Should they remain or should they leave?
When it came to the bus’s windows, Tawny and Mike examined three options: leave them all open, cover them from the inside alone, or remove them totally and replace the area with metal to match the rest of the vehicle. Option two was chosen by the do-it-yourselfers. The couple installed a thermal barrier tint to keep the inside of the motorhome cool and to provide some privacy via the windows that weren’t covered by an inner wall. “Not having to sacrifice the outer appearance of the school bus windows in favor of metal was a significant benefit for us,” Tawny added.
The Framing Process Begins
Tawny and Mike began framing the bus’s aluminum walls after tinting the windows. This would serve as the skeleton for the new walls of the skoolie. “We’ll frame in the outer walls first, then apply laminate, and then start on the internal wall framing,” the DIYers explained. Tawny stated, “Neither of us had any construction experience, so we learned as we went.” “We would complete a job and then go back and redo it several times. There were numerous occasions when something we planned simply did not function.”