Converting a New School Bus | Starting the Process

Gutting the school bus and beginning the process of converting a school bus into my new tiny home. Taking the seats out of the bus can be hard but so satisfying. Besides taking the seats out of the school bus, the worst part of every conversion is removing the decals.
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[@navigationnowhere]

Hey, the first episode of the bus conversion! Such a good feeling to get going. Tried a longer format for the video let me know what you think !

[@gold119]

Love the longer format, it's great to see just how much work goes into each step of the conversion. So many people skip over it to get to the final look and it leaves people thinking this is so much easier than it really is. Thanks!

[@cynhanrahan4012]

It wasn't long, seemed to go faster than the 18 minutes. These are things I want to learn. Thanks!

[@navigationnowhere]

I hope to show the full process and show people it is hard work but doable 👍

[@SaturnGeminiLove]

Navigation Nowhere absolutely LOVE it!!! Thank you so much for filming this process of converting the bus. I know it can be a pain in the butt at times, but it is really appreciated ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@noniluscious13]

I will definitely watch a 2 hour epic bus conversion movie ;)

[@Kamo-king]

You’re literally doing what I’m dreaming of, a short bus would be perfect for me

[@anonymouschange287]

Your sister is so good at vlogging. I usually get motion sick when people are moving the camera but not this time

[@sandrawinter4480]

Love seeing this family time - makes the bus even more special. Oh - and singing too 😀

[@starrsy]

I was very fortunate that my brother helped on the sear removal and did the majority of the under the bus. I did some, the wheel chair rails were the worst, especially those over the storage compartments. So glad that part is behind me. 40’ Thomas flat nose.

[@doniquefraser4224]

Long format is awesome. So much details showing the nitty gritty, Can't wait to see the next steps.

[@Nonmotivated]

It's awesome being here from the beginning... and the "longer" format is great (I could watch for hours)! It's nice to see the minor hiccups as well as the accomplishments. I'm anxious to see each step of the process and it's amazing that you focused on a single task for the entirety of the video (this one is Seat Removal Day). Super excited to follow along on this project! :)

[@navigationnowhere]

Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed it. I wanted to try the longer format and see how it went.

[@TimUntethered]

Okay, well given that this is likely going to be my next nomadic platform to start with... I'm glued!

[@valeriedenise3454]

I cannot tell you how much you've helped me! And I really appreciate your kind approach to your lessons!

[@gardenboots7464]

This is invaluable - to get to see the actual process. "Hard work, but doable!" Thanks

[@lorirodgers755]

Hey, nice shortbus. I've been there with taking out the seats. I bought a church shuttle bus named Faith. She's been through a lot and I can't seem to get it done. I'm putting in the floor now. You give me inspiration and and now you are on your Navi 2. I can do this even as a senior. Thanks again and have fun.

[@d.wayneotto1094]

That is one handy Dad you have there. If he is ever has nothing to do and finds himself bored - send him my way! 💪👍

[@martysanders869]

Interesting to see how you got the seats out. Love you videos.

[@susancurrie9246]

You all are too funny working together. 😂😂

[@garageworksongsawesomeness7002]

Thanks to this video i want to convert a bus. Have not done it since my dad and i did so over 20 years ago

[@kellydclear]

Your dad seems awesome!

[@michael2074]

NICE. Good going you amd your dad rock

[@needtoknowchannel1007]

Thanks Mike for sharing.

[@marybaumgardner260]

What a Great Sis. And Pop !!!

[@Potatos1n1crisps]

Another bus another adventure

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

Your sister is adorable. I wish I had family to build with.

[@GypsyFireDance]

You and your family are so adorably cute together. What a blessing you have. And you trying to talk over your dads drilling 😂😂😂😂😂

[@iambeeman1]

What makes the seat bolts easier is, get a big impact (1000 ftlbs) and tighten them till they break. You can generally do it by yourself.

[@jwestfalldavis3574]

Your dad rocks!

