School Bus Conversion Floor Plan: Simple Tutorial to Design Your Own Skoolie!

We always get a lot of questions about how we designed our school bus layout- so we thought we would do a quick, super basic Google Sketchup tutorial for those of you looking to design your own tiny space!
Google Sketchup is a FREE program. There is a paid version with expanded features, but even just the free program is incredibly powerful. Want to download Sketchup to design your own skoolie?
Download it here! www.sketchup.com/products/ske...
This is in Version 17.1.173
I'm no expert in Google Sketchup, but wanted to share what I've learned while using Sketchup and describe how easy it really is.
The uses for sketchup are nearly unlimited. Its a great piece of software that allows you to design almost anything! From Airstream renovations, tiny homes, RV remodels, cabins, vans, yurts, etc!
This is our 3rd Sketchup iteration of our Skoolie. If you want to see the first two, check them out below.
• New Skoolie Floor Plan!
• Planning the Floor Lay...
Bus Specs/ FAQs:
The bus exterior is 31 feet long
The living space is 24 ft 10 in (up to engine cover)
The interior width is 7 ft 7in
Less than 200 square feet of living space
The tallest height inside is 6ft 6in
I hope this helps you if you're intimidated by the program! If you make a design in Sketchup, we'd love to see it! Tag us on instagram or send us a link!
Please let me know if you have questions, I would be happy to make a more detailed tutorial if you guys are interested.
_______________________
www.RollingVistas.com
#skoolie #tinyhouse #schoolbusconversion

[@HaydenNightingale124]

You do a better job at explaining this then the SketchUp virtual tour :D

[@sarahjanef8698]

You guys have THE BEST tutorials/videos for people like me planning/converting their skoolies. Seriously! Thank you so much!!!! ❤️

[@genephipps6421]

Oh before I forget. The 3D warehouse also has some pretty nice school bus models which may make it a bit easier. Just type school bus into the search box.

[@millerfam766]

I was wondering! That's very helpful.

[@ThePracticalProgressive]

@Jackal Prints I'm finding the same issue, Sketchup Free has been really crippled since Google bought it unfortunately. Pretty typical... :(

[@loveandro6074]

Omg. This got me so excited about planning, abs I needed that. I am still in the process of saving and looking for a bus and I feel overwhelmed by the hard work ahead. But once I have my bus, designing will be something to look forward to with tools like this. :) Thank you!!

[@hoodie_kid_kiwi6363]

I love how y'all offer you're welcome information for free. If anybody deserves to be a sponsored KZbin channel, it's y'all.

[@TheStudentArchitect]

Hey this is a great tutorial! If you didn't already know, using keyboard shortcuts and layers can make your experience sooo much better and help you work a lot faster. Shortcuts can help you with switching between tools and views, creating groups/components, etc. Using layers allows you to place walls, floors, windows, roofs, etc. on their own layers so you can switch them on and off so they're not in your way while working. Hope this helps! Thanks for sharing your process :)

[@theresahartman7465]

Do a video, Student Architect! I’ll watch it!

[@TheStudentArchitect]

Hi@@theresahartman7465! I have a couple of Sketchup tutorials on my channel but I'm also in the process of creating an online course for How to Build a Tiny House in Sketchup. I know it can be hard to learn how the pieces of a house come together on top of learning to use a program like Sketchup when you're jumping around from one tutorial to the next. So, I've decided to make a thoughtful, methodical course laying out my entire process and sharing all of my best tips! If you're interested feel free to check out my course outline on my website which you can get to from my channel. (I don't like sending direct links on other people's videos out of respect). I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

[@freedomdove]

Omg, that was *so* helpful. Thank you so much for that information. I guess I'm one of the few who didn't know this software was available for free. Lol.

[@dcummings7253]

Wow that was an awesome tutorial you made it so easy I will definitely be downloading it. And you bus is coming along nicely.

[@sambulate]

I downloaded Sketchup a good while ago, but until recently, I hadn't had the patience to learn it, and I didn't have a proper project to motivate me. I did try it out a little, though, and watched a couple of KZbin tutorials out there on how to use it. Those are great, and might appease those here who are complaining that your free tutorial wasn't complete enough. But it was nice to see a tutorial dedicated to designing skoolies, since I've found myself dead-set on a conversion. So, thank you for making the effort to put this together for us! Do you have any idea if Sketchup has a feature that will account for a skoolie's curved ceilings? Also, which version do you use?

