HOW MUCH WE SPENT Turning a School Bus into a Tiny House: Full Cost Breakdown
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- Опубліковано 23 жов 2020
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and use my code "JUICEBOX" at checkout for $50 off your order! Thanks for your support! In this video I give an in depth cost breakdown for our school bus conversion. Our bus is a 1987 40 Ft Gillig Phantom School bus and we spent almost 2 years turning it into a luxurious tiny home from 2017 to 2019. Now we live in it full time, currently on the road, living life, adventuring, and making UA-cam videos when we can. Sorry comments are disabled. UA-cam did it, not us! Please subscribe to our channel, and join us on Instagram where you can interact with us and see photos of our daily adventures: / gilliganphantom . You can always email me with questions or business inquiries: gilliganphantom@gmail.com
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Number 1 rule Do not cheap out on tires. they are the ONLY safety device that touches the road,everything depends on your tires.
Total: $54,500 (1000 hours of labor) You’re welcome 😎
Thanks. You just saved me 20 minutes
@Jon Kator for buy a re house at that place !!
Thanks! Although it sounds like a lot of money, its a drop in a bucket compared to purchasing a big house or moving to a large city. At least the bus is mobile and they can experience the great outdoors on their terms.
I already know it's immaculate. I can build these for 35k all day on a 64 pass and laid out.
On top of bus cost though...
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I don’t think that is a lot of money considering that everything is clean and new, and the bus is safe and reliable. What beautiful job you have done. The country is your oyster guys. Enjoy your travels! Jealous !! Well deserved xxx
My only disagreement, NEVER cheap out on tires; they're your only contact with the road, truckers opinion only.
Nice Job!! Its a great lifestyle once set up, can confirm!! 👍👍
Ok I spent $5000. Already had new tires, new pergo floor installed, sofa, kitchen cabinet, shower framed out, many other things already done. When you don't have much money you can still do this.
Exactly I could do all the plumbing the wiring the carpenter work everything I can do it all so I don't have to pay nobody for that I can get pallets for free to all my wood would be pallet wood I mean come on guys this guy just went out with his bag of money and bought everything you needed where if you don't have that kind of money you can still do it I can buy a bus for $3,500 that's a diesel pusher and then spend another five grand building the bus up and I don't need $800 batteries either LOL
How much a running bus go for at auction as is?
@@scottcolman5154 I don't know how much at auction Scott. But in Tulsa the average on Craigslist is $5000.
Impossible. 👌
its my dream to turn a Toyota coaster into a living space, i am too young now but maybe in the future.....
I live in Charleston, SC, too! Air Force brought me here in 1986, I retired from them in 1997, got my nursing license in 2003 (I've been at MUSC since 2005), and I'm retiring again Nov. of next year (2023). Watching people like you convert buses and cargo vehicles into RV type dwellings is just fascinating to me! My wife and I plan to buy an older RV which will need minimal renovating and live out of it for a few years traveling our great country (and some of Canada as well). I watch programs like yours in case I may need to renovate a little here and there. Thanks for the time you put in sharing your experiences! Be blessed!!
Wish best for your family to get a nice dream on the travels car has recovered !
I love the whole video minus your tire advice. Was a mechanic for years, If you plan to actually travel in it get good tires. Cheap ones wear out unevenly, cause road noise, increased gas usage and I've even seen shakes from cheap tires. Stay brand name and mid to higher end. Every piece of suspension on a vehicle ends at the tires. All the power of the motor and drive train end at the tires!. Don't cheap out on tires. Or breaks!
Thank you for sharing your experience and being upfront about cost & cons. 🙌🏻
My mind has exploded I'm so fascinated by you and your buddy and most likely wives turning your lives "buses" into such beautiful never ending adventures.... peace to all ! I went with a 2020 palomino truck camper model 1251 on my 2017 Nissan xd 4x4 to be able to go off the beaten path so far I'm enjoying full time waking up each morning thinking wow how beautiful "where the heck amI"
Love it ! Bless your family and extended family.
