Back in June I bought a 2010 Chevy Express 6 window school bus with the intention of turning it into a camping and hunting rig for the family. We got back from our first trip to Worthington State Forest in NJ earlier this week and it worked out great. Hunting season opens soon here so I will be taking it out on some trips this year. The "living space" is 120 sqft. It's powered by a 6.6l Duramax diesel (I'm getting really good mpg with this thing and I'm very happy w the range per tank). It has a rear emergency door as well as a side door where a wheelchair lift was. Both doors now open to storage under my queen size platform bed. I painted the bus with Rustoleum tractor paint from TS. Mixed it with mineral spirits and sprayed it with an airless sprayer from HF. Came out better than I was expecting. I laid down 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of white paint. I kept 2 bus seats and made a dinette area out of them. The seats have seatbelts so everyone is buckled in while the bus is moving. The dinette seats 4 comfortably. Behind the dinette is my "kitchen". I found a butcher block dining room table for sale on FB for $20 that was is rough shape. I sanded it down, cut it to fit and applied food grade mineral oil to the surface. It came over so nice I didnt want to cut a sink hole for it so I opted for a bathroom vessel sink instead lol. I just had to cut a 2" hole for the drain and another 1/2" hole for the water pump tube. The faucet is a USB powered water pump meant for water cooler jugs. We have a 5 gallon fresh water jug and a 5 gallon gray water jug that the sink drains into. I have a Coleman stove that I can use to cook indoors if I need to. Under the counter I have the 2 water jugs, an upright storage bin (food/snacks) and a 12v refrigerator. Next to the kitchen is the raised queen bed and plenty of storage underneath. I keep a 8k btu window AC unit under there as well as a chinese diesel heater. Opposite of the kitchen is a set of disc-o-bunk cots for the kids. These are removable if extra space is needed to transport kayaks, etc. Next to the bunks is a small armoire that was another FB find. I built a raised platform for it that houses all of the deep cycle batteries and electrical components. The bottom of the armoire comes out and I attached a handle to make an access panel. Inside the armoire we store blankets, tp, paper towels, a coffee maker, and there's plenty of room for jackets/coats. I used the hole that the bus' stop sign wires came through and installed a shore power port. That port takes a standard extension cord and it splits off into 2 receivers. One receiver is hooked up to a 12v battery tender and the other is hooked up to a power strip so I can run 120v when hooked up to shore power or our generator. It also powers the ever so important coffee maker lol. I power the window AC unit as well as the the shore power port with a 4250 dual fuel inverter generator that I run off of 20# propane tanks. For lighting I have a 32' LED rope light that's usb powered (only 5v power) as well as 4 LED battery operated dimmable lights on the walls and 2 roof mounted LED directional lights. Both from HF. I installed a Maxair fan in the roof. It's multi-directional and runs off the 12v batteries.
Picked up an old 17’ canoe yesterday at a yard sale. My son and I had fun paddling around a small pond in the afternoon. It just fits in the bus.
Hec of a job BCB and what a super nice setup you got there to make all kinds of memories and take all sorts of trips. Best of luck with her and looking forward to more pics!!
Thanks. I made a carry all for the hitch out of the lift ramp that came out of the bus. Nice big platform, perfect for deer hunting or taking extra gear for camping. I still need to tap into the lights for towing.
Build updates since my initial post: I've installed a Chinese diesel heater and mounted a 10 liter tank under the bed near the rear door. It does a very nice job heating but the pump ticking drives me insane even with the pump mounted outside under the bus. After my Pocono hunting trip a few weeks ago and using the heater for the first time I now have the pump suspended with zip ties instead of screwed directly into the frame. It's supposed to help keep the ticking noise down. If this doesnt work I'm going to look at other mounting options or getting a new quiet pump for the unit. I replaced the cab light bulbs with LED bulbs. Cheap upgrade but it gives off a lot more light. I installed a Renogy DC to DC charger. I was able to connect the charger hot wire to the post terminal that the wheelchair lift used. I shortened and rerouted the wires from the post to the charger which is located right behind the drivers seat. I had to tap into a fuse to power the unit and I also added a LED switch so I can turn the charger on and off while the vehicle is running. My 2 house batteries can now be powered 2 ways: 4 amp smart charger via a 15 amp plug (either connected to a house outlet or generator) or charged off the bus' alternator while the vehicle is running at 13-14 amps. I put the 12v refrigerator on 100# 24" drawer slides so I can slide the entire refrigerator out from under the countertop and into the aisle. Makes reaching into the fridge easier and no more crouching. I put Reflectics over the windows to keep light out and help with heating and cooling the bus. Each piece is secured to the window via velcro so they can be put up and taken down easily. Thats about all of the improvements I had on tap for now. I'm sure some new things will come to mind after using it some more. One thing I am trying to figure out is how to mount a lock on the outside of the side door. Most of the methods Ive seen wont work on my set up due to the door being different and only having about 3" of metal on either side to work with spaced by rubber flaps. I'm thinking I might use a padlock gate handle and run a bike lock through it. I just want to be able to use the side door without having to go back into the bus to lock it from the inside. Oh and we picked up some buffalo plaid stencils so the outside of the bus will have a black and white plaid design under the windows to help break up the all white appearance.
