The nomad lifestyle is a captivating prospect for more and more people. And this is quite a trend with the young generation. Many choose to sell their belongings and travel the world inside a vehicle. But one of the most significant downsides is that these RVs don't come with much space, especially if we are talking about a camper van. And the big RVs can become quite expensive. A bus, however, allows enough storage while on a tight budget.
It is an amazing journey (unless the bus breaks in the middle of nowhere) on which you can discover new opportunities and traditions. This is why David and Shelby decided to embark on the adventure of their lives by buying a bus back in November 2018 and converting it into a mobile home. They finished building it in September 2019.
Charlotte is a 26 ft (7.9 m) long 2002 Thomas Built bus with a 5.9 Cummins engine and an Allison 2000 transmission. And while the exterior might not stand out from most school buses, the interior is completely the opposite. It was done to resemble a traditional home with lots of details and high-tech additions.
On the exterior, we find a foldable outdoor table on which a grill with an external propane hookup was added. The couple installed a few LED lights over the grilling station to make it even more enchanting and functional. A slew of storage boxes are perfect for keeping different kinds of gear. The bus also comes equipped with four 20-lb (9 kg) propane tanks and runs two at a time with the dual tank changeover.
At the back, there is a ladder made of bathroom grab handles that leads to the rooftop deck. The bus also tows a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the help of a tow bar.
Photo: Instagram / aimlesstravels
Interestingly enough, Charlotte was built to chase snowstorms across the west coast. And for that reason, the couple made sure to keep the cold weather outside and the warmth inside. This was achieved by adding spray foam insulation and dual-layer shades.
The front side was mostly left untouched, with only a few cabinets with outdoor gear. This area is mainly used as storage, and from here, you can open the lights in the rest of the bus.
Behind this is the dinette area and the first bedroom. It comes with a sofa that can be converted into a full-size bed with lots of storage on one side. And on the other side, we find a small table with two benches that look like they could seat only two people. But the chairs and the table fold out to make room for up to six people to be seated. The seats are used to store canned foods.
The kitchen is spacious and has a luxurious aesthetic with the marble-looking countertop, an aesthetic that was achieved with an epoxy pour and spray paint. The cabinets provide tons of storage, and they all have gas struts to keep them secured when traveling. The kitchen is fully functional, with a gas hood, an oven, a stovetop, a giant double-bowl sink, and a freezer converted into a fridge.
Photo: YouTube / Tiny Home Tours
The second bedroom is located in the middle of the motorhome and is separated from the front side by a curtain. It also includes a tiny closet with his and her storage on one side, a built-in medicine cabinet, and a heated towel rack. On the other side, there is a one-person bed that pulls into a full-size one and a swivel-mounted TV. They can watch the TV from either bedroom.
The bathroom is compact but has most things a regular bath would. It comes with two separate shower heads, a composting toilet, and a vented deck for the floor with heated tiles. The shower is recirculated with a three-stage filtration system.
As we have seen before, many buses usually come with garage-like storage at the rear. All the utilities are installed in the wall cavities. Here, we find an off-grid system with a 24V Tesla battery pack, dual charge controllers, a manual shore transfer switch, and a 4,000-watt inverter. All these are connected to the 1,400-watt solar panels on the rooftop. These panels are separated into two parts, and the left solar set was placed on a linear actuator which is also on a separate charge controller. This way, if any of the sides sees more or less sun, the whole string of panels will not experience a decrease in solar output.
Photo: YouTube / Tiny Home Tours
The couple does not live in the bus anymore, as it was up for sale in 2022 in Denver, Colorado, for the price of $65,000. It came with everything stated before and has a mileage of only 100,000, which is quite good for a school bus. It was created to withstand all seasons and extreme weather for memorable off-grid adventures.
Looking at how much work and passion went into creating this rig, we can certainly say this bus is worth taking on an adventure. The price of the RV is within the average cost of an old and used skoolie that has been converted into a mobile home with an off-grid system.
Angela has always been attracted to the artsy and quirky sides of the world. When she discovered the automotive world is filled with all kinds of wonders, a new passion was born. Full profile
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