This School Bus Was Converted Into a Ultra Budget-Friendly Family Home With a Huge Kitchen

Truthfully, you can use almost any base vehicle, be it an RV, truck, camper van, school bus, or other, to create an affordable tiny home on wheels. However, in general, my opinion is that skoolies and ambulances are the best low-cost options.

I know camper vans are a more popular option, but skoolies and ambulances are worthy alternatives. Still, if you prefer camper vans, check out this recent article I wrote about the costs of van life, which include buying or converting a camper van.

Meet the Geasey family: specifically, Hannah, Luke, and their two kids, Essence and Levi. Six years ago, they purchased a 1996 Blue Bird school bus with a front engine and a flat nose. It measures 38 feet (11.6 meters) in length and sports a reliable 5.9 Cumming engine. So far, the engine's reputation has proven true in this family's case.

They spent $7,000 (€6,559) on the base vehicle and a further $8,000 (€7,496) on the conversion, bringing the total price to a mere $15,000 (€14,055). If you're unfamiliar with mobile homes, know that's an excellent deal. Most skoolies I've written about cost about $30,000 to $40,000 (€28,111 to €37,481) to convert.

By comparison, you can expect to pay as much for a professional van conversion (excluding the base vehicle). A DIY van conversion can also be done for $15K, but you will have nowhere as much real estate as a school bus. Anyway, let's take a closer look at this bus.

The rig is very straightforward on the outside. It's finished all around in white paint and boasts two enormous storage compartments. The significant transformation happened inside, so let's enter the bus.

The family left the driver's cabin as it was, except for adding some storage options and various decorative items. Step deeper inside the bus, and you'll be in the seating area. Most bus dwellers devise two couches, one on each side, leaving space in the middle.

However, Hannah and Luke installed a sizeable L-shaped couch on the passenger side and a smaller couch with shoe storage underneath on the opposite side, behind the driver's seat. Both couches cover the front wheel wells. Moreover, the L-shaped one has a large storage spot underneath and also houses the rig's electrical system.

The power system's highlights are the bus's starting batteries, a 200 Ah battery, an inverter, a DC-DC charger, and a solar charge controller connected to 800 W solar panels on the roof. Most buses I've written about have more solar capacity, but these panels are pretty expensive, and this family wanted to keep costs to a minimum.

Next up, we have the "heart of the home": the kitchen. It's always nice to have a well-equipped kitchen when traveling by yourself or with a partner. However, when you have one or more mouths to feed, it's not "nice-to-have" anymore but rather a necessity.

Just like the seating area, the kitchen has an interesting layout. It's located on the passenger side and boasts a "C" shape. It features a ton of counter space, an oven/four-burner stove combo, a huge fridge/freezer, a farmhouse-style sink, and a water filter. What's more, there are plenty of storage options in the form of cabinets, drawers, and shelves.

One striking design detail is the countertop. Even though Hannah and Luke sourced it from a dumpster, they gave it a nice finish by burning them. The duo was inspired by "Shou Sugi Ban", also known as "Yakisugi", which is a traditional Japanese wood-burning technique designed to preserve wood. It not only offers a nice, textured finish to the wood but also has practical advantages: it makes it waterproof and prevents mold and wood rot from forming. Another upside is that the process is not that challenging to perform.

The countertop isn't the only recycled feature on the bus. The couple found the sink in an old shack in West Virginia and sourced the oven/stove from a wrecked RV.

Walk past the kitchen, and you'll be next to the bathroom. The bathroom has two green cabinets, a sliding door, a shower, waterproof walls, a mirror, and a toilet. Given the size of the bus, you'd expect to find a larger bathroom. However, Hannah and Luke sacrificed some of its size to make room for the gigantic kitchen.

The next part of this rig is the kids' bedroom. Essence and Levi each have their own side, with the bed up top and storage spaces underneath.

Finally, we have the master bedroom, separated from the rest of the living space by a door. It features a queen-size bed, under-bed storage, a sizeable wall-mounted TV, a skylight, and a large closet with drawers underneath. Moreover, a nice touch is a mural painted by Hannah on the rear wall.

Considering the relatively tight budget it was built for, it's amazing how aesthetically pleasing and well-equipped this tiny home on wheels is. Hannah and Luke prove you don't need to go into debt to convert a school bus. I'd like to end things with some beautiful words shared by the duo, one that those interested in mobile living might agree with: "The smaller the house, the bigger the world."