Skoolie 101 - What To Know Before You Begin

Skoolie builds will typically take 2 times as long as you expect and will cost at least 3 times what you expect. There will be times when you want to quit. You will ask yourself why you ever started the project. But, as with most things, there is a dichotomy. There will also be times that you feel as though you are the most clever DIY builder in the world. You will look at those who live in a typical stick & brick home and feel as though you know a secret they will never understand. In other words, prepare yourself for a roller coaster.

The goal of this course is to provide the most pertinent information so you can start with realistic expectations, make the right school bus purchase and understand what you are getting yourself into.

What students are saying

"Chris and Wess,

A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from others mistakes. I have created this course because this is what I needed a year ago when I purchased my bus. A course like this would have saved me multiple thousands of dollars. New tires $3k, repairs on the road $1.3k and adding custom underbay storage $2.4k. We will not only cover the mistakes I made, we will cover the mistakes other school bus converters made as well.

In my opinion, the most important part of this course, is walking you through what you are getting yourself into. I get it, there are some amazing conversions out there. The momentum to start one of these projects is massive. Like most, I found myself typing in #skoolie into Instagram and dreaming away. I get watching online auctions and seeing your "dream bus" go for $2.5k is painful. Watching others convert a bus living a dream you want to live is painful. Paying that rent/mortgage payment month after month is painful.

You know what else is painful?

Driving off in your dream bus you purchased for $2.5k, making it 25 miles down the road and losing all power. You pay the $300 to have it towed to a shop that charges $120 per hour for labor alone. They tell you that the engine has a cracked piston. Even worse, the engine in your "dream bus" is not a wet sleeve engine, the entire engine needs to be replaced. Let's say you have the extra cash ($4-$6k) to get the engine fixed and all of the other $1k to $3k components are functioning correctly. You get the bus home and start converting. Your neighbor that once said it was ok to convert your bus in your side yard now change their minds because grinding wheels are just a little too loud. They call the HOA or local zoning comity and complain. You have to find a storage unit to store the bus. BTW, how many storage units allow a bus conversion? This goes on and on. Keep in mind, I am not trying to scare you away from this process. Building a skoolie has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have been VERY lucky with my build and how things turned out. As mentioned before, there is alot to consider before making this investment.

This course will give you the information and tools needed to keep yourself far far away from the previous paragraph.