7 Biggest Challenges of Converting a School Bus

Converting a school bus is a huge undertaking and we’re learning that there are a lot of challenges. We’ve put together a list of the biggest challenges of our bus conversion so far and solutions to overcome them.

1. Time management issues

We’ve had plenty of days where we have a plan of what we want to get done. Then we get to the bus and realize that there is a ton of prep that needs to be done and before we know it the day is gone. One way we can try to avoid this pitfall is by coming up with a weekly action plan.

I think that if we set goals for what we want to accomplish each week, then we can figure out what we need to do to make it happen. Whether it be spending a day on prepping or making sure we have the right materials, having a concrete plan would be hugely helpful. We’re going to give this a try and post a later article with detail on how it worked.

2. Saturated and contradictory information on the internet

Although bus conversions have been a thing for decades now, there’s still no surefire answers for how to get it done. Everybody has their own opinions on the best way to do certain things and they’re all different.

We’ve scoured the internet for hours upon days and have wasted so much time sifting through information. A lot of the information also contradicts other information, so it’s really hard to compile any effective research. It seems to have led us down one rabbit hole after another.

A great tip to remember in life sometimes is to simply go back to basics. For several things, we’ve actually discovered that it’s much less frustrating to find a good book on the subject. The other day we bought Solar Power Your Home For Dummies and have found it to be significantly more helpful and to the point than trying to figure it out online.

Another option, since bus conversions are already pretty expensive, would be to check out a local library and see if you can find anything useful there rather than spending more money on books.

3. Finding help

We have a few friends (Tommy, Cherith, and Nate, thanks a million! You guys are rockstars!) who have been essential parts of the progress we’ve made on our conversion. But as they say, the more help, the merrier.

It’s been difficult for us to find help on things that we simply cannot do ourselves. There’s a lot of heavy lifting and teamwork that is required for this process. It’s not only hard to find people to help but also to find a time that works for everyone’s schedule.

We’re considering investigating live video through Facebook to see if any of our local friends would be able to come to the rescue, so to speak. Social Media has been a huge help for us so far.

However, we know that only a small percentage of our friends see our posts. Therefore, live video might be a really great way to reach more people. We’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes in a later post.

 4. Working with kids

As a lot of you know, we have two young kids. One is seven and has special needs, and the other one is two. Trying to get work done with them around can be very difficult. We are fortunate in that our friends Tommy and Cherith (the rad couple letting us convert our bus at their house) have two kids around similar ages.

However, on days when they’re not home, we’ve had to make arrangements either for the kids to go to daycare or for only one of us to be at the bus while the other stays home with the kids. This is one of the most difficult challenges for us, but we are determined and will continue to persevere even though it may take longer.

5. Inclement weather

We currently live in South Dakota so we have extreme seasons here. The summers get very hot and humid, and the winters are extremely cold and snowy. Our bus conversion project has been brought to a halt for several months because it was too cold to work outside.

Even today as I type, there is snow falling. This makes it extremely difficult to progress because at this point there are no windows or siding on our bus. The next step is to install the sheet metal paneling on the sides but we can’t do that when it’s freezing cold and snowing.

6. Dealing with parking & legalities

Another challenge, which we’ve resolved now, was parking the bus. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the city ordinance states that vehicles over 22 feet long cannot be parked on the street. Our bus is 40 feet long. I called the local police department to ask for clarification and they explained the city ordinance, but also said that they would not cite us if nobody complained about it.

Based off of that phone call, we made the decision to park our bus at our own house. Within 24 hours a complaint was made by some of our older, retired neighbors and we were forced to move the bus. Thank goodness for Tommy and Cherith for coming to our rescue!

But our troubles weren’t over yet. The city stopped by Tommy and Cherith’s house and informed us that the bus needed to be registered in South Dakota in order for them to have it parked in their driveway.

And registering a bus is NOT cheap! After taxes and other fees regarding weight, we ended up spending nearly $400 just to get license plates for our bus. We were fortunate here to have a family member that was willing to help us cover the costs. Otherwise, we definitely would have been out of luck.

7. The learning curve with new tools

A lot of this process has been a huge learning curve for us, particularly with learning how to use different power tools for the construction. Each different process, removing the seats, removing the rust from the floor, raising the roof, etc, has involved learning how to use tools that we’ve never had to use before.

We love learning, and have learned so much from this process! However, taking the time to study and research how to safely use certain power tools has definitely tacked on more time involved with converting the bus. This refers us back to challenge number one, time management! There’s research, purchasing, prep, tool maintenance and work that all has to be factored into the amount of time that we will spend on our bus conversion.

There are a lot of challenges in this process. It’s definitely not easy, and certainly not for the weak-hearted! There have been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into our project.

But as I’ve mentioned, we are determined and will persevere! We are certain that this is the path that we want to take in life. And we will do what’s necessary to get there! If you want to get more updates about converting a school bus, make sure to sign up below.

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