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This Artist's Extremely Cheap Tiny Home on Wheels Reflects Her Free-Spirited Personality

Living full-time on the road certainly isn't for everybody. Some people want a comfort level similar to a conventional home, while others are happy to enjoy the experience with the essentials. Building a camper vehicle can easily be done on a budget if you're not too picky regarding amenities. Take Rita, for example – she's an artist traveling in a tiny skoolie home she built with just $9,000 (€8,227).
Pink Shuttle Bus Camper Conversion 28 photos
Photo: YouTube Screenshot / Tiny House Giant Journey
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Yes, you read that right, only $9,000, and that's including the price of the bus. It's a 2001 Ford shuttle bus with a 6.8-liter Triton V10 engine. It weighs around 14,873 lbs. (6,746 kg), and it's 20 feet (6 meters) long and 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide. Amazingly, she built the bus in a parking lot, and it took her only five weeks and two days. What's more, she used a Haynes manual to learn how to carry out repairs.

Rita's story is similar to many of those adopting van life. After working a corporate job, she wanted to switch to a less hectic lifestyle that offered more freedom. She lived out of her two-door Jeep Wrangler with her two dogs for six months and eventually decided to move into a larger mobile home capable of towing her Jeep.

Rita painted the bus pink and made several other modifications to its exterior. After the original front door flung open while driving on the highway, she fitted a conventional door. There's also a tiny fold-up table she used to have in her Jeep.

Pink Shuttle Bus Camper Conversion
Photo: YouTube Screenshot / Tiny House Giant Journey
A nice thing about this shuttle bus is its many doors: one up front, two on the side, and one at the rear. Rita opened the side doors for proper ventilation and added some curtains for more privacy. She also fitted an outdoor shower on the door, connected to a 12V Camplux propane water heater. There's a 6-gallon (23-liter) water tank, which is relatively small if you ask me, but Rita claims she can get four good showers using it.

In case you haven't noticed by now, this bus is full of personal touches that give it personality. For instance, Rita added many stickers from her travel on the vehicle's rear. Moreover, instead of fitting a metal ladder like most other campers, she opted for a more budget-friendly solution that still does its job. She drilled two bolts into the van's roof and fitted a rope ladder to get on top of the vehicle whenever she needed to work on the 400 W solar panels. Other notable exterior features include an improvised bike rack and a surfboard holder on the van's side.

Once you step inside the bus, you'll be taken aback by the amount of stuff inside. Before jumping to any conclusions, remember that Rita is an artist, and this is not only her home but also her workshop. And you know artists can be; they find their own order in chaos. The pink theme continues inside as Rita spray-painted the dashboard, steering wheel, and door. Just above the windshield, she devised an extra storage space that serves as a library and pantry.

Pink Shuttle Bus Camper Conversion
Photo: YouTube Screenshot / Tiny House Giant Journey
Regarding the headliner, Rita chose a straightforward and affordable option – she chopped up a palette and jumbled the wood together. It has a bit of a rough look, but I find it adds up to the interior's aesthetic. One downside for some people would be that the living space smells like Home Depot, but Rita says that's one of her favorite smells.

The kitchen isn't that big, but Rita managed to fit all the essentials. Instead of installing a standard sink, Rita added a metal bucket with a two-gallon glass water dispenser. Furthermore, you'll notice racks with spices, a fruit hammock, and an overhead cabinet. For cooking, she uses a gas stovetop with a single burner.

Undoubtedly, the heart of this van is the art studio – it's the most important part of the bus for Rita, which motivated her to build this skoolie instead of continuing to live inside the Jeep. Given that what she paints varies, from small paintings to full-on murals, she requires lots of storage for her brushes, paint, and more. Rita added hooks around the studio, where she hangs color palettes, mugs, and other stuff.

Pink Shuttle Bus Camper Conversion
Photo: YouTube Screenshot / Tiny House Giant Journey
Moving deeper into the bus, you'll discover the couch, which doubles as a bed. It can be folded out into a queen size bed, but it provides enough space for lounging even when it's not extended. The fact that windows surround the living room creates an open, pleasant feel. Right above the couch, you'll notice a storage space. To deal with the scorching summer heat, Rita kept the shuttle bus's massive A/C, which cools the area quickly when needed.

You're probably expecting the bathroom to be located right across from the couch. And you'd be right, in a sense. Rita initially fitted a functioning shower and a toilet in there, but she eventually converted the area into a closet.

I bet some of you have already thought about how you could never live like this. But just as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, we all require different amounts of comfort. It's obvious that this pink bus and the lifestyle it offers are making Rita happy. Of course, the rig could use some upgrades here and there, but it's still impressive what Rita managed to create all by herself, spending a mere $9,000.

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About the author: Mircea Mazuru
Mircea Mazuru profile photo

Starting out with a motorcycle permit just because he could get one two years earlier than a driver's license, Mircea keeps his passion for bikes (motor or no motor) alive to this day. His lifelong dream is to build his own custom camper van.
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