You’re honest straightforward approach. Telling it like it is is really important to me right now as we are considering all the options thank you
He's honestly rich.
Awesome information, great job. I really appreciate the open candor breakdown and advice.
Your journey was great! You did a good job of communicating.
Thank you! Thank you for going over all this in detail, i love how you went over all facets especially the profit verses loss! 🙏😊
I was told, the RVs are only made to last a very short time, and the engine's are difficult to work on. Plus it cost a lot for the labor. If that happens you are stuck if you rely on your RV to get around. It was my first thought when i saw you building the bus. Awesome job so lucky and so sweet good wishes to you and your lovely family be safe..
This is a very good video. Thanks for sharing this, both the cost analysis and your thoughts on the lifestyle choices you made. Well done.
I have been considering a lifestyle change and this video answered many questions for me. Especially on the finance side. Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for the breakdown, this is something definitely achievable if planned right. Love your plan and set up, your bus is lovely.
Great video, real life analysis and costing. Good insight and heart felt advice. Good Luck , Enjoy!👍
Could you do a walk thru of the bus? So we could see the layout and others aspects.
Super helpful to have a detailed breakdown of costs.
Thank you.we went from a school bus to a van to passenger bus and at the end we purchased a 2016 forest river berkshire xl 40rb. I appreciated your help thank so much .
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Thank you for sharing!
So true
Thank you for those awesome facts. Good luck on your journey. Well done!
when I work for myself I only take into effect how much I saved not my cost of labor. I'll do almost anything for a friend or family member and never think about it as far as how much I should have charged them for what I did. Helping friends and family is life. We work a bit eat lunch together, work some more crack jokes have fun even though we are working on a project. Don't think about money so much as how much life you gain.
Love your view King!
Still a lot cheaper than buying a 600k ex-commission house (packed full of asbestos) here in Australia.
What is a commission house?
@@thomasjsanford4229 public housing
Excellent Job this was a great video I love your family and channel thanks for sharing..this transformation was absolutely amazing!!!🙏🙌God Bless you and your family!
Just found you and love your real estimate!
What type of work do you do OTR?
What are your current monthly expenses typically?
I’m going to look for other videos addressing those questions but wanted to go ahead and ask here in case you don’t have videos such as that.
Thanks! Love your bus!
You can also buy things second hand rather than brand new if those things are in good condition which will also save tons of money
This guy doesn't mind pissing all that money. Sorry I'm surviving. This video is designed for rich white boys.
Even if I was rich I wouldn't waste my money building the bus for that kind of money a second hand bus and spend that much money rebuilding it it's just ridiculous sooner by a freaking motorhome for a couple hundred thousand that's really really super nice if I was going to build a bus I would do it myself and I would spend around 15 grand and have just as nice and bust and I'm sorry for all you people who think that can't be done yes it can
Great video. Realistic. Thanks for your info.
A lot of campground/RV parks also won't allow schoolies. It's old thinking, and dates back to hippie busses, but there you go.
379,908 views • Oct 24, 2020 • everything is clean and new, and the bus is safe and reliable. What beautiful job you have done.
Congratulations dude!! I’m 29 right now saving money to do this!
I have a over the road truck driving background and have owned my own semi.. I wanted to tell you and anyone else who might be using something large like a school bus that when your shocks need replacement which normal shocks aren't that long lasting and will not allow you to get quality long life out of your tires and all of your equipment.. I went and bought a set of Road king commercial grade shocks for my semi ... you will not only have a great smooth ride but you will get double the life out of tires and less wear and tear on the whole unit... they're guaranteed for life the last time I knew and you can send them off to be rebuilt or adjusted... the technology that they use is from off road racing...
Thanks for the advice!
@@MobileDwellings no problem...
Incredibly informative!
Incredible thank you for info and posting very realistic numbers
Thanks for sharing this breakdown it's incredibly helpful
Glad you appreciate it!
