Or, at least how I bought a bus. I’m still slightly startled every time I realize I actually own a bus.
I first got the idea a few years ago, and I spent several years of reading other people’s stories, and lots of googling of things like “what’s the best bus for a skoolie”, and “reliable skoolie engines” and that sort of thing. If you’re going to buy a vehicle, you need to know what the options are, right?
(And that’s just regarding the bus. I also have extensive documents, folders full of saved photos, long lists of bookmarks, multiple versions of layout plans, and pages of random notes – all about solar power, electrical wiring, toilets and poop, water systems, heating systems, ventilation systems, plans for beds and couches, different refrigeration ideas, how to raise the roof on a bus, building a deck… the list is endless. One of my projects here will be to post a few lists of some of the more useful and interesting things I’ve stumbled across. My kids rolled their eyes at me for quite a while as I waxed eloquent about the various things I discovered.)
So I needed to find a bus. I signed up for alerts from the auction house near me, and started investigating buses from all over the country. I started compiling a list of the school districts, with the locations and information for each of the service garages, and/or who they contracted with for busing services. I started contacting those people to find out how they disposed of their buses.
And I also joined all the groups (three cheers for skoolie groups!) and talked about this idea with everyone who would listen (and a few who didn’t) until I was blue in the face. And some of my friends humoured me (it’s not the first off-the-wall idea I’ve had) and some of them decided to be accessories to the adventure. (One of my sons realized how useful all my accumulated research was when he decided to buy a sailboat to live in while he goes to school! But that’s another story.)
And then, out of the blue, one lovely friend sent me a message saying “did you see the bus for sale up the road from you?”
I hadn’t, of course, so I went up to look at it. And in the dark, from the outside, it was at least the right size. It didn’t have any obvious problems.
So I went up to look at it in the daylight. And it still looked good. The model checked out as one of my potential options. It was the right size and shape at least.
I called the school. This was a private school selling one of their buses, and, oddly enough, it was also the same private school that I had registered my homeschooled children with for the last decade or so. That was actually a major bonus… I knew them well enough to at least know they wouldn’t be trying to pull a fast one, and that they would have done a decent job of maintenance. I got permission to go take a closer look with a truck driver friend of mine. And then finally met with someone from the school to take a look inside. Every time I went to look at it, I kept expecting some big problem to turn up that would cross it off the list, but it kept checking all the boxes.
- It had air brakes. (I figure the more stopping power the better. And also for some reason a lot of people looking for buses for skoolies want to avoid the air brakes (maybe they don’t want to have to get the endorsement?) so I figure it there will be less competition for those busses.)
- It was old enough to not use too many emission regulators.
- It had a navistar engine, not a maxxforce.
- I could stand up inside.
- Rust was minimal (this is the Pacific Northwest.. there’s no such thing as no rust here, but it’s solid).
- There was no oil leakage (like seriously none – I could have a picnic on the ground on the same spot this bus parks on. My car leaks more oil than this bus.)
Then I called another friend who is a mobile diesel mechanic and asked him to see if there was anything obvious that I should know about. And he said that if I didn’t buy it, he might recommend it to a friend of his… so… I decided it might be smart to buy the bus.
BUT…. this was a bit too early for my plans. I was still broke. I’m paying my survival expenses (and over here where housing is more than 50% of your income that’s no mean feat) but it’s not like I had the ability to drop 5 or 6 months of rent on a bus, just on a whim.
I had, through another odd life circumstance, acquired a new side gig a few months prior, teaching some community college classes. And the reason why I had decided to spend my few spare minutes of free time (outside of my day job) teaching was exactly because I thought it would eventually give me enough extra to purchase a bus… but I wasn’t exactly there yet. So, I went to my bank and said “hey, I need some liquid cash” and they must have liked the fact that I pay my bills on time, because they said “sure, here’s ten grand that you can use”. For a fee of course… banks are intrinsically grifters that make money off of doing nothing but hoarding money… but still. I could work with it.
So, spent some of that money and I drove Bella the bus to her new home in December 2019. (or rather, my buddy did… I don’t have my air brake endorsement yet!)
I am also extremely fortunate that my parents have space for Bella to stay for a bit. Especially while she just sits and waits for me to be done teaching and have some time to work on her. A few acres out in the bush, not too far away from where I live. It’s not like you can just park a bus anywhere, so I am extraordinarily fortunate to have a safe place to put her.
So… lessons learned so far… 1. research. Start reading and don’t stop. 2. network. Talk about it to everyone. They’ll think you’re crazy (and they might be right) but you’ll find ideas you would never have found on your own. and 3. network. I couldn’t do this alone… it took more people than I can count just to get to the point where I actually own a bus. I am endlessly grateful to everyone who has gotten me this far, and also to those who have offered and asked and planned to be there for the next stages, too.
Stay tuned for episode #2!