The world of recreational vehicles is extremely diverse, from million-dollar penthouses on wheels to tiny trailers that barely fit two people and cost a fraction of the luxury behemoths that offer every amenity imaginable.
But there’s also everything in between the two categories, and the video embedded at the top of this article shows a build that should fit perfectly in the middle.
The 20-minute production, which was published by the YouTuber known as President Chay, shows how he (together with his brother and father) managed to transform an old, ratty school bus into a pretty well-appointed RV as part of a rather ambitious do-it-yourself project.
Chay bought the 1991 Ford bus from a collector who trades on Facebook Marketplace and it didn’t really look that great. On the outside it had a dent from a tree and the inside was a sticky, termite-infested mess. But as he points out in the video, the engine and transmission were good, so he went with it.
The first step was to strip out the inside, which resulted in a clean, rust-free base for everything that was to come next: insulating foam, floorboards, walls, a full-size bathroom, and a kitchen, among other things. But as you’ll see for yourself, mistakes were made along the way, which is not that uncommon in the DIY world.
When painting the ceiling, they used the wrong paint, so they had to take everything out and then they discovered that the roof was leaking. Another problem was that they needed to rip out some of the drywall that they glued in place because they had to route the copper tubes for the air conditioning system. And this wasn’t even the biggest issue they faced, but I’ll let you discover for yourself in the video.
In the end, after six whole months of working on the old school bus, their work paid off because the DIY RV looks really nice! With a king-size bed, a sort of living room area, kitchen, bathroom, air conditioning, and an externally-mounted generator, the vehicle has everything an outdoors enthusiast would ever need.
But what do you think: should they have done anything differently? Let us know in the comments section below.