Wonderful. Excellent video. I want to thank you for sharing your experience that now confirms to me that I dont want to do this. I dont mean that in a snarky way. I seriously considered renovating a tour bus but clearly that would have been a bad decision for me. Information before a decision is far better than after. Thank you again.
I do think the right move for many people who want a rig like this is pick up an older class A rv. Do some cosmetic renovations and get some solar and some lithium if you're into that and go enjoy it. There are few times in my life when I will take on a 1000 hour project like this and if you're not in that place don't do it!
@@MobileDwellings Agreed. Maybe an older RV that just needs upgrades. Thanks again
You are the only one I seen do a video & explained the Real Cost off a job like yours !
You did not show the lay out ?
Great video bro! I got two buses in Beaufort that I’m just getting started on. Would love some pointers…. Road Trip???🤔
You're too cool to have done this video. Thanks a bunch.
$55,000 home on wheels... That's a steal.
We couldn't do this when we were young but as soon as we retired we turned our ranch over to our son to run. Plus nephews, grandsons work and as well as hired hands. We take off on our RV. which we enjoy.
Great informational video my man!!! Me being a Carpenter, the time spent building g it is Therapy!! Do you have a video on which Bus to buy? Which engine, transmission etc?
the final result looks great. as a school bus driver, one thing i'm also curious about is how much it weighed and how much it weighs now. the blue bird i careen around town in clocks in at 29,000 pounds according to the interior sticker. it's also a little older, i want to say a 2003. it's just your average, generic Type C bus. Type Ds like this probably weighs a bit more.
i have a 100 gallon gas tank, so diesel (which varies slightly depending on the temperature) is going to be roughly 700 pounds. that's a lot of weight for a vehicle that gets awful gas mileage to begin with.
you did the right thing with all the re-wiring for sure. when my bus has to go to the garage, it's usually something electrical. with 153K miles on it, i've probably had my bus in the garage about ten times. sometimes it's just a burned out light, sometimes it's more serious. last week it was in the shop twice (twice the week before, come to think of it)... and the replacement bus i was driving i had in the shop twice, too! but, one time on each bus didn't have anything truly wrong, you just needed to know the trick 'fix' to it (which i didn't, lol).
personally, i wouldn't buy a bus, especially an older one, not unless you're really good with turning a wrench. it's a diesel, so there's DEF to consider, and in colder climates it helps to plug it in when it's very chilly at night. the suspension sucks (seems to be better in the newer buses, but still hardly like driving on a cloud), and i'd say invest in a good driver's seat if it doesn't already have a nice one. my air brakes squeal like a banshee, though i drive a lot of hills.
dunno, just on an older bus it's always something and everything is expensive. i couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to work on a rear-engine bus (or wherever this engine is located).
i will say that anyone who's interested shouldn't be intimidated by the size and if they'll be able to drive one. sure, they're more tiring to drive, but not too bad and you have to be a bit more aware of your surroundings. if you're a halfway decent driver it shouldn't be a problem.
Awesome video. Are you still in Charleston? I'm local and interested in possibly doing a similar project
Thank you, this was really helpful.
How awesome is this!!
Consider as its a new motorhome! Sharing this info is very kind of you,,, Thank you so much!
You're very welcome!
How did you attach the plywood to the walls?
I love this design for your life..its costs not high for everyone to buy!
You did great!
Never skimp on tires!
My family has grown up and I am about to retire. I got out of the toy hauler/camping life and want to look at traveling the country while retired in a bus. Comparing buying a motor home to building a conversion bus, I think you did a great job and the estimated money is right on track with buying a modern used RV. My issue is saving to buy a motor home or buy and begin building. Thank you for the tips and info.
I think it comes down to how much energy you have and home much you enjoy building, engineering, experimenting, and the process. I think the right answer for a lot of people especially with this much money is to buy or finance a class A. But if you're good to go, the build will be worth it.
Probably should add at least $20k more for potential repairs. I mean, you are kind of committed now. If something major happens to the engine, etc, it wouldn't make financial sense to just scrap the whole thing. Still pretty cheap for something so big. Glad you are enjoying it.
