs, rather than the other way around. Even after four months on the road, I find myself continuing to tweak and modify my setup to find the sweet spot of form and function.
How the Build on the Skoolie Started
It started off as the original owner had it, with a very heavy bench/bed with cubbies underneath, a spot on one of the wheel wells for the marine toilet, and loads of plastic greenery stapled to the walls. The green stuff was cute and gave it a lot of character, but I found it really didn’t serve much purpose. As I added my own touches, such as curtains, I discovered that the fake plastic plants had shredded my curtains. They had to go.
Other than an already installed plumbing system, one of the main reasons I liked this bus from the beginning was the solar system. It featured two 100ah LiFePO4 batteries and a 250watt panel, as well as an extra solar panel I could add if I needed one later. According to the previous owner, the battery and solar system was enough to power the 1500watt inverter, which could power the apartment fridge, microwave oven, laptop, and just about anything else I needed on the inside of the bus. Unfortunately, that statement wasn’t entirely accurate.
The Original Setup for Power
The microwave quickly depleted the batteries and the solar controller didn’t allow for proper battery charging and management. Forget about what the electric space heater would have done. Something you don’t ever want to do with your batteries–even if they are Lithium Iron deep cycle–is drain them down to nothing over and over. This was just the first few weeks in the bus. I knew I would need power to pump my water, charge my computer, and run lights and refrigeration.
The solenoid was supposed to charge the house power from the motor on cloudy days or nights never worked right. Come to find out, that sort of setup would have eventually killed my alternator, so it’s probably good that it didn’t work. The bench seat/spare bed had a steel hospital table that swiveled out, but it wasn’t nearly large enough for my workspace. With that pulled, I was giving up closet and storage space. The marine toilet was an eyesore, just sitting there on the back wheelwell. As if to say, “Welcome to my home. Behold my shitter!”
Making Changes to the Skoolie
The first thing I did was pull out the heavy bench seating. The unit was made of heavy particle board, and lightened the load around 200 pounds. I pulled the hospital table too. I replaced both of them with a writing desk I had. It gave me another four inches of clearance and looked beautiful. The wheelwell on that side was open with the removal of the bench, so I installed an antique bullhide trunk for storage. Mostly I keep sweaters and quilts in it. Plus it looks cool.
It’s Curtains for You!
To block the light when I’m buttoned up for the night, I repurposed some curtains I had been using in my apartment. They did a good job of blocking the light coming in and going out. One of the things I love about skoolies is the amount of light they can let in. I don’t know why some conversions block off all the windows with steel panels or wood. I love the natural light, but I also want the option of making it darker. Curtains would also insulate the bus and improve acoustics for when I record my podcasts and videos.
I raised the bed six inches to allow the marine toilet to be stored under the bed along with storage tubs for food and clothes. I also added a steel locker wardrobe for hanging clothes and locking storage. Eventually, the green plastic plants had to go, since they were wrecking my curtains and offered no insulation. They were also great at holding onto dust, without being very easy to clean. Curtains just need to be thrown into a washer every month or so and left to hang dry.
Changes to the Electrical Setup on the Bus
Managing the electrical system has been a continuing learning curve. I downgraded the fridge to a smaller unit that used less electricity and held up a little better against the bumps and rocking of the road. I offloaded the microwave and now my parents use it at home. It was an upgrade from their 750watt unit at 1100watts, which has no business being attached to a solar panel. The only things I ever microwave anyway are popcorn and the occasional leftovers.
I replaced the solar controller with a Victron MPPT solar controller unit which communicates between the solar panel and battery to get optimum charge throughout the day. It’s a game changer. When there was some summer sun my batteries would go into float charge mode regularly.
Cooking and Heating in the Skoolie Build
I also ditched my induction range and opted instead for a butane cookstove. The electrical heaters, which will probably burn your bus to the ground if you aren’t careful, got replaced with a Mr. Heater Buddy Propane Heater. I’m still not happy with it, since it will burn through a 1lb bottle in just a few hours, making it pretty expensive to use. But when you can’t sleep because you are shivering and you can see your breath, you don’t care about the cost of propane. I still don’t like having an open flame in an enclosed space and a household carbon monoxide detector doesn’t really give me a lot of peace of mind to be honest.
