Is There Anything You Would Change About Your Skoolie?

During our first TinyFest, a few people asked if we could change anything about our skoolie.  I love this question! The answer is yes, yes, and yes! Here are some things we would do different if we did it again!

Skoolie Stove Placement

We love our stove so much and we use it multiple times throughout the day.  The only problem is that it is directly across from the fridge.  Both are right beside the entrance to our bunkhouse.  Here are the problems this creates:

• When you are cooking at the stove, no one else can open the fridge.
• When the curtain is closed, kids run through and might bump into you while you are getting hot stuff out of a pan on the stove.  This makes me super cranky.

Air Conditioner Placement

Our air conditioner is right above our couch.  It is loud. When it is on, we feel like we have to yell to hear each other.  Sometimes, that yelling is misconstrued for angry yelling. Then the other people get upset that they are being yelled at when they didn’t do anything.  If I were to do it again, I might move the air conditioner to the middle of the bus.

Bedroom Door Swinging Out

We planned for our door to swing into our bedroom, but the space wouldn’t allow for it.  Instead, it swings out. When it swings out it causes the following problems:

• Hits whoever is at the sink.
• Blocks people in the bathroom.

I think a better solution would be to have a split door that swings both in and out.  Maybe in version 2.0 of the bus.  We have to finish this build before we can consider remodeling anything!

Heat Source

UPDATE: We have a diesel heater now!  Read about it HERE!

I laugh now when I think back on our goal to follow 70 degree weather.  Sure, we have had some really nice weather on our travels.  We also spent the second nice in our bus in snow.  We didn’t put a lot of thought into heat because we weren’t going to need it.  It’s okay to laugh.  I’m laughing.  Currently, two different heat sources:

Boondocking: We use this Mr. Heater and this hose to connect to a 15 gallon propane tank.  We were blowing through these 1 pound bottles faster than we would like to admit.  The 15 gallon propane tank is much more affordable to get refilled.  1 tank lasts around a week when we use it daily and we can get it refilled for $10-15.

Shore: When we are hooked up to shore, we use this EdenPure infrared heater.  Once the temps get below 30, it can only keep half the bus comfortable.  That works fine since we can just heat the back half at night and close the curtain to heat the front half during the day.  If we do need more space, we use a combination of both the infrared and propane heaters.

Problems: The infrared heater can only be used when on shore power and it takes up a lot of space.  It does what we need it to do, but we don’t spend a lot of time in campgrounds.  The propane heat causes condensation.  Keep reading to learn more about our struggles with condensation.

Solution: Chris is currently looking at these diesel heaters.  Skoolie folks keep hyping them up so I think we are going to give it a try.

Gravity Fill Tank

We envy our skoolie friends who can grab a 5 gallon jug, fill it with water, and fill their tank by simply pouring it in.  Our bus requires you to have water pressure in order to fill the tank.  We are currently looking for ways to remedy this while tearing out the least amount of the build as possible.

Update: Chris created a gravity fill system and it has been life changing!  We have 2 5 gallon jugs that we can take to town when we need to refill.  A lot easier than moving the entire bus!

Hooks, Hooks, + More Hooks

I tried to only include things that would cause a lot of time, money, and energy to fix, but I felt like I needed to say this. We find ourselves constantly saying, “We can put a hook here.”  In this photo alone, there are 7 hooks.  I will probably always find more places for hooks and they are forever making my skoolie experience more convenient.

The Windows

If you have an opportunity to replace the windows in your bus with someone double paned I suggest you go for it.  I’m going to make a list of problems we have with our windows:

• They don’t want to close properly.  We bought these to keep them up, but I still feel like they are…
• Drafty.  So many drafts.  I know this is probably just how bus life is with any windows, but they feel pretty useless.  We cover them with reflectix and that changes everything.
• There is so much condensation this winter.  I don’t like seeing water dripping from the windows and onto the wood.  Since we put foil over the windows, we have to take it off each day to dry out the area between the two or moisture is trapped in there all day on cold days.
• Basically, we invest a lot of time and energy into solving problems created by our windows.  If I had the option to toss them for something better, I would do it.

Honestly, the list of things we love about our bus is much longer.  You can read about some of those things HERE or go over to our Instagram to follow the journey.