I like your channel. I subscribed. 2 thumbs up. Great Job
Thanks Mike! Glad to have you here
Doing this is on the top of my bucket list
First time on this channel, but how do you sit your little one while on the move?
I don't know you but you have done yourself proud as well as all the other DIY-ers.
thank you!!!
If you don't mind me asking, what type of bus was it and what was the mileage?
Excellent advice!! Thank you
Nice kickflip! 3:31
$54,500.
Now let's start subtracting from the cost. Let's see.... 1 vacation from the east coast to the west coast; flights, rental car, rental car fuel and insurance, hotel on the water, meals out and room services, renting a board, etc., that's an easy $3,000. Do that in the next city, and the next, and the price comes down each time (less fuel cots), and, you have all the amenities of home. You can also subtract the cost of a mortgage or apartment rental and the corresponding insurances, amenity fess, etc. If you factor in all that travel / vacation time and other living expenses, it quickly becomes a very inexpensive build. In the NY area, an apartment for three people would be a minimum or $5,000 per month. All in all, breakeven is about 12 to 14 months.
I like what you did there. And at the end when you're ready to move on you can sell your whole rig with some depreciation and recoup 75-90% of your costs and let somebody else save on rent and continue the adventure. Of course though we are neglecting the fact that travel in a skoolie does have it's costs associated with it. Video about that coming this weekend!
You spent more on tires then I spent on my first car. 🙃 Well, rip my Thornberry dreams.
Big Sur is one of my favorite places to be. How long can you park out there
LOVED ALL THE INFORMATION
YOUR HONESTY AT 100%
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
LOVE YOUR BUS❤❤❤❤❤❤
CONGRATULATIONS👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
"IF I HAD THE MONEY IN A HEART BEAT YES!!.." I WOULD DO ALL OF THE ABOVE
Great work! The tires are legit! Dont cheap out on tires EVER. The tires are what get you there and keep you safe when stuff gets rough. Repeat dont ever cheap on tires. Peace of mind. Well edited well done just a huge surf extravaganza, family happy, sick batteries oh yeah so I want to ask i have a 2009 Winnebego Chalet, if I got those sweet batteries would my life be awesome? Could I watch TV and do normal stuff that I now have to run my generator to do? I have a huge TV that I have never used cause there's never a place to plug in. If I buy them I'll do it with your promo code, I think your video was on point, thanks I won't drop in on you or crash a place meeting. Lates Clay
Crash a PTA meeting *
An Avenger chilling in a skoolie….. cool. When you feel like getting mad, please exit the bus and take a walk. Your bus is to nice to be a casualty.
Awesome! And thanks for being honest
I don’t think 80k was a lot. Some of those new rv’s cost way more and don’t have near as much as your Skoolie!
We have been looking at older Class A and Class C, I am definitely wanting a bus now, you can do what you want, it will all be new, and the buses are cheap, well built, and with the diesel engine, you can't go wrong there, I have already been looking, you can get low mile buses, for 10 to 20K, some cheaper. I love the solar panel idea, and definitely want a good AC unit, nice job, good price as far as the do it yourself, a decent Class C or A will run that much, and they aren't built near as good as yours, yeah some have slide outs, but that's usually what leaks and ruins the floors. Just get a long bus, problem solved.
There is a window. Tinting film from 3M that has no tent on it but you can't see through it and it literally is one of the best in the market to to take UV light out I have it on my car you cannot even tell it has it's so cool in the summer I would think that it would work even better than the limo tint or the darker t has cuz it's actually better than most other tents on the market
Do you have a link for the blinds?? They're stunning!
Those blinds are cool and look great, I have them at my house but they offer little to no privacy at night everyone outside can see everything...
Thank you very helpful!
