Most people only dream of traveling the country, soaking in all of the intriguing sites and absorbing the culture. But husband and wife duo Robbie and Priscilla, along with their cat Mr. Beebles, wanted to make that dream a reality.
The couple has worked remotely for some time and traveled, too. So with such flexibility in earning a living, they decided they could hit the wide-open road while still working and take along Mr. Beebles.
“We hated leaving our pets at home and missed them when we were away. We needed a way to continue to travel and have them with us.”
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Sadly, their travel plans included Mr. Beebles and his buddy, their black lab. But now it’s just Mr. Beebles helping navigate.
“When we started building, we had a dog and a cat. We only have a cat now. Our black lab was diagnosed with cancer one month before we planned to get on the road and her health declined rapidly after that. She didn’t get to come on the bus journey but she is in our hearts.”
So they downsized into what’s called a skoolie, a 1998 Thomas school bus that they transformed into their very own pet-friendly tiny house on wheels. Not only could they take along Mr. Beebles, but they could pursue their passion for travel.
The couple knew what they wanted. They just had to make it a reality.
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It wouldn’t be easy, but they were determined. The lure of the open road was enough to push them forward with the project.
“We are our happiest when traveling, when exploring new places, when trying new foods, when immersing ourselves in new cultures. We thrive off of experiencing new things and going on adventures. There is something magical about traveling. It goes beyond seeing different sights. It’s the experiences that change you. We would come home from our trips ready to plan our next adventure. It left us thirsty for another memorable experience.”
Transforming a big yellow kid-hauling bus into a pint-sized home is not an easy task. Robbie and Priscilla threw themselves into the remodeling and retrofitting project with enthusiasm.
They made sure the bus would have everything they would need to live day-to-day on the road, at campgrounds, wherever they may need or want to park and stay for an overnight or a week.
They chose a bus for this big project because they thought it would feel more like a home than an RV.
“We love tiny homes and admire the lifestyle of those who live in them so we thought, ‘Why not build one on wheels?’ We even added an actual house door to give it that welcoming look.”
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They also wanted to have a mobile home that could be completely off-grid and totally customizable. Not all motorhomes had what they envisioned.
“Some of the features that we have which are not found in your typical RV/motorhome are a wood-burning stove, real brick wall, completely solar, real quartz countertops, real tiles, real glass shower door and more. Also, school buses are designed safer than RVs in the event of an accident.”
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It took them 1.5 years to get the bus ready. And it wasn’t an easy chore. Leaking windows required a complete replacement and after the couple had spent more than a year on the project, their engine stopped working. A blown gasket forced the bus to be in the shop for months.
The bus already had an air conditioning unit on the ceiling though. They added two heaters: a propane marine heater and a wood-burning stove/heater.
“The propane heater is for cold temperatures but not too cold. We used it one night when it was 33 degrees and it was comfortable. (The wood stove) heats up the bus so much that we haven’t needed to use it yet. We expect this winter, though.”
The bedroom in the back accommodates a full-sized bed. The full-sized kitchen features a farmhouse sink, quartz countertops, cabinets and a cleverly-designed pull-out pantry. The large refrigerator and oven range top it off.
The ceilings are comprised of cedar tongue and groove panels. The white walls set off the living area that houses a small couch. Underneath the loft bed is stored a washer and dryer.
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Their full bathroom includes a tiled shower with a glass shower door. There are also two outdoor showers.
They ended up with 210 square feet with a 24-volt system powered by six 360-watt solar panels and equipped with eight six-volt 315AH Trojan batteries, which allows them to operate off the grid.
“We left our home in Orlando, Florida, on March 21, 2019, and headed up the East Coast. We were on the road for almost 10 months and traveled all the way up to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We visited 137 different cities on that trip without having an itinerary. We just went with the flow.”
The couple then headed back home for a few months thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We had a few abroad trips planned for the beginning of 2020 but we only went on one of our trips to Brazil. The others were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. We manage our business and investments remotely so as long as we have the Internet, we can be anywhere. We don’t use our savings for travel but that’s definitely an option that works for many people who are looking to do something similar but can’t work remotely.”
While Robbie and Priscilla would love to pack their bags and head back overseas, in the meantime, they will be finishing their tour of the U.S. and Canada with Mr. Beebles their buddy as the co-pilot.
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