Thanks Chuck, your one of the few people I trust on here about skoolies... I'm gutting my bus now so this video comes at perfect time.

Love it! Can't wait to see it all come together!

Sounds great. Can't wait to see it happening 🙌

Love how you have thought this all the way through, sign of a pro ... one who has actually lived in a bus, not just a CAD queen. The forethought saves so much time, work and money in the long run. Mad respect, thanks for sharing.

that is going to be sweet! can't wait to see the process .

Outstanding video!

Thank you for breaking this all down for us. So helpful

Great vid Chuck. Thank you 🙏🏼

This was so helpful! I’m hoping to get about an eight window skoolie, so I love your space planning!

Such good info, Chuck! We appreciate all of your knowledge!

I love this floorplan so much I want to copy it! Just with more luggage in the spaces left over in the undercarriage :)

Hello Chuck, I just discovered you after watching your build of Alyssa blue bus. Your work is absolutely top notch. As a retired builder, you are right, you cannot over estimate the importance of The layout . I would think even before windows are put in. Craftsman like you are so hard to find these days. Good luck to you and your Channel,

Can i just say that i love the music? Thanks, keep ‘em coming.

This video has been so much help! Thank you!

Thank you for sharing your plans.

Really enjoyed your insight!! Mad Respect, and happy Holidays!!

As always an excellent and informative video

Awesome as always, can't wait to see it framed out. It's almost the exact size of my bus making this even more inspirational.

My man pulled out the graph paper! 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾😅

I would go with the rear emergency exit, no matter how funky it looks.

Being 70% done with my build (which I planned and built before all your marvelous and insightful videos began) sometimes I put off watching your content because I don’t want to see all the things I did wrong and should have done instead (skoolie hindsight is painful sometimes), but this was a boost of confidence since my brain worked similarly with the 3 layers and thought process in design. Hooray for validation. Excited to see your rig take shape!

Wow! I sure hope we can see your bus build when it is Done. !!😃🎅🖥

This bus is going to be awesome!

I just bought a six window bus with a wheelchair lift that i need to keep for my Mom, i will basically follow this floor plan for my build minus the dinette.Thank you!

this planning you can use for every type of verhicle thank you for youre explanatiton 👌👍

great video Chuck

Well thought out design work. Really like your videos

Very good. Great job Charlie. It makes complete sense and I followed along with complete understanding of everything you were explaining. I've always liked how you explain everything simply, so that myself and others can comprehend it and say to ourselves "oh yea, I get it". Thanks Charlie. PS... love the floor plan.

I love your videos :) gives me a little bit of Sunday morning, old school This Old House vibes.

great content, this channel is very helpful for me, thanks for sharing the knowledge

You are a natural for a Utube Channel, Charlie.. lots of Knowledge and Experience to Pass along... MWP Cosby, Tn.

what a great build and great video. I sure appreciate that you so kindly share your knowledge. Could you share which model of fridge you found? Also, you're really going for the This Old House vibe, hey?! :) The Bob Vila of buses. You've earned the title.

Such an intelligent utilization of space!! I see you saving on materials with the plumbing, and very wise placement of vent shower, and stove. So appreciate your sharing this info!

Excellent video! Another suggestion is, in addition to taping out the layout, to make cardboard mock-ups of of everything so you can see 3D how everything fits - especially the walls bathroom walls in this case so you can easily "feel" the space (or any lack thereof) around you before you spend a bunch of time and money on the actualy materials.

Loved this so much -- really appreciate that you gave consideration to all the elements of the bus. I have seen a lot of conversion tours, and so many of them have had to do expensive or awkward work-arounds because something in the floor plan functionality was overlooked. I wonder what your thoughts are on weight distribution? I've heard that there should be more weight in the back to make the ride smoother, that there should be more on the driver's side bc of road crowning, and that weight distribution almost doesn't matter at all in a skoolie, etc.

Just copy the interior of a 35' sail boat with one sleeping area across the ass end... which is what his design mimics... the drivers area is now the cockpit like on a boat... just operates from a different perspective as the directional control on both is from one end... easy-peezy!!

Wish I had seen this before I started the journey!

my other half is always napping, he can find somewhere else to sleep besides the bed...lol

I agree completely with your thoughts about Convertible furniture! Love my class a motorhome. But I appreciate the idea of a Skooly. In my world I need a decent size bed that’s permanent. And I will not live with a wet bath! That’s my stopper. I don’t want to deal with that crap.

We love you, Chuck... this video made me realize why you are That DUDE when it comes to these skoolie builds. Everything is always well thought out with intention. This Man really knows his stuff and it shows in every video. I'm confident that your personal build is going to be f*cking epic!!! Thanks for all you do, Man. Good luck with your build and hopefully one day, "when I grew up",😅 I can build my own epic skoolie and use your videos as a template for my own success. 😎

Man, don't take long and space is gone. Your lucky you have seen so many finished products and lived it. Our plan has changed from original close to same as yours but bunks between master and bathroom. But will be us and 2 kids. Keep up the awesome video.

