Since I know nothing about building something like this, my standard has always been that if I can see problems, it's really bad. But to see all the problems that an expert like you can see, moves it to the level of scary. Everyone who wants to buy something like this or try to do it themselves should have to watch this video, to see where it can go bad at every single step in the process. This video is actually a public service, Chuck. Thank you.

I was disappointed you didn't have something to say about the single-glazed, intended-for-interior-use-only, easy-to-break-into entry door!

This is the same thing with a lot of flipped houses. In the pictures, the work looks high-quality, but when you look at it in person it’s a totally different story.

I left a company in Florida that was run by instagram influencers. I didn't want my name attached to a future fire. I told the perspective employees what the company was up to, and would've told the clients too if id had their contacts. its hard to find a good bus building company! im looking, but holy moly! also that shower drain KILLED ME. sheesh

KZfaq recommended this one for me so hopefully that means it's going to blow up. Those 'builders' need to be shamed into another dimension.

Chuck, I think videos where you take a portion of this video and then show the correct way to doing it would be great content and needed by the community

That whole build made me sick, just the wiring alone is a fire waiting to happen. I'm a grown man and literally shed a tear for the women who I'm sure is heartbroken. Praying she gets something out of the person that has no talent or business charging someone for his dangerous work. Makes me so sad and mad.

I feel so bad for the owner of this bus. I think I now feel so much better about how long its taking my husband and I to build our bus. We investigate every step of the building process almost to a fault. 😂 We are not pros thats for sure, but we definitely do follow people’s advice who take pride in their work and make safety number one. And until our bus is finished, it will be Prius adventures for us!

I think the look the builder was going for was "tree-house" as in, it was built by children from scraps of wood :)

I've been building my skoolie by myself. I had no experience and you can tell it's diy in some ways, but I'm happy with how it's coming out. At least I know I can trust myself to do right by myself even if everything isn't perfect or square. Lol ... And I built my own skylight with no leaks!! Thank goodness ❤️

Did anyone else see that the battery main Positive wire was laid right up against the main negative battery lug? Those Bluebird buses vibrate like crazy. That wire is going to rub through and start a fire.

My takeaway is to ask the builder if they have a contractor's license and what kind of license. Get the number and check it for violations, complaints, and if it is even a valid license. Then ask for referrals and when calling the other customers, ask if I can see their bus.

Wooooow!! Ive been researching builds for about a year now. Haven’t picked up one tool but still know more than whoever built this damn thing….smh. My heart goes out to the poor woman. I would be so devastated.

Looks like the 💩 work the “professional remodelers” did to my home. I finally was so infuriated with them at the terrible work they did I just wanted them the hell out of the house. I see something new every day that’s crappy. I feel for this woman. She didn’t deserve this mess.

This is why your how-to videos are so important to the community!

Was feeling quite intimidated about the whole idea of converting a rig but I’ve learned so much from your videos. I watch with pen and paper in hand, ready to take notes! I won’t be building anything myself (I know my lane and this ain’t it , 😂 ) but I definitely have more knowledge that will help me find a quality builder. What you know and do is valuable. Thanks you so much for sharing!

I am by no means a plumber, carpenter or woodworker. I used to do structural metal fabrication and now days work in a custom cabinet shop. I agree with your assessment 100% That bus is shockingly horrible. Those gaps are almost hilarious. Straight up...I make nicer tighter fitting parts that get hidden inside cabinet boxes or buried in walls. "next level bad" as you said....spot on. That poor bus is shit stacked on shit coated in shit.

Appreciate you putting this out there, As to the "too good to be true" price I think there are probably A LOT of people out there that have zero idea what the real cost of doing a conversion is and there are some that while unable or unwilling to build a bus themselves think it is a fairly straightforward (simple) process. When confronted with a price they don't have any point of reference as to what the "correct" price is. Hopefully this video, your channel and others like it will help open some eyes. I think your description of "unusable" is spot on. Did not see a specific moment that shared the builders information but I believe people should know who this person is to save them some heartache and MONEY! Sure it was cheap, but it wasn't free and every penny they paid was wasted as this rig needs to be torn down and re done.

This was an amazing video !! People need to see more of this. Thank you Chuck Cassady!!

Your production quality is amazing, very glad that I found your channel. We're going to be doing a bus build soon and the information/experience you share is invaluable. Thank you

Thank you very much for the educational tour. I was never aware my ignorance on carpentry, electricity etc was so incomplete. I am glad I watched this.

