Conversion
I have always wanted a motorhome but it was never really something I needed until my mother needed a way to get out of the house and moved to New York for retirement.
Why a Skoolie?
Mom had had some physical limitations that led to her needing a wheelchair van. However we could not belive the price of the wheelchair vans. And with her limitations came shortened travel times. With COVID we really did not want to have to worry about hotels or bathroom stops along the way. We started looking into other options and landed on the Skoolie idea. Dad and I were both physically capable and practiced at working on our own vehciles and home maintence. I had done several months of research in creating my own travel trailer from scratch which made for a seamless transition into building the Skoolie.
Our Plan
Find a bus within our price range with a working wheelchair lift. Make sure that bus had mostly to all "cosmetic rust only" and that the engine and transmission were reliable and well maintained.
Our Vision
We found our perfect bus at Midwest Transit Equipment in Whitestown, Indiana. She had a wheelchair lift, Cummins ISB(most reliable Cummins engine(Cummins is a great engine to begin with)), and Allison Transmission(another great comapany) and it happened to be a "Pusher" or Rear Engine(RE) that gave us the most interior space of all the bus models.
Team
The team that made the move to New York possible.
Erica Karrfalt
Commerical vEchicle Operator (CEO)
Harley Quinn
Head Sniff In Charge(HSIC)
Robert Karrfalt
Head Shrimp in Charge/Head Mechanic/Grumpy Old Man
Verna Karrfalt
Investor(Financial and Emotional)
Pursia
Chief Approval Taskmaster (CAT)Conversion
Progress from day one forward...
Tech Giaunt is Born
My original plan was to make my own trailer from a utility trailer. I had done several months of research from what plumbing I would need to what sort of materials would be required to make my trailer road worthy. After months of research it seemed that I would have to postpone my plans until we decided we needed a wheelchair van to move my mother to New York, where their new retirement property was located. Once determining how expensive the vans were, we decided to research wheelchair buses only to find that they were much less expensive. And the Tech Giaunt idea was born. (Pre-purchase picture)
Bus Purchased
Purchased at Midwest Transit Whitestown, IN (not paid/endorsed by Midwest Transit) (Day 1 Date: 11/06/2020)
Bus Won't Start!!!
The bus wouldn't turn over. It made some noise, so we knew it was trying but nada. We found a video that jumpstarted a "Transit Style/City Bus" with a 600 amp charger. I had one for starting our cars but did not think it would work for such large batteries (8D 1425 CCA(Cold Cranking Amps)). We tried it and presto! We decided to get them tested since this delay had us discovering the batteries were about 4 years old. (Day 2 11/07/2020)
Bus Batteries
Batteries were 4 years old. After having them tested we decided to purchase new batteries. The old had been sitting since March when COVID hit. The new batteries also fixed the "broken" air conditioner. (Day 3 11/08/2020)
Ready to Start Painting
Now with the batteries replaced we are ready to start the process of painting the bus. New York state will not let you have a "Skoolie" any shade of yellow (information found on a blog not confirmed with a state or DOT source). Green being my favorite color I chose "Applemint" Pittsburgh Exterior Paint. Painting the bus professionally from the dealership would have taken 2 weeks and they were booked out for 2 months. Other shops were more expensive so we decided to do what a lot of DIY Skoolie owners do and paint ours with a tough exterior house paint. (Night 3 11/08/2020)
Prepping the Surface
The letters and numbers had to be removed. And it was off to a rough start. Using a heat gun and scarping off with a metal tool and it left a lot of residual vinyl and glue. It also took me about 40 minutes to complete the five letters. I learned on the "C" that I could start the letter and it would then pull off slowly. Then it was quick work of just a few more hours. ;) (Day 5 11/10/2020)
Vinyl Finally Removed
(Day 5 11/10/2020)
Masking the Bus
We fought the cold weather to mask all the surfaces that needed to be protected from stray paint. (Day 6 11/11/2020)
Washing and Starting to Paint
Before we starting painting we needed to wash down any dirt that was on the surface of the bus. When we finished washing we had some time to paint the front of the bus. (Day 7 11/12/2020)
Painting Continued...(no audio with videos)
Although we had masked all the surfaces necessary to start painting, we quickly realized we were not finished masking so we took more time to make the actual painting move faster. We finished the driver's side and the back of the bus. We will complete painting tomorrow and then complete a second coat sometime next week. (Day 8 11/13/2020)
Seat Removal Started
We started to remove the seats from the bus. We only accomplished the one seat because the seat was bolted through the floor to underneath the bus. It was made all the more difficult because we started this escapade at night and the bolts were rusted and never touched for over 12 years. (Day 10 11/15/2020)
First Coat Finished
We completed three sides of the bus on the second day but finally finished the first coat on the fourth side. (Day 11 11/16/2020)
Air Brake Knob Replacement
The air brake had to be replaced because it hissed when the bus was on and after it emptied the tank faster than it should have after the bus was turned off. The leak was not so bad that the air tanks could not hold the needed presure to drive the bus. The bus has a safty feature that will not let the transmission shift into drive if the tanks are not atleast at a minimum level(100PSI). We had to dismantle the front control panel to replace the whole valve because the seals had cracked over the years. The handle was fine so we only had to replace the back part that controls the air pressure release and set. (Day 12 11/17/2020)
The Most Recent Updates(12/29/2020) are Dedicated to My Friend Jovana! (GO BLUE!!)
Requirements
The requirements required for making a bus a skoolie/motorhome; by Tippecanoe County Indiana and Chautauqua County New York as well as State Farm Insurance.
Indiana and New York Requirements For Legal Motorhome Conversion
There are six total items that make a motorhome legal in the eyes of both states' D/BMV. You only need four of them for your Skoolie/motorhome to make the cut! Motorhome: A self-propelled vehicle designed as a traveling place of abode. as defined by 15 CRR-NY 106.3 NY-CRR (e): 1. cooking with on-board power source; 2. a gas or electric refridgerator; 3. a toilet with exterior evacuation[vent]; 4. heating or air conditioning or both from an on-board power source seperate from vehicle engine[shore/solar power]; 5. a potable water supply system including a faucet, sink and a water tank with exterior service connection; and 6. a 110-125 volt power supply seperate from vehicle engine. I was unable to find offical rules and regulations from Indiana but have been told by BMV that the conversion needs: 1. Pictures of conversion from start to finish; [take tons and tons of pictures!] 2. Original title from dealer/seller; 3. Bill of sale from dealer/seller; 4. Change of Body Form (link is a download of required form from forms.in.gov offical site)