How 8 College Kids' DIY Project Made a School Bus a Dream Roadtrip Machine - Popular Mechanics

For most people, it would be a daydream: Get an old school bus for cheap, renovate it into a cushy rolling pad for yourself and a bunch of friends, and take it on a road trip across the U. S. The dream hit Nick Machesney and two classmates last... Within a few hours, they had the whole conversion project planned, even down to fixes for the most likely problems. Within a few months, they were proud owners of a 40-foot former Indiana school bus. Their vehicle turned out more MTV Cribs than Merry Pranksters, with memory-foam bunk beds for eight, 21 feet of sofa, a roof deck, mood lighting, a dining booth, bathroom, electrical outlets—even a liquor drawer for when the bus rolls to a stop. Having worked as a handyman and a project manager for a general contractor, Machesney had the knowledge and tools for the basic renovation of the bus. The design challenge was more intriguing: How many people could such a bus hold. Online, Machesney and friends found advice from the community of "skoolie" owners—people who convert school buses into RVs—but there was a lot they didn't know. On Craigslist, they found a 1995 Carpenter school bus owned by an amateur blacksmith with his own skoolie dreams. Source: www.popularmechanics.com