Is A Skoolie Worth It?

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We're Joel and Emma, converting our 2006 Blue Bird All American school bus to live in with our two dogs, Samantha and Colt. Follow along as we turn this bus into our perfect Cozy Living Machine! #LennyTheBus
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[@timothydoyle5474]

The smell you was smelling was the sugar beet factory. Harvesting season started. It gets worse toward fall.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

I never would have guessed sugar beet factories would smell like that! Very strong.

[@timothydoyle5474]

@@CozyLivingMachine Oh ya 9 months out out of the year. IT is Amalgamated Sugar produces White Satin® sugar. some days good some days you can smell miles and miles away.

[@ModelAToo]

@@CozyLivingMachine My father-in-law would say, "Smells like money!"

[@KipperKushman]

@@ModelAToo That's what we say about chicken houses!!

[@BrianAz]

All that matters is that you guys are happy. I guess I am just getting old as the ups and downs would be just too much for me these days, but you youngsters have the motivation and energy to keep up! I really want to see Lenny "finished" on the inside, whatever that looks like, before he gets put out to pasture by choice or by necessity. I think if you keep him as what Emma's dad said, "regional", then he should be able to hang in and serve you well. I'm sure you are home by the time we see this so that's good. It will give you time to settle down and do what you need to and make plans. We need to get Emma promoted to that Principal job that is in a great place a permanent. That might help stabilize you for a while and help you see farther into you future! Keep up the great work.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

It takes a bit of motivation, that's for sure, but it's much easier when it's something you're excited to do vs something you feel like you have to do! And we're getting pretty close to having him about buttoned up, just a few more projects here and there! Agreed, she needs that principal role! We haven't mentioned that, good reminder...

[@steveegbert3554]

Hope you get the engine fixed. We had a Cat engine problem at work and got it fixed and has been reliable for many years. We have a 1996 Chevy Blue Bird and a 2003 GMC Blue Bird. But they both are not houses we use them on the farm every week.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

We plan to have it fixed for sure. That's what everyone says, that they might have a hiccup or two, but they're strong running motors! If Lenny was on a farm I likely wouldn't even worry about it, these issues likely wouldn't be very noticeable at all!

[@FatPandaFrank]

Welcome back to the west coast. Loving your Hawaiian shirt paired with Emma’s dress. Lookin’ good! I’ve got some of my own Hawaiian shirts on order. 😂

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Thanks!! And isn't it cute how we accidentally coordinate our fits? 🤣

[@georges4562]

Good morning guys ! I love Lenny, he’s in good hands ! Great review 👍👍👍👍👍

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Thank you!!

[@AriaThereYet]

Beautiful scenery! I still love Emma's dress, and the side braids are super cute! ❤ I am enjoying your Hawaiian shirts, too, and actually got Big Daddy Dave to buy one on vacation! 😅 Of course, he picked blue with blue palm trees! #signaturecolor LOL! You guys will get Lenny's engine issues worked out, and you will have zero regrets with your decision to do the conversion just the way you want it. I have faith in it! #buslife #winning #freedom

[@CozyLivingMachine]

I'm just now seeing this, late to the party!! Well, thank you! I never seem to get any compliments on my hair though... 🙄 He has great taste, I see! These shirts are just comfortable, fun, and it feels like being a walking party, 24/7. Living my best summer life lol

[@Winter-zv1dv]

I just want to throw in that I also absolutely love Joel’s style. His repertoire of shirts is amazing and he just looks so chill in them and the sunglasses. Massive intellect (on the both of you) also helps with the awesome style.

[@stevelange819]

After decades of not being stung by anything, I was stung twice on same bare leg in 15 seconds by wasps. They were very painful until treated. Apparently Phoenix has a wasp issue this year with more than average complaints/notifications being reported. Good informational content on buses and the pro and con assessment on skoolies, Lenny in particular. I'm sure there's more to come. Everything in most of our lives is a combination of compromises and the outcomes of our own decisions. You already sense the CAT7 has been affected by the new boots and the replaced air to air cooler. Really would have been nice if it had been more convenient to remove the bed blockage to the overhead access to #6 injector, replace it, and see how Lenny performed on the open highway. I don't think there's any question you'll nurse Lenny along until you can actually make arrangements to have the CAT7 repaired and completely reliable and highway ready. Hopefully with you doing the wrenching, with maybe the help of a mentor or a paid knowledgeable assistant. It would so great to locate a retired diesel mechanic (school system fleet retiree) that wanted to still work on these machines, just not under the daily employment environment that he/she finally retired from. Lenny is way too valuable and useful as a home as you used him and Balea. And there's little doubt in my mind that a solid, competently manufactured tow-able won't be the RV in those future getaways. The tow vehicle may offer sizeable overhead space for solar panels with cable feeding the tow. Lenny may be "homebase" residence for years.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

OUCH! What do they do for treatment, typically? I was told that ice helps and to stop being a weenie! And agreed, I would love to see if the injector made a difference, though I actually suspect now that maybe that isn't quite the case after all. More to come! I've been wondering about a school bus mechanic, maybe a retiree who's bored and could use some extra change!

