I’ve been asked a couple of times why we went with a bus, vs getting a super fancy (boogie) Class A RV. While I touch on it briefly elsewhere, I’ll go into detail today. It can mostly be boiled down to 3 major reasons. 1: Safety 2: Quality 3: Customization.
Safety:
RVs have always been fairly cheaply made; they are designed to be as light as possible but still full of features. The trade-off is that the framing is flimsy. A collision that a passenger car could shrug off could total an RV. Additionally, RV seats are not designed primarily for safety while driving, but for luxury or looks. Often they are barely bolted to the frame, and there is hardly any separation between the diving and living areas. Worse yet, they may be token seat belts in the middle of the living area.
Buses have been designed, from the ground up, to transport people safely, often children, reliably and economically. They are designed to take a hit, stay together, and protect their occupants. Their frames are rugged and reliable. Unlike RVs, there is a lot of scrutiny and regulation when it comes to building buses, so build quality is much higher. Additional extra safety can be built into a skoolie, like putting a reinforced wall between the driving bay and the passenger area to prevent loose items from harming the passengers in the event of an abrupt stop.
Quality:
As I touched on above, RVs are cranked out as quickly and cheaply as the manufacturers can manage, most relying on individual dealers to do final quality assurance. A quick internet search can reveal hundreds of horror stories of owners who discovered their brand new RV has a leaking roof, broken safety equipment, trim pealing away, stripped hardware holding cabinets together, rusty frames, ect.
With a bus converted to a skoolie, the end-user is in complete control of quality. One can ensure the base vehicle is sound before buying it. All the added features are added with care by people who are concerned with the outcome, usually the owner. When the end-user is installing a feature they are way more likely to do it right, instead of quick.
Customization:
This is where skoolies really shine. When one is looking at RVs they will find that a manufacturer will have a base model, with maybe 2 or 3 variants, and that’s it. One is forced to find the best compromise for their needs. With a skoolie, the layout is 100% up to the builder once the bus is gutted. Whether one wants 6 bunks, no galley, and 3 heads, or 2 suites with a large lounge it’s completely up to the owner!
Between our need for safety and desire for specific features, we felt a skoolie best fit our needs. It may not be as easy as buying a pre-made RV from a dealer, but since we might be on the road for several years, the extra work was worth it for us.