[@JKCooke]

Taking seats out is always a big pain. My current extended E250 van I had to use impact gun, Sawzall & torch to get everything out !

[@meganjohnson44]

hey I don't comment a lot, but I love your dad!!!

[@a.mstree]

Dude... this is great! You are one step ahead of me... waiting for the ice storm to pass here in upstate NY so I can pick up my short bus. Seats first... ugh! Thanks for the preview of what I’m up against! Lol

[@navigationnowhere]

I know this ice storm is not fun. Best of luck.

[@tinysmisadventures3051]

Your dad and sister have great personalities. Y'all are fun to watch. Can you come to Pahrump and help me take my seats out?🤣🤣

[@Metis1971]

Aww, watching you and your father reminds me of my late dad. He would have ended up under the bus, too. 😂

[@mustacheonthemove4270]

DUDE!!! this is so awesome!

[@rajarose746]

I’m hopping you can make this a very informative series showing us everything that goes into converting so the beginners can understand all the electrical plumbing so and so on keep up the good work

[@nicolec1400]

So excited I get to watch the conversion as it’s done. My husband and I want to convert a bus this year so I’m taking notes. I Can’t wait to see what you do with it. We love Navi and plan on using it as inspo for ours. :))

[@cenedraleaheldra5275]

Kristine your learning so many skills you will be building your own bus/van in the future. You can then say Hey Michael.. Remember when I helped you....Your turn to help me

[@samuelchambers4036]

Congrats on the new bus. I've been really busy and had to catch up on your last few videos. Me and my sister from another mother lol have been researching converting either a bus or schoolie for the longest time. We are waiting to start the process until after we or I finish massage therapy school. Technically I'm a semester ahead of her lol. After we graduate we plan to take massage therapy on the road. Biggest challenge with the conversion that we've noticed we are likely to come across besides building it for two to sleep separately that both snore lol is that our profession will not so much require but it is preferable to have more amenities like a washer dryer combo. We plan to incorporate natural remedies into our traveling business. If you're still working conversions in 2 years I'd love to have your expertise in this complicated endeavor

[@xavierpendrag0n]

Good stuff. Only other thing would be that impact being a true 1/2 drive Milwaukee. They are high, but well worth it. It might not be a useable bolt and nut afterward, but it is coming off. I have broken and or snapped grade 8 bolts with mine, all the time. Invaluable for my shop. We control the power with torque sticks from Harbor Freight.

[@EditorEssentials]

I love these new build videos Mike! My girlfriend and I are working on a very similar bus we started our build process a couple weeks ago and are basically in the same stages you are right now I have followed your adventures in the big bus and I am excited to see what you will do with this one!

[@trail.squatch]

The other thing that works well is a decal remover you can attach to a drill. It’s like a giant eraser. 👍👌

[@navigationnowhere]

love those things, wish i had one on hand

[@shadowsvloglife2327]

Great idea to use a bus

[@paulnubreu6887]

Love your Dad and sister. You are just okay. :-)

[@kadeclark]

Loved the detail in this video, man. Thanks for posting!

[@TylerAnsley]

I could literally watch someone peel letters all day! #satisfying

[@GrandWolf5]

Hi, I really like what you did with Navi, I think it was an awesome layout and I wanna do something similar one day. I’m really excited to see what you do with this new bus! Since I’m interested in going this same way and I have a friend who’s interested too, would you mind sharing a little bit about the cost of doing your conversion? Thank you, I’ll be following along with your build!

[@navigationnowhere]

The big bus cost me around 35k in materials. That’s including the bus. You could do it for less, I build more of a full time all out home. Rather than a just travel rig.

[@nataliecollins1166]

Great channel! The hubs and I have enjoyed all your videos, so thank you! We converted a short one in 2018. One tip: A heat gun works eventually on the stickers, BUT we invested in a Decal Remover Eraser Wheel. It was $10.65 from Whizzy Wheel on Amazon. No joke, it was amazing! It removed adhesive and all from everything inside and outside the bus. It went fairly quickly so I ordered more than one but didn't spend even close to the $70 heat gun. I will never use a heat gun again for an application like that. I can post a link to the exact one we used if you want. I just don't want to hijack your feed here. Let me know if it's okay and I will get it posted.

