Thinking about converting a bus to an RV

[Frankingun]

Chris,

I wonder if you should keep looking. There's probably something out there in your price range. Up in Elkhart, one of the RV manufacturers there has completely pulled out, and the others aren't in good shape. That makes me wonder if the resale prices can stay high. Btw, how much are you willing to spend on your temporary quarters?

Also, can you stand up straight in a school bus? If you can't, that could get old after a few weeks.

Part of me also wonders if you should just buy an RV or 5th wheel for this, and save your energy for building your permanent buildings. If the resale prices hold up, you could sell it and not be out too much money.

[Mike OTDP]

Hmm...

I haven't done such a conversion, but I've seen them. It's a lot of work. You have to decide whether or not you want to invest the sweat equity in a vehicle. Might be worth it IF you intend to camp out a lot.

Living out of an RV is tricky. Class A RVs are pretty nice these days, but everything else is basically set up for a weekend, or maybe a week. Washing and toilet facilities are sometimes Spartan, always cramped.

I'm surprised at the costs you're quoting for secondhand campers. They are usually fairly cheap. Should be cheaper with the economy weak. Trailers especially.

I'd be inclined to look for a large secondhand trailer-camper. Use that as a temporary living facility while you run up either the hangar or log cabin. First priority is the bath and laundry room. Move into that, keep working on the main house at your leisure.

[Precision]

Chris,

Around here, (Florida) the prices are not that bad, especially on used ones. They can't be, the new ones are selling at 30% less than last years. My buddy has been trying to sell his camper for what he owes and can't get the slightest bite on it because new ones aren't that much more. The RV / camper stores are HURTING.

As I see it, you are looking to get a disposable "house". I would definitely go with a camper even one you had to fix up a bit. Or for that matter, get a used single (or double) wide trailer. Drag it onto your lot and when you are done, drag it away or let it rot in place or whatever. I know you can get one of those for a few thousand. If you start haunting the local hunting sites you can find campers for cheap as well. There is one on my hunting lease that can be had for $1500. It isn't close to mint shape, but it doesn't leak and would work depending on your level of aesthetic needs or with a $1000 and a few days of work could be made to be much prettier.

The problem with getting a motor coach or school bus and converting it is the time spent doing it will be as much or more than your log cabin and you won't have any residual value when you're done. I did that with an extenda-van. It was great and we saved a ton of money doing the conversion ourselves, but after you figure in the labor, it was easily a wash.

I think the double wide idea is the cheapest, most efficient time wise and will give you the most "house" like environment. A motor coach is always going to be 8 foot wide and after a while, that just sucks. I did it for a month. It sucked. The kitchen is tiny, the bathroom is tiny, there isn't much storage, there's no room to stretch your legs. And remember I'm 5'9" so you will feel that much more dramatically than me.

[Netpackrat]

Would you rather work on a bus/camper project, or spend that time developing your property?

[Frankingun]

Ah, I hadn't correctly read the post, and didn't realize your timeline was about 3 years.

[DavidB]

What kind of airplane for the hanger?
Homebuilt?

[Netpackrat]

Would you rather work on a bus/camper project, or spend that time developing your property?

Ahhh, I get the disconnect. I think y'all are unclear on the timeline. The bus would be purchased before we bought the property, and converted over the next few years while we were prepping for the move.

I kind of figured that, but were it me, I would probably want to have a property picked out before investing a bunch of time and money on my temporary living space needs. Plenty of properties of the sort you seem to be after will already have an old trailer, shack, or whatever on-site that could be pressed into service. Sure, it wouldn't be the Ritz, but you aren't looking to stay in it for long.

Another thing I saw in Backwoodsman magazine one time was a "hunting cabin" that consisted of an old camping trailer, that they had planted more or less permanently in one spot, sunk poles in the ground at each corner, and then built a roof with an overhanging porch over the top of it. They had their enclosed, furnished, heatable living space, and it didn't really matter whether the old trailer leaked or not, because they had the roof over top of it. If you get your septic installed first, you could enclose a portion under the roof overhang, and build a small bathroom and laundry area so you wouldn't have to use the typical cramped trailer bathroom. Tear it all down once the hangar "office" space is livable, and then get to work on your house. Or, leave it as a guest quarters.

I suppose what I am getting at, is you don't need to invest in something that is mobile beyond the ability to be dragged to the site, because mobility doesn't seem to be one of the mission requirements.

[Fivetoes]

Buy the conex boxes now, set them on your yard in AZ and do the remodeling at your leasure. Plus here is you get to screw with your local homeowners assn. while they are setting there. When you get your house built and bury the boxes you will have a ready made survival abode. Plus when you move all you have to do is pack the boxes, and load them on a flatbed.

[Netpackrat]

Buy the conex boxes now, set them on your yard in AZ and do the remodeling at your leasure. Plus here is you get to screw with your local homeowners assn. while they are setting there. When you get your house built and bury the boxes you will have a ready made survival abode. Plus when you move all you have to do is pack the boxes, and load them on a flatbed.

Be aware that the roof of a conex box is not built to support the kind of load that burial would impose. It would take a bunch of additional structure to support the load and carry it to the corners of the box, which is where the majority of the strength is.

[Netpackrat]

I guess what wasn't adequately explained is that you will actually use the RV as an RV once it has fulfilled its immediate purpose of temporary quarters during construction. If you'll use it enough afterward, it is worth building for its own sake, independent of your construction project.