School Bus Converted Motorhome For Horses

School bus Converted Motorhome For Horses LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules 18-2-27 Loren Smith's mules and horses travel in style, riding in a home-built "motorhome" while listening to music. Smith made the horse-hauler out of a 78-passenger International schoolbus that he bought for $800. The state inspected bus is legal for road use. "I bought the largest one they make so I can get my 8 by 12-ft. wagon in front and the horses in back. I can also use it to haul two cars," he says, noting that the bus is fitted with a powered loading ramp that raises and lowers electrically. It took Smith about two weeks to remodel the bus. He removed the 22 seats (using some of them on wagons and a pontoon boat) and built a wooden wall behind the driver's seat so he wouldn't have to heat the entire bus in winter. He set up three tie stalls on each side of the bus in the rear compartment and put bars over the windows so horses wouldn't get hurt if they banged into them. He can still open the windows with the bars in place. Smith built a hay rack to mount on the roof of the bus and made a ladder to get up there. He also made an awning like a motorhome so he can set it out and have shade next to the bus. He says the bus is economical to license and insure, since he qualified it for farm plates. Liability insurance is just $19 a month. "I like International buses because they turn shorter than Fords or Chevys. And they get 12 to 14 mpg when empty," says Smith. He made the powered rear door and loading ramp by cutting off the back of the bus and making a heavy wooden door that fits the opening. It hinges on the rear bumper and a cable winch - mounted on the roof of the bus - raises and lowers the door. He mounted a 12-volt battery under the rear of the bus to power the winch. The battery is charged by the bus's main generator. A switch mounted on the side of the bus controls the door. He mounted tail lights and turn signals on the back of the door and left all interior lights intact. He left the heater at the back of the bus. However, Smith says the bus is well-insulated so when horses are inside, it stays fairly warm. "One reason you can buy buses so cheap is because scrap yards have a terrible time crushing them," says Smith, noting that there are steel beams going crossways every 8 in. in the flooring and the floor is 12-gal. sheet metal covered by ¥-in. plywood. If used on the road, converted buses cannot be left their original color. Smith says it took 4 gal. of automotive paint to paint the bus black and red. Total cost of the bus conversion was $1,100. It took him about 2 weeks. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Loren Smith, P.O. Box 105, Rt. 1, Spring Valley, Minn. 55975 (ph 507 352-4106).

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