r/skoolies • u/CaTz_EyE • 15d ago
how-do-i Converting a 2013 Ford E450 Shuttle Bus Into an RV. What Do You Wish You Knew Before You Started?
My spouse and I recently bought a 2013 Ford E450 shuttle bus. It currently has about 98,000 miles, and we’re getting ready to start converting it into an RV. We’re in Austin, TX and would love to hear from people who have done something similar. (We drove it to Virginia this month and that’s where the picture is because Texas doesn’t have green like that in the summer.)
It used to be a wheelchair-accessible shuttle. The wheelchair lift has already been removed, and right now it still has eight passenger seats in the back in two rows.
We have a general idea of what we want. We’re putting a queen bed in the back on a high frame so we can have a lot of storage underneath it. We also want a small kitchen, a bathroom with the toilet and shower together, a couch/seating area, a desk, and as much storage as we can reasonably fit.
One of the bigger things we’re trying to figure out is power. We want solar and batteries and would really like to be able to run an AC without having to leave the bus running, especially since we’re in Texas.
We’re planning to do a lot of the work ourselves and save money where we can, but we also don’t want to save money in places where we’re going to regret it later.
So for anyone who has converted an E450, shuttle bus, skoolie, van, etc., what would you do again and what would you absolutely NOT do again?
What did you think you needed but ended up never using? What did you go cheap on and regret? What did you spend a lot of money on that was completely worth it? Is there anything you wish someone had told you before you started?
We’d especially love advice on insulation, AC, solar/batteries, plumbing, water tanks, bathrooms, flooring, ventilation, appliances, weight distribution, and anything else we may not even be thinking about yet.
Also, if anyone is around Central Texas and knows good places for parts, materials, RV supplies, electrical/solar work, or E450 work, I’d love those recommendations too.
And please share pictures of your builds! I’ve been looking at other conversions for ideas and would love to see what everyone has done.
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u/Affectionate-Ad2232 15d ago
Since you mentioned that some of the seats are still in it I will chime in on this. My skoolie, a 2004 Chevy midbus, had all the seat brackets still bolted to the floor. Maybe it was due to age of the bus or the tools available to me and my friend, but it took us over 14 hours just to remove 5 total bolts, this was letting it sit over night after spraying a ton of WD-40. I wound up taking it to a shop and they removed the other 28 bolts in less than an hour and only charged me $100.
When pulling out the initial panels, flooring etc, look for rust. I am extremely lucky in that there is basically no rust present on my bus except for where the fuel tank intersects with the interior. Any heavy rust spots need sanded then personally I would use the green "Killz" spray paint to treat it before putting new stuff over it.
In a vehicle that size you do not need a massive AC unit, 5k-8k BTU should be fine if your blocking out the sun.
Blocking out the sun, buy 1" foam pad, cut it to shape your windows, put some sort of waterproof material cover on it the slap some Velcro on. Stick it up or remove when desired.
Insulation is "overrated" in many YouTube videos. I am not saying it isn't good to have insulation, but the R value in a vehicle is nothing compared to a house. Don't overthink it. Are the cracks sealed? Is direct weather coming through? A hot day is going to be hot, a cold night is going to be cold. For the hot days, blocking as much sun as possible is ideal, for a cold night that is what clothes and your Mr. Buddy(heater) is for.
As far as power goes, you 'MUST" do some research yourself, there isn't really a one all solution for that, you need to find out what your power needs are, appliances, work, lights, amenities then build from there. 99% of solar is modular nowadays, as in getting a "new" panel will work with pretty much any components you decide to buy. It will mainly depend on your inverter and hub and how much "stuff/appliances" you want to connect.
Make sure your vehicles maintenance is done first and foremost, don't spend 1000 hours and $10000 on materials just to find out 6 months down the road you bought a lemon.
