The Build
40 Feet of Crazy
We bought a 2003 International school bus with 180,000 miles, a questionable smell, and more potential than sense. Here is every phase of the conversion — the wins, the failures, and the moments we questioned everything.
40 ft
Of Bus
8 mo
Build Time
180k
Miles on the Clock
1
Family, All In
Before & After
Same Bus. Different Life.
She came with original seats, mystery stains, and the spirit of ten thousand field trips. We loved her immediately.
Same bones. Completely different soul. This is what 8 months of weekends and a lot of YouTube tutorials looks like.
Phase by Phase
How We Did It
Demo Day
Month 1
The most satisfying and terrifying day of the whole build. We ripped out 72 seats, three decades of rubber flooring, and every last shred of our comfort zone.
Armed with impact drivers, pry bars, and absolutely no idea what we were doing, we stripped the bus down to bare metal. Turns out removing school bus seats is deeply satisfying. The floor underneath was... educational. We found things. We do not speak of the things.
- ▸72 seats removed in one weekend
- ▸Original flooring and subfloor pulled
- ▸Rust treated and sealed throughout
- ▸First real look at what we were working with
Insulation
Month 2
Spray foam, rigid foam, Thinsulate — we researched every option and landed on a hybrid approach that keeps us comfortable from the Rockies to the desert.
Thermal bridging, vapor barriers, condensation management — words we did not know before this build. We went with closed-cell spray foam on the walls and ceiling, rigid foam board on the floor, and Thinsulate in the cavities. The bus went from a tin can to a surprisingly well-insulated home.
- ▸Closed-cell spray foam on walls and ceiling
- ▸Rigid foam board subfloor system
- ▸Thinsulate in all remaining cavities
- ▸Thermal bridging addressed at every rib
Framing & Walls
Months 3–4
This is where it started looking like a real home. Furring strips, wall panels, and the first moment we could actually picture living here.
We framed out the walls with 1x2 furring strips screwed into the bus ribs, then paneled with shiplap-style pine boards. Every cut had to work around the curved ceiling and the wheel wells. It took twice as long as we planned and looked twice as good as we hoped.
- ▸Pine shiplap wall paneling throughout
- ▸Custom curved ceiling panels
- ▸Wheel well boxes built and finished
- ▸All walls plumb and square (mostly)
Electrical & Solar
Month 5
400 watts of solar, a 200Ah lithium battery bank, and enough 12V outlets to charge every device the kids own. Off-grid capable and proud of it.
This was the phase that scared us most. We watched every Will Prowse video twice, drew the wiring diagram three times, and still had a licensed electrician review it before we flipped a single breaker. The result: a system that runs the whole bus on solar for days at a time.
- ▸400W rooftop solar array
- ▸200Ah lithium iron phosphate battery bank
- ▸30A shore power hookup
- ▸12V and 120V circuits throughout
Interior Finish
Months 6–8
Kitchen, bathroom, sleeping loft, and the ten thousand small decisions that make a bus feel like home. This is where the personality came through.
A full galley kitchen with a two-burner propane stove and a real sink. A wet bath that actually works. A sleeping loft for the kids and a queen bed in the back. Built-in storage everywhere. It is not a tiny house — it is a home that happens to have wheels.
- ▸Full galley kitchen with propane stove
- ▸Wet bath with composting toilet
- ▸Kids sleeping loft with safety rails
- ▸Queen bed with under-bed storage
Want to Build Your Own?
We document everything — the parts list, the mistakes, the things we would do differently. Follow along and we will help you avoid the worst of our learning curve.