Back in February 2021, as we were enjoying the unusual Texas Blizzard and Deep Freeze, we started talking about our van Moose and what we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we would do differently now that we had figured out our travel style, particular needs (can we say “pets”), and long-term Nomad goals.

Backstory: We got into Nomad life when I decided to sell my 16 acre property on the Oregon Coast – an amazing, beautiful, wonderful place that, although I enjoyed it immensely, could never leave because of the responsibility of caring for it and critters, etc. My dear Calvin asked me the life-changing question…

“What is something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the chance to?”

Answer: “Throw the dog in an RV and drive.”

Response: “Let’s do That!”

During the transition process to becoming nomads, we attended every RV show and sales lot in the region. We looked at every conceivable class (A, B, C, Super C, Fifth wheel, you name it), size and price point. We did our research!!

And we walked away with one particular conclusion: No matter what we “bought,” we would have to modify it in someway to suit our particular lifestyle.

Shout out to Mark and Trish Leach of “Keep Your Daydream”, we took to heart their advice of “Start small and start now”. We owned a 1985 GMC P30 Value Van bread delivery van, because who doesn’t? Between Calvin’s skills at vehicle restoration, mechanics and metal work, and my skills at construction, design and cabinet making, we had the perfect skill sets to build our own RV!

Over the course of about 6 months, we crafted the step van into our home “Moose.” It got us on the road quickly and inexpensively, turned us into Nomads, allowed us to see beautiful places, make great life-long friends, and experience adventures we never expected!

Back to Skoolies

Still, our original dream had been to build a Skoolie, a converted school bus. Interestingly, the design we had thought about back in our dreaming days was quite a bit different than the design that came out of those frigid January days in Texas, with several months and several thousand miles of nomad experience under our belts.

Fast forward to May 2021, and we had our complete design concept AND the opportunity to buy a school bus and finally build our Dream Nomad Home!

Why a Skoolie?

1) Space: We started in a quick and relatively inexpensive van just to get out there. In 125 sq ft of living space, we had an 8’ galley kitchen with fridge and chest freezer, 7’ couch, California King Murphy bed, shower (rarely used), composting toilet, 110 gallons of fresh water, and lots of underfloor storage packed into 16 linear feet. Great!

We also had two adult humans (one extra tall), two large dogs and four cats. We added truck tool boxes to front and back and still didn’t have enough space for everyone and every thing, not to mention bikes and kayaks.

By switching to a bus, we get double the living space, plus inside and basement storage for the items we want on our full-time nomad adventure, and a space that fits our living and travel style even better.

2) Designated living/lounging area: We LOVE our California King Murphy bed. Super comfy and plenty big. But when the bed is down, our sofa disappears. When the weather is nice, outside becomes our living room, but inside we have to choose between bed or sofa and our sleep/wake schedules don’t always coincide. Having a designated living/lounge area is high on our list, as is having a place to sit down and eat like civilized people. Most of the time we eat standing at the counter or balancing a plate on our lap – not ideal. Having an actual dining table is on the wish list.

3) Multi-use space: We are both creative people and we work remotely. In the van, we’ll usually set up our laptops on the kitchen counter and work standing up. Cooking, clean up and work surface often compete for space in our current rig. Having more counter space (and varying heights), as well as sit-down table work space, will help us to be more comfortable and productive while we work.

In addition, we plan to keep the Murphy bed format and use the bedroom area as a multi-room: When the bed is down, it pretty much consumes the space. When the bed is up, there will be floor space for yoga and working out, cabinets for additional storage, and a pop-up desk for work or creative pursuits. Very importantly, the space will have a gate so it can be dogs in or dogs out as needed.

4) Traveling together: We have had our van and a chase car throughout our nomad experience. The only time we ever traveled together was while evacuating from a wildfire! The circumstances weren’t great, but we definitely prefer traveling together. Having everything and everyone contained in one rig will be such an improvement!

5) Off-Grid on Steroids: Our van has about 800 watts of solar and used deep cycle lead batteries. It got us moving and managed “most” of our power needs, but if we wanted to use our electric appliances, we’d often have to start up our little generator for an extra boost, plus we’d have to turn off the freezer overnight or our batteries would run too low. Our power systems definitely need a redesign.

Our water set up in the van was actually pretty good. A hundred ten gallons of fresh water meant we could stay out for 3-4 weeks without restocking if we were careful. And having a compost toilet meant we weren’t time limited by the capacity of a black tank. Our biggest water issue was our on-demand water heater not liking our pressure pump, so showers were either cold or scalding, with not a lot in between. Sponge or bucket baths became the norm as a result.

The skoolie’s electric and water systems are significant upgrades! With a roof full of solar panels, 48 amp lithium batteries, over 300 gallons of fresh water capacity and the ability to purify and pump water from just about any source, our off-grid capability is pretty well off the charts!

Those are just some of the changes we are incorporating into our new bus, and we’re very excited!