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✨Why we chose a Skoolie vs. a van✨
If you're dreaming about transitioning into bus or van-life, here are the 5 big factors that lead to us choosing a Skoolie instead of a van:
✨# 1) PRICE! You can buy a school bus in good
condition for as low as $3K, whereas vans, even used ones, typically start around $20k.
For us, our total budget was around $30k so a $20k van wouldn't have left us much money to invest in the build itself.
✨# 2) WIDTH!!! School buses are typically 8ft wide
which means you can lay your bed width ways instead of length ways which takes up valuable space!
For us we knew we wanted a short skoolie for mobility, so being able to put the bed width ways allowed us to still fit in a dinette, couch, kitchen & bathroom all in 25ft of length.
✨# 3) D0800 ENOONE! Diesel engines when
treated properly can run 800,000 miles which means your build has a much more dependable life span!
Our build only has about 150,000 miles on it which is a baby as far as Diesel engines go, whereas a van with that same amount of mileage is most likely already half way through their life.
✨# 4) GROUND CLEARANCE
Unless you pay to have your van specially lifted, Skoolies typically have a much higher ground clearance! We can sit fully upright underneath ours!
✨# 5) SO MANY WINDOWS
This allows for so much natural light & gives you tons of free range to be creative when designing your layout!
But of course, to be fair, we've gotta be honest about the CONS:
1) Vans offer WAY more stealth when parking in places that might not want campers.
2) Vans can go way faster up hills & are typically more gas efficient!
3) Vans can have 4WD which allow you to go places our skoolie couldn't dream of!
All in all, no matter what you choose you will be SO glad you took the leap!
Let us know in the comments why you chose, or are choosing a skoolie vs. van! #buslife #skooliebuild #vanlife #nomad
If you're dreaming about transitioning into bus or van-life, here are the 5 big factors that lead to us choosing a Skoolie instead of a van:
✨# 1) PRICE! You can buy a school bus in good
condition for as low as $3K, whereas vans, even used ones, typically start around $20k.
For us, our total budget was around $30k so a $20k van wouldn't have left us much money to invest in the build itself.
✨# 2) WIDTH!!! School buses are typically 8ft wide
which means you can lay your bed width ways instead of length ways which takes up valuable space!
For us we knew we wanted a short skoolie for mobility, so being able to put the bed width ways allowed us to still fit in a dinette, couch, kitchen & bathroom all in 25ft of length.
✨# 3) D0800 ENOONE! Diesel engines when
treated properly can run 800,000 miles which means your build has a much more dependable life span!
Our build only has about 150,000 miles on it which is a baby as far as Diesel engines go, whereas a van with that same amount of mileage is most likely already half way through their life.
✨# 4) GROUND CLEARANCE
Unless you pay to have your van specially lifted, Skoolies typically have a much higher ground clearance! We can sit fully upright underneath ours!
✨# 5) SO MANY WINDOWS
This allows for so much natural light & gives you tons of free range to be creative when designing your layout!
But of course, to be fair, we've gotta be honest about the CONS:
1) Vans offer WAY more stealth when parking in places that might not want campers.
2) Vans can go way faster up hills & are typically more gas efficient!
3) Vans can have 4WD which allow you to go places our skoolie couldn't dream of!
All in all, no matter what you choose you will be SO glad you took the leap!
Let us know in the comments why you chose, or are choosing a skoolie vs. van! #buslife #skooliebuild #vanlife #nomad