[@theresahartman7465]

This was so helpful! Thank you! I’ve been using graph paper and pencils! (And erasers! LOTS of erasers!!)

[@waynecampsmith7885]

Wow what great information, will go over this more than a couple of times. Excellent teacher. Whenever I get to renovate whatever I get, it will be in Colorado Springs, so your Winter work was very helpful also. Thank You!! Can't wait to see the next Vid!!

[@taggertvinzant9847]

This is great! Thanks for putting this together!

[@MelaniePhoenix]

We love Sketchup. Thank you for making it so much easier to use :)

[@Mordrayso]

Great tutorial. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@SCRaetz]

GOD BLESS YOU. Seriously, thank you for uploading this tutorial.

[@efefrfrs]

Awesome!

[@ejsvoyage6941]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! Awesome!! I looked up the sketch up program from one of your other videos, but now to have you give a tutorial is more than I could have wished for. I don't have a bus yet but have all kinds of ideas floating around in my head. Maybe this will be a good way to get them out of my head and to something tangible that I can see. Love your videos, thanks again.

[@rob_boss]

So freakin helpful! Thank you!! ❤

[@lapetitemaison4219]

This is an AWESOME tool to help us Newbies figure out space and whats truly involved in designing a functional, comfortable an individual space. Thank you so much for enlightening us. Been thinking of going the Skoolie route for awhile.. Now my biggest problem will be learning to drive one, especially considering I have only had tiny cars most of my life. LOL

[@genephipps6421]

There are excellent tutorials built right into the program as well as tons of tutorials on KZbin. A few "tips" for you. When you were "pulling" out the drawers you could have entered a dimension for the first one, say 3/4" and for the second one just pulled it out and then put the pointer onto the surface of the first one and it will snap to the same dimension. Another example would be when you were pulling up your water wall you could have put the pointer onto the top surface of your side wall and the water wall would snap to the same height. When you were adding your textures rather than having to rotate around and switch between the rotate tool and the bucket tool, you could double click on the item, (and sometimes even triple click) and it will select the entire structure, (like your dresser) then drop the texture and it will apply it to the entire dresser all at once. I am reasonably good with Sketchup if you ever need any help I am happy to help.

[@tad3900]

Finally! An easy tutorial on SketchUp. Thank you!

[@gracecallowayable]

Love seeing the progression...👠🚌👠

[@chadb360]

Oh thank you so much. Can’t wait to start designing

[@JenShea]

I’ve got to save this tutorial. Wow, thank you so much!! x

[@Snakebitey77]

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed. I've known about Sketchup but this helps a ton.

[@kristy7468]

I've seen several of your vids now and u are so helpful and thoughtful also. thank u for being so awesome and sending u all good vibes and declaring u blessed!! 🍷

[@VjCClass]

Great I love it. Just what I have been looking for in order to build out my floor plan. I have been walking around my house measuring air & things looking like a pure weirdo. My kids think we're putting a skate park in the livingroom. It's been two weeks+ since I brought my bus home and I think I have what will be my final floor plan but this program I'm sure will make it all make sense. Thanks again for great information.

[@journeywiththelight5284]

This is phenomenal! Thank you!

[@isaacturnerit]

yo thank you so much for this!

[@pamcolechadwell1302]

Love this! Thank you!

[@adestefano6319]

Thank you so much!!! This is exactly what we were looking for and didn't even know it!

[@BorntobeWild.]

So informative, thank you

[@ginoferreira5193]

Wow!!!! Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing This tutorial. I can use this for designing My tiny house.

[@charlotte97838]

Excellent tutorial. I’ve always wanted a step by step on sketch up. Thank you.

[@genephipps6421]

There are excellent step by step tutorials built right into Sketchup. If you go through them in order you can have a pretty decent grasp of the program in a few hours--and it *really* is fun to use.

[@avocado3748]

This is so helpful THANK YOU!!

[@bjwieland-doucet5917]

THANK YOU!! I've been doing everything in a spiral notebook. THIS will help 100%. XOXOXO

[@JepsonMediaAu]

Great video thanks for sharing!

[@deborahfranks5]

I have been trying to figure out this program... awesome, thank you.

[@michaeltaylor5097]

This was very helpful thank you

[@davidw.7390]

Thanks for the video , very good explanation. I'm at the beginning stage of designing my schoolie and definitely will make use of this!