Great looking layout. Is there an egress window in bedroom if the front be blocked?

I have watched a TON of vehicle conversion videos for the last year. I haven't seen anyone as smart as you (well, second place goes to A Bus Life Story). Gonna watch all your videos for my future project! Thanks!!!

Gotta love doodling on graph paper! You could've put the kitchen sink beside the fridge and ran the drain line through a step for the bed. A six foot couch isn't long enough for a bed. Our dinette is 6 feet, but the seats are less than 24" to allow more legroom (about 28" bench to bench). Isn't this fun?😊

just started watching and like your videos how long is this floor plan, best regards Arthur

Howdy Chuck. Thanks for the awesome videos! Seriously a Godsend since I've followed a few other guides that have led me astray in the past. I've just finished installing my subfloor as you do and am mostly complete with installing the strapping (seems I'm a few months behind your build). I am currently trying to figure out "flooring" and framing over the engineer compartment in the rear. I feel I have a pretty solid floor plan that accomplished everything my family desires and follows the principles you've given. I never thought of raising the floor in certain areas of the bus and I'll have to make some changes to my floor plan. I was curious, you haven't made a video on it yet, but how do you frame out your walls and raise your bed. Seems like you try to avoid dimensional lumber, so I imagine you create boards like your strapping method? How thick do you typically make your walls? Anyway, thanks again for the awesome videos! Entertaining and informational as always.

Excellent! Love it. Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance! I've been wanting to do a van with my wife, we're on the lookout for a contender. I designed my house in a similar manner, started on quadrille paper to try alternatives and hone in on the design, then entered it into a circuit board layout program to make it exactly to scale and map out the level interactions (4 levels). Also convenient to print out plans for the building permit requirements (they keep saying it's a free country...). Every aspect designed and built by moi. Plumbing, electrical, hvac -- down to the board, I had to know what I was going to need and how it was all going to play together before breaking ground. Here I sit thirty years later after raising our family here, pleased and with no regrets. Have added a few accoutrements over the years. I don't know how I did it to be honest, but I'd never tackle it again! Sometimes like now I just marvel at what-all went into making it happen. And this was before the energy conserving movement, I built 2x6 walls and caulked every seam of every panel and interface on the outside and I'd never heard of too much humidity inside in the winter time before but I found out what that's like. So to solve that problem I added a heat exchanger venting system. That was before there were residential models of those things, I found a commercial unit. People thought I was crazy putting that in a house but that's what it takes. Anyway sorry if that bored you Chuck but I just wanted you to know some background on who was appreciating you. Take care!

I hate galleys but it's a nice setup. If I ever get to do one I want an L shape to break it up a bit and put the bathroom in a quarter-circle shape in the corner (likely behind the driver seat).

Where are you installing the kegerator??? lol That is a nice layout. I would have put the bed in line with the middle of the door. Make it an emergency exit of sorts. I would have gone with a full size or a longer twin. You have alot of great ideas when it comes to bus conversions. I would love to go with a medium size bus. I think the rear engine would be the best for my needs. A propane tank would be a must for cooking and a refrigerator for me. I have run on a generator before. Having the bulk power items on propane makes the most sense to me. Then i don't have to go with a super expensive power bank. The appliances with be a bit pricier, but in the end I wont need a 10k genny to power the fridge, water heater, and heater all at once. Obviously i should't need more then about 3k watts of power at once.

Can't count how many times I've had to change clients pre-imagined and planned floor plans to work harmoniously with the existing layout of the undercarriage on the bus. Something as simple as a crossmember or truss and boom, you're moving your shower over 3" lol

> 29k views >201k likes >lol what? Anyways I really like this series I’m gonna be building a dodge horizon and already had alot of the stuff and thoughts you’re putting out in mind. It feels good to actually see stuff like spray foam being used in the build

Chuck, how do you feel about bed lifts (like a 4 post car lift for beds)? Seems ideal for storage underneath without making or unmaking your bed.

Hey, Chuck, what do you think if I spray foam into the ribs of my sprinter van and then between and over them two inches of xps?

Hey Chuck, I was hoping for a layout video. I keep trying to figure out - for your build - how to get counter space next to your sink. But like you say, think in three dimensions. What I've ended up doing, sorta, is having a wash tub / bus tray on the open shelf under my counter for putting dirty dishes in. And maybe you're going to put one of those cool draining cupboards over the sink. All this so you're not spinning around grabbing dishes and then trying to stack them somewhere. I also wondered about a bit of fold down counter next to the sink, over the couch? One person would have to not sit there, but maybe they get to do the dishes :o) Anyways man, looks great, I look forward to seeing it all come together. Oh yeah, I like the night stand space over the fridge, great spot for the stuffs. Cheers.

