Things to Consider: Schoolie

So if you have followed anything I do you know in 2020 I bought a school bus and converted it into a tiny home. It was a huge project and there were so many things I had to learn as I went. I wanted to write about some of my experiences and things I would have done differently now that I am looking back on my project. Here are the top three big things I would do differently if I were to do another school bus conversion.

The first thing I would have done differently is to keep the original doors to the bus and just added a lock to them. I instead took them off and built a doorframe to put a traditional house door. I thought this would make entering the bus feel more like home. I wanted to add a keypad deadbolt which I wouldn't have been able to do with the original doors. Now with hindsight, I do not need that convenience. It would have saved me many hours of thought and labor. I do like how it turned out but I think the cons out way the pros to the way I did the door.

Another thing I would definitely reconsider if I do another tiny home build is investing in a composting toilet. I looked at one for a little bit when I was researching for this build but then was grossed out by the idea of it. The complexity of running pipe into a water tank from the toilet was a nightmare and it's going to be just as gross and maybe even grosser emptying that tank than the composting toilet. I could have saved lots of space for other things if I didn't have to space the shower and toilet so far apart due to the paths I had to take for the drains.

The third thing is I would rethink my appliances. I don't need luxury as I thought on a bus. I wouldn't buy an A/C again because it takes a lot of power to run and that means I cannot use it when using solar energy. Instead, I would add a few roof vents; one in the front and one in the back that would create a draft to make a breeze in the bus when it is hot outside. Another appliance I would change is my water heater. I opted for an electric 5-gallon water heater so again I need to be plugged into shore power to use it. I would love to have a propane instant water heater that way I am not reliant on electricity to run the water heater and can use it anywhere as long as I have propane in my tanks.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and got some ideas if you are thinking about trying something like this. It really was a lot of fun and I am happy with how it turned out even though it isn't perfect. What in life is though? I have one other thing I want to mention as a bonus. I made everything from the counters to the couch custom. It was great getting to learn how to build but I think next time it might make things easier to buy pre-built furniture and modify it to fit the space. That is all I have for this list. There are a lot more things I would consider doing differently now that I have more experience and the advantage of hindsight but I'll leave you with those four things for now.