# Skoolie Repair for Eastvale, California > Window delete, roof raise, corrosion and owner build correction work on converted school buses driven in from Eastvale. Source: https://ocrv.info/vehicles/rvs-and-motorhomes/skoolie A skoolie is a school bus converted into living space, usually by an owner builder. Repair work addresses window delete panels, roof raise seams, rocker and floor corrosion, hat channel rib condition, rivet and weld quality on added structure, plus the electrical, water and heating systems installed during the conversion. ## Pricing Typical range $1,000 to $150,000+, 5 to 800+ hours. Skoolies arrive with a history. Someone bought a retired route bus, pulled the seats, cut out windows, maybe raised the roof, and built an interior over a series of weekends. The result can be excellent or it can be a collection of decisions that need undoing. Assessment on these vehicles takes longer than on a factory built RV because nothing can be assumed from the outside. The bus itself is a known quantity. Body on frame construction, steel skin riveted or spot welded to vertical ribs, a floor of plywood over steel decking, and rocker panels that spent years catching road spray. Corrosion patterns are predictable: rocker seams, the area behind the rear wheel arches, the step well, and any place the original floor drain was blocked. What is not predictable is what the converter did on top of that. Owners driving a skoolie in from Eastvale most often come for three things. Window delete panels that leak or show rust bleed, a roof raise seam that flexes and cracks sealant, and paint that was rolled on and has now failed. All three are correctable. Work happens in shop at the Yorba Linda facility, including welding, panel fabrication, corrosion repair and refinish. ## Common damage - Rust bleed at window delete rivet lines - Cracked sealant at roof raise seams - Rocker panel perforation - Soft floor over corroded steel decking - Failed roller applied paint - Undersized conversion wiring - Leaking roof hatch and vent penetrations - Wheel arch corrosion ## Window deletes and the panels that replace them Deleting a window sounds simple and is done badly more often than not. The common owner method rivets a sheet of steel or aluminum over the outside of the opening, seals the perimeter, and calls it finished. That detail traps water in the original window channel, puts dissimilar metals in contact if the panel is aluminum over a steel body, and leaves the opening with no structural member across it. Rust bleed at the rivet line usually appears within two seasons. The better repair removes the patch, cuts out the corroded channel, welds in a properly sized panel flush with the surrounding skin, and reinstates a horizontal member where the window frame used to carry load. Seams get sealed with a body seam sealer rather than caulk, the interior side gets treated and coated, and the exterior gets filled minimally, primed and refinished. The finished wall reads as continuous rather than as a patch grid. - Riveted overlay patches removed and replaced with welded panels - Corroded window channel cut out rather than covered - Horizontal structural member reinstated across the opening - Dissimilar metal contact eliminated at the panel joint - Interior face treated and coated before finish work ## Roof raises, hat channel and the seam that never stops moving A roof raise cuts the body horizontally, lifts the roof, and fills the gap with new skin. The critical detail is what happens to the vertical ribs, the hat channel members that run up the sidewall and across the roof. Cutting them and rejoining with a short overlap and a few screws produces a bus that flexes at the splice every time it crosses a dip. Sealant at the seam cracks, water gets in, and the interior panel line separates. Correcting a poor raise means exposing the splices, cutting out the inadequate joints and replacing them with properly designed splice plates welded on both sides of each rib. The new skin then gets fastened to sound structure instead of to sealant. Where the original raise used dissimilar materials or left an unsupported span above a large window, additional bracing gets designed into the repair. Refinish comes last, after the structure has been proven. ## Corrosion, floors and owner installed systems School bus floors are plywood over steel decking with a rubber covering, and conversions almost always add a new subfloor and insulation on top. If the original deck was corroded when that happened, the rust kept going underneath. Symptoms include a soft spot near the rear axle, a musty smell, and surface rust visible from below. Repair opens the build, cuts out perforated decking, welds in new steel, treats the surrounding area and rebuilds the floor stack with a vented detail. Owner installed systems get evaluated on their own merits. Common findings are undersized wire on high draw circuits, no overcurrent protection close to the battery, propane lines run without a leak tested joint schedule, and water lines fastened directly against sharp steel edges. Corrections here are safety work rather than cosmetics. Twelve volt, one hundred twenty volt, water and heating systems can all be reworked to a proper standard while the interior is open. - Perforated deck sections cut out and replaced with welded steel - Rocker and wheel arch corrosion repaired, not filled - Overcurrent protection relocated close to the battery bank - Water lines routed away from sharp steel edges - Vented floor stack detail to prevent trapped moisture ## Frequently asked questions ### My window delete panels are bleeding rust. Can they be fixed without redoing everything? Individual panels can be addressed one at a time, though the underlying cause is usually the same across all of them. If the original channel was left in place under an overlay patch, water is still sitting in it. Repairing one panel properly while leaving the rest as they are is possible, but the remaining panels will keep bleeding. Most owners phase the work by side. ### Is a badly done roof raise worth correcting? Frequently yes, because the alternative is a bus that keeps cracking sealant and leaking. Correction exposes the rib splices, replaces inadequate joints with welded splice plates, and refastens the new skin to sound structure. The cost depends on how many ribs were spliced and how much corrosion happened at the seam since the raise. An inspection gives a defensible number before committing. ### Can you paint a skoolie that was previously rolled? Yes. Roller applied coatings usually have to come off, because the film thickness is uneven and the adhesion is inconsistent. The body gets stripped or heavily sanded back to a stable base, corrosion is addressed, panels are straightened where needed, then primer, sealer and topcoat go on in a booth. The result is a uniform finish rather than a texture that shows every stroke. ### Will you rework electrical and propane installed by a previous owner? Twelve volt, one hundred twenty volt, battery and charging, inverter, wiring and fuse box work are all in scope, along with water systems, water heaters, furnaces and cooling. Findings get documented with photos before anything changes, so the owner can see exactly what was wrong and what the correction involves. Engine and drivetrain service is not performed. --- OCRV Center. 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Eastvale, California in Riverside County, about 20 miles from the shop. All work is performed in shop at the Yorba Linda facility. No mobile, roadside or on-site service is offered. Scope is body, paint, structural, fiberglass, interior and vehicle systems work. Engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds, drivetrain work, DOT inspections and emission testing are not performed.