Very cool project, BCB! I had a thought about exterior design/ color. Paint the frames between the windows black to give it the look of big rv windows.
Did some interior updating over the past week. Laminate floors, new table top, wall panels, privacy curtain and changed the area over the cab so it doesnt look like a school bus anymore. It's been a fun project.
Last month over Easter break we took a 750 mile round trip and camped in Delaware and Virginia. Delaware surprised me of how rural the area we stayed in was, Killens Pond State Park. Being from SE PA, Delaware has always been seen as a drive-thru state lol. The weather was chilly but I would not hesitate to go back to Killens Pond and stay during warmer weather to get some canoeing and more hiking in. The stop and Killens Pond was not planned either. Our plan was to drive to Shenandoah National Park in VA but Easter night through early Monday morning they had an ice/snow storm come through and they closed Skyline Drive down for 2 days while they dealt with the ice and cleanup. So we figured instead of staying home a day longer we'd find someplace half way there to stay and check on the status of Skyline Drive on the road. We also had plans to visit Blackwater Falls in WV but axed that plan due to snow. We made it to Big Meadows Campground in SNP and the weather was pretty crappy with about an inch or 2 of snow on the ground still. Our whole reason for heading south on this trip was for warmer weather lol. We booked 2 nights at Big Meadows but left after the 1st night due to me catching the flu. So I made the 8 hour drive back home (wife doesnt want to drive the bus). On our way home we drove through West Virginia and was amazed how beautiful the scenery is at Harpers Ferry. Anyway I did not get a lot of pics due to driving but I do have 2 pics from Skyline Drive looking down into the Shenandoah Valley. Our next official trip isn't until October when we head down to Assateague National Park in MD. (Hopefully the weather is nice for that one). With the insane gas prices (the bus is diesel) we'll be looking for shorter trips and stay closer to home. I did avg 15 mpg with the bus on this trip which I was happy with. View attachment 342733
Awesome. Yes, fuel prices may limit where we head off to next as well. We uncovered the RV, thinking it would have guests in next weekend but now it sits there and tantalizes us.
Goodbye bus seats, hello leather executive style seats Found an amazing deal via FB marketplace. Brand new, still in box. Integrated seatbelt and adjustable back. 2 installed, 2 more to go. I'm going to put one of the yet to be installed seats on a swivel so it'll be able to face forward and act as a front passenger seat.
Few more updates to the bus. The factory AC isnt working (has a leak) and can only be used while the bus is running. I mounted an 8k btu window unit out the side of the bus and run it from a generator via a 115v port I installed on the rear of the bus. It's nice driving in a cool bus. I now have running water and hot water for dishes and an outdoor shower via a tankless propane water heater. Also installed an 8x8 awning that are used by a lot of overlanders. It's an ARB knockoff from Napa Auto and has great reviews. Only modification I had to do was turn the L bracket into a J shape. Installed each bracket via 2 riv-nuts into the frame of the bus. It's nice having a real awning instead of a tarp. Heading out to Knoebels and the Poconos over the next 2 weeks. My next project is to make my open frame inverter generator more quiet. I took off the plastic face panel and applied some kilmat to it. I also applied kilmat to the underside of the gas tank. I have some aluminum sheets that I plan on cutting to size, covering in kilmat and attaching them to the gen frame to enclose it similar to a honda eu2200 and alike. I know it wont be as quiet as one of those but if it can reduce the noise just a tad it'll be worth the effort.