[@lloyd67lp]

Thank you for the tutorial. Quite helpful.

[@ejsvoyage6941]

OMG, just finished your video. This is soooo awesome. It's going to save me lots of pencils, paper and erasers. And then, the fact that you can go shopping and put the pieces right in is unbelievable. Looks like I am going to be up all night playing with sketch up. :-)

[@exogencontainment]

Excellent, thanks that was helpful!

[@melaniedavenport]

Thank you so much for this video, soooooo helpful!

[@KelseyDrummer]

You are so helpful. Thanks!

[@notthesamecc1927]

very cool program. thanks.

[@ArbitraryExploration]

This was really interesting! Thank you for sharing how this program works! :) You did awesome explaining it in an easy to understand way.

[@knottydizziedevil9425]

Thank you! I was so intimidated by these preograms and I know they would help us so much! I need to see what I'm doing. Thank you thank you

[@starrwoman1]

Love the video, this will help me with my bus interior, thanks so much, you made me a subscriber. :-)

[@RyanB_Journeys]

Thanks! This helped me so much!

[@frangourdet]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[@MultiScrappydo]

Wow, perfect! Great tool!

[@coburnlowman]

Oh by the way great work y'all have been doing and have posted. Thanks for posting as well👍😊

[@MakerMark]

Did you consider moving the entry door back so you could have a passenger seat?

[@samuelabebe1354]

OM Goodness, this is exactly what i've been looking for! Thanks for sharing, such a wonderful tutorial.....

[@samuraihippo1]

Brilliant, thank you :)

[@arthurperrea3714]

Thank you I well be trying this

[@lbh002]

Cool! Love it. Thx.

[@fredbrackely]

Awesome. I didn't even know about this software thanks!

[@redheadjarhead]

I have been searching everywhere for something like this. This is so awesome thank you so so much

[@dttechsali6864]

Thanks for this tutorial

[@DadsWoodworking]

that was tooooo cooool!! at this point it will help with my woodworking shop I'm setting up

[@japjotsingh8711]

Cool video. I am in the process of converting my blue bird 2001 40' diesel pusher and start school life. Respect from British Columbia, Canada.

[@ryanoswald1333]

Revit is a great software tool to use for something like this. That is what I use. I was fortunate enough to use it in high school and I just graduated with bachelors in architecture. All these kinds of softwares make it super easy to make your build more of a visual project and that way you can really get a feel for what it is you want and how you want it to look.

[@anntheyam4950]

This was super helpful as someone who wants to eventually buy a bus. Thank you

[@dynamicdivinereadings6520]

Thnx for the helpful video🙂

[@Duececoupe]

Awesome! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻

[@14mtaylor]

This is AWESOME. YOU are AWESOME! Nice work! I work with AutoCAD for a living but only in 2D so I am totally going to try this out. Thanks!

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...

[@cam-bo11]

Thank you!!

[@sameerkandel7139]

its really really helpful

[@PaiviProject]

Hey this was a great tutorial. I need to learn how to use this program. Thanks 👍

[@instinctualevolution8787]

Thanks so much for this video ! = )

[@theresam567]

This was beyond awesome! I don't know if I have the patience to do, but I'll try. You made it seem so easy that I might be able to do. I'm visual, so converting has been delayed because I have ideas, but just can't see them. I'm so excited by this, hope I can do. Thanks so much for sharing. 😃

[@roamsweethome4895]

I wish I'd had this video as a reference back when I was in my Skoolie design phase. It was a lot more helpful than the internal "help" program. Sadly, I got frustrated with trying to figure things out, (especially how to group an item, which I was unaware that I could even do), that I deleted the program and went back to my old method of graphing paper. I'd like to see more tutorials on this program from you, if you have the time/patience. A custom build is never truly finished, (as my car stereo system shows, it's in version 3.0 presently), and I already see where I could make some changes/improvements on my Skoolie.

[@danokitemanotoo1791]

Saved for when I start to plan a build ASA We decide on our bus size! Maybe I'll play with it beforehand. LoL

[@entheogenetic]

Proud of you! Glad you are sharing~ Thank! I'm surprised that in your description(s) you haven't listed what bus you have measured as a reference?!? Dimensions are great, but what bus are you listing dimensions of?

[@Frontline35]

I need to download this.

