If you’re looking to convert a school bus into a tiny home or RV, one task that you’ll definitely want to tackle is removing your bus windows. Removing the windows can be a daunting task, but with the right tools and some basic knowledge, it can be done in no time. Because of how long and tedious some other skoolie conversion tasks can be, knocking this one out really quickly can feel quite rewarding. In this guide, we’ll show you step-by-step how to remove bus windows.

Should I Remove Bus Windows

Given the amount of work required to remove the windows, clean and repair them, and clean the windows frames, you may be wondering if it’s even worth it for you to remove your skoolie windows. I would say it depends on your intentions for your bus! Are you planning on renovating the interior and placing wood flooring and counters in your bus? If so, I would highly recommend removing the windows in order to reseal them and avoid potential leaks. If you are just using your skoolie as a toy hauler or something of that sort, it may not be all that necessary for you to take on the job of removing and resealing your skoolie windows. If you have any intentions of living in your bus, I’d HIGHLY recommend attacking this project.

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How To Remove Bus Windows

Tools and Materials You’ll Need:

• Safety goggles (if using power tools)
• Gloves (if using power tools)
• Crowbar, pry bar, or flathead screwdriver
• Razor blade or paint scraper
• Paint thinner or solvent

Step 1: Safety Gear

Before you start, put on your safety goggles and gloves. Pretty much any job that you do yourself on a skoolie can be dangerous, particularly if you decide to use power tools at any point. It’s important to protect yourself. Nobody wants to go blind right?! I didn’t end up needing much in the way of safety gear as the only tools I used were a flathead screwdriver, rubber mallet, paint scraper, and sandpaper.

Step 2: Remove Interior Screws

Depending on the year, make, and model of your particular bus, this step can vary quite a bit. For ours, a 1998 International 3800 Amtran Handicap Bus, each window was held in by four interior screws and washers. The driver window is quite a bit different, with many additional screws in different locations, but I’d assume these vary quite a bit depending on the bus so I won’t cover the driver window in too much detail.

Step 3: Remove Any Remaining Rivets

We got lucky with our bus and have only had to deal with a couple of rivets in total so far. The exterior shell of the bus is held together with rivets but interior pieces have been held in almost entirely by screws which have been great! If you’re in the unlucky group and have to deal with rivets everywhere, you may have some rivets holding in your windows too. If you do, I’m sure you’ve already come up with a system for removing them but if you haven’t, here you go. Your two options are as follows: 1) drill out the rivets using a drill with a metal cutting bit, then pry out the remaining rivet piece, or 2) pop out the rivet using a center punch and hammer or rivet removal tool, then pry away the remaining rivet piece.

Step 4: Cut or Break Old Sealant

If you’ve gotten to this step, your window should now be held in using only sealant. If it’s not, take a moment to remove any other screws or rivets that are still holding in your window. From there we can begin cutting away at the old sealant in order to break the window free. The easiest way for me to do this was to use a flathead screwdriver to wedge into the old sealant and whack at it a few times with a rubber mallet. Once the screwdriver is poked through the sealant you can use it to pry the window out of the frame a little bit. You can also use some sort of pry bar or crowbar for this step.

Step 5: Remove Bus Windows

Chances are good that you will have to make multiple breaks in the sealant at a few different spots around the window before you can actually start to break it free and remove it. I usually had to make at least one or two breaks in the sealant at the top of each side of the window. From there you can begin the push the top of the window towards the inside of the bus and it should begin to peel away. Our windows did not have sealant along the top edge of the window so that was the easiest way to break it free. Be careful not to bend the metal at the bottom of the window too much while removing it.

Step 6: Clean and Prepare Window Frame for Reinstallation

Once you’ve removed the windows, you need to begin the process of cleaning the window and the window frame for reinstallation. This is by far the most difficult and time-consuming process of this job. Our windows were particularly annoying because they were covered in paint from an awful paint job. Our first plan of action was to remove all of this paint. We did this by soaking our windows in a paint solvent or thinner and spraying them with a pressure washer. From there, we began sanding down the metal frames attached to the windows with sandpaper and scraping away the remaining sealant with a paint scraper and flathead screwdriver.

From there, we needed to clean and prepare the window housings on the bus that we were going to fit the windows back into. We attacked these with a paint scraper and flathead screwdriver to remove the old sealant and used sandpaper of varying grits to remove old paint, sealant, and surface rust. Our main goal was to ensure all surfaces were smooth and free of debris to ensure that the new sealant would adhere to them. Be prepared for this particular part of the job to take far longer than expected. Anticipate cleaning about two windows per day per person and around three or four window frames or housings per day per person.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have successfully removed your school bus windows! Repeat these steps for each window you want to remove.

In conclusion, removing school bus windows is not as difficult as it may seem. With the right tools and some basic knowledge, you can remove the windows quickly and safely. Just remember to protect yourself with safety goggles and gloves, and take your time to ensure you do not damage the bus. Good luck with your conversion project!