This is so sad! I hope the owner gets her money back and can find a builder to help her that'll do a good build

You are a voice of trust and experience! Very, very valuable! This build reminds me of the saying, “you can’t tell a book by its cover”! They also didn’t replace the bus windows! Mushrooms out of the walls! That was a lesson and picture that has stuck with me! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!

Just found ypu channel as it was in the loop. I watch because I was considering a schoolie in a few years but, man. This really opens the eyes for folks like me who would want to be cost efficient. Thank you for the video. It really does help on the front side to consider WHO to hire for the build. It also makes me think maybe I don't want one lol 😂

Hope your trip to Italy was both fun and relaxing. Thank you for your expertise in going through this build. You have the knowledge we can all benefit from. All the best, Hal (1980 )

I've never laughed so hard at a video. Your reactions on the factory light with the mini split lines going through it was hilarious.

Hi Chuck, I really appreciate how you open up and share your experience and your life with us and although I don’t know you on personal level, I feel like you’re a good friend. I hope the journey ahead for you is a good one.

That was an accident waiting to happen, luckily nobody died before these problems were discovered. The entire bus needs to be scraped before people die in a fire and all of the money spent is for nothing. That original bus is worthless now. Thank you so much Chuck, I need to stick my head in my oven now.

Please do more of these! VERY informative!

Hi Chuck, great break down. This is my second time watching this video, came back to watch again because I recognized the bus on another video of bus disaster. I have much respect for you and your craft !

OMFG!!! My jaw dropped a few minutes in and didn't close until it was done. You're right: the people that "built" this are going to kill somebody. This bus, with all the holes and bad conversion, probably needs to be scrapped. The skylights, like the A/C lines, are a freaking joke. Such a shame.

I am really impressed with your knowledge and your presence in these videos.

Chuck, you are by far my favorite Content Creator/Personality/Professional/All Around Human on KZfaq. You are so good in front of the camera, so easy, so knowledgeable, sincere, fun tov watch, and likeable that I'm honestly amazed you haven't been offered your own cable/network show. Maybe you have and turned it down... Idk. But I just wanted to thank you for all the incredible work you've done and made available for people like me who are doing my own build/conversion and gain so much more confidence learning from you "the right way" to go about the process. I was very much bummed when you called it "a wrap". I'm trying to save enough $ to be able to use you in your consulting gig now, which would be unbearably exciting for me. We'll see. I've got too many irons in the fire right now but I'll get there. Two years and 2 months into my build. I honestly thought I'd be done within six months 😂. But then life happened, and there's no accounting for that, right? Anyway, thank you!!!

Your videos are awesome, I've learned so much and hope to start my build very soon Thank you.

Wow..so dangerous. I hope that builder recognizes his errors and stops. Or somehow they get shut down. Thanks for sharing this vid Chuck. Stay well ✌

Starting my first Skoolie conversion for myself, your videos have been extremely helpful. As an electrician who prides himself in quality work this whole video made me wince. I'm just sitting here saying "oh no" too many times "it cant get much worse" then it dose. Spectacular. This builder should be sued.

My husband is a cabinetmaker and looking that through my eyes that was so amazingly horrible!! I would be scared to death of that electrical and I know nothing about electricity!! I hope she sued them.

Amazing! I myself spend hours on the university of KZfaq to learn, then I bring my notes and ideas to a friend who is a cabinet maker to help me. I am really glad I found your channel and have leant much so far, especially dispelling the myth of foam insulation, I was so afraid of warping panels however after learning and discussing with an installer that is the way I am going to go as well as redo my floor with XPS, i don't want to chit on the buyer but maybe they were blinded by the low price and not do her homework on these builders, a complete chit show, Thanks good video

I subscribe to this channel because of Regretlyss. I have no experience whatsoever in building a small school, but after watching 2:04 everything that you’re doing I have a clue now. Thank you very much and if I build a school, I know who I’m watching for instruction. You, Ben and the crew rock!

Wow!! I have watched 100’s of builds on KZfaq and never seen one this bad. I feel so bad for the lady it was built for.

*WOWWWW* . this is really something else! You should definitely make this a series "Trust in Chuck; Roasting Influencer InstaBuilds" 👏

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF HILARITY DO MORE OF THESE VUDEOS!!!!

Well that builder's business card should read "Unsightly, Unfinished, Unsafe. Ya don't get what you paid for."

