Oh I like that.

I am definitely following this!!!!

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Originally posted by Flash-LB:
My Father and I converted a school bus to an RV in 1955. That was before there were RVs.

 
RVs by decade, starting in 1901.
 
 
1920s RV built from a single Douglas Fir log:
 

 

Youtube is your friend. Many videos on converting buses and vans to RV's. A neighbor's son converted a Mercedes van to an RV using Youtube videos and it turned out quite nicely.

Look forward to see the progress on the conversion.

Very nice. I watched a double decker previous tour bus conversion, where the second floor was used for bedroom and living room. Those windows makes a great viewing section.

Please post some pictures once you start the project.

Excellent! I considered doing something similar last year but decided to hold off. I actually sent my wife a screenshot of your initial post and she replied that it sounded just like me! Like everyone else I’m interested to see how the project goes. I know you possess a very good skill set that will serve you well on this project. I think it’s an advantage to have the restroom already in place and plumbed. I also think it’s great advice to avoid an actual kitchen. Maybe a microwave and a fridge but not much more?

Btw I’ve got a m929a2 and a m931a2. We may be related.

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Get ready to spend $100k to $300k on a conversion … ouch.

Or rip out the seats and put some beds down.

I've seen that entire spectrum. I was watching a video the other day where the guy spend over $100,000 on a "remodel" of his bus. For the life of me I couldn't see where what he had done should have cost what it did. In another video a company was shown replacing a tile floor. When asked what the average cost was, they said around $10,000. The entire bus is under 300 square feet, and they weren't even doing it wall to wall. That's $33 per square foot (and probably over $40 per square foot considering what they actually laid). Obscene.

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I watched a double decker previous tour bus conversion, where the second floor was used for bedroom and living room. Those windows makes a great viewing section

There aren't many of those in the US, but there is a company that runs them (Megabus).


I bought this bus at an auction sight unseen. We believe that whomever owned the company was having financial troubles prior to Covid and was stashing his assets. The payments to the facility stopped, the owner and lienholders were contacted, and nobody ever came for them. They came from a state that allows a titling process for vehicles sold for nonpayment of storage. We know they drove the busses to this lot in 2019 and they never moved after. We also suspect they were stored elsewhere prior to this without being driven.

We took two fresh batteries with us hoping that it would be that simple, but for the first time in my auction buying history it was not to be. We couldn't even find the batteries, and it wouldn't have mattered if we had. Both oil filters had small holes in them as did one of the oil lines. It would have been out of oil before we got it out of the lot, and there was no way to make the repairs there.

This is how it came home. Even had a celebrity involved in the process:




The odometer shows 120,000 miles, and that may be accurate. Everything we found on the bus was related to Chicago, including paperwork for what may have been its last work performed in 2016. It picked up a professional sports team from the airport, took them to the stadium, and then returned them after. That paperwork showed a cumulative mileage for the bus of roughly 400 miles for the entire month. I'll know a bit more once we get it hooked up to the computers at the dealership.

I got it home, fixed all of the leaky stuff, and it seems to run just fine. Drove it to the dealership last week to drop it off, and should be spending some time up there with it within the next couple of days.

Like some of the other, following as well, should be cool to see the progress.

This is one of those threads that fascinate me. I wouldn’t touch this project with a 10 foot pole but I bet you do a wonderful job and I hope you share progress and ideas with the collective. Good luck.

So it was just a charter bus...OK good. I thought it was a band tour bus and you were going to have to go in wearing a hazmat suit, with a black light and some industrial strength disinfectant.

Zykanabus is my recommendation for a name btw.

I want to know if you'll be installing a vault in the back of the bus to protect your valuables while road-tripping.

a1abdj You mentioned that you were going to a wedding on the East Coast. If it is anywhere near Virginia I have a place that could easily accommodate you. Just hit me up, but I will require a tour of the beast…haha!

Will it be ready for my daughters upcoming 12/18 wedding in Williamsburg VA?

If so I can break it in for you

Chicago? Check for bullet holes!

I'd be doing some research on tour busses for rock stars, look at those configurations, do a little research on the maker of the bus, I'm almost positive that they have configurations for mobile home styles as well.

Sounds like a cool project ahead of you!
Can you do us a favor and keep us updated on what you decide to do and your progress?

Pure genius… I have a similar sentiment and having flown most of my career, I am now only considering private charters. No more public ever again.

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Zykanabus is my recommendation for a name btw

If I put my name on any of my vehicles they may be at risk of having things thrown at them while driving.

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I want to know if you'll be installing a vault in the back of the bus to protect your valuables while road-tripping.

I was planning on squeezing in a narrow gun safe in there somewhere. We will also have a guard critter on board that requires his own sleeping arrangements and a faucet to sip out of because he's too bougie to drink out of a bowl.

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If it is anywhere near Virginia

Providence RI/Boston MA area.

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Chicago? Check for bullet holes! Wink

No bullet holes, but there was a name and number for a Frank DeBerry in there. It looks like he was the guy in charge of escorting these busses between the airport and venues (at least in 2016). I'm sure Chicago has a big department, but his listed rank would make it seem as if he's been around awhile. Maybe you know him? If so, tell him I have his cell number.

OP, just wondering if this is going to be your and some of your friends project? Or will you be hiring carpenter, electrician and plumber to do the project?

You might save some money buy gutting the interior yourself if you know what are the stuffs you want to remove.

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OP, just wondering if this is going to be your and some of your friends project? Or will you be hiring carpenter, electrician and plumber to do the project?

You might save some money buy gutting the interior yourself if you know what are the stuffs you want to remove.

It will likely be a mostly me project, in between the other 5 projects I currently have going on. I'm also sure I will run over budget and past any set completion date.

The interior will be completely gutted and everything added from scratch. I've done a fair amount of research, and although a bit complicated, nothing inside one of those million dollar busses is rocket science (except perhaps for the newer electronic systems that control everything). I have a fair amount of construction related experience, and have rehabbed several properties so I'm no stranger to the basics of all of your regular systems.

What makes an RV (or a boat for that matter) different is the overlap within a single system.

In a house your power comes from your utility line. In one of these it can come from being plugged into a utility, a generator, or a battery bank. All three of those may charge the batteries, with the possibility of adding solar. Some systems would run directly from shore power or generator (like the A/C), while others may run off of the batteries that the shore power or generator keeps charged. Not to mention I have some fairly heft alternators to charge batteries while running.

Same as hot water. It can be heated with electric, with diesel fuel, or with the engine coolant of the bus or generator. Some of those systems can also be used to heat the passenger compartment.

I don't think I'm going to be doing anything too different than what thousands of others haven't already figured out ahead of me. That's my plan at least. Copy what others have done successfully.