Magnolia Is a Converted Off-Grid School Bus Boasting a Wonderful Bar With Dried Flowers

Amber and Eli have been working on converting this school bus called Magnolia for over four years. They have been living on the bus when it was unfinished for about a year and are now restarting their adventure with most of the amenities inside ready. Currently, they live full-time on the bus, parked in a big yard, and plan to spend three or four months on the road with Magnolia. The couple is also working on a second bus that they might keep for themselves or sell it.

The exterior of the bus has been painted blue with a white roof, and it still has the old exhaust pipes on the driver's side. They've been cut, rerouted, and fitted with a heat wrap. Eli added a few toolboxes underneath the bus that hold tons of tools, but also Amber's clothes. The back deck has been extended using C channels, measuring 3.5 ft (1 m), and carrying one of their bikes.

The off-grid system consists of 790-watt solar panels, but they plan to add a few more. This system allows the couple to live off-grid for about ten days without worrying.

At the front of the bus, we find the cockpit, where the odometer shows a bit more than 300,000 miles (482,000 km). The transmission has been converted to a manual one after the old one was destroyed. The cockpit has been redone from scratch with new wood panels, making the bus feel more like a home. The 12,000 BTU mini split ensures the correct temperature is always easy to achieve, but it does not run off-grid since the 400 amp/h battery bank cannot sustain it.

Next in line is the living room, with a 6ft (1.82 m) couch that can transform into a queen-size bed with tons of storage underneath. This is where all the guests stay since the sofa, the driver's seat, and the little bar with two stools on the other side provide plenty of seating space. The cedar wood bar has a fantastic design with a few dried flowers on which an epoxy layer was created to offer some resistance in time.

Although we are in an RV, the kitchen is quite spacious and comes with a few appliances. We find a large sink, a propane stove, an oven, and a fridge. The 10ft (3 m) cedar counter space offers plenty of room to cook delicious meals. The base and upper cabinets also provide a lot of storage space. Here a 30-gallon (113.5-liter) freshwater tank is stored, and another 60-gallon (227-liter) is at the back of the bus. The walls in the kitchen have different designs with peel-n-stick tile and flowers. A pull-out pantry and a fridge with glass doors were added in the hallway beside the refrigerator. There are also her and his closets on both sides and a full-size mirror.

We find an open area on the other side of the kitchen with a dresser and a little triceratops seat. The ledger on this side was created with leftover cedar on which an epoxy layer was added. The ceiling is also quite impressive. It is made of refurbished siding from a 1930 house.

At the back of the RV, we find a fully-tiled bathroom. It has no doors and is easily accessible from the bedroom. On one side is the composting toilet and the showerhead, and on the other is a vanity with a bowl sink but a faucet and a mirror still need to be installed. The walls are glass tiles, and the floor is made of stones.

The bedroom has a queen-size bed with a mattress that can lift on struts and access the storage underneath. There is also an open shelf and a headboard for storage.

This bus is a 2000 Freightliner with a 24-valve version 5.9-liter diesel engine and an Eden Fuller five-speed transmission. Eli added a few gauges, such as fuel pressure, boost, exhaust, and oil temperature.

They have been enjoying this way of living and are grateful for the tiny living community. This lifestyle is not always sunshine, and a bus, like any other vehicle, can break down, so you would have to be mindful about where you travel. And being on the road means you would have to either be connected to an off-grid system or be parked to access electricity.

These school buses are usually relatively inexpensive, but converting them into mobile homes can be the opposite. Depending on the extras that you want to have, some skoolies can get as expensive as $100,000, but most of them are within the $50,000 range.