Coffee & Magnets—Our First Morning in the Skoolie

After we brought our skoolie home, we could not wait to get started on the conversion. We expeditiously removed the seats, took out the back partitions, and cleaned. Once we finished, the all important question loomed, Now what?

The next morning we took our coffee and a couple of magnets out to the bus and talked for awhile, hoping the answer would come to us. We poked around and discovered the ceiling had already been insulated. We did not know if the insulation was original or if the previous owner had installed it, but whichever the case, we were thrilled not to have to do it. We used the magnets to identify all the magnetic surfaces; with so many great magnetic organizational products available, this feature will come in handy. 

After relaxing in the space for a bit, we decided not to insulate the floor. We did so for a few reasons. First, we want to minimize frame modifications. Since we are unsure of our requirements at this stage, we have opted for simplicity. Second, our dream is to head west, stay in mild climates as often as possible, and travel part-time, avoiding weather extremes. Knowing this, we have theorized we could insulate the floor later if we need to, but for now it is not necessary.

This was a critical decision point for us. Being flexible with our requirements throughout our conversion process will enable us to modify as we go and not build ourselves into a corner. We also have decided to build everything so it can be removed fairly easily, giving us floor plan flexibility in the future. This has taken some of the pressure off of us to "get it right" before we even know what "right for us" means. Although we have read about the "not insulating the floor mistake" in more than one place—and even questioned our decision several times—we decided to proceed without insulating. We'll let you know how it works out.

Next, Steve removed the wheelchair lift and we detailed the bus to remove the engine room smell. Of course, burning incense helps too. 

Next, picking out the floor and other important items ... let the shopping begin. To be continued ...