School Bus Camper That Could Make Your Dream Road Trip A Reality

Taking on a school bus camper conversion project is a big commitment. It’s easy to dream about the finished project, but you need to prepare for months and months of building. Before you can begin to travel in your bus, there’s the repairs, the welding, the insulating, the joinery, the wiring, the plumbing, the painting… the list could go on forever!

If you’re not experienced in the art of converting a camper, there is no shame in reaching out to a conversion company for a little bit of help. For a school bus camper, you may want to look for a specialist.

The level of repairs and amount of work that needs to go into a school bus to make it a beautiful home is often higher than a newer, smaller vehicle like a Sprinter van. An experienced company would be used to the quirks of a school bus camper and would be able to complete a successful conversion. Today we’re going to be looking at My Bus Hotel, a company that will take you straight through from purchase of your bus to finished product.

Why Choose A School Bus?

You might be wondering why you would choose a school bus, over a more traditional camper van so, before we take a look at My Bus Hotel, let’s have a look at some of the benefits of owning a school bus camper.

Spacious

A school bus camper gives you more room compared to many alternative campervans. This makes them the perfect option if you want to live a life on the road but still have room to spread out, have some privacy and have all the home comforts on board. A school bus is big enough to be able to create separate rooms for the bathroom, bedroom and living area. This more spacious layout gives the feeling of a home rather than a vehicle.

Aesthetic

You can indeed buy large RVs, but these are generally pretty ugly. A school bus camper, on the other hand, has a cute, vintage aesthetic. A school bus is fun and exciting and will look good in your holiday pictures!

Works For Large Groups

If you want to travel with a group of friends or your family, then a school bus camper is an excellent way to go. A school bus allows you to be together without getting on top of each other. There is enough space inside to safely transport all passengers, with a seatbelt, and space for everyone to sleep.

Full-Time Home

Although travelling with your school bus camper is exciting, they also make brilliant full-time homes once the journey is over. Paired with a little plot of land, a school bus makes a great first home and gives you the space to save for a ‘bricks and mortar’ house without the commitment of rent and massive bills.

Rental Property

Once you have a foot on the property ladder, it doesn’t have to be time to say goodbye to your school bus camper. Skoolies make great rental properties and could make you some extra income while allowing others to experience the joy of living in a bus.

Who Are My Bus Hotel?

My Bus Hotel is a school bus conversion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their passion for school busses began with their very own road trip back in 2017 and their trusty bus, Natasha. The group of friends converted their bus and set off on an epic 14-country road trip throughout South America.

This trip of a lifetime inspired them to help others experience life on the road. With the knowledge that only comes from building and living in a school bus, My Bus Hotel now create gorgeous homes made for your journey. As well as their travels, My Bus Hotel has a background in luxury hotels and art cabinet making, so they are well suited to designing and making a stylish home on wheels.

My Bus Hotel has several ready-made busses that you can buy directly from them. Or, if you would rather have a custom design, you can work with the company to create something unique to you.

As well as converting busses, My Bus Hotel also run a rental service. This unique business means you can trail living on a school bus before you commit to a more extended road trip. A short trip away in a completed school bus camper is a great way to get a feel for skoolie life and discover what works for you and what doesn’t. As well as being a fantastic holiday, this time in a rented skoolie can give you a clearer idea of what you would like inside your tiny future home and how to make the space work for your needs.

Barbra The Bus

Barbra is a fantastic example of the quality of conversion you can expect from My Bus Hotel. She makes a stunning tiny home and would be the perfect adventure mobile for any family or group of friends.

Bedrooms

Barbra sleeps up to eights people, it is unusual to find a school bus camper with such a high capacity, so if you’re looking to accommodate more people, then this could be the bus for you. The busses smart design means that everyone has their own bed, separate from the living area. You won’t find any sofa beds here.

At the very back of the bus is a bedroom with a queen-sized bed for two. This room is like the penthouse suite of the bus, complete with privacy and panoramic windows. The windows on all of the external walls give you a great view from bed, open up the space and bring the outside in.

For those not so lucky to have the main bedroom, there are six bunk beds. Each little pod has a comfortable single mattress and a shelf to store book and other personal items. Each bunk bed has a window running along the sidewall that brings light into the small space.

As there are only two bunk beds in each block, there is enough room to sit up in bed so that you wouldn’t feel claustrophobic. The bunk bed pods are a practical solution but also look like a fun way to travel, especially if you have kids on board.

Bathroom

Next to the bedroom is the bathroom. It is a compact space, but a big window and the old emergency door lets plenty of light into the room. The door is also an excellent way to let air into the bathroom and allow moisture to escape after using the shower. As well as the shower, there is a toilet and sink. The design makes good use of the space.

Living Area

Despite having the space to sleep eight people, this school bus camper still has a large living room and kitchen. It provides space for cooking and chilling in the evening and enough seats for everyone while on the move.

Kitchen

Just in front of the bedrooms is the kitchen. This is a functional space with enough room to cater for everyone on board. A large fridge freezer gives a place for everyone to store their favourite snacks and a full-sized oven and four ring hob is big enough to cook large meals.

The rest of the kitchen bends round in an L-shape to make to most of the space. This design gives you a large workbench for food preparation and makes space for a big sink.

Opposite the kitchen is a large storage unit for either kitchen or clothes storage. The top of these drawers could also be used as an extra kitchen worktop.

Living Room

In front of the kitchen is the living room. Here there is a booth table, with two benches and a table in between. The seats have cushions to provide a comfortable and practical place to work and eat.

There is also another long bench for seating more people. This extra bench ensures that everyone has a place to sit when driving, without feeling too crowded.

Power and Storage

This school bus camper runs from solar power. There is a large battery bank to ensure that there is enough electricity for camping off the grid. You will find the solar panels on the roof of the van, along with a deck and an extra storage box.

You can store your bike on the front of the bus. This is a cool addition that gives you another form of transportation to take you to places the camper might not be able to reach.

Final Thoughts…

I love the idea of living and travelling in a school bus camper, and by pairing with My Bus Hotel, you’re taking away the stress of converting it yourself. Barbra, the bus we’ve looked at today comes in at $64,000, which isn’t bad at all compared to other motorhomes on the market. This bus is in good condition and has plenty of life left in it for your dream road trip.

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More Content From The Van Clan Team

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