[@navigationnowhere]

I have used the eraser wheels a lot. They are great, I didn’t have time to wait for a shipment and the heat gun worked out good for this project. I use the heat guns a lot for various projects so the investment for me was well worth it haha. But, yeah one time use... not worth it.

[@joeblackwolf17]

You are one VERY cool and awesome brother. Amazing videos! Loved ur video on jersey channel and came to check ur vids. Amazing channel! And amazing bus/ wow

[@You2datube]

I want to do the same thing, and am currently doing as much research into it as I can. If you decide to replace the door for better insulation and/ or plan on removing the lever (if it’s mechanical) that opens the door I would love to see how and what you do.

[@navigationnowhere]

I have been thinking about that. Not sure if I will or not.

[@gwenerikson7356]

♥️...I will be watching all of your build ...entertaining 🤗

[@DestinationDalmatian]

Come help me with my new bus lol frustrations really kicking in

[@jeffsadon552]

I see that you didn't chock the wheels when you had on the jacks I'm glad that it didn't roll back on you

[@navigationnowhere]

The one wheel was actually chocked and it also had two jack stands on the frame.

[@mvargas2186]

Really enjoying this conversion. Where is the best place to search for short school buses

[@ronjclm8590]

Love your videos. But. a 1/4 inch impact is for smaller screws and bolts. 3/8 impact for medium size an 1/2 impact for the tough rusty nuts. They also make plastic scrapers. heat the stickers and scrape them with the plastic scrapers.(don't ment the scraper with the heat gun.

[@Bipolar_Bear7774]

With right tool save time. Should use angle grinder with those chair.

[@BlackRVer]

The Orange Goop from Amazon works best on the stickers residue

[@navigationnowhere]

Thanks for the suggestion, have not used that.

[@thomasarezzo558]

Just as I was typing 'Dude, use a breaker bar.' You pulled out the breaker bar.

[@david2284180]

have you tried the "gator grip" socket?

[@etherealtalion]

Man, these videos are inspiring. The format is perfect! Hope the rest of this project is filmed this way even though it seems like a bitch, haha. I could learn a lot from this.

[@navigationnowhere]

The filming will slow down the progress a little but, its apart of the journey and fun. So, hope so!

[@Aaron-P]

Have you ever tried those vinyl eraser wheels? Never have myself, but have seen other builds get good results with them. Looking forward to this new build! 😎👍

[@navigationnowhere]

I have! They are great, I just didn’t have the time to order one and get them off.

[@herefishyfishy6907]

PB Blaster on the bolts will save your ass.

[@bobw9297]

i feel your pain ,,, have fun yet

[@ravenelloie9115]

What did you use to get the bolts out of the seats?

[@ESMHACKER8]

You should name this bus Minda, if you are naming them after guides from the Legend of Zelda

[@johnbeckman8916]

8:42 _ I just took 2 ibuprofen after watching you do that, you'll thank me tomorrow. 😃

[@Nonchalant213]

Impacted drill and walkie talkie

[@JaniceLalla]

Use as much time as you need to tell the story!

[@johnquinn348]

WD 40 man!! Lol nice job

[@markwilson8118]

How long is the inside of the bus for living space ?? I would help you if I was over there

[@navigationnowhere]

15. If your interested, the previous video to this on my feed is a detailed tour of the bus.

[@markwilson8118]

@@navigationnowhere I watch all your videos. . I couldn't remember the inside living space size or if you mentioned it

[@Nivasi]

in reality how long did it take to get all of the seats out in hours or days?

[@navigationnowhere]

In total an afternoon but I think the weather has a bit to do with that.

