Take yourself back to summer 2020. Gone were the whipped coffees, puzzles and hours of TV shows that kept us sane during the cold months of the pandemic -- it was time to get outdoors. As soon as we stepped outside into the sun, possibly for the first time in months, we started looking for ways to travel and escape the confines of our homes.
We were also newly aware life could be unexpected: Remote work was a whole new way of life, job loss was prevalent everywhere, unrest across the world was leading to social reckoning and we realized we were not as far away from harm as we'd thought. So we needed to live, to make our plans happen, however possible, because each day was not guaranteed.
The solution, for some, showed up on wheels.
The school bus gained traction as a way to embrace a more nomadic life, allowing for travel via a little house on the highway. As opposed to the "van life" trend, "skoolies" offered much more room to get creative and welcome more travelers for the ride.
It's a tiny home away from home, a small escape in a wide world. And it's been around for a while.
Skoolie history
The trend of revamping a school bus has increased historically around times of uncertainty and change, according to a website by Simmons University on skoolie culture and history.
Skoolies saw a rise during the counterculture of the 1960s, when people rejected the conventional norms of the '50s in tandem with America's involvement in Vietnam. Bands started touring on school buses, and skoolie travelers documented their journeys in books like Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" -- a novel which some chronicle as the start of the psychedelic '60s.
Other pivots in history have spiked nomadic life. In the 2017 book "Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century," journalist Jessica Bruder wrote about the trend of Americans adopting transient lifestyles after becoming casualties of the 2007-09 Great Recession. During the nationwide creation of a new low-cost labor pool, the van/bus life created a new group of "rubber tramps" (those who live a nomadic life in vans or buses) who relied on a shared community to survive.
Today, Skooliepalooza remains a popular annual event for skoolies and bus and van conversion enthusiasts. Travelers park their rigs in the Arizona desert annually for a week to hike, star gaze, work on bus repairs, and enjoy potlucks and other community building activities, according to the event's website.
Trailing the trend
There are a few ways to get into the skoolie life. School buses remain a popular vehicle to convert -- once they're retired from school districts, they can be sold to private owners, who often hop on the deal when districts are selling fleets of buses. Once all of the identifiers of a school bus are covered up (the name of the school, the stop sign, official numerals), it is no longer considered a commercial vehicle, so the private owner does not need a Commercial Drivers License (CDL).
For Dave Kohler, of Jefferson City, he had fond memories of a school bus his father-in-law converted into a hunting camper to travel around Colorado. A few seats were turned sideways to make more room, and a dinette, bunk beds and potbelly Coleman stove were added, with the stove bolted to the floor.
"When I saw it, I thought 'I've gotta have one of these,'" Kohler said. "But maybe a couple more things."
He envisioned a bus-turned-overnight-camper, with running water offering the ability to stay warm and dry. After researching the logistics of skoolie life and scanning government auction websites, he found a winner: a Collins-brand handicap bus. The features fit his goals perfectly: He was going to retrofit the wheelchair lift for carrying his motorcycle, and the aluminum track system on the floor would be ideal for anchoring other items while on the road.
Growing up with a mechanically-inclined family, he was up for the challenges ahead.
"Growing up, if it was broke, we fixed it. If we can't fix it, it's not broke," he said.
Revamping the van
Usually, when buying a skoolie, the owner has to be ready to replace and remodel everything from water pumps to wiring as well as finding an energy source and carrying enough water to make it through a long haul. There is also paperwork drivers have to start right off the bat, like converting the title and getting an insurance policy that works best for you, according to skoolie.net, a school bus conversion discussion post website.
From there, it takes maintenance, running wires and pipes, making repairs -- and then, eventually, the fun part of making it your customized tiny home.
Some popular add-ons for people traveling for longer periods are flooring, furniture, appliances and electronics, and outdoor features (like a rooftop or back deck). There is also room to have fun with the paint job -- once you have converted the title, you don't want your ride being mistaken for an active school bus.