Being in the RV industry, I came across your channel and this video! Scary, but poor quality happens. and Loved it! Your commentary is correct! This build quality happens in mainstream name brand coach/RV builders. Because of this video, I’m subscribing to your channel. I’m looking forward to seeing your next video. Thank you.

Love the rattan on the rises exactly where you'll kick it all out as you climb the steps. 😖

Love the Lineset through the rear flasher cover. Genius

Thanks for this. I follow mostly self builds on KZfaq and just want a van before I die to spread some happiness and ashes of my family I have been moving around for far too many yrs This build reminds of this handyman rental I am in, but I keep my rent down by slapping lipstick on it until I find a van. I will be 60 in March and just want something with a good drive train to build out. But costs have been crazy. Some of the builds out there are just horrible and dangerous. I have renovated a couple houses and want to do a van. Like when I watch these car and SUV travelers and think, 'one impact and all that stuff become deadly projectiles. Thanks again and best wishes on your future endeavors. 🧘🙏🏻🌎☮️ Daily.

OMG, you gave me an anxiety attack, but at the same time I learned what shit looks like. We are just starting the building we started with a Bluetti 300 because we don't know anything about electricity. Honestly, if people don't know how to do it, just don't do it. Better to not include it on your build, than to be dangerous. Thanks

My goodness....l can only say thank you on this one-- There actually was not one part in this build done right just from what you already taught us viewer's. I am sad because your patience and passion were personally attacted and you couldn't cover that part up---this really did help a lot of viewer's for future projects to come.

Water flows up lol. Good stuff man, like the vid

I didn't know I needed this video, but I also wish I was watching it live when you dropped it as I like to do. Jesus!!!! This is why I observed your builds on your website and in your video format. It's also why many speak highly of your work; because folks like that builder exist and as you've said that builder could definitely take a life with such a shabby and horrible piece of work they've done. I'll be looking to you for some work that'll need to be done on my bus if you and/or your team are available, Charlie.

Great vid! Been working on my skoolie for probably too long...this made me feel pretty good about my job so far and pointed out a few oops spots lol

When I’m ready to convert a van, I sure hope I can find good DIY videos and/or an expert to help out!

I’m a home builder, im restoring an 1973 Airstream, but I’m not a snob 😂🙋🏻‍♂️ I love your videos, and you show all the lessons, keep up the great work!!

I’m a victim of this very problem… bought a bud for $50k that was already build. Beautiful bus! Best I’ve ever seen. Fly across the country to pick it up and didn’t make it 1/3 of the way across the country before the engine blew and started to have all sorts of electrical problems… I’m starting a KZfaq channel to show everything. Crazy story… Love your channel!

Haha Chuck's reactions just went from HOLY SMOKES to HOLY SHIT! We're only 7 minutes in!

If I was going to do another bus, I would be coming to you. I've done a couple for myself, not like that one. I have followed you for a long time, u do fine work and its all planned out on computer. U and your staff have the talent for this. Good video for those who think this is an easy task.. I would be upset too if I done this for a living and seen this mess. U put heart and soul of yourself in your builds bud.

I bought a 78 Nomad - or should I say I bought the trailer bed and tin as I had to remove everything including frame and floor and build a new RV. I used the original... residue I guess, to recreate the original frame then added a few structural reinforcements as it wasn't up to my standard (and stress tested). While I've done a little bit of renovation construction and have enough engineering chops to recreate the original with a few structural reinforcements I felt was needed, I also have a background in electronics, electrical engineering and installation and upkeep of electricals/sensors/electronics on natural gas drilling rigs, so I have no doubt in my mind that all the systems are installed correctly and are safe. But then again, I'm used to doing this kind of work on things that would leave very large craters in the ground if I screwed up. I couldn't imagine doing this without some kind of experience going into it. If that bus was a drilling rig, we'd be talking crater town. And for cripe's sake... if there's a gap you recut a new piece of wood till you get it right! Geeze!

Good to hear you use stranded wire. As a car audio enthusiast I was so confused seeing everyone put in solid core wire into their builds

After 30 years of building custom homes and watching your videos of how to do a great build. This video makes me nauseous, I pride myself in doing to right or not at all. Chuck I known you would love to take the person involved in ripping off this bus owner out to the wood shed and give them a good a_ _ whooping. You are doing a great job helping people see the right and wrong. Keep it up as long as you can and a big THANK YOU for being real and having integrity in what you do.

