We converted a $12,000 shuttle bus into a tiny house on wheels. Here's what it's like living in it full time and how we did it.
Michael Cassata and Sara Cokeley
- Michael Cassata and Sara Cokeley turned a shuttle bus into their long term home.
- Since purchasing their bus they have put roughly $16,000 into renovating it.
- Living on the road can be challenging, but it's something they recommend people try if they can.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Cassata and Sara Cokeley who live and travel in their converted shuttle bus. It has been edited for length and clarity.
During the pandemic, I converted a van with my brother. I loved the van and knew I wanted to do it again, but this time with my fiancé Sara.
Michael and Sara
At the time, Sara and I were in the process of moving from Orlando, Florida to the Pacific Northwest and we were deciding between renting an apartment or converting a bus.
Both options came with an expense, we liked the idea of living on the road. We also liked the idea of putting our money into something that we would own.
I love that we can travel and save on costs like hotels now that we live in our shuttle. We can go to our friends' houses, the middle of the woods, or anywhere at all and we have our belongings with us. We have running water, and we can take showers and cook, too. It feels like we're glamping all the time.
How to find the right shuttle bus
Michael and Sara
When we first started searching for a bus to renovate, we found several that seemed promising, but none of them were right for what we needed.
Many of them had mechanical problems, for example, and one bus we looked at wouldn't even start up when we went to go see it.
I remember the day we finally found our shuttle bus. It was 2 a.m. and I was scrolling through eBay when I stumbled across a bus for $18,000 in Atlanta Georgia. It had 83,000 miles on it, but it was originally owned by a nursing home and it looked well-maintained.
At first I thought this bus was way out of our budget, but I reached out to them anyway. The worst they could say is no.
I offered $12,000. By the next morning they agreed to my offer, and Sara and I hopped on a plane to Atlanta the next day. We then drove it back home and began to renovate it.
How we renovated our bus
Since purchasing our bus, we've put roughly $16,000 into the renovation. Thankfully my dad is a carpenter and I've learned many of my skills from him.
Michael and Sara
Still, we faced some challenges and we didn't know how to do everything.
For example, the structure of a bus is curved. This means everything on the inside of the bus also has to have a curve. We run completely off the grid and had to learn how to work around the curve and install things like electricity.
Michael and Sara
The electricity on our bus is the most expensive thing we installed. It cost us nearly $5,000 which is actually on the lower end for electricity.
To run electricity on our bus we have three solar panels on the roof. Each solar panel is 200 watts. This allows us to use our TV, our blender or anything like that on the bus.
The plumbing was simple for us to install. You would think it would be a huge task, but really it wasn't. We wanted a nice water heater and it cost us nearly $500. It's called a tankless water heater, and as soon as the water hits the line, it heats up by propane. Our used water is then held beneath the bus in a gray water tank until we can dump it.
We also have a cassette toilet on our shuttle which is in the shower. The toilet holds both clean water and it holds wastewater, too.
With this type of toilet, you can easily take it apart and then get rid of it at a dump station.
Additionally, when it comes to using the restroom we usually go to Costco or Walmart, which is where we shop anyway.
There are challenges that come from living on the road
There are challenges to living this way but I'm happy. When you live in a van, or in our case a shuttle, there's always something to fix. In the past we have had our fridge break, and our AC broke once too.
While these things are small, they happen constantly, especially the more you travel. It's important to save up your money in case something goes wrong, like breakdowns. Those are never fun and it's best to be prepared for the worst.
Another challenge we face li ving on the road is having unreliable cell service — many of the places we travel to have limited cell service. We do a lot of things that require a stable connection, like posting on our social media, managing Sara's earring shop online, posting YouTube videos, and making user-generated content for companies.
Sara and Michael
We'll usually ride our bikes into town and find a cafe or park with good wifi and reception to get those things done.
We make less money, but we're happier
We both used to work jobs that we hated, but we stayed for the money. We were working at Disney World in the restaurant industry. Sara was working two jobs that allowed her to make $4,000 a month and I was making $3,200 a month with my job.
It was a very hard decision to leave because we were making really good money for the amount of hours we both worked a week.
Sara now works at different farmers markets selling earrings, which we travel, too. She also sells her earrings online. The amount of money she makes depends on how many markets she attends, the season, and the locations we are at.
I work as a DJ and make anywhere from $600 to $900 from each wedding I DJ.
Although we make less money now, we realize that we would rather enjoy our lives even if it means making less. We now just want to enjoy the time we have when we have it.
While living on the road is challenging, it's something I recommend people try if they're interested in it.
If you have a fun, unique home and would like to share your story, email Alyshia Hull at ahull@insider.com.
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