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The Top 5 Most Creative Bus Retrofits in 2024
When a school bus reaches the end of its journey, it doesn't have to retire quietly. Instead, ambitious DIYers often take on the challenge of retrofitting old buses into everything from mobile homes to taco stands.
The work involved can vary widely, but the end goal of any school bus retrofit is to build a functional space for something other than student transportation. Retrofits can include mobile homes, community spaces, small businesses, and anything else you can dream up. Get ready to be inspired by 5 of our favorite retrofits from around the Internet.
A quick glance at campgrounds across the country will show you that RVs and campers are as popular as ever. Occasionally, tucked in among your off-the-shelf models you’ll find custom-designed school buses that have been converted into living spaces. Known affectionately as skoolies, the interior of many of these former school buses look like they belong on an episode of HGTV.
One such example is the skoolie built by Robbie and Priscilla, known by their Instagram handle Going Boundless. Their conversion of a 1998 Thomas school bus into a beautiful mobile home has not only given them the freedom to travel to over 137 cities, it’s also gained them nearly 200k Instagram followers, a feature piece in Business Insider, and more. To see all the features they packed into one former school bus, check them out on Instagram or YouTube.
Just because a school bus is retired from transporting students, that doesn’t mean it has to stop serving in education. One such example is a recent retrofit for The Boys and Girls Club of Delaware.
Despite tremendous interest in music production in the community, aspiring young artists only had access to a single music studio. With funding from a Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Delaware after-school club commissioned Erick and Krystle Lopez of Studio: Express to transform a retired school bus into a fully equipped creative space.
Decked out with a recording booth, soundproofing, camera equipment and more, the new studio, known as Maverick, is now serving the local community with opportunities for recording sessions, video game tournaments, and more. To get the full story of how Maverick was born, check out this blog post from Studio: Express.
Historic School Bus Turned Art Gallery/Amphitheater
The U.S. isn’t the only place where school bus retrofits have taken off. One striking example comes from a memorial at the Doaba Public School in Punjab, India. This memorial was created to commemorate the life of Sardar Balwant Singh, a founder of the school that now provides educational resources to over 2,500 students from over 100 villages in the surrounding area.
Known as the Bavilion, this memorial was made by the team at Studio Ardete to act as a museum of the school’s history, a gallery to showcase art from the school and local artists, a roof-top deck, and an amphitheater for outdoor performances. Singh’s passion for education led Studio Ardete to create one of the school’s favorite features in his honor, where creativity and education can continue to impact young people for years to come.
Goodbye Food Trucks? Hello, Food Buses!
While food trucks have now become a common feature at parks, festivals, and more, some restaurateurs are now switching out their food trucks for buses. One reason is that food trucks sometimes don’t have enough space to support the restaurant’s process or popularity. The extra space afforded by buses gives mobile business owners ample space to cook efficiently and to their standards, as well as enough storage room to provide food for all hungry customers.
One successful example of a food bus owner is UK-based Mark Fairley, owner of the Old School BBQ Bus. In 2016, Mark converted a 1982 Bluebird International American school bus from Arizona into a fully functional BBQ food truck equipped with grilles, smokers, and griddles to provide the best BBQ for his community. After overcoming the challenges of finding space to park such a large vehicle, the Old School BBW Bus soon became exceedingly popular in Manchester and the surrounding communities.
In some parts of the world, access to quality medical care is limited, if not impossible. To help alleviate this issue, dedicated professionals have begun setting up mobile clinics. These let them serve a wider area than might be possible with a brick and mortar location.
An excellent example of this work in action is Dr. Peter Walford, who has operated a Dental Bus on Hornby Island in British Columbia, Canada for over 35 years. Inside his repurposed 1974 Bluebird bus, Peter has engineered solutions to everything from pressurizing his medical equipment to protecting against radiation. To learn more about Dr. Walford’s work, and to look behind the scenes of his dental bus, watch Dr. Walford’s walkthrough video on YouTube.
Feeling Inspired? Get Started With Your Own Skoolie!
If you’re into DIY and want to build your own skoolie, there are tons of great resources online to help you get started. The forums at skoolie.net, YouTube, Pinterest, and blog posts from across the web are full of details on best practices. As for getting your hands on the school bus itself, feel free to browse our selection of used buses, or reach out directly by clicking here.