Ouch. Expensive. But it's my dream. Not that big though. I'm alone and I'm using some of my own furniture. No tile in the bath and definitely my own split chamber ,composting toilet to start with. But I will definitely need one helper and they will have to boss me around, because I know how to do stuff, but I am not motivated.
i want to do this and im sure ill spend even more than that because sure ill buy a used bus but boy howdy am i going to make sure it doesnt break down and im comfy
Dear Lord please bless me with a man like this in my lifetime. Amen 🙌
Where do you guys live?
I'm in Paso Robles, not far from Big Sir....
Excellent video, thanks for the straight poop!
Sorry I know this video is 11 months old but I keep up with different 1s here & there have thought about it but ur RV ideal is about perfect I totally see the setup on 1 of those just wanna say cool video thanks 4 the advice I'll start Looking at some of them & start checking ya out appreciate it. ✌
Thanks for the kind words!
You're such a smart guy
I would love to sit down and talk with you In more detail. I live in South Carolina also. Would love to do something like that!!!
Good video. Thanks for the diligent breakdown.
Now, can any of you reading this comment set a realistic expectation for internet access and cost while you're out using your van/bus/RV?
My wife and I have family that live literally across the country from us, and we hate flying. We've toyed with the idea of buying/renting an RV and driving from our spot in Virginia, to visit our family members in Colorado, Utah, California, etc.
We are both already full time telework, so if we could mobilize our work stations, and have a stable internet connection that follows us, we could make that trip way easier.
Any ideas what I should look for in a ISP?
Good build. If you had to buy a new Class A on that level, you'd pay $200k. A used one, in decent shape at $100k. So your time was well spent & you have a home you will love. In todays market; you could still sell it & make a profit. Congrats; its a beauty.
Thanks! We've been living in it full time for more than 2 years now and love it!
@@MobileDwellings You & your fam are truly living the dream. God bless!
Do yall ever regert not raising the roof?
RVers are masters at having extra solar panels
How does gas milage comperes on a school buss compares vs an rv ?
Class A RV's generally run the same engines as school buses. They get very similar MPG's. Basically 6-11. A Class C RV does a little better. 10-13 probably. Class B RV's built on newer van chassis' do well. 15-20 MPG's. Old ones are more like 10-15. Look up what each of those classes are incase you don't know them because they're each quite different from each other.
They let you stay in that space as long as you want? Like for years? I know where I stay that they don't allow schoolies at all, no matter how cool they are. But if you can stay where you are for as long as you want, then that's a good deal.
Love your YT
Can a housing loan cover a school bus conversion?
Adding solar is the most expensive part of every BuS Build I've seen... if you go with generator and propain and just small amount solar, i think it will save big $$$$ I will let you know as I will start my build in 3 months
Yes this is absolutely the cheaper way to do it. Let me know how it goes!
What license do you need to drive it? I am going to buy an old transit bus 19,500 GVWR, to convert it into a RV.
It's different in every state. Many states have no special license for vehicles under 26,000 lb's.
Most of these supplies you can find on building sites laying there..
The gillig school bus was the school bus of the century. Sadly they stopped making school buses
Is this a rear end? Can you tell me what software you used to map out your bus?
After watching I’m seeing that it is
Can you explain your comment to me? I'm not sure what you mean by a rear end and in terms of designing our bus we just used a pencil and some graph paper. So I'm really curious about what you mean...
Is there any way an 18 year old moving out could build a Skoolie but cheaper. I really want a skoolie and I don’t what to move to an apartment but I can’t spent 54k
If there's a will there's a way. Not every skoolie builder spent as much as we did. Each of these decisions is very personal so don't think that what I chose is what you need or would choose. But honestly if you're a single person pick up a used Ford Transit Connect, do a cheap build in it and go have some fun.
Total how many doller u have spent ?
isn't it still illegal to spend the night on or near the beach?
How mutch was it to get rid of everything you ripped out of the buss..
We probably made money getting rid of the interior. We actually had somebody who wanted to buy our bus seats and so we sold them for $5 each and then we can scrap the metal and run the rest of the waste to a county dump for free.
thanks awesom job