Cooking on the bus is important. Check out my podcast episode on vanlife cooking and eating on the road to learn more.
After several weeks on the bus, I continued to fight the electrical system. Even the fridge I had became damaged and ran continuously, draining my batteries. Especially on cloudy or rainy days when the panels couldn’t replace the amps fast enough. I still have the fridge, but I purchased a backup.
I’m using a Mule Cooler made by Arizona company, Canyon Coolers. It’s like a Yeti, if Yeti was made in the USA and about half the price. A ten pound block of ice can last about a week and it keeps everything cool. Honestly it works better than the fridge with the exception of the meltwater soaking everything. You have to stay on it to make sure it is being drained and ice is being replaced.
More Changes on the Converted School Bus
I make changes as needed. My system of bungee cords that were holding my hats in place and other uses have changed jobs several times. One went from holding a trash can in place to holding a storage hatch over my driver’s seat shut. It limits road noise and the occasional event of hitting a bump and having everything dump out on top of my head.
Another cord has become a curtain rod for a panel of curtains over my sink and countertop. I did that just tonight, and oddly enough, I can already feel the difference it has made in it cutting drafts. My curtains have changed configurations a couple times and will likely continue to change. The hats have gone into storage in the leather trunk. They just get dusty anyway. Everything gets dusty.
Only just now did I figure out a better way to put the blotter on my desk. It looks and works much better! It’s funny that only now after hating how it looked for four months did I figure out a better way to place it. These little fine adjustments and tweaks are what work well with skoolie builds. I think conversion vans are so specialized that you have very limited configuration options unless you want to spend a lot of money.
Plans for Future Skoolie Builds
Right now I’m pretty happy with my setup. Would I like a shower, RV toilet, or running hot and cold water? Sure, but those all mean other additions and expenses. And for the most part they are unnecessary. My outside shower gets me clean, and if I really want a hot shower, I can usually find one for cheap at an aquatics center someplace. For dishes, I have a solar shower that heats the water up well enough for washing dishes.
A shower and toilet inside would also just mean larger black and grey water tanks that had to constantly be emptied. RV dumps aren’t always free and the whole process is pretty disgusting. Also, the more fresh water you use the more you have to find and fill your water tank. Skoolie builds with full on bathtubs look cool until you realize that would be an entire tank of drinking water just to fill it once. So, for now, I plan on keeping my water system as it is.
Heating, Power, and Extending Range
My heating situation is a different story. I really want to install a diesel heater, preferably with an external fuel tank in case of spills. Diesel heaters can run all night and might use half a gallon of fuel in a ten hour period. This would extend my range to places where it gets cold and limit my odds of carbon monoxide poisoning or having to install a larger propane tank, which is a whole other pain in the ass.
Depending on how much electricity a diesel heater uses, however, I might have to upgrade my batteries and add another 100ah battery. And I would need to hire someone to wire it to my existing system. I can do a lot of stuff, but electricity might as well be magic.
I want to add external storage to the outside for equipment that would free up space inside the bus too. Also, I need to look into all season or winter tires. I’m running highway bus tires right now, which offer little to no traction in water or icy roads. That means I’m pretty much stuck in the Southwest for the winter and at the mercy of the weather if I go north.
It would also be good to get another power supply like a generator for times when it gets cloudy or rainy, that way I could hit the Pacific Northwest and not worry about running out of power. But that’s a whole other build and outside of my budget right now.
Benefits of Skoolie Builds
If you are following along or thinking of living on the road yourself, I hope you get some ideas on how you want your own build to go. The one thing I cannot stress enough is life in a skoolie is constantly evolving process. You have the versatility to make changes as you go. You can get rid of the stuff that doesn’t work and make changes or just try other things that might work better.
The whole skoolie build is pretty modular. I love that I have options and I’m not married to my floorplan being just one way. I can make gradual adjustments to suit my life and my needs accordingly. Sorta like life in general. We are all works in progress and on a meta level, we can learn a lot about ourselves as we learn about our build and how it can improve.
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