Why I Think Our Skoolie Is Fairly Priced

We recently decided to go for a stroll around a large campground, looking at how people are camping these days.  We wanted to get a handle on what kind of equipment was out there now and what people were bringing into the national parks…what level of camping luxury was out there?  Our eyes were opened….there were almost no tents or folks cooking on fires or outside stoves…it’s not the camping of my youth anymore.  Here’s some of our observations about camping (but just from this one walk around):

1. First thing we noticed as we walked around were the varieties of campers, light teardrop trailers of all sizes, popup and popout roof tents and camper vans.  Not many tent campers, at all.

2. Families:  I wasn’t sure I would see lots of families camping in big popular national parks (school isn’t out yet everywhere) but I was wrong.  We were really impressed by all the families of all ages (some extended families) that were out camping and hiking.  Family camping seems to be coming back and I’m pretty impressed.

3. Room for the bus (skoolie):  One of the reasons we took this walk around in the first place was to look at various pull-through sites.  We were surprised to find pull-through sites that would be ok for the Big Green Machine.  But we know that those same sites are really, really hard to get and book up really early.  Regardless, we saw large motorhomes in the park…some towing cars or additional trailers.

4. During our walk, we talked to one family who flown across the country and rented a van set up for camping so they could do a national park road trip through the west.  This family of four (with two small kids) were loving the van rental, which was crammed with every modern convenience….small shower (with a simple shower curtain around it), a cassette toilet, on-demand water heater for hot water, small propane bottles for cooking and the water heater, roof that raised so that the second bed (kids bedroom) could have rooms and a queen sized bed with storage underneath it in the back of the van.  All of that crammed into 20+ ft of camper van….with two adult and two small kids.  So the mom and dad stuffed in the van with two small kids…trying to have the best time possible camping.  And doing a spectacular job.  During our visit, these folks told us how much they would love to buy the same camper van once they got home from the vacation, but the same van was priced new around $160,000 (dollars).  They wanted a new van but couldn’t buy at that price yet…and had been looking for a used van with the same amenities but just had not found one yet.  Especially a van coming off the rental cycle that was still in good shape.  Not yet, but they would keep looking for a used van in great shape or buy a new one eventually….at around $160,000 dollars.

5. When we made the tough decision to put the Big Green Machine (2007 BlueBird All-American Skoolie {Bus}) on the market, we purposefully decided to fairly price the bus.  We want it to quickly move to the right family or new owner and we don’t want to have it sit longer than it needs to.  So after checking out comparable buses on different skoolie, small home sites and craigslist city sites, we knew we were pricing it fairly for what’s included:

250+ sq feet of living space, queen size master bed with storage underneath, mini-split A/C, two bunk beds, a full private shower with sink and private toilet, a chefs kitchen with farm sink, six burner stove and full 14 cubic ft refrigerator, a queen sized futon and a second couch, fold-out dining table, newer tires in great shape, four separate propane tanks, on-demand water heater, five solar panels + Victron backbone, four lithium ion batteries for the house bank, separate start batteries for the powerful engine, 100 gallon fresh water tank and 100 gallon grey water tank.  All of this…and well maintained bus!

Interested?  Check out the pics from my last story at this link:  The Green Machine Is….On The Market