New to the channel, great content! Very appreciated advice... good luck/vibes to the owner of this setup! You mentioned that you are getting out of the business- sorry to hear that. Will you be making more videos? If not, will you be making some referral videos showing those you trust to do a good job?

man i just loved hearing your reactions...lol

From what I see here looks like ya struck a nerve ...Good information and sharing video Chuck...thks for what you do..stay safe..

At first I was like Chuck is being kinda, well, Chuck. But then I watched more, and now I get it. We need some kind of build standard like a housing code to build to. I think Pro builders should get together and come up with a Skoolie Building code. That way all of us can be on the same page (mostly).

I live in a converted enclosed cargo trailer. I did the conversion myself. The build was and is still done while I am living in it and the whole thing was started on the fly in early April 2019. Unexpected homelessness. Slowly I have been upgrading and upgrading. It never stops. Between improving the camper the truck also needs love. It is a 2002 Chevy Avalanche with 247,000 miles on the clock. It really needs that love. The only constraint is money and how long I can work before I am knocked out. That is what SS and age will do to you. I am constantly second guessing myself and coming up with better ways to do things which are often dead ends, often wasting precious money. Sometimes I hit a winner. The point is that I have had to teach myself carpentry, metalwork, solar and mechanics. I have learned to use aluminium profile and just what the differences in quality are regarding plywood. The compromises are myriad. Like being forced to buy Chinese stuff because the American made gear is just too exorbitantly expensive. My point is this. Although at this point I am no longer a novice I would NEVER charge anybody a single cent for any work I do for them. I do help people as I have become something of an odd job man but I will not charge anything. If you are going to charge then you had better know what you are doing. This is someone's home. My camper might not look much to others but it is MY home. I just subbed to your channel after seeing a skoolie build you did. Quality stuff.

C I learn so much from you. This build scares me, bad.I have heard of a few stories on different builders. It might be better to get a traveling builder so you could at least watch or keep an eye on him. It's hard to find a good one like you. Keep the good contents coming you are doing a great service.

Glad I watched this .. thanks

With all of the fake crap present on yt we need channels like this. Ty.

Thank you. Just thank you!

Always tell your customers there’s three options and they can only pick two. Fast, Good, Cheap. If you want it done fast and good it ain’t gonna be cheap. If you want it Fast and cheap it ain’t gonna be good. You want it good and cheap? It ain’t gonna be fast. They end up getting the point

Hey Charlie, Marie from Denver! Love watching your viedos. 😊

Just wow 😯 I’m amazed you kept your cool, what a death trap 🤯

It breaks my heart that there are so many “builders” like this turning peoples dreams into nightmares.

Love that you are doing this. Too many people don't realise the risks. Also the amont people are charging for busses with awful builds are a lot more than the same bus prior to conversion... fair if the work is but needing to demo an entire awful build should come with a discount as starting from scratch is easier and I don't need to pay for the skip for their junk. Least what comes in a bus prior to conversion can be sold unlike their soiled mattress and wrecked MDF.

This poor women! No matter how much she paid it's a total loss

Hey the mini split not being level and slightly angle towards the drain side as a HVAC guy I would recommend for when they are not parked level !!!!!!!

This looks so much like the shut I've found on my new bus 😡. I wish I would have found chuck before I purchased 🤦. Your videos are great 👍

Only good thing that comes out of this is that it makes my work look professional.

Wait you are getting out of the game? Noooo, I was so thrilled I found your work 😭 Who am I going to find at your level?! I actually bought a home... but I am single and I plan of selling my house and getting something like this for my daughter who is in college, and I want to travel the world. 💞

Same as all the HGTV home flippers and 2 day renovation shows. They said those houses look great but fall apart in a few months. Nothing level or gapped properly, flooring buckles and paint comes off because nothing was prepped.

“You fellas have nothing to worry about…. I’m a professional. Professional what!?”

Thank you for taking the time to show this. Unfortunately not all bus builders are like you. Ross from @Rolling Living also did a video featuring another builder that stole customers lives and dreams.

Just a quick comment on the mini split - that angle is actually smart. Mine is level in my bus and if the BUS isn't level, so that the drain end is slightly elevated... the little tray inside overflows and leaks onto my bed. So, when installing a mini split, dipping the drain end a tiny bit is actually a good idea. It might depend on the brand of mini split, but my guess is that they mostly have the same drain issue.

