Trying to find the right Motorhome on a budget

Thanks for all the input. With my budget I am fully aware that i will not get a "tow and go" rig, so I am willing to put in the work. as far as Maint goes, regardless to what i get, a large amount of preventative maintenance will be done. as far as buses go, im not going to buy a bus that is going to need new tires unless The bus is under $2000 and has no other serious issues.

I have not completely ruled out a Pickup. I still would go Cummins, I just dont think I can get a decent one cheap enough, BUT i will look for one.

This is the best i could find locally. Its definitely a rot box, AND its got a broken Torque Converter. wants $3500


As far as buses go, I only want a Flat front "transit style", and I am
considering only getting a "bookmobile" or "mobile clinic" like below that would not require any serious exterior work.

This is a 94 8.3 Cummins BlueBird that is a mobile clinic. $4500

Grit dog wrote:
Yes your location is tough to find older vehicles that aren't cancer ridden and it would depend on the truck as to whether it was wore out or not at 150kmi.
Like many folks on here, I sense that you're up for a project, not a pull n go setup. That's fine, more power to you, it depends if you want a project or you want to hit the road.
I'll add this. You are considering this to travel yet appear to be relying on the tools, shop, discounts and knowledge at home when finding the "right" setup.
I'm thinking about when you're 1500mi away from pop's barn. Then all you have is the knowledge and whatever tools you packed with you.
Hence my reccomendations for keeping it simple in that respect. Good luck with whatever you choose.

^This and not being "cousin Eddy" pullin into the campground. If that's what you want, that's cool. Plenty of skoolies out there. But if you're young n single, you'll get more panties to drop Rollin in in a respectable pickup vs an old bluebird bus with the windows blacked out and a chimney sticking out the roof......

Yes your location is tough to find older vehicles that aren't cancer ridden and it would depend on the truck as to whether it was wore out or not at 150kmi.
Like many folks on here, I sense that you're up for a project, not a pull n go setup. That's fine, more power to you, it depends if you want a project or you want to hit the road.
I'll add this. You are considering this to travel yet appear to be relying on the tools, shop, discounts and knowledge at home when finding the "right" setup.
I'm thinking about when you're 1500mi away from pop's barn. Then all you have is the knowledge and whatever tools you packed with you.
Hence my reccomendations for keeping it simple in that respect. Good luck with whatever you choose.

I'm a retired truck technician with an ASE master cert, (just means your good at taking tests). The 5.9L is a great engine, and the bus idea I think is very viable given your budget. Even though your step father has the background that he does, and the place to work, the parts are not cheap, and turning a bus into a workable RV is a tremendous amount of work, but can be done. Just start off by pricing a set of tires for that bus, cost of parts for full service of the engine and transmission, then consider all the sheet metal work you are going to need to do on that bus to make it look right. That is before you begin designing the interior. Figure six months to a year to do the transformation if you are going to do it right.

The Trucks in My area that i could afford are rotted out, have over 200,000 miles on them, and are usually neglected. If i bumped my truck budget to around 3.500, i could get something adequate, but TT's for 2,500 are going to need work of some kind in the near future.

I am certain you would not consider a 99-04 Dodge Ram 2500/3500 with less than 150,000 miles on it to be clapped out.


The school buses I have been looking at are from 99 to 04, have between 100,000 and 150,000 miles on them, Have the Cummins 5.9L ISB Engine, and cost around $3,000.

My Step father is a Master Diesel Mechanic. SO i have access to heavy tools and discounts that most do not. My father has a 50ft long pole barn that gives me a place to convert it with plenty of tools. If neither of these resources where available to me, I would certainly be much better off getting an old 2500 chevy and an old TT.

But, being extremely cost conscious and budget limited, you're going to end up with more like the first picture than the second one.
Then think about day to day parts and repairs. Big parts = big $ and big tools to fix vs being able to do a great deal of work to a pickup and small trailer with the tools you can carry in one small tool chest. Can get most parts for a pickup at any parts store at 8:59pm on a Sat night vs dealing with the big truck shops and commercial Napa stores. Most of which are only found in larger cities.
Again, if your goal is to have a "unique" project that you can say you put some innovation into, by all means go buy a clapped out skool bus and take the demo saw to it.
If your goal is to have the most economic and functional setup that supports your adventure then don't try to re invent the wheel.

first, i would only get a bus with Air ride at least in the rear. the price of a bus doesnt really change due to its features unless its a white "activity" bus.

I understand why you would call converting a school bus into a "skoolie" is nothing more than a bunch of hack job hippies when their are builds like this floating around.


BUT there are people who build school buses properly, and here is a good example. i doubt many would even think it was a school bus at one time. this is the kind of build i would emulate.

Ever drive an old school bus? Yeah have fun with that.
$6k is like pocket change when talking RVs. You could sell the Beretta and have a couple more bucks to put towards it though.
I believe if I was in your situation (and somehow couldn't make more $ to put towards this venture.....) I would find the nicest old 3/4t or larger pickup I could for half your budget and spend the rest on a travel trailer. It solves all your problems/needs and when stuff breaks on the tow vehicle your rather have it be a mass produced, popular run of the mill pickup to fix than some ole cousin eddy Winnebago!
This setup gives you transpo whether you have camper with or not.
Pre made place to put the bikes. Don't get hung up on stupid stuff like loading and unloading. Uou can jackknife the TT one way or the other and roll a bike out.
Full size "house" with all the amenities.

2nd plan would be with a TC and trailer for the bikes. This will work but you're full timing and bikes will be way more popular to steal than an old TT so you'll have to deal with that unlike having them locked onto the truck. There are advantages to this setup though too, but pick one and stay away from the weird projects like converting a school bus into a mobile hippy mansion or Lampooning up a MH with your own custom garage!

And don't be like the guy on here resto modding a 90s suburban for his tow vehicle.
If you're looking for a unique project and not the most cost effective way to get on the road,rather for your personal satisfaction of accomplishing something, then don't get butt hurt about the advice you get if you're really looking to justify, not receive advice.

Pole barn man, pole barn. Unless it's covering a pool......but wouldn't be much of a shop then, lol.

westend wrote:
Right, different expectations. With your budget and needs, I'd suggest to buy a school bus.

I took this to heart, and it definitely is my best option. been digging around the "Skoolie" community to see what my options are.

The cost of a transit "flat front" school bus is about $3k. that gives me $3k to get everything else, which will HAVE to be second hand or "none Retail" new stuff.

The cheapest way i could get both the parts I need to convert the Bus and a trailer to use as a garage would be to buy a sub $1K Trailer and convert it to a utility trailer. My father has a 40ft by 40ft pole barn as a work space, So i think i have a pretty good plan on how to get all this done.


thanks to all who responded for the help.