People Are Transforming School Buses into Mobile Tiny Homes & We Love Them

While traditional homes built with bricks or wood remain the standard, many people are looking for less expensive alternatives. Shipping containers, for example, changed the traditional concept of home, starting the tiny homes revolution, often adding mobility in the equation.

Although the iconic bus is not new to the mobile home arena, their interior design has caught up with the 21^st century. These buses provide the perfect starting base to convert into a home on the move. Once the seats are removed, you’ll be amazed at how much room there is and you can design the interior to suit your needs.

Built to last and withstand the wear and tear of thousands of trips to and from school and several field trips a year, a bus in good condition with an engine to match is relatively inexpensive compared to a RV, averaging around $3k to $7k.The diesel engines seem to last forever and the body is extra sturdy with steel frames and floors.

So, if you’ve been dreaming of life on the move, a ‘skooly’ might be the perfect option and if you’re keen on DIY you could save on the labor cost of the conversion.

Photo: Outside Found

Outside Found can have adventures anywhere.

Will and Alyssa are two bloggers and adventurers of the website Outside Found. Working for themselves means they can be anywhere. They bought their 2001 GMC BlueBird for $5,500 in 2015 and converted it into a tiny 200 square foot home after spending months designing and preparing the layout.

Photo: Outside Found

Photo: Outside Found

Photo: Outside Found

Once inside the bright and airy space, you won’t believe you’re in a bus.  The living room is behind the driver’s seat and includes a couch with integrated storage. The kitchen is beyond that featuring a gas stove and fridge, their office is across from the eating space with a slightly lofted bedroom at the back.

Will and Alyssa’s home has a feature you wouldn’t expect with a converted school bus—a garage! The rear-end door opens to reveal their bikes, backpacking, climbing, and kayaking gear.

The Midwest Wanderers can comfortably go off the grid.

Luke and Rachel Davis, aka the Midwest Wanderers, changed from a 1,500 square foot home to a 220 square foot skooly and now live on the road with their young child and dog.

Photo: Midwest Wanderers

“At first it seemed like such a crazy, far out idea,” Luke writes, “the kind you only dream of doing but ‘could never really happen.’ The more we talked about it the more we realized we couldn’t shake the desire for this lifestyle of freedom.” They later bought a bus for $4,000 and got to work.

Luke, a pipe fitter by trade, was well equipped for this massive DIY. He explains to Bryce Langston of Living Big In A Tiny House, “I’ve definitely done a lot of work in the trade—welding, fabricating, and all that.” But, there was still more master. “We had to learn a lot to do all the components—the electrical, the solar.” Their tiny house features 100 watts of solar and a four-battery bank, which makes them self-sufficient.

Photo: Midwest Wanderers

One and a half year in the making, this cosy home has a raised roof, adding 20 inches which makes a big difference, “It does not feel at all like a bus,” Rachel remarks.

Take a tour of the Midwest Wanderer’s converted school bus in the video below.

School bus conversion inspiration

Check out some other skooly transformations.

The post People Are Transforming School Buses into Mobile Tiny Homes & We Love Them appeared first on Educate Inspire Change.