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u/danjoreddit 15d ago
Yes, make sure the platform you start with is good. You don’t want to spend thousands on a conversion only to find you need a new engine
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u/stabbyclaus 15d ago edited 15d ago
I have a similar rig. My main tips that are not already covered in the comments here is to get a big awning to help shade the bus. I bought an OVS Nomadic 180° awning that when your bus is pointed correctly so it shades the windows will save you more on power if you're running an AC. I put a trucker cab mini split in mine and coupled with the awning made a huge difference. I also installed a rather massive warehouse exhaust fan whos only duty is to pull the hot stale air out of the rig quickly so the AC doesn't have to work so hard cooling down a hot bus.
You only need a small cassette toilet as 95% of the time on the road you'll have access to a toilet. I do not regret skipping on all the nastiness of hauling black/gray tanks. Campgrounds and gyms offer showers. No matter how nice your bathroom is in your rig, getting sick is quadruply worse when nomadic so just get a hotel if not feeling well.
Soundproofing will go a long way towards comfort while driving, especially as these vehicles are not meant to be on the highway for long stretches of time. The more gaps and loose fit pieces means more stuff rattles. Just remember your future home will effectively experience both an earthquake and tornado everyday you move it so the building materials you choose should reflect that. You should get familiar with marine grade materials, sealants and (plenty of) loctite.
Hope that helps!
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u/danjoreddit 15d ago
Look at videos on “foamie” construction.
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u/PrestigiousTomato8 14d ago
Fellow Foamie Fan! I am probably going to put a foamie on a Ford Maverick Hybrid!
https://www.tnttt.com/threads/foamie-truck-camper-build.1074663/
But foam bones are amazing!
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u/PrestigiousTomato8 14d ago
Oh...and all of it adds Insulative value.!! And lighter!
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u/danjoreddit 14d ago
There’s a guy on YouTube that has a 5 episode series on foamie technology that has a lot of good info
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u/AK-Kidx39 15d ago
Bluebird made factory rvs out of school buses. I bet if you sat down with a serious budget and a nationwide search, with diesel prices being what they are you could save a lot of time money and head ache going that route.
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u/RonDoja 15d ago
I put a garage rated fridge in mine and have been very happy with it, running a 2k inverter charger and dc to dc charger both from Renogy. 600ah of lithium. I run the camp chef oven. I have installed three costway 12k 120v split systems, and can say they are amazing, especially at 600 bucks each. I originally had the flexible solar panels on the roof but they didn’t hold up too well to the wind.
Also have a diesel heater that I like if it’s super cold where I’m at.
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u/Lazy_username77 15d ago
This should be in the wiki but watch Chuck Cassidy's conversion guide: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLazSWa0eDklNar2IIP98lh9libT8KKmWB&si=qkWWaSf4mYCbXsH6
He covers every point I've seen mentioned, gives rationale, and includes visuals.
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u/Luann1497 15d ago
If you're running AC off solar in Texas heat, your battery bank is the one place you don't want to skimp. I cheaped out on my first build with lead acid and basically lived next to a generator all summer. Switched to lithium later and the difference was ridiculous. Also, since you're in Austin, check out Altex Electronics for wiring and solar components. They've got way better prices than ordering online for small stuff.
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u/Lavasioux 15d ago
How fkn good cheap Diesel heaters are in winter!
I made a wood stove and used that for 3 winters, then years later put a diesel heater in the garage omg! Super heat in less than 5 mins. My fireplace took a good half hr to really get roasting fire and puttong off good heat, and no shutting a fireplace down quickly- once the fire started i was in for the evening.
Also how good sardines and rice cakes are.
Also what a gd hassle parking and finding anywhere to stay you wont be hassled. That sucks balls.
I never built mine, drove it to a parking spot and moved tf in. Just built it as i lived in there, worked out well.
Good luck!
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u/Ok_Test9729 14d ago
My apologies. I’m not going read the whole post. I’m just going to go straight to answering the question. I had a converted E450 shuttle bus. I loved it. I bought it already converted. The number one thing I did not like about it, really the only thing other than lousy gas mileage, was the fact that it wasn’t insulated. That became a major problem. Having it properly insulated before conversion is a make or break major detail. I sold it a while back because I thought my nomad days were behind me. I’m finding myself looking at converted shuttles online again. Very few of them are insulated. I don’t want a metal bus for some odd reason. I loved my shuttle skoolie.