Since Kohler uses it as a camping vehicle, he likes to keep things simple. He went with a plain white wash on the outside, but the real personal features are on the interior. Most of the bus floors and walls are lined with wood panels, a couch made from a sleeper bed, a small kitchenette with storage in the seats, a working sink and stove, and a sleeping area.
There are also small personal accents. Kohler's close friend made his checkered kitchen table with different types of wooden blocks. An iron motorcycle towel hanger is mounted next to the sink, and some of the cabinet knobs are shaped like fish. He was able to find many furniture pieces secondhand at Habitat for Humanity or donated from friends.
"My goal was to make it functional, make it fit me and make it versatile," he said. "I want to hop in it spur of the moment with a change of clothes and sack of food and not have to worry about anything."
He plans on adding a more personalized paint job as he goes and more stickers from his travels.
Hop on or hop off?
For as many results for "skoolie build progress" exist on YouTube, there are as many about "selling our skoolie." Although an idyllic way to escape, completely revamping a school bus isn't easy, and many choose to cut their losses.
It can be difficult to gauge how much battery power is needed for your skoolie lifestyle. There are always repairs that need to be made while on the road or without surrounding resources, and you might wait until reaching a park facility to take a shower or use shore power outlets. With all its amenities, it can be pricey, too. According to discussions among skoolie owners on skoolie.net, they pay up to $30,000 for renovations, not including the bus.
From the various online discussion groups Kohler is involved in, he's read stories of people living a "minimalist" lifestyle completely out of a skoolie. There are long discussions on how to use composting toilets or winterize plumbing for every season, questions people have to ask when living on wheels is a full-time gig.
"There's a generation that's trying to function their entire life out of the bus," Kohler said. "Some of it is interesting, but it's complex, which defeats the purpose for me."
So far, Kohler has enjoyed the skoolie life. It's a never ending project that takes him places -- what's not to love?
"When you build a bus, you're never done," he said. "It's kind of fun because as you do it, you find out what's important and what's not. Most everything in here has a story or is in the middle of becoming a story."
(India Garrish/News Tribune) In a skoolie, the more space can be optimized, the better. Dave Kohler made a cutting board to go over his small kitchenette sink to create more counter space, which is shown Sept. 20, 2021. (2/2 collage)
(India Garrish/News Tribune) The appliances in Dave Kohler’s skoolie were largely bought from Habitat for Humanity. Only a few steps away are his bedroom and kitchen.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Dave Kohler poses for a portrait Sept. 20, 2021, in front of “the bus” (it doesn’t have an official name yet) in Jefferson City.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Dave Kohler poses for a portrait Sept. 20, 2021, in front of “the bus” (it doesn’t have an official name yet) in Jefferson City.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Dave Kohler poses for a portrait Sept. 20, 2021, in front of “the bus” (it doesn’t have an official name yet) in Jefferson City.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Not only can buses use batteries to power electronics in the vehicle, but solar panels as well. They can also plug in through an electrical grid from a power source, like those found on RV campsites or state parks.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Dave Kohler has a security camera installed on his roof. To power his electronics, Kohler uses solar panels and a small battery bank.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Dave Kohler collects stickers from his travels to decorate “the bus” (which has no formal name yet). One on the front of the bus reads “Not all who wander are lost (but I probably am).”
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Dave Kohler’s skoolie is shown Sept. 20, 2021, in Jefferson City. Kohler purchased the Collins-brand handicap bus on a government auction websites and has driven it on overnight camping trips.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) The bedroom in Dave Kohler’s skoolie is seen Sept. 20, 2021, in Jefferson City. When he needs to, the bed can be propped up so the back of the bus can be used for storage.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Fish knobs decorate the cabinets in Dave Kohler’s skoolie Sept. 20, 2021, as he talks about different elements of the bus build in Jefferson City.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Fish knobs decorate the cabinets in Dave Kohler’s skoolie Sept. 20, 2021, as he talks about different elements of the bus build in Jefferson City.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) The sitting area in Dave Kohler’s skoolie is shown Sept. 20, 2021, in Jefferson City. The seats, which sit below a table his friend made, can be pulled up for more storage.