I was wondering what you think about putting solar panels on the walls and have them lift up using electric actuators to lift them up. I’m only able to fit 3 400watt panels on the roof so I’m trying to add more.

it even sounds better in there after all that foam

Have you ever done one with a deck to put a small car on the back

Hello Chuck. I would like to see how to do a live/work space skoolie in which it’s purpose will be designed for on location video production for plane spotting and external power extension units. Can you help with this idea?

Chuck into what tank does your urine pipe go to. Would it be the gray tank or do you install a smaller tank to keep it separated from the gray. I might like to copy your design in the future once I get tired of emptying the small bottle in the composter. Thanks!

Any suggestions on who to get to insure the Bus once it's complete ?

Charlie, love your videos! Wish I would have known about them earlier, would have saved me much money and aggravation! I have a quick question, I recently purchased a on demand water heater, FURRION LLC FWH09EA-PS, for my bus conversion. I would like to install it at floor level but there is ridge that runs from front to back about 10 inches off the floor. I believe you called it a structural part of the bus, can I cut through it in order to install the water heater? If not, do you have another suggestion?

Awesome video, great insight! I'm still trying to figure out what size bus will meet my needs. I'm curious, how big a bus was this conversion? Do you have interior dimensions?

Great info - especially regarding the roof fan! I'm assuming that step 1 is buying the bus and step 2 is the floor plan, before you put in windows, run wiring etc.?

Love the build so far. Do you feel like 3" of spray foam Insulation in the roof will be adequate in the Colorado winter? I was considering putting 6" in mine with 3" in the walls (Northern New England) but after watching your build, am wondering now if that is an obscene amount.

Any thoughts on water/waste tanks under the bus similar to an rv? I need to save on floor space as i only have a 6 window

Hi Chuck, what is the minimum I can raise the floor in the bathroom and still have enough room and slope for the shower drain and plumbing? I don't have wheel wells in the back but I like the idea of running my plumbing inside the bus. This way I won't have to maneuver the plumbing around the wheels and axle to get to the grey water tank in the front.

I thought that you said to spray-foam over your wall studs... I must have missed something (I gotta go back and watch other videos). 🤔

Did you keep the original driver's side window? How difficult with a roof raise is it to change that one out as well?

I don't think you talked about your battery bank. Is that going on top of the water tank as well?

Me gustaría tener mas información de vehículos de escuela y convertirla en vehículo recreativo gracias 1:01

Where are you going to put your mini split head unit?

Do you ever do slides?

You put your electric panel under your bed?

How much did it cost to foam this bus?

i really dont want all that under the bed, my ocd would kill me

You build cool shit

Is the graph 1 ft per square? That makes the couch only 6' long and the booth only 2' wide with only 12" of foot room. Is that all normal? Seems like a few inches too small might make spaces super uncomfortable. I would remove the kitchen sink and counter across from it so you can get an 8' couch and booth. I'd remove the bathroom sink and put the fridge on the right across from the stove. Then put a sink next to the stove where the fridge or where the stove is and move the stove down so it's more in line with the vent. You're tall you said so a 6' couch is gona suck I imagine. The booth might be ok when alone but super cramped with two people. Plus it would be nice if the booth had room for lots of padding with a bit of a backward adjustable incline. Anyways, I have no experience in this stuff but the one thing I do know is a little too small sucks. I'd rather have no bathroom sink and have a much better couch and booth. One you use for many hours the other is a few minutes. Sure you have to run the drain line but I'm sure you can handle it. I guess you could keep it on right and keep fridge in place. Maybe make it a slide wall where the sink is in bathroom when you want it to be. That's a cool multifunction thing that's not a pain. Only used for guests mostly. Oh and I'd try to make the booth at least 28" to 32" like a chair so you have space for armrests. 24" seems very cramped with no elbow room. I'd hate to edit in that cramped of space. I design a lot in 3D and I always try to be generous and realistic with spaces. I measured my chair a few times lol. Can't forget about things like elbow room imo. Anyways, just my thoughts.

Chuck, Isn’t it black water as soon as you add urine to it.

I feel like I may have misunderstood part of this video. You say Murphy beds are not a good idea because you don't want to have to unfold it to go to bed and fold it up in the morning. But then you go on to say that a sofa bed is a good idea. I'm about to build a murphy bed, and my understanding is that you just fold it up in the morning and fold it down in the evening, just as easy as opening a drawer. Surely that's better than a sofa bed where you need to rearrange cushions and make up the bed everytime, then have storage for those cushions, sheets, doonas etc when it is being used as a sofa. What am I missing?

Man, you didn’t incorporate a space for a cubic mini wood stove!😊

Just spit it out