What It’s Like To Live In A School Bus – 15 Inspiring Skoolie Conversions

A skoolie which basically means a school bus converted into a home, can essentially be considered the original tiny home. Before tiny homes on wheels became a modern trend skoolie conversions were very similar to that. Today we’re going to look at a few such projects and explore this world a bit more.

school bus conversion or skoolie conversions

As a general idea, a skoolie is a mix between an RV and a tiny house on wheels and typically measures somewhere between 254 and 300 square feet on the inside which is quite a bit more than the 160 square feet that a regular 20ft x 8ft shipping container measures.

15 Inspiring Skoolie Conversions – school bus conversion

School bus cabin rental conversion near Austin

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

This 250 sq ft skoolie can accommodate up to 4 guests and can be rented as a holiday home similarly to how you’d rent a cabin. The difference is this is actually a bus. The interior is super cozy and has all the basic necessities. There’s a full kitchen with storage space inside the top and bottom cabinets and more accessories around that, a fold down table, a lovely little living room with loveseats facing each other, a bathroom with a shower in the corner and a beautiful bedroom at the back of the bus behind closed doors for privacy. Follow @thehivedrivebus for more info.

A couple’s tiny school bus home with a farmhouse interior

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

This school bus conversion was done by a couple who chose it as their home rather than wanting to live in a standard apartment. They spent 20 months transforming a 1998 school bus into what would eventually become a charming tiny home and they included lots of beautiful features like skylights, a little hidden office nook, a cozy bedroom with a loft bed, a closet and a bathroom with a beautiful scalloped tile pattern in the shower. Follow @theskooledyogi to find out more about it.

The Melody Machine

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

The Melody Machine is the name of a skoolie that belongs to a couple who use it travel the world and make music in. They spend 2 and a half years converting the bus into a tiny home that they can be proud of. It’s a home that suits their bohemian lifestyle and it looks lovely both inside and out. It has a cozy living area with a little stove up on the wall, a custom storage area, a loft bedroom with a queen-sized bed, chalkboard walls, a guitar amp key holder plenty more details that make it feel like a real home. Check out @zakanddiane to see what else makes this skoolie special. 

School bus turned into a colorful adventure home

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

This skoolie is the home of Aaron and Lena from Roadside Tales and has a surprisingly big interior. There’s plenty of space inside a school bus after you remove all the seats. In this case, there was plenty of room to create a relaxing living area with a sofa, a table and some storage, a full kitchen, bathroom and even a bedroom with a king-sized bed. They used mostly reclaimed materials for this conversion which gives this tiny home on wheels a lot of character. The interior is really colorful and is filled with plenty of different textures, layers and patterns. 

A tiny home for a big family

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Not everyone dares to call a skoolie their new full-time home. However, the Bhive Family was not afraid of the challenge so the parents and 4 kids moved into this converted school bus and called it home. They traveled together and used this as an opportunity to find out more about one another and about themselves. Simplicity suits them and their new nomadic lifestyle. 

A full-time home on the road for a family of 6

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Just by looking at it from the outside you wouldn’t really guess this is anything more than just a regular bus. However, on the inside this 40′ Thomas high-top bus is actually a beautiful home for a family of fix. The Mayes Team family converted this into a wonderful home on wheels for a 2-year long adventure with they had planned. They had 250 square feet of space to work with and they managed to do a wonderful job at making it look super modern clean and stylish. White is the main color, mixed with warm natural wood accents, light greys and stylish gold details. 

a 1992 school bus home called Fern 

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Meet Fern, a tiny home on wheels that used to be a 1002 school bus. A couple from Minnesota turned it into a cozy little home that they can travel around the country with together with their son and their beloved dog. They did all the transformation themselves and it took them around 7 months to complete it. They then started using this as a mobile home for trips that range between a couple of days and a full month. They made it nice and cozy inside, with a bed, a comfortable seating area, a kitchen, plenty of storage space and all sorts of little details that make this feel like an actual little home. 

Tiny skoolie for rent in West Virginia

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

If you’re not sure whether living or traveling in a skoolie is for you, perhaps it would help to try it out for a few days and see how it feels. There’s quite a few rental opportunities, like this tiny school bus home from West Virginia available on airbnb. Their air conditioning and heaters that keep the interior cool during summer and warm when it’s cold outside and there’s also a fire pit outside that you can gather around after sunset. The interior is fairly simple and traditional, with a retro vibe that suits the old school bus shell. 

Backyard skoolie rental

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

If you’re even in Olympia, Washington you can check out this beautiful skoolie which can be booked on compost toilet and shower, a bedroom with storage underneath and a fairly spacious living area with comfortable sofas facing each other. 

Off-the-grid tiny house inside a school bus

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Since the main idea of a skoolie is that it can successfully be transformed into a cozy tiny home while still remaining a functional vehicle that can be taken on adventures, making sure it can function completely off-the-grid seems like a wise and great idea. That’s exactly what this skoolie is all about. It’s been designed to be taken anywhere and it’s a great adventure home, with a comfortable bed to sleep in at night, a place to cook and to spend time in during the day and everything else you’d expect from a regular home. Check out Living Big In A Tiny House for a tour of the place. 

An adventure home on wheels

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Having the freedom to go whenever they want without having to worry about logistics and renting hotel rooms inspired the owners of this skoolie to try something new. They took a pretty basic school bus and converted it into a home, one that they can live in comfortably and that they can also travel around with. They can take this tiny house on wheels off-the-grid and enjoy a perfect vacation as a family whenever the schedule allows them to. It’s really convenient especially in the recent times. If you want a tour of this place, check out Living Big In A Tiny House

Gorgeous $12k DIY School Bus Conversion – 24ft Tiny House On Wheels

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

A skoolie is in some ways more than just a vehicle or a tiny home. It’s a way of life and there’s plenty of aspects to consider before making such a change. Tiny Home Tours give some really useful insight into this along with a cool description of this beautiful 24ft school bus turned into a mobile home. It has a very airy and bright interior thanks to the array of windows on either side and these were left exposed in order to let the sun get in and to give a nice view of the outside world at the same time. The light colors create a warm and welcoming decor and all the little things like the floating shelves, the curtains and the decoration help to make this place feel like home no matter where it goes. 

Skoolie conversion 101 – a daring DIY project

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Converting a school bus into a house is no easy task, there’s no doubt about it. It takes lots of time and dedication and it needs to be a methodical process. The project starts by first getting the bus ready for the actual renovation by removing everything inside and taking care of the plumbing and basic finishes. Modern Builds offers a tutorial series which explains the entire process in steps, each focused on a particular section of the project. Check it out if you’re interesting in doing something like this for yourself or if you’re curious to see how these skoolie conversions are actually done. 

A peek into what it’s like to transform a school bus into a livable space

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

Before all the pretty little details are added, all the rough work needs to be done in order to fully transform a school bus into a space that you can actually live in. It takes commitment, time and effort and it helps to have a clear vision of what it will all look like once it’s all said and done. If you’re curious to know more about this particular part of the project check out this video shared by Zeppelin Travels. It’s full of useful information. 

Living full-time in a school bus

Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom
Couples DIY School Bus Conversion bedroom

The challenges of living full-time in a converted school bus has inspired this couple to discover and to enjoy minimalism and to think outside the box. They really enjoy owning their own home even if it’s tiny and on wheels which, to be fair, can in fact be considered in advantage in some ways. Check out this tour of their lovely home of wheels offered by Tiny Home Tours. It shows the beautiful interior of their 2001 Bluebird school bus and all the cool little features inside.