Hawaii-Themed Short Bus Camper Cost Less Than $10K To Build, Doesn't Sacrifice Comfort

Meet Nathan and his 1995 Ford F-350 short bus. It sports a 7.3-liter diesel engine, and its odometer reads 355,000 miles (571,317 km).

Nathan bought the base vehicle for $2,200 (€2,060) off of Craigslist and invested around triple that amount to turn it into a mobile home, bringing the total cost of the rig to under $10,000 (€9,368). If you're not familiar with camper conversions, know that $10,000 is an extremely good deal.

Besides making the rig budget-friendly, Nathan wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing and clean. He explained that the bus has an "island vibe theme," inspired by his Filipino origins.

One of the first modifications you'll notice inside is that Nathan removed the door opening mechanism and fitted a conventional open/close mechanism. As you enter, you'll find a fire extinguisher and a bottle opener on your right. Instead of the door mechanism, he integrated a shoe rack with a large JBL speaker on top.

Nathan added many personal touches throughout the van, giving it lots of personality. For instance, he devised a blackboard on the driver's cabin wall where his friends and family wrote messages for him. He says that they were really supportive - this is one of the reasons why he managed to build this camper on such a tiny budget, as some of the stuff he has inside was gifted to him.

Another fun little detail is a "Chee Hoo" button, a common phrase used in Hawaii to express excitement. Right beside the button, there's a switchboard for the bus's lights.

Step deeper into the interior, and you'll be in the kitchen, which is located on the driver's side of the vehicle. It features a spacious countertop, a deep sink with an extendable faucet, a fridge/freezer, and two fans.

For storage, Nathan uses overhead cabinets, a spice rack, as well as various other drawers and cabinets. Being a climber myself, I love that Nathan used climbing holds instead of conventional knobs for the overhead cabinets. Underneath the sink, you'll find a portable stovetop, a diesel heater, and a tiny water container connected to a water pump.

On the opposite side, Nathan devised the lounge area. It is quite straightforward, featuring a long bench with storage underneath. It's covered with custom-made cushions with five-inch (13-centimeter) foam. Moreover, you'll notice that, unlike most campers, Nathan's rig doesn't have a fixed dinette table. Instead, he uses a portable table he stores between the kitchen and the driver's seat.

One thing I really like about this build is that it lets plenty of natural light shine in the interior via a sizable skylight and plenty of windows. That also means cold can make its way inside the rig – to counter that, Nathan fitted thick black-out curtains. Regarding the rest of the bus's insulation, Nathan used foam boards for the walls and fiberglass for the ceiling.

And lastly, the last part of the living space is occupied by the bedroom. You'll discover a stand-up closet with a book nook underneath and a twin-size bed built from repurposed plywood to minimize costs. Nearby, Nathan installed two 110 V outlets and two USB ports, as well as a switch for the bedroom lights.

In a compartment underneath the bed, you'll find a portable toilet, a water tank, and a battery system. The batteries are charged by 400 W solar panels on top of the bus – Nathan uses a solar charge controller to see the charge status and the voltage of the batteries.

Let me briefly touch upon the vehicle's exterior. Nathan kept the bus's original stop sign but made a slight personal modification to it – instead of "Stop," the sign now reads "Imi Ola," which stands for "Seek Life" in Hawaiian. Furthermore, Nathan installed a wooden deck on the roof and a ladder on the vehicle's side.

One thing worth considering when traveling with a camper is having a smaller vehicle to zip around your surroundings, either for pleasure or out of necessity, whenever you need to make short trips, like when you go buy groceries.

In Nathan's case, he chose an e-bike, which is stored on a hitch at the bus's rear. It's an Onyx RCR with a dirt kit – I wrote about the RCR a while ago; check out its review. The only downside with having an e-bike on a camper is charging, but as long as you have a powerful enough electrical system and sufficient solar panels, you won't have any issues.

All in all, Nathan built an excellent camper – it might not be the most comfortable, but it certainly does the job, especially considering that it cost him less than $10K to build it.