So why pick a US School bus to convert to a Motorhome?
On the positive side:-
- They are cheap. In the US School districts (in Democratic states) have to sell after 10 years. I paid $6000 for mine (2001 and 95k on the clock)
- They are built like tanks, so a bit of rust is not too much of a problem. Remember rust is about x10 the volume of the original metal.
- They are well maintained and have a service history
- They are easy to work on, for example loads of space underneath to put tanks
- They are iconic (although the newer short ones based on a minivan are less attractive)
The downsides?
- You are only going to get 10 miles to the gallon - would make touring Europe expensive!
- I didn't know if I would be able to get it past UK regulations - but now you know this is possible
- You will need to import any parts from the US (but parts are easy to find since there are lots of buses in service)
- It costs about £3500 in total to ship it (shipping, insurance, inspection, VAT, paying someone to drive to port). The actual shipping itself was about £1500
- Headroom is a bit restrictive
- Watch out for rust from buses from Eastern Seaboard - they use salt on the roads