[@Lori514]

Great info video! I’m still a big fan of Lenny - maybe he needs his own fan club. 🤔 Long Live Lenny 🚌 Hi Sammie & Colt 🐾🐾 🐹🚙

[@PetrichorXFi]

Thanks for sharing your MPG. I've often been curious what MPG these get. Also thanks for mentioning that it is diesel

[@CozyLivingMachine]

No problem!

[@RamblinRoadies]

The tweekers do seem to prefer old Winnebagos.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

I'd guess cost and availability, at least in the Seattle area!

[@dmpath]

I've heard that the smell out there is from the Simplot company on the west side of town.

[@bobkent2334]

When a bee stings, it releases a chemical in the air which causes other bees in the area to sting the same victim.

[@SeanBMT]

Are you guys coming to Canada?!? It would be great to meet up if you did! Treat you to dinner! All of your complaints about the school bus are all the things I thought you would complain about and some of the reasons I wouldn’t go with a school bus conversion, although, still really neat and something uniquely yours.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Stay tuned!! And yep, agreed. Some things that ended up mattering a bit more than we expected, for sure. If we didn't travel such distances, it wouldn't matter so much, but definitely worth reflecting on!

[@jeromehebert3184]

Man, you may have to consider renting a house again for at least a month so that you can park Lenny and work on that engine if you can't find someone's land to park on.

[@GypsyBewytched]

Gee, I'm excited to hear what your future travel home might be. Comfort in travel is SO important. And finding out what you would do differently in the next build. I have a notebook of the needs, wants, what is efficient or not, what works for me and the cats, as I realize them since actually living in my wheel estate. Even though I am EXTREMELY attached to my first one, it has been worth it to see all the changes that need to be made to made my forever travel home. So looking forward to what is coming for you! And I swear in one of your vids you mentioned going to a dump station? did I miss on where you did the plumbing? And with things on your mind, are you still converting to 48 volt system? (I have been stunned at the amount of choices and still haven't decided on brand of 48v system.....!!)

[@CozyLivingMachine]

It's a whole thing where we constantly learn and improve and change. Whenever we've decided to get a rig, we think it's perfect, just a few things that aren't ideal, but eventually those suboptimal trade-offs either become a big thing or things just aren't in the right spot and the flow isn't good, you're missing something you didn't think consider initially... At the end of the day, I love adapting and learning and trying out new things all the time. Having two similar enough rigs though, that's fantastic! Both with some of the best bones you can have, that's just awesome. One to live in and one to improve slowly but surely! No plumbing yet, but we use the dump station for our composting toilet still! The liquids, at least. And we plan to go 48V at some point, I'm thinking Redodo just because of the value of their batteries and not wanting to DIY batteries at this point still!

[@Technocrat.]

Maybe it's the composting toilet and them mega burgers you 2 passed! 😂 Schoolie is worth it if you can do it cheaper than a Diesel Class A RV.

[@CozyLivingMachine]

GROSS. lol and definitely cheaper than any diesel class A motorhome, that's for sure.

[@dirtyburd71]

Great trip vids! That drive along the Columbia River looked familiar, I just made the drive a couple of months ago although it was at night and heading east! Looking forward to getting our bus done. Our first MAJOR trip will be to the skagit valley to be with the kids and grandkids (we're coming from New Mexico.) The route will be along where you just drove, not over the pass from Ellensburg, LOL! Happy travels my friends!! BTT, our 2003 All American has a cat engine also but it's the 3126 with the Allison trans. 😊

[@CozyLivingMachine]

That's a great trip to make to the Skagit Valley, especially in the spring time!! I've heard great things about the CAT 3126, that's awesome! Happy travels!!

[@Defianthuman]

How did you find your bus and purchase it? If I ever get to the van life dream(RV life) I would love to have a bus like this. 15:42 some people get a double seat where the driver seat is, that also folds away. Then both people can have a proper seat and see everything. 25:31 I have seen a few class A motor-homes where the bed is just built on a hinged plywood platform. Not good for sound insulation but access to the top of the engine is just a flip away. Safe travels!

[@CozyLivingMachine]

We got ours from a local dealership, nwbus.com. Prior to this, we found on OfferUp a lady who was selling a bunch of buses, all in various condition as well, a little more affordable though nobody to really ask the deep questions to. Knowledge is money!

[@r8edrv4fun65]

My old 20-foot Class C got 8 to 8 miles per gallon.

[@dogzillamonster]

Any chance of getting Bailey back? 😂

[@CozyLivingMachine]

You know, it was sure pretty, but there isn't a single thing I miss about that dang motorhome. The ride quality was a little better on smaller bumps, but way worse in turns (by FAR!), it was much louder all of the time (though I do love the sound of any engine), and our floor wasn't properly secured to the frame, certainly not an issue we're remotely concerned with here! For all the money it was costing us monthly, I'll certainly pass. But you could pick up your own Balae, our salesman was pretty dang good.

[@MichealSinclair-sp5iz]

Do either one of you smoke

[@CozyLivingMachine]

Neither of us do!