Mindblowingly Cheap School Bus Camper Will Stun You With Apartment-Like Looks and Features

Caleb is the owner and builder of "the Roamer," which he created in early 2020. With no skills in plumbing, woodworking, and electrical work, he started from scratch, learning how to do all these and knowing that they might come in handy given his career path.

This rig looks extremely good, as you'll soon see, and it's also a budget-friendly build. Caleb set aside just $10,000 (€9,150) for the conversion, $3,000 (€2,745) of which he spent on the base vehicle, a 1995 Thomas International school bus. He had six months to complete the project, as his lease was ending. So, he had some pressure: a tight budget, a tight schedule, and learning much-needed building skills. Despite this, the result was stunning.

He had to be creative and resourceful to remain within the budget – the reason he managed to do it is because he bought lots of stuff off Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. He even scoured various dumpsters across Knoxville for scrap materials. This activity might seem like too much for some of you, but trust me; you'd be amazed at the things you can find in dumpsters.

On the outside, you'll notice the skoolie is finished in black and beige paint, which Caleb rolled and brushed on the vehicle. At the front are various lights and a sign that reads "the Roamer," which Caleb made using his school's water jet cutter.

On the driver's side, Caleb added tiny 12 V lights, a shore power connection, a water port, and a custom-built ladder. Once you go on top of the vehicle, you'll notice a deck made from a mowing utility trailer – he cut off the axle and added it on top of the bus. What's more, you'll find an A/C unit with 15,000 BTUs, which apparently was one of the most expensive features on this bus.

At the rear, Caleb added a tow package and an old wooden pallet where he stored some plants during the summer. Other notable changes he made were tinting all the windows and replacing the bus's original foldable door with a conventional one, complete with a lock. That's not the only way to enter this rig – there's an additional side emergency door on the driver's side.

Step inside, and you'll discover a beautifully designed space in spite of the low budget Caleb had. What I love about this design is the open layout – most skoolie builders divide the different rooms inside, but Caleb's layout makes everything seem very spacious.

For the driver's cabin, he added a tiny bookshelf, multiple overhead storage spots, and a countertop just by the door. Another useful system that Caleb often uses is a Jackery portable power station, which can also be charged via portable solar panels.

Move deeper into the vehicle, and you'll be in the kitchen. You'll discover a microwave, an oven, an air fryer, a deep sink, and a portable induction stove. Moreover, there are a bunch of storage spaces in the form of cabinets and drawers. Also, regarding counter space, you won't have any issues inside this rig, as it offers many spots to prepare meals.

Before we go further, I'd like to point out a design detail that I haven't seen so far in skoolies. Most school buses are too short to allow tall people to stand up straight inside, so that's why a roof raise is a popular modification among bus dwellers. That's what Caleb did, but only for the central part of the roof.

Besides raising the roof by 9 inches (23 centimeters), Caleb also devised a skylight, which allows plenty of light to shine inside. What's more, he gave it a stunning wooden design and even integrated a tiny shelf.

Next, we have the dining room area. You'll notice a long shelf on the driver's side of the interior, with mason jar storage below – Caleb screwed in the mason jar caps underneath the shelf, so he can simply remove the jars whenever he needs them. A nice aesthetic touch is that he added string lights in several jars.

The dining room also features a piano, which Caleb stores underneath a long desk. On the opposite side, you'll discover a closet with a custom-made door – it offers a lot of space for storage, especially since it also has a shoe cubby underneath. Also, under the closet, you'll find the vehicle's fuse box. Moreover, behind it, Caleb housed an inverter, which is connected to two stock bus batteries hidden in an exterior compartment. Even though he doesn't have a fixed solar panel system, Caleb said he has plenty of power to run everything in his rig.

The following part of the interior is the lounge area. It features an L-shaped couch that can be transformed into an extra bedroom, and there's also a TV on a swivel mount. What's more, Caleb integrated a subwoofer underneath the couch and added speakers on both sides.

My favorite part of this bus is the bedroom. First, the space looks very cozy, and I love the light feature Caleb installed right above the bed. You might think it's copper, but it's, in fact, spray-painted PVC pipes with string lights attached to them. There's also a skylight above this light fixture.

Another beautiful yet functional design element is the bedroom's headboard, made from quarter-inch plywood. It might seem like just an aesthetic touch, but all the individual panels are, in fact, doors hiding storage spaces with varying sizes.

One thing that's quite different compared to typical bus builds is the bathroom. Caleb devised it in the bus's left rear corner and added a toilet with a foot pedal flush that drains into a 25-gallon (95-liter) black water tank underneath. Around the bathroom corner, he installed a shower, which is connected to a 50-gallon (189-liter) fresh water tank hidden underneath the bed.

All in all, I'm mindblown by how practical and aesthetically pleasing this bus is, given it was built for a mere $10K. I've seen other projects with a $10K budget, and they're not even close to this fantastic build.

Some of the tips Caleb offered are using other people's enthusiasm for the project to carry you through the weeks or months needed for the build, as keeping a high level of motivation is quite challenging. Moreover, make sure to ask for support because people who care about you will try their best to help you.