I'm fascinated by van lifers who are able to transform non-recreational vehicles into cozy tiny homes on wheels. Anybody can make a reasonably comfortable home out of a luxury RV, because it already comes with all the essentials installed. It takes a lot more hard work, technical know-how, and creativity to renovate a recreational vehicle from scratch out of something like, say, an old school bus.
That's exactly what van lifers Adam and Cypress did when they turned a retired school bus into a mobile 28-foot home, swapping out the old yellow exterior for a new coat of sky-blue paint. This bus home was a labor of love, and the couple made sure to fill it with as many neat little perks as they could fit! Here are just a few examples:
This quick video from Adam and Cypress (who post together on TikTok as @bluedreamthebus ) actually answered a few of the questions I'd always had about van life, or in this case, "skoolie" life (if it wasn't obvious, "skoolies" is the in-group term for van lifers who flip old school buses into recreational vehicles). Who knew that a 25-second video could be so edifying?
One of the reasons I never seriously considered going the " van life " route myself was because of my pets. I knew that a lot of van lifers had pets, but I figured it would still be difficult to accommodate them comfortably. However, Cypress and Adam figured out how to give their little critters all the essential "creature comforts" in their school bus home!
Their litter box solution was particularly smart. Instead of using up precious floor space and risking a nasty spill, the couple fashioned a litter box cubby with a hole cut in the door for their kitties. Their litter box, litter, and scoop all sit on a slide-out tray, which can be easily moved for cleaning and storing. No mess, no stress! The couple uses a similar system for their stowaway laundry basket, further helping them to reduce clutter without crowding their limited square footage.
Road tripping and camping during the summer months can be brutal, which is also why the couple installed two window AC units on their bus, one in the back bedroom and the other in the kitchen. Obviously, this is for the couple's benefit too, but the window units also ensure that their furry friends stay comfortably cool in their non-insulated mobile home even during a heat wave!
Easy, Eco-Friendly Fixtures
I've also wondered how skoolie lifers get around the issue of adding plumbing to buses without any preexisting bathrooms. I always figured that it took quite a bit of plumbing know-how, and the couple did have to install some basic plumbing, such as the three-stage water filtration system they use in their sinks. But for the trickiest, and arguably grossest, plumbing problem they had to tackle, the couple found a simple and eco-friendly solution.
Instead of installing a traditional toilet that's hooked up to a water supply, the couple uses a composting toilet . As JD Power explains, composting toilets work by trapping waste in a lower tank and breaking it down into safe, usable compost . Any moisture evaporates pretty quickly, while the, uh, solid stuff is naturally processed into compost with the help of natural bulking materials like peat moss or sawdust. These toilets don't use toxic chemicals, they don't produce bad smells while composting, and you can use the compost as garden fertilizer or safely dispose of it in a designated dump area. No need to drain out any nasty sewage tanks!
The creativity and ingenuity of "skoolies" like Cypress and Adam amazes me. Not everyone has the wherewithal to commit to a full-time RV lifestyle , and even fewer people build their RV homes from scratch. I'm fascinated by how much they're able to do with so little space - and believe me, this brief glimpse only scratched the surface of the work they've done on their bus. If you're as intrigued by their build as I am, give this couple a follow!
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