5 Mistakes to Avoid: What We Learned During Our Bus Conversion

Converting a bus into a livable space is an exciting and adventurous project, but it can also be a challenging one. From unexpected setbacks to difficult decisions, the process of transforming a bus into a home on wheels can be extremely overwhelming at times and you may make mistakes along the way . If you're feeling frustrated or stuck in your bus conversion journey, know that you're not alone. Luckily for you, we have been in your shoes over the past year and have put together a list of five things we wish we knew before we started converting our skoolie. 1. Consider the landscape 🏙

After months and months of research, we never considered how living in the city would be a completely different experience than those we saw converting their bus in more suburban to mostly rural areas. ⚠️ Do NOT build in the city without a solid plan and intentional schedule. It’s important to have a solid plan in order to minimize surprises with your bus conversion. Without proper planning, you may experience several legal and zoning issues, as well as difficulty finding a suitable location to park and work on your skoolie.

We’ve had our rig towed on 2 occasions. We wish we would have paid more attention to the fact we don’t have an acre of land to park the bus and work on it in our leisure.

Building a tiny home on wheels is very time-consuming, so having a set schedule and designated area to park it can help ensure you stay on track and avoid unnecessary delays.

2. Make a purchase schedule for your materials. 🛠 We started converting our rig post-COVID; right around the beginning of the supply chain melt down🙃. Stock on certain materials were very low, and lead times were increasing to months instead of weeks. We thought buying all the materials we needed as soon as possible would avoid any delays in labor. We were wrong; and the result was being stuck with too many materials we couldn’t use or return as they had sat there so long they were outside of their return window.

By creating a purchase plan, you can buy only what you need based on your labor timeline. Coordinating lead times for products that are custom or have lengthier lead times with your labor schedule can be tricky. But at all cost, avoid materials just sitting around and expiring past the return window. This will help you in the long run with budgeting and managing your project workflow more efficiently.

3. Always account for prep days measure 📏 Patience grasshopper 🦗. Really, take your time on prep days. Measure twice, then measure again! Remember this is a tiny home, so every half inch counts!

Avoiding proper prep can easily lead to mistakes and delays in your conversion process. You may even find yourself compromising on things you really wanted, because you didn’t make the proper provisions in time.

4. Work with reputable contractors and have your paperwork in order 📄 Believe it or not, we had an electrician tell us he would charge us more to do our bus than a house! Because you're using mixed materials including metal, and so much of the project is custom, timelines and labor cost can quickly become warped. This is a relatively new “industry” or niche when it comes to the scope of work.

This is why it’s so important to work with credible contractors with a history of completing quality work. From that pool of candidates, look for people who are excited about a project like yours. It’s hard work, and on some days it’s going to take the right attitude to get you through.

Also, having your paperwork in order, such as permits and insurance, can help you avoid any unnecessary complications during the conversion process.

5. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Do your research! YouTube and Pinterest are free! There are also plenty of books and articles on the subject. You don’t want to be making mistakes and unintentionally draining yourself. Plan and budget accordingly in order to make this journey as easy as possible. It'll benefit you to do your research and make sure you're working with experienced professionals, who can provide you with quality work and guidance throughout the conversion process.

You don’t have to do it all. But you should research everything, even the smallest details to CYA. It’s always better to be over prepared than under prepared!

Converting a school bus into a mobile tiny house is definitely a challenging project. You will face several obstacles, but through trial and error you will (hopefully 🤞🏾) make the right decisions in the end. From dealing with zoning issues to picking out a proper shower pan for your bathroom, there are numerous problems to overcome during a bus conversion. However, with proper planning, research, and patience, it’ll all be worth it in the end.

The sense of peace and freedom that living in a skoolie will give you will be the best reward 😁 We hope you avoid these 5 mistakes as you build out your bus!