[@andreawisner7358]

How many miles per gallon is it going to save you moving from a big bus to a short bus?

[@navigationnowhere]

Have not fully tested it yet to get a number but on would imagine and increase of 4ish

[@andreawisner7358]

It adds up!

[@lulolancy]

How much did the bus cost?

[@allmomomosthomebus3895]

It would be great if Lowes or Home Depot had a part of the lot where you could park a skoolie for the whole conversion. Would save tons of time running for stuff. Oh, and my rusty seat bolts laugh at yours. Well they would laugh, but I murdered them all with a cutoff wheel. It was good fun... NOT!

[@markwilson8118]

Are you still home ?? If so how can I contact you about a bus ?

[@TheWarrrenator]

@9:56 Why didn’t you do that in the first place?

[@navigationnowhere]

Not every location is able to get the impact on it.

[@TheWarrrenator]

Navigation Nowhere oh ok.

[@jamesb.492]

To loosen screws. Just spray WD40 wait a few minutes ... et voila.

[@illbeyourstumbleine]

Also not sure if you have any extra seatbelts but if so I can send you a message on IG with a self addressed postage for return.

[@beachlife1411]

I just sub y all , whare you guys at , like what state , watching from seaside oregon

[@robertjackson4121]

Simple wakitalkI $30 and and creepe$ 30 and ramps $30 and $40 for floor jack. Basic RYOBI CORDLESS TOOL SET $250. THEN MECHANIC TOOL SET $200 AND BASIC SERVICE PARTS $500. SO $1200 NOT INCLUDING BASIC CARPENTRY PLUMBING ELECTRICAL TOOL SET $ 500-1000. ... WOULD HELP TO BUY A CARGO TRAILER TO STORE MATERIAL AND TOOLS .

[@stevenwood7131]

why are you building a new bus? Are you not happy with the green long bus?

[@navigationnowhere]

I posted a video titled “moving out” explaining all of that 👍

[@bootmender]

Why not paint it and use a cutting torch on the seats?? 🤷‍♂️ you can still read it?? 🤷‍♂️

[@navigationnowhere]

Ill be sanding and painting the bus in the near future. In terms of my state, it just needs to be "no longer labeled as a school bus" which simply means taking the decals off. Yeah, seem silly since its still visible. But, it wont be once i sand and paint.

[@glennroach3337]

A shot of WD40

[@themightykabool]

Ear plugs

[@RandoCommando]

Less talk, more work. Jeesh you talk a lot. LOL

[@RandoCommando]

13 minutes before seat 2 came out, and in that time, I only seen you take two bolts out.

[@navigationnowhere]

I don’t work much. What can I say 😂. I can’t please everyone. Thanks for watching. ✌️

[@RandoCommando]

@@navigationnowhere It's not necessarily a bad thing. ;-) Looking forward to the rest of the build.

[@navigationnowhere]

Haha. Working on the engine right now. Lets just say oh boy.

[@RandoCommando]

@@navigationnowhere That bus looked to be in great shape. What's wrong with the engine?

[@ginabrytowski3564]

Honestly I'm so excited about this series! Love the longer format. Me, my step father, and my mom removed the seats in my bus together. I didn't film it because I have no desire to have a KZbin but watching this I wish I had. It would have been awesome to have as a memory. Trust me when I tell you it was a comical affair lol can't wait for the next video! Thanks for sharing the build with all of us

[@illbeyourstumbleine]

Got 2 commercials during this, made me super proud of ya. Also we've had our bus since March. Why do I just know you're gonna be done with yours before we are and it's going to look 20x better😂

[@scdobserver835]

Great team work! Can't wait to see the finished mini Navi!

[@navigationnowhere]

Me neither 😳 haha. It’s going to be fun

[@Ozzypup1]

Tools are the one thing I can get away with buying without the wife wanting to possibly say anything. But I do pretty much all the work on my own cars. So in the long run it saves me a lot of money.