[@melissahankoff4034]

U're Awesome! Thanks so much for information. I really enjoy watching U2, not only share Ur ideas and knowledge but also enjoy both of Ur personalities❣. Safe and Happy trails❣❣❣

[@eggegg4822]

Wonderful idea to place beds above motor compartment which is the first area to blow up during combustion 🤣

[@LivingCoast2Coast]

Nice job on the tutorial. We are still in the decision making part of getting a bus. Maybe this fall or winter.

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

If you havn't yet, look for a bus with the International DT466 engine with an allison 5 or 6 speed transmission. The drive train is everything in a school bus. They are very reliable and get reasonable MPG. I have had all manner of diesels and some could only attain 4-6 MPG on a good day. That is just not feasible budget-wise. Research your drivetrain. Good luck!

[@QueenLuvrxoxo]

Very helpful! I'm starting to design mine now and one issue I am not able to figure out is how to make the stairs? Do you make the floor deeper in that area or what did you do?

[@denieceyannello3639]

I love this I want to by aschpolie bus for my self.im saving the money now any tips

[@adictiveadictive]

Thanks for this!! Tight vid and very useful. But, any idea why I can't edit the dimensions like you did by clicking the dimension box? I can type them in after making a rectangle but I can never click in the box. What if I wanted to edit just the width or change the whole thing later?

[@lisapresnell5822]

I am in the beginning stages of my plans to purchase a reno a skoolie. I am so grateful for all of the useful information. WHERE is the 3D Warehouse in this sketch tool? I can't seem to locate it and I am on the internet. Thanks in advance!

[@lauracaruth6755]

Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I just have a question, I'm having a hard time highlighting the measurements after I've made a rectangle (ensuring the rectangle is still grey) like you've demonstrated in the first part of the video. I noticed you are using a mac, I'm on a new acer pc. Has anyone run into this ? I've been making rectangles and trying to make them to my size of my bus but I'm not able to make the exact size this way. I would need to type in the exact measurements. Thanks!

[@oliviavieira7123]

Hi there! Thank you for the tutorial. Your layout looks more advanced than the one I am using. You did use the free version though right? Hmm. Wondering why this might be! I can't find access to the 3D warehouse from my main menu selections. Weird. Regardless, thanks for the helpful info!

[@TheVegasbud]

Sweet Thanks ! lol

[@hitlerattack9953]

I love you

[@markarauza2051]

thanks very cool i just used paper but would like to do this to so I am

[@davidcurle7381]

You guys need to understand "white balance". That opening entrance into the bus was way out. Its a simple thing to learn but makes a big difference to your clips Cheers.

[@Lee-bv3pt]

So I just tried to use it, and I guess that it has updated because the buttons are different. Can you do an updated version?

[@coburnlowman]

My lap top took a big lap off the super web cliff a good while ago. Anyway it was too slow for Sketch Up anyway. Do you know of any books with good ideas for layout ideas???? Just got home with a 1990 BlueBird Flat Face TC2000 I think the model is. Anyway a front engine. Gonna start Monday on a roof raising. Also a front insulation party. It bout nearly cooked my lower legs in a 350 mile trip home , and had to use ear plugs to handle the engine noise. But it does drive excellent. How have yall combatted the engine heat and noise issue? Or does your bus still have plenty of insulation left ? This one's doghouse (the part that lifts up) stays cool but the sheet metal part of the dash , especially down at the accelerator pedal got so hot I couldn't hold my hand on it. Fortunately I had on a thick pair of leather work boots and my feet didn't burn.

[@outsidethelines8502]

Really helpful, maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks

[@DeniseDesarden]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing. How many gallons does it take and cost to fill up on gas?

[@thomasbarlow4223]

Its a diesel.

[@yayaglass]

Can't find the answer to this...what are the height of school bus windows, the upper and lower edges? In your Dimensions vid of various sizes, it was great to get the 'living space' size, but I'd love the lower edge of the window heights for cabinet or work surface design, the upper edge and about how much height to the roof for upper cabinet designs (realizing that this slopes) and are they different heights for different length buses? Whew, that's a lot of questions, but it would be a great help for those of us who don't have a bus to measure yet, but want to get a handle on possible design options. I'm wanting one of the smaller buses, for sure. Thanks!!

[@laurakramer396]

Is this program available for use on a smart phone?

[@saramallory2621]

Great video , The sketch up seems to not be free anymore. It won't let me change the measurement

[@Thatoneninja22]

Is there a way to share sketch up files we have the same measurements

[@anathompson6688]

sorry but how do you get this? is it in the app store?