This 2005 Blue Bird Bus Has Been Converted Into a Lovely Off-Grid Motorhome

Tom and Jody were not fond of the nomad lifestyle at first. But that quickly changed after hearing so many wonderful stories from nomad people. Before buying a 35 ft (10.6 m) 2005 All-American Blue Bird bus, they sold their big house and moved into an apartment to start downsizing.

Getting older and not wanting to wait until they retire is what made them decide to live and travel on a school bus. They self-converted it into a fully functional house on wheels and have been on the road since July 31, 2022. Tom is a tall person, so before they could truly call this skoolie a home, they had to raise the roof by 20 inches (50.8 cm).

The exterior looks nothing like the original. Even the windows were changed into RV ones and got welded by Tom himself with a tiny bit of help from YouTube tutorials. The boring yellow color was changed to ocean blue and gray on the bottom side.

Storage is not a problem for this RV. The right side of the bus has two storage compartments underneath, while two additional compartments can be found at the back. You can even access them at night thanks to the light provided by the LED strips placed on each side of the bus.

The back side of the bus has a 2 ft (0.6 m) garage-like space housing all the solar and electrical systems since this bus can also run off-grid. It comes with four 100-amp batteries and a 3,000-watt inverter. The solar power provided by this system is enough to run all the appliances. The couple say they never ran out of power.

Once you step inside, you can see that the owners have everything they would in a traditional house. Let's start with the driver’s cab, since this is the first area the couple can access from the outside. Here, they added a few cubbies above the cab and a mini-split that also runs off the solar panels.

This air conditioning system is a must in school buses. Since they are made of metal, the insulation is not the greatest.

The living room and dinette share the same area, and everything is in an open-concept layout. On the left side, we find the dinette designed with two bench seats and a table in the middle. The table can be lowered to the seat level and transformed into a one-person bed.

On the opposite side of the dinette, we find the living room, which is equipped with a small bench couch crafted by Tom and his son. This bench can also extend and transform into a two-person bed.

Next in line is the kitchen. It comes with full-size cabinets and marble-like countertops. Since the couple is on the road most of the time, the cabinets and drawers were a huge problem. The solution that they found was to add RV latches, and until now, they have never opened while driving.

Tom likes to cook, so a practical kitchen was a must for them. It includes a four-burner stovetop, an oven, a fridge, a sink, a blender, and even a small grill.

Moving toward the rear side of the bus, the floor has been raised to fit all the plumbing from the bathroom and kitchen sink. This was done in order to avoid placing the plumbing on the outside and having it freeze in winter.

The bathroom might be small, but it fits all the basics while still looking astonishing. It comes with a stone mosaic shower pan with a wonderful skylight above it and cedar walls. There is also a bathroom vanity with a bowl sink, a mirror, and a dehydrating toilet. The water comes from a 75-gallon (284-liter) tank and goes into a 65-gallon (246-liter) gray water tank.

The last room in this school bus is the master bedroom. Only a two-person bed could fit since there is not much space available. However, there is tons of space underneath the bed that has been transformed into a dresser. More storage is given by the raised floor. Since the deck-like floor has been raised by 1 ft (0.3 m), Tom could fit a few livewells.

Tom and Jody did not mention any price for their motorhome. However, with a quick internet search, we found out these types of school buses are priced as low as $15,000 (€13,992). It all depends on the year and the condition of the bus. You should expect to pay more if it is already converted into a motorhome or if you want to convert it yourself.