School Bus Turned Off-Grid Tiny Home Stands Out With a Vintage, Home-Like Interior Design

As the name suggests, a skoolie is a school bus transformed into a mobile home. While some companies specialize in converting this type of vehicle, most people choose to do it themselves. That's what Becca and Danny did, creating a stunning skoolie that I'm checking out today.

As you can expect, a DIY skoolie conversion is typically more challenging than a camper van conversion. The extra real estate you have translates to more work designing and fitting all the features you want and need. However, one advantage of skoolies over camper vans is related to the build price.

As surprising as it may sound, a skoolie conversion can end up costing the same or less than a camper van conversion. Most skoolies I've written about cost $30,000 to $40,000 (€27,621 to €36,828).

In this case, Becca and Danny purchased the base vehicle, a 2004 International rear-engine school bus, for $10,000 (€9,207). They invested around $38,000 (€34,997) into its renovation, and the utility systems were $8,000 (€7,368), bringing the total price to $48,000 (€44,207).

Why did the couple go for an International bus? Just like many other bus converters, Becca and Danny chose this type of rig because of its increased interior height of 77 inches (196 centimeters). By comparison, a Blue Bird school bus, another popular choice for camper conversions, has an interior height of 72 inches (183 centimeters). Five inches might not seem like much, but it can make the difference between needing to raise the bus's roof (like many adventurers do) or not.

As usual, I'll start the tour with the rig's exterior. It's painted all around in white and is equipped with many windows on both sides. However, they're not the standard windows you find on school buses – Becca and Danny replaced those with metal sheets and instead fitted RV-style windows, mostly for insulation purposes.

Other notable exterior features include storage compartments on both sides of the vehicle and roof-mounted solar panels with a whopping 3,000 W capacity.

Step inside, and you'll be greeted by a stunning living space. Becca and Danny opted for a vintage-inspired design – some of its highlights are a wooden ceiling, white cabinetry, white walls, and carefully chosen decorative items to match the old-school vibe. Many of them have been thrifted, adding to the personality and story of this tiny home on wheels.

The first part of this bus's interior (besides the driver's cabin) is a living room. On the driver's side, you'll notice a large couch with storage underneath, which also houses the rig's Victron electrical system. Its highlights are a 3,000 W inverter/charger, 800 Ah batteries, and a solar charge controller connected to the solar panels on the roof.

A tiny table and a chair occupy the other side - both sit on a raised platform that covers the wheel well and doubles as a shoe storage spot.

If Becca and Danny want to accommodate guests overnight, they can transform the couch into a bed by simply pulling out a wooden frame and rearranging the cushions.

Next, we have an L-shaped kitchen located on the passenger side of the interior. It features a massive farmhouse-style sink, a spacious butcher block countertop, a full-size oven/four-burner stove combo, a tall fridge/freezer, a water ionizer, and a ton of storage spots in the form of drawers and cabinets, including two overhead ones.

On the opposite side, you'll discover what seems like a tiny counter. Well, it's, in fact, an office/dinette area with two chairs and a counter integrating a large flip-up table.

The part of the interior past the office and kitchen narrows down into a small hallway. Dead ahead, you'll notice a mirror, and after making a left turn, you'll reach the rig's bathroom.

The bathroom is my favorite part of this rig. It's very spacious and simple, yet tastefully designed. Regarding aesthetics, it boasts white tiled walls paired with a hexagonal tile floor, a round mirror, and a green counter.

Notable features here are a large sink, an enormous walk-in shower, and a Nature's Head composting toilet. By the way, an under-mounted, 100-gallon (378-liter) freshwater tank feeds water into the sinks and shower, and it then drains into a greywater tank of the same size.

Step deeper into the bus, and you'll walk in between two floor-to-ceiling closets, one for Becca and one for Danny. And finally, the rear part of the bus is taken up, like in most skoolies, by the bedroom.

You'll find an enormous bed positioned quite high up. That's because it sits on top of the engine. What's more, you can lift it and prop it with a wood plank to reveal a storage space.

The bedroom is quite straightforward but has a cozy, calming ambiance due to two warm reading lights, which beautifully highlight the wooden ceiling. You'll also notice a rear bookshelf, two nightstands, and plugs on each side.

All in all, Becca and Danny created an awesome mobile abode - it's not only visually appealing but also very practical and off-grid capable due to the proper utility systems. I'd say the $48K investment was worth it.