It's funny watching you get wound up watching the video. I built and repaired boats for over 30 years and I do the same thing when I watch those types of videos and I was even worse when I was actually taking apart someone else's hack work. You pointed out a couple of things that I saw immediately (like the romex and lack of chafe protection and overall garbage work). That work on the roof was just brutal. I would loose money before I'd let something like that out of my shop. One thing that I think you made a bit of a mistake on - at about 26:21, you said they didn't use chafe protection and just stuck the wires in the box. If you look, there are romex clamps installed in the box but they apparently didn't know what to do with those "little clampy things" so I guess they just tossed them. Oh, the shower drain has that new fangled v-trap rather than the standard p-trap. Nice, very nice. 🤣

And this is why I won’t buy a bus that someone else has already converted.

Installing the minisplit crooked like that may be a good choice. You won't always park level and having a few degrees of slope to the drain side means that you are less likely to have condensate leak back into the interior.

This is absolutely mind blowing! So many questions. How did she find this "builder"? How much did she pay them? Can she get her money back? I really want to know who built this. I'd like to hear how he tries to justify his shoddy workmanship.

After that first nightmare bus I purchased, I'm a total freak (in a good way) about every little thing on my bus. This is also why it has taken me so long to hit the road. I'm not sorry, but I am sorry that I've trusted other 'professionals' to touch my bus. Every single job I hired out I've had to redo. Some damage is irreversible...thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours...I'll never get back. I trust NO ONE at this point and that's the saddest part of this journey for me.

"What's more important than a vibe is, you know, not dying." xDDD Ahh yes. I would enjoy not dying when trying to drive my house/vehicle. lol

Don't know to laugh or cry here. I know it's a year old video, but it just came up as a suggested so I watched it. Wouldn't even know where to start on a comment other than just OMG !!! and WOW !!! Jayzzzuss Kurryst !!! That poor customer.

This was an eye opener. Every you guys do, I could do. Except electric. This may be my stepping off point. A little depressing, but need to know.

This is my first time watching you. So sad you are leaving, I will have to go back and watch your other ones and find out why.

I so appreciate this video! I could see the obvious things; gaps in wood, shitty paint job, etc. but I would be clueless about electrical and plumbing. Therefore, I am so grateful for your knowledge so that the rest of us know what to look for!! Thanks Charlie!!

Ok so the lineset through the old light lens trick. 💪💪 solid gold 👊👊👊 This came from clearwater Florida? If so i want to stop by next week and see what else is on the chopping block !

Ok, I've done some sketch looking stuff in my RV (Including ROMEX, but I'm not terribly worried about work-hardening right now), but at least I sand off the splintery bits. (And I am intending to redo the whole thing as soon as I have a garage available so I'm not living in my shop)

Husband tried to pull something like this on me. He was given a slid on camper that had massive water damage inside sometime before he got it. Then he informed me that the black water tank was cracked, the gray water tank had a hole in a line somewhere and the electrical was iffy. But it was free!!! He was 'certain' that he could fix all the issues. 10 years later nothing was done properly and I never stepped foot inside it and I refused to let our kids and grands anywhere near it. He finally agreed to get rid of it when the pickup truck was sent to the junk yard because the frame rotted out. The only thing that saved his bacon over this was he didn't spend money to buy it and spent very little to try to repair it. Had he tried to force me into something like what I just say, lets just say he wouldn't be allowed into the house again.

lol the sarcasm level had me lost at every turn lmao

I'm watching this ten months later while waiting for my husband to get home with our skoolie. We agreed that we needed something, but he wanted to buy something that was already finished. He found half a dozen in our price range on some skoolie sales site. I get it. He's a busy man and I'm not capable. But I was so leery of buying a DIY job. There are corners that I might to be willing to cut for myself. It's my life that's being risked. But things like solar, electrical, and plumbing must be done right or not at all. I've remodeled enough houses that I've seen the horrors hiding behind drywall. I can't even imagine how much could go wrong with a conversion. I shot him a few build videos - that people posted themselves. They were proud of their work. They had no shame because they had no idea that they were doing anything wrong. He was so horrified that he immediately backtracked and agreed that we had to do it ourselves - and do it right - or not do it at all. This bus is a steal and by chance and we're not ready, so we won't begin real work on it for at least a year. This gives us time to learn. And learn and learn and LEARN. One of the most important things to learn is when we're really over our heads and need professional help

I've been doing carpentry and electrical for 40 some years. Whoever tried to fix the solar should have never have done the job. NEVER have your name associated with work like that. Your name will be dragged through the mud for years! The carpentry makes me want to cry. I feel so badly for the woman that hired these guys. They only managed to gut any value left in that bus and stole her dreams.......

Boy I'm glad I found this one 😂😂😂