[@navigationnowhere]

True, it can save you hours to have the right tool vs the wrong tool.

[@Badgeweefixstuff]

Well that went pretty painless lol brake clean yeah baby 👍👍awesome video 🇨🇦🛠🇨🇦

[@xavierpendrag0n]

Brake cleaner is like water to a mechanic. It goes good on just about anything.

[@kaartehan]

Great video Mike. 👌Just watched my last video for 2019. Happy New Year Everyone! Stay Happy!

[@navigationnowhere]

2020 ✌️ happy new year

[@bobg8309]

Nice Vid

[@j.s.lacher5710]

Since your father is happy to help you, does this make him a Feliz Navi-dad? Subscribed... Looking forward to watch the progress as I will be doing this in 2 years!

[@katgillang]

Vinyl removal... in the south (especially in summer) you can literally just tape black plastic bags over the vinyl and let the sun warm it up. fold back the plastic and peel 'em off. :)

[@WHEREVER-I-ROAM]

VICE GRIPS, CRESCENT WRENCH, BUT YOUR DAD IS DOING A GREAT JOB,

[@stevenordhauser2641]

I've pulled the seats from a number of buses in the Northeast. Some rust but they weren't rust buckets. It was so much easier to use two angle grinders inside the bus. We used a heavy wheel to start the grind at the junction of the bolt head and washer. Then we switched to a cutting wheel. Without doing the first wheel, it was hard to get below the bolt head reliably. On the last bus I did, the two of us did all the seats in about 3 hours.

[@sneaks01]

Great Job Mike and Dad!! I’m excited to be able to follow your new build from the start!!

[@lbrookeg94]

Longer format for sure!

[@johndeveney3878]

I know this may be a dumb question: If I were to remove the seats by myself, would the angle grinder be the best option?

[@navigationnowhere]

I would use an open ended wrench and get it hold up against the seat rail. Then it would hold itself and then you could get the other side. If you use a grinder the issue would be sparks. Shooting sparks could scare windows and makes a mess. I try to avoid it if I can. But, it’s always an option

[@TheWarrrenator]

Second!

[@redpilllense7125]

I just found your channel and I absolutely love it. I'm in Los Angeles, California. I just got back from looking at a 2006 Ford shorty school bus. It has 206K miles but in good shape all around. Seller is asking $2K for it. Honestly, I'm STOKED!!!!! Just doing my research on registration, insurance, maintenance, etc. Can you PLEASE do a video on these things I just mentioned? There are currently none on KZbin. Thx 👍

[@navigationnowhere]

I have a few in the planning about those topics but a lot has to do with state to state regulations. So you sound like your heading down the right path. Or find someone in your state that has already done it

[@thisorthat7626]

Red Pill Lense, if you would keep us informed of how you found the process, that would be amazing. I also have been thinking about a shorty and have seen some that look really nice mechanically. Changing the registration is a sticking point for me (also SoCal). Go for it and realize your dream!

[@rhemmie2825]

I'm sorry but I laughed so much when you were trying to talk and your Dad kept interrupting with the impact driver. So I just gotta ask, why were you using a battery impact driver as opposed to air tools? Your sister is so cute and funny!

[@navigationnowhere]

I am using the tools I have currently. I will be driving back west to pick up my personal tools in a few weeks. My sister is the best.

[@MotoMarvmtb]

Loved the episode, 18 mins is not bad, could have been longer, but you packed everything you needed to for this episode. I hope my seats come out as easy as yours did but my bus is a 1995 from NY soooooooo I guess I should expect rust.😤😥. Also I dont have friends in the state or relatives to help, so guess I gotta hire a helper? Uuugh 👎

[@marywolcott3383]

Go Dad!! Can't wait to see how this one turns out!!

[@pamelaraney4654]

You should use eye 👁 protection und the bus. All the money you save is spent at the eye dr. I just entered this at the exact time you say it in the video 😂

[@navigationnowhere]

Right, you just always get so into the job that you forget the most important thing !