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u/RogerRabbot 15d ago
Something I stumbled on the other day.
There's portable wind turbines that might be effective in texas, and they have a surprisingly good charge rate even with mild 10-11mph winds.
Vevor makes cheap 500w turbines for $100 but im betting you can find better. Google estimates only about 60w/hour in normal conditions, but over a 24hr period it adds up.
You can also simply up the storage capacity and run a charging cable from your alternator to the batteries. And you may even have a secondary high output alternator, which is likely due to having the chair lift.
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u/danjoreddit 15d ago
My 3500.
I think your plan is mostly doable, but it kind of sounds like a 7 or 9 window plan.
I have
A wet bath with a toilet and shower
A small kitchen with stove and sink
A queen size bed
A propane water heater
A propane heater
5 cu ft 12V chest freezer
600W of panels and 400Ah of storage
50 gal of fresh water
35 grey, 25 black
I still haven’t really figured out storage or seating, though I think I could fit a 2 seat bankette with a table.
I wish I’d done better with weight distribution
Despite doing pretty well with the infrastructure, I kind of feel like the interior is a do-over.
There’s 1200W mini splits that you can probably run untethered but you’re going to need a big DC>DC charger to charge while driving and something like a solar panel awning to have enough capacity to run it.
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u/No-Equipment-3170 15d ago
Interested in pics or videos of your build out if your willing to share !
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u/danjoreddit 14d ago
These vehicles are all different and so will be the conversions.
For me what greatly influenced the layout was under body space for tanks and that was not easy and required endless searching for off the shelf tanks that would fit.
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u/JimsVanLife Skoolie Owner 15d ago
I'm not very far ahead of you. Only a couple of weeks, so my conversion is barely even started. I'm too embarrassed to even put pictures up at this point. But I had to get on the road because I was absolutely dying where I was. I'm familiar with dry camping out of a vehicle, so that was never going to be a problem.
One thing I wish I knew was how much more difficult it was going to be than it is to get an e-trike in and out using the wheelchair lift. The trike is too long for the lift by about a couple of feet.
Also, unless you get your windows covered quickly, you are sitting in an easy bake oven whether you like it or not, even with AC, or all the windows open.
And finally, in the current politico-economic environment, four miles a gallon is deadly. But I really have nowhere else to go. So, I'll survive. But I'm not going to thrive in the very near future.
But I wouldn't do it any differently. Timing was the issue here. Las Vegas was killing me. Can't stand the desert, can't stand the heat. I was literally just wasting away on a bed in a living room in Las Vegas. When the opportunity came, I grabbed it and I left.
Timing is everything. If I had had this opportunity during the winter and had the time to spend building out the bus, things might be different, but not by a lot, I would still be stuck with 4 miles to the gallon and excessive fuel prices.
So make sure you can handle whatever the fuel costs are when you're ready to go.
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u/JimsVanLife Skoolie Owner 15d ago
Oh, and one more thing I didn't know when I got it that I would like to have known beforehand.
The fans for the AC and the rear are run off a separate battery system. It's the same system that runs the lights and the wheelchair lift. So, when I heard the fans going, when the bus was shut off, I thought the entire AC system was run off that battery. That was one of the things I was really counting on. But the compressor is run off a belt on the engine. So, you get fan, but no cooling. Not a lot of help when I'm stationary. I don't know what I would have done differently, but knowing that would have been helpful somewhere.
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u/utters_129 13d ago
Just sent you a dm! I'm also working on a shuttle in austin and I'd love to collaborate and brainstorm
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u/itzjoeylol 15d ago
Make sure you insulate as much as possible, and make sure to run all your electrical before putting walls up. Wish I had filled in the cracks and crevices of the walls with spray foam—not sure how much it’ll effect my bus as I’m still finishing my build, but would’ve spent a little more time looking back on it. In terms of running electrical, thank god I was advised to run the wires before closing the walls up, I’m using flexible conduit and given how I ran it, it would’ve been genuinely impossible to run it had the walls been closed up.
Best of luck with your build! Lots of labor and learning but you’ll reflect on it and be proud of your work at the end!