August 2025 – Finally Legal

An exciting month for skoolie builders! With all the equipment we needed delivered to our front door step, we took the bus back home and took a week off work.

Access door

We started cutting a big hole in the side of the bus. This is where we had installed the base for the propane bottles. We needed to have an easy access door instead of having to climb underneath the bus each time we would have to swap bottles. Once we had the hole, we mounted the bottle support. Had to pull a few tricks out of the sleeve to ensure there was no more movement in it, but modifying our purchases to make them better has become second nature by now. With that completed, we finished the propane lines and secured them, then hooked up the bottles.

It is good that we held on to all the extra steel from the roof raise and the inside-the-bus removals. Out of this extra steel, we could fabricate a nice new door with a lock.

We checked all the fittings for leaks. Once we confirmed no leaks, it was time to fire up the stove and the water heater. It all worked!!!

More Holes

Then we had to drill one more hole for the kitchen drain, so we would know where to install the grey water tank. This tank is different than the black water tank, plus it is 100 gallons, so it must be supported by more wire rods to cope with the weight of the tank when it’s full.

Water tank support

We made a base in the garage with a steel plate cover, onto which a rubber gasket was glued. The base is to make sure that any rocks being kicked up while driving will not make a hole in the tank. Then we installed the wire rods in the places they should go, since once the tank is underneath, we will not have much space to work.

With all that finished, it was time to slide the tank under the bus. Easily said, but not so easily done. The steel skirt of the bus extends 14” above the pavement, but the tank is 18” high. Meaning – we need to raise the bus a minimum of 6” to have some extra space while sliding the tank underneath.

We manufactured ramps on one side of the bus that would lift the passenger side by 6”. Pretty tricky to get it all line up and drive onto it without issues. But under direction of the whole family, it went well.

Now that there was room

We slid the tank underneath, lifted the tank and slid the frame underneath the tank, and then lifted the entire structure so we could mount it. R and I connected the frame in the four corners, and then we were done, risking our lives underneath a tilted bus.

We rolled the bus back off the ramps and with a sigh of relief all was well with the world.

We spent another day attaching the remaining frame to the spindles and connecting the sink drains to the tank. It was completed by installing a carbon filter, just as we did for the black water tank.

Next step to becoming legal

Now, with everything installed, we could take the required pictures and weigh the bus. We called our local scrap yard to see if they would allow us over the scale, and they gladly helped us out. After printing our scale ticket, we gave them a little tour of the conversion.

The bus weighed in at 25060lbs! With the original weight including wheel chair ramp 34200lbs we had shredded just short of 10000lbs by taking out the metal ceilings, sides, chairs, ramp and all other heavy items. Quite impressive!

With the scale ticket, we went to the inspection facility. However, they informed us that RV inspections are no longer required in Texas as of January 2025. It seems that taking 3.5 years to do a conversion pays off.

Final Step

With the pile of papers, scale weight, and everything else that was required, we went to the GCTO sub-office at City Hall. They were unable to assist us with the conversion. However, we got a “pass the line” ticket to go and try it at the main office in League City. We had to wait the weekend, but were there Monday morning. Lo and behold, after an hour of back and forth, and of course, paying sales tax, we walked out with new license plates, an inspection sticker, and a temporary Texas title!! YEAY WE ARE STREET LEGAL!!!!!

Once home, we mounted the license plates, removed the three-and-a-half-year-old one-way permit, and replaced it with the inspection sticker. What a glorious day, we can go camping now!!!

Hose Storage

We needed to store the necessary hoses for emptying the black and grey water tanks under the bus, but keep them safe as well during transit. We bought some fence post covers and turned them into sewage hose storage at about a third of the cost of purchasing an “official” hose storage system. Another way of outsmarting the system.

By then it was time to return to storage

We still have some finishing touches to do, but we are legal and ready to roll. All we need now is cushions and mattresses.

Once we returned from the storage unit and opened our mailbox, we found a letter from our homeowners’ association asking us to remove our bus from the driveway. Not bad, considering it’s only three years in, and this is the first letter we’ve received. That said, they took a nice picture of the bus, so maybe we should frame it…