It's true! I am the proud new owner of a 1999 Thomas Built Bus and I am so thrilled for the year ahead!
Back in 2022 when it was time to renew my apartment lease, I was trying to figure out what to do. Do I renew, or try and find a house to rent with a yard? I loved the idea of van life but didn't know how to achieve it at that time and I quickly had the thought "maybe I can move back in with my parents, live rent free, buy and convert a van to turn into a tiny home for me and my fur babies." That obviously didn't come to fruition as I went forward with continuing my lease and staying in the apartment.
Even prior to that thought, van life had been on my mind for a while. I loved traveling, and I wanted to do more of it. Over the last two years I've been able to visit so many places including Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Zion, Yellowstone, and Costa Rica and I'm no where near ready to stop traveling. Moving to Utah last August opened up so many more opportunities for me to see this beautiful country and it was the biggest yet most rewarding risk I've ever taken. Now I'm taking on an even bigger risk with this Skoolie conversion so I never have to stop exploring.
When I moved to Utah, I knew the job I had wouldn't be permanent. I'm a nanny for those of you who don't know, and I moved out here with the family I've been with for the past two and a half years. My move was paid for, and I was guaranteed my current salary for at least first year so it was an easy yes when my boss asked if I'd join them out west.. This past Easter I was sitting on the porch with my boss and we started to discuss the future. She and I both knew I hadn't been working the hours I'm being paid for and I've had a feeling that when the one year came up, I was going to see a reduction in my pay. Between the free time her job allows her and both kids being in school full time, I'm needed less and less.
This left me with the question "What do I do now?"
A couple of months before this conversation, I went to southern Utah with a friend who had converted an ambulance into a home and had a remote job. We stayed in Utah and Arizona over the long weekend, going to Zion and hiking Angel's Landing, and then off to Page, Arizona to see horseshoe bend after we didn't win The Wave permits. After visiting the bend and hiking for a little bit, we parked the ambulance at a campsite in the Arizona desert looking out to Lake Powell. I was cooking dinner when I looked out of the door and thought to myself "this is how I want to live."
Prior to the trip, I had told my mom how my friend lived in an ambulance and she made me promise I wouldn't live in one. Unfortunately for her, two months later and here I am getting ready to transition to skoolie life. Don't worry though, she's come around and is fully supportive of my decision.
Why a school bus?
After getting to experience just a snippet of van life with my friend, I knew I needed to pursue it. With a pay reduction on its way, and the rising cost of rent, I decided to take the plunge and buy the bus.
First and foremost, I want to travel, and I want to be able to travel with my two dogs and cat. When thinking about the most feasible option for us, I decided on a bus. For one, they're cheaper to buy than a van, and for another very important reason with having so many animals, they're way more spacious. The bus I purchased is 35 foot long flat nose so I'll have plenty of room for my king sized bed, a kitchen, storage and even a full on wet bath. Building out a bus should in theory be easier than a van considering the walls are squared up as opposed to rounded up to the ceiling.
I purchased my bus for $10,000. Granted this is on the higher end of buses on the market, there are no mechanical issues with the bus and it only has 60k original miles on the transmission. Most buses I've seen have well over 200k miles, and while diesel engines are designed to go way further than that, I figured spending more on a bus that hardly had any mileage on it was a better investment.
Another factor I took into consideration that helped me take the plunge was my monthly cost of living. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in the United States is about $1,700, and with inflation, that rate will only increase over time. When researching how much it costs to live on the road, my biggest expense will likely be gas and any mechanical issues that arise. I can live on the road for as little as $200/month, but on average people who live the skoolie life spend about $700 a month. That's astronomically lower than apartment rent, and that doesn't even include utilities such as electricity and water.
The bus is going to be a huge investment, but I see myself living on the road for as long as I can. When the time comes to settle down (if it ever will) I can turn around and sell it and make the money I put into it back (potentially even profit), or I could rent it out through a third party and make passive income. Though it's a a huge risk, "the biggest risk is not taking any risk."
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
-Christopher McCandless
While it's a long way from being livable, I'm beyond thrilled to get started on this build and transition into skoolie life! I've already been playing with floor plans, and over the next few months, I'll be demoing it out and turning this old retired school bus into a home on wheels! I can't wait to begin this process and share the good, bad and the ugly with you all!
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