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themoreweexplore

Member
Joined
May 28, 2015
Posts
15
Location
Utah
Hello everyone. We are a couple in our early 30s looking to make the switch to full-timers.  We just sold our big house and we've been adopting a pretty minimalist lifestyle lately.  Naturally, living in an RV full time seemed like the perfect fit. 

We are avid backpackers and mountain bikers, and we want to be able to explore more of this great country, and an RV should help us do just that.

Currently we're in the planning stages and we're thinking of building a skoolie so we can have our RV just the way we want it.  Here's a wish list:

- rear garage (or at least a side garage) - this is a MUST to keep our 2 mountain bikes safe, secure, and out of the way.
- reliable, strong, low maintenance drivetrain (we can dream)
- low free
- able to cruise at 65-70mph comfortably
- high ground clearance is a plus, since we travel on a lot of dirt roads

plans:
- we will be towing a 4,000 lb 4x4 toad
- no blackwater tank, we will use a composting toilet
- lots of solar panels and batteries
- induction burner and solar oven for cooking (no propane stove, over, or microwave needed)
- heavily insulated
- small fridge, we dont need a full size fridge


ideas that are still up in the air:
- propane free?
- wood burning stove?
- length? 32-35 feet seems great
- diesel hydronics heater?


We will be doing a video documentary and build thread of our research, purchase, build, and travel process.

Steve has a decent mechanical background with a good amount of welding and fabrication experience. Tess is a hair stylist with an eye for design and she has exceptional sewing skills. We have a lot to learn about framing, electrical, propane and plumbing among many many more topics.

We are also stuck making the transition from salaried employees to mobile employees. Steve is an Instructional Designer and eLearning specialist, with a lot of video production experience as well.  Tess is a hair stylist and has a true eye for art.
 
We wanted to make sure we researched the idea of full time RVing before we threw ourselves in. We've learned a lot from gone with the wynns and technomadia, among others, but we figured the best way to learn if it was for us was to rent an RV for a weekend. Here is what followed:

Noobie RV Rental Experience Day 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEV4rfnGIKk
 
we look forward to all the advice we can glean from the experienced users on here. We're all ears for tips and tricks to make the full-time RV dream a reality.
 
One thing that strikes me is the "able to cruise at 65-70mph comfortably" criteria. Based on our experience of five years full timing in a very well mannered coach, that's just too fast!

Remember that is your house you are sailing down the road! And even with air bags and long wheelbase towing our Jeep, stuff goes flying. And the other side of that, is, what's the hurry? Just something to consider!

Another thing you might consider is finding a project that is partially or even fully completed to cut your teeth on. Depending on how patient you are, a build out like you are discussing could get real deep real fast in time and money and you are still not out there on the road yet. Just something to consider.

We see lots of folks with conversions, with all manner of mechanical innovations, and certainly it is a way to get started. Given the amount of time and effort required in the fabrication, however, that needs to be considered as well.

Plenty of homework is going to be your friend, even talking to folks who have done what you plan as you find them. We all like the freedom and we all like to do it our own way!

Best of luck in your project!

Kim
 
Thanks for the good advice Kim, this is just the sort of thing we're looking for.

Apart from the 4 days we rented a class C, we don't have experience driving an RV, so that's helpful to know. There are some stretches here in Utah where the speed limit is 80 mph. It's not so much a matter of me being in a hurry, I just don't want to clog up the interstates. I also don't want to end up in a bus that can only do 50 mph tops.

For those 4 days I definitely felt the appeal of slowing down and taking it all in.

It seems like we'll save a lot of money if we pick up an already-converted bus. I imagine doing our own will be a HUGE undertaking, but it could also be a fun project as we transition from a desk job to a job on the road. We've still got a few things to sort out in that arena before we jump in with both feet.
 
One thing about school bus conversions - how tall are you?  I'm 6 ft. and that's exactly the ceiling height in most schoolbuses, in the center over the aisle.  I brush my head on a schoolie's ceiling unless I slouch and have to duck under obstacles like a roof mounted air conditioner that extends down into the house.  By the time you add insulation and a different ceiling treatment you've lost another couple of inches of headroom.

You'll have even less headroom in places like side aisles around a center mounted bed or in a side mounted shower.

There are "high headroom" schoolies, but their ceilings are only about 6" taller, and even there the ceiling slopes downward towards the wall, too.

Motorhomes have more headroom than this and usually have a flat roof from side to side.  Trailers usually have about 7 ft. headroom and 5th wheels are even taller inside, except around the front bed.

Tall ceilings really open up a space, which is important for fulltiming.  Sooner or later you'll be stuck inside the rig for at least a couple of days due to bad weather, illness, etc.
 
Great points Lou. We're 5'6", but even then, with insulation and cabinetry up there, I imagine it'd get tight. Definitely something to consider.

I think our next step is to check out some skoolie conversions locally to see what it's actually like to be inside one.
 
I have heard that skoolie conversions are not always accepted in many of the 'resort' campgrounds nor are some regular bus conversions. Professional conversions like Pr?vosts usually are though.  FWIW
 
hm... good to know. I guess I could see that.

That's definitely something I'll consider. I would LOVE a prevost conversion, but I don't think that's in the cards right now.
 
Instead of a garage for your mountain bikes (assuming you have only two), why not a rear hitch mount bike rack where the tires are supported, and a good cover?  I have an expensive electric bike, and use a good hitch mount rack with a cover.  The hitch rack I have has a locking mechanism and I add a bike cable.  That would give you some additional inside storage, unless of course, you plan to add more toys you need to haul.  http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Racks-Trail-Rider-Hitch/dp/B00IHR0H1K/ref=sr_1_49?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1432938969&sr=1-49

And ditto on the speeds.  I travel at a comfortable 60-65 MPH.  Just put yourself in the truck lane and relax.  You will find that your vehicle, even a school bus conversion, is more susceptible to winds and will do a lot more swaying at very high speeds than you are used to in a car or regular truck.  What you do NOT want to do is lose control and go off the road.

Also, many two-lane roads out west have passing lanes in the middle occasionally or pull-offs where you can maintain speed but let other vehicles go around you.  The important thing is to drive safely, as you will have a LOT of mass. 

P.S. I was an instructional designer, but am now teaching online college classes on the road.

Good luck with your plans.
 
Thanks for the tips Judy. What cover are you using? We have a nice Kuat hitch that locks up, but I haven't found a cover that I love yet. I like the idea of storing the bikes outside provided they are out of the weather and secure. Our bikes cost more than our toad will, so we want to make sure they're secure.

I may ping you about teaching online classes, that sounds fascinating. Thanks.
 
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