We bought a BUS!
Originally posted April 1st, 2019.
Hey Friends; it's been a while, but I cannot contain my excitement ANY longer...
NEWS FLASH: WE. BOUGHT. A. BUS.
You heard me...the big yellow kind that picks up the children....we bought it! EXCEPT, it's no longer yellow and will no longer be used to haul the children. See proof below:
We've been on a search for a hot minute now and really feel like we hit the JACKPOT here. Jake stumbled across this little red guy on Craigslist and unlike 99.9% of all buses we had found up until this point, it was within 30 mins of our house, it was already gutted, and it was already PAINTED (hugeeeee)! Even all of the "bus rules" were already fulfilled - stop sign removed, flasher lights gone-zo, school bus logo axed, etc.
Painting a bus alone is thousands of dollars (from what I've read and the "school bus yellow" color is actually illegal in some states, like MN, if it's no longer operated as a school bus); even a DIY job is at least 1k. SO much of the less-than-desirable work was already complete?!? It seemed too good to be true, so we did the natural thing and said "let's make a deal" before any other passerby-ers tried to sneak their dolla bills between us and our future - BACK OFF.
Within hours, we were the proud owners of a beautiful half-fire-engine-red 2000 Thomas International short bus with a measly 131,000 miles of experiences under its belt. We ended up paying $3200 for the bus which was pretty much an open drawing board awaiting out creative mind; life was great. But now it's time to get to work.
A quick Q&A about our plans as bus owners -
WHY the heck did we want a bus?
Why the heck not?? But in all seriousness, I have always been super into camping, Jake is becoming slowly into camping, Cleo LOVES camping, so we were thinking about how much of the states we have yet to see. We started looking at small tear drop campers which seemed boring and expensive which then led us to the world of camper vans which seemed cool, but not very spacious (esp with a dog) which then led us to the multi-universe of converted BUSES! It's literally an entire world in itself. &we became fascinated and decided we wanted to join the movement! Pretty reasonable in terms of cash $$, completely customizable, projectBONDINGtime --> say no more.
WHAT the heck are we going to do with a bus?
This bus....this bus is going to basically (as planned) become a mini-home. I would almost call it a tiny house, but it is not in the current plan to ever LIVE in it (long-term), but we are making the space LIVE-able. So if we ever change our mind ... or get kicked out of the house, we have a back-up plan. :p
The plan is to make it sustainable for off-the-grid living and free roam traveling without being dependent on things like Motel 6 vacancy, Perkins, and Holiday Stations toilets (I prefer Kwik Trip anyways). The MUST-have amenities we have planned for our project:
Bed for sleeping...do I need to say that?
Kitchen with a stove and some sort of running water
Racks/storage for ADVENTURE - bikes, kayaks?, roller blades (duh), etc.
Electric supply - the today thought is riggin' up some solar panels #goGreen
Toilet - a 5-gallon bucket counts, right?
Fridge / freezer of some scale
Makeshift shower - probably requiring a hose outside and a curtain, all naturallll
HOW the heck are we going to do it?
This is all TBD. It's definitely a learn-as-you-go type of project, but my boy and his Paps are #blessed with a type of handy-man you don't find ever'where (sneak peek below, they couldn't wait!). I will say that YouTube is magical and we have been inspired by many documented bus conversion stories on Insta and blog sites. Like I said, once you start exploring (#skoolie #tinyhouses #buslife #ETC), you will find months worth of content. For this project, we are def embodying the "If you believe you can, YOU WILL" approach :D
I have committed to keeping up with our #projectTBD right here (now accepting name ideas), so you are guaranteed updates to come. <3
Peace, love, & let's fly away (or build a bus - same, same) :D
Jen
PS) We've been playing a "what's the first place we're gonna take the bus" game all week. I think a Dairy Queen drive through was the top vote, but we ended up here...in the gas station parking lot. We actually ended up in 4 different gas station parking lots in a matter of 100 miles - stories to come! We were never promised she'd be perfect :) Let the adventure begin!
