Wheels on the House Go Round and Round: Bus Becomes Home
There are mobile homes, then there are mobile homes – a young couple has taken the name to heart and found themselves in the driver’s seat of one of the most unique houses around. For the past four years, they’ve accepted life on the road in the literal sense and lived fully inside a 1993 Ford school bus. Of course, it’s not just a bus. At least, not anymore.
Over a period of three months, they worked on converting the bus into a tiny home. They tore out the original interior and replaced it with the furnishings of your typical apartment. This involved taking out the seats and installing furniture and plumbing (and other similar tasks).
But, it might have even involved something more reflective of the school bus’s roots: scraping gum and spitballs from the highest points of the ceiling and what not. They also repainted the exterior, replacing the mustard yellow with a more inviting mint green.
All of their hard work paid off – the end product is quite impressive. More surprisingly, it’s conducive to not only living but living rather comfortably. It has a kitchen (with a microwave, refrigerator, and plenty of cabinet space), and a bathroom with a toilet and shower (comparable to the one you’d find inside an RV). While it might not be a place to host a dinner party or a gala for your thirty closest friends, it does offer plenty of room for lounging around for the residing couple. They even have a bedroom, located in the rear of the bus towards the exit door.
The couple decided to convert the bus because of their wanderlust. They wanted to travel around the United States, but they didn’t want to do it in a regular, old RV. That’s when they opted to get a little more original and do something you simply don’t see every day.
Naturally, this “Baby Got Bus” attitude isn’t ideal for everyone. People who are claustrophobic, those who get car sick, and those who long for the more traditional white picket fence, 3-bedroom house, for instance, might not find comfort cruising down the highway in the same place they eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. Those with set responsibilities – children, a 9-5 job, a weekly rotary meeting – might also find it undoable.
Still, for the right mindset, and the right type of person, a school bus turned home can be an incredible journey. It can also have some practicalities. Financially, it’s a benefit – not having a mortgage is one of the best ways to keep money in your pocket.
The upkeep is also a perk – cleaning a bus is a lot quicker than cleaning a much larger house (not to mention the entire absence of yard work). Road trips are more exciting as well – there’s no need for you to play the license plate game ever again.
Perhaps best of all, it comes with a built-in excuse: when your mother-in-law asks if she can come for a visit, you can say that you simply don’t have the room. And, this time, you can actually mean it.