1998 Blue Bird skoolie 40′ converted school bus

About the Listing:

Meet Gertude. The complete bus was professionally converted by a local van conversion company here in Squamish.

She’s a beautiful 1998 40’ Blue Bird modern bus conversion packing a powerful combo of style and off-grid capabilities. Packed into 240 sq ft of living space. With an assortment of aftermarket upgrades and high quality features such as custom cabinetry, butcher block counters and surfaces, recessed LED track lighting on dimmers, and a whole lot of storage.

Before becoming our tiny home on wheels, Gerty was a fleet maintained transport bus in Fernie & prior to that maintained by the local school district. Pushing hard from behind is a Cummins 8.3L diesel with an Allison transmission (with eco mode for the long cruises). This is one of the most sought after engine/transmission combos. And when you need her to stop pushing you’ll have no problems with the in 2021 serviced airbrakes all round + an exhaust brake for long mountain pass descents.

Complete with a 60 gallon freshwater tank (internal), 20 gallon grey (undermount), an additional external fresh tank for cleaning up outside, 350 watt solar panel, four 110Ah batteries, Xantrex 2kW inverter/charger (best we’ve ever used), and a Nature’s Head composting toilet, Gertrude can take you off-grid for about two weeks or longer with proper water management. And don’t worry about roughing it too much because the full size Dometic fridge/freezer, Attwood propane oven, 5 burner propane cooktop, tankless propane water heater, full size cedar shower (and an extra outdoor shower), 8” foam queen mattress will provide some of the creature comforts you’ll need to live in style. Next to the ‘master bedroom’ you’ll find a proper bunk bed. The Ctek DC/DC charger, shore power, and engine mounted generator round out the rest of your power needs.

A cozy custom dinette can fit 2 people and with comfortable seating for up to 6 people. The butcher block dinette table can drop down into bed mode utilizing the 3” upholstered foam cushions as a mattress making for a cozy guest bed. And the full length cedar roof top deck makes for a great place to watch the sun set, do yoga, and, if you’re one of the brave, sleep under the stars or come inside and warm up by the full-size, very efficient wood stove.

All windows are original bus windows minus a couple which were removed and replaced with welded sheet metal e.g. behind fridge/freezer & shower. Each window has an insulating pull-up blind when you’re looking for a bit more privacy. In addition, the original walls, floor and ceiling panels have been removed and insulated with 1-1/2” XPS foam (R7.5).

We’ve lived full time in the bus for the last 1.5 year as a family of 3, so we’re happy to teach you our systems and share what we’ve learned. Located in Squamish, BC. & parked in a permanent spot downtown with power/water/sewage making here a great option for a local looking for affordable rent. Absolutely possible to take over our lease as well. (Not looking to rent out our bus so you’d need to buy and then take over the lease.)

The good:
Solid Engine / transmission
Engine brake for those steep hills
Air brakes serviced in 2021
Ready to drive away
Classified as Motorhome (cheap insurance)
Full size log burner
Full lenth Roof deck
4kW Eberspacher diesel heater
Propane cooktop + two way fridge + on demand hot water
Off-grid ready – 300W Solar + 440Ah deep cycle House bank
Xantrex Inverter charger
Propane where you want it for off-grid

The bad:
Engine mounted generator hasn’t been used in a few years
Some surface rust
Exhaust piece needed (drives fine without, just noisy)
New actuator for exhaust brake
Exterior bus needs a good wash.

Open to reasonable offers!