School Bus Turned Into a Deluxe Tiny Home Blends an Elegant Design With Modern Features

Skoolies have other perks besides offering a bunch of space. For instance, they're built to be reliable and sturdy, and repairs are usually manageable. Furthermore, you can find good deals on used school buses, and plenty of vehicles are around.

One obvious disadvantage of using a school bus as your home on wheels is that it takes up a lot of space. If you live or plan to travel in the US, that is not a big issue, as the road infrastructure is designed to accommodate such large vehicles, but if you want to hit the road in Europe, for instance, there are many places you won't be able to access.

In addition, converting a school bus takes considerably more time and effort if you do it as a DIY project, or it'll be more expensive if you let a conversion company take care of the process.

Of course, there are various types of school buses. What we have here is a 2007 Chevy short bus equipped with a 6.6 Duramax engine. This example measures 23 feet (7 meters) in length with an interior height of 6'4" (193 cm), and its odometer reads just 130,000 miles (209,214 km).

Epic Skoolies, a conversion company based in Spokane, Washington, carried out this conversion. I've previously covered one of their vehicles here on autoevolution, The Stealth Box.

I'll start discussing the interior from front to back. First of all, the company added a navigation system in the driver's cabin, as well as a speaker box. You'll also notice that, unlike most campers, there isn't a wall separating the cabin from the rest of the interior. The customer opted for this design because they wanted passengers to be able to sit closer to the front.

There's a single seat for the drivers, and the entrance hall and speaker box take up the rest of the area. Above the cabin, you'll discover some storage spaces in the form of cabinets.

Moving deeper into the interior, you'll find a massive couch with a detachable swivel table. Storage spaces underneath the cushions run along the entire length of the couch, which is 8 feet (2.4 meters) long. Moreover, it can be extended into a twin-sized bed so the owner can accommodate a guest onboard.

You'll find the kitchen right across from the couch. It's equipped with a sizeable 12 V fridge/freezer, an oven complete with a three-burner stove, a beautiful copper sink, and various storage options, such as an overhead cabinet, a spice rack, and plenty of drawers.

Next to the kitchen is a decently sized bathroom space featuring a copper shower and a Thetford electric cassette toilet.

And lastly, we have the bedroom. It boasts a fixed bed with two large windows surrounding it and some small storage spaces. A neat detail is that there are two detachable light wands. Moreover, integrated into the ceiling above the bed is a Nomadic Cooling 12 V A/C.

Typically, camper conversions feature large storage spaces under the bed, but this rig houses the 100-gallon (379-liter) freshwater tank in that spot. However, the customer has other storage options throughout the interior. Besides the ones I mentioned earlier, there's a floor-to-ceiling closet with two huge drawers. Furthermore, several cabinets run along the ceiling above the couch.

Before discussing the exterior and the utilities fitted on this camper, I'd like to mention that the interior was tastefully designed, respecting the customers' requests. The white walls and wooden elements complement each other beautifully, and small touches, such as the bedroom accent wall and the matching tiles from the kitchen and bathroom, complete the elegant look.

Even though the "living room" only features a small window, the bus makes up for the lack of sunlight with many lighting fixtures, such as ceiling lights and LED strips running along the furniture.

The high-end features aren't limited to the interior. Outside, you'll discover an RV door that serves as an entrance, complete with a proper locking mechanism and a screen door. Furthermore, the skoolie's side can be covered with a large awning.

Toward the rear, two smaller doors lead directly into the bedroom. That's also how you can access the water system, housed in a waterproof box. The bus is equipped with a 4-gallon (15-liter) water pump, a water gauge, and an accumulator, ensuring you'll always have adequate water pressure.

The electrical system can be accessed by opening the large rear door. It comprises two 600 Ah batteries, an inverter, an alternator charger, a links distributor, a fuse box, and an alternator. It's more than enough to head off-grid, especially when you take into consideration the two 475 W solar panels integrated into a large wooden deck on the roof.

Here's something you don't often see on a camper – the customer wanted to fit a pull-up bar on the left side of the bus, and the conversion company happily delivered. Other notable exterior features include a water heater and a 12-gallon (45-liter) propane tank.

By this point, you're probably wondering how much this rig costs. We don't know the exact figure for this school bus, but Epic Skoolies said most of their vehicle conversions range between $80,000 (€71,896) and $110,000 (€89,870). What you get is a high-end home on wheels fitted with everything you need to enjoy life on the go, whether on or off-grid.