This family of explorers turned an unlikely rolling relic into a home that’s taken them across many states, into the wild, and straight into a new way of living. What if the key to freedom wasn’t a bigger house or a pricier lifestyle, but a 2002 International bus and a dream bold enough to fill its seats? That’s exactly what the Outlandish Family found when they swapped rent and routine for rusty steel, plywood, and a life on the open road. From a frugal Pinterest scroll to DIY hustle and full-time adventure,

Traveling was never part of our plan. We lived on very little, so we never even considered a bus in our budget, ever. But something changed.

In 2018, I was twenty-three, a stay-at-home mom of two, while babysitting two more Monday through Friday and waitressing on the weekends. Adam, my spouse, was twenty-four, working full-time as a mechanic at a corporate shop.

One day, while browsing Pinterest for ways to save money, DIYs, and online income, I somehow came across a pin from a full-time RVer. It was a graph showing their expenses over the year, the places they visited, and the miles they traveled.

They had not only visited 33 states and two countries, but had put fewer miles on their rig than we did on our family car! Not to mention they spent less on it, and they owned their home.

Driving the same number of miles from county to county, paying more money a year to live in a house we’d never own, and working every day just to live. So needless to say, this graph had my attention. I started diving into RV life, which led to bus and van conversions and life on the road in general.

I told Adam about it, and knew we could have a better life if we lived on less. The kids are getting older, and so are we. They’d be in sports and school soon, with more reasons not to leave. The list of bills was getting longer, and so were our wants and needs.

We decided we would never have another chance to do this because, after this crappy rental house we were in, we would be working towards buying a home. Once we had that commitment, it would be impossible to buy an RV or bus to renovate and travel in with that lifestyle and those responsibilities.

We couldn’t afford a new RV and didn’t want to take on monthly payments, though that would be an easier option. The old RVs wouldn’t be as durable for full-time use even after renovation. Plus, we decided we would be doing mainly boondocking, so we considered that when choosing the motor, vehicle clearance, etc. We agreed that we could make a bus work.

My Grandma knew about our rental and that it had a water situation that was getting worse, and offered her home to us until we found our next one. This was not an easy decision for us, but it might have been our only chance to try, so we left our rental, sold off a lot of our stuff, and moved in with her.

When we got our tax return, we started looking for buses. Starting with Craigslist. We found a local school auction on a Sunday morning and attended.

They started going for more than we thought was reasonable, so standing there, Adam got back on Craigslist to continue the hunt. He found a place in Indiana with 20+ buses for sale. We left the auction, deciding to take advantage of our sitters, and made the 4-hour drive.

Four hours later, we chose a full-size bus based on a few mechanical things. After talking the man down about $300, we drove home through three states with construction, down to one lane with traffic. Add in some mechanical issues with the bus, and it was dark. but when we were finally almost home, we had never been so happy to see Detroit. We made it to his shop on an adrenaline rush, and we shakily hugged, looking at our home.

We did all the converting ourselves, working after hours, from 6 pm Monday through Friday, afternoons on Saturdays, and all day on Sundays.

Gutting the bus.

Laying down the plywood for the floor.

We did this with our two toddlers while trying to stay sober and stay together at the same time. We learned everything we needed to know, one thing at a time, from YouTube and other resources. We had no carpentry skills. Just a dream that stayed inspired by Instagram and the will to make it happen.

Our temporary air mattress bed.

Insulation is in.

Laying the floor.

The bus is starting to look better.

This was all done on a very tight budget. Adam quit his job at the shop. That was stressful when we moved in with Grandma and went to a smaller shop where we could park our bus and work there. We had an air mattress in the bus as soon as it was gutted, and we stayed as often as possible to get work done because we had a 1-hour commute home from there.

The walls are roughed in.

There is nothing fancy about our bus that stands out among the rest. On a weekly budget, we bought what we could each week, except for tax money that helped us make a couple of larger purchases, like our compost toilet, solar equipment, and fridge.

We recycled our A/C unit and as much wood as possible. We built in storage everywhere we could. We welcomed our daughter when we were almost done with our build and put a crib above the dresser. Our bed folds into a couch, giving us more room for kids and letting us use the back door to go out onto our deck.

We added an apartment-sized washer as well, thinking with a new baby on board, it was a necessity, and while we were stationed, it definitely was. But now that we are on the road doing dispersed camping full-time without a hookup, we don’t use it at all.

We’ve discussed getting rid of it or keeping it, but we think it’s worth keeping it for when we are parked again in the future. Something for others to consider when deciding whether to bring a washer is the kind of camping you will be doing. If you usually have full hookups, it’s worth it, but if not, we don’t believe it is. With minimal water capacity and so many needs for it, it goes to dishes, cleaning, and showers before one load of laundry.

Constructing the sofa.

Our couch cushions were custom-sewn at a foam factory shop. We brought them our fabric and our dimensions, and they applied the right amount of foam with zippers for easy removal during cleaning.

With three kids and a dog, I would not choose fabric for the couch. It’s way too hard to wipe off. We heard bad reviews about leather, too, but we have friends with pleather covers from Amazon, and they wipe down easily. Another mistake I feel we made was choosing the wrong fabric for our overly loved couch, but we can fix that with no problem.

Our kitchen is basic but functional.

We were finally able to use our bus as it was designed.

We have been full-time travelers for the past eight months, spending our first winter away from Michigan. We have never paid for camping, water, garbage, or electricity. We were living freely.

We’ve camped on BLM lands, national forests, national grasslands and parks, Walmart’s, truck stops, a church, Cracker Barrel, and private properties (with permission).

We dispose of our trash with permission when we purchase something at a store, gas station/truck stop, or rest area. We get water from truck stops, gas stations, natural springs, casinos, welcome centers, parks, and more. We use solar for electricity, but we rely on our generator more than we would like. Increasing our solar and batteries will help with this issue, and it’s happening soon.

Our household bills include propane for our water heater, fridge, and, eventually, maybe our stove. We have a 40-gallon propane tank mounted under the bus that we refill every two to three months. As for diesel fuel for our heater and the bus, and gas for our generator, this depends on how long we stay at our spots, how far we travel when we leave, and the weather, all of which vary from month to month.

Living and traveling in our bus has taught us so much. About each other and ourselves. About our resources and how much we waste. About how little we actually need; how much we can accumulate. We’ve met some really cool people and have had the time to hear their stories. We love how much more time we have together and how much we’ve learned together.

This life can be hard; it is not all sunshine and rainbows, but it has been worth every minute for us. And I honestly think everyone can benefit from this lifestyle. Being a traveler humbles you. Having everything you own on you and driving down the road will make you vulnerable. You will always be uncomfortable and usually feel uncertain. But that is where and when you grow as a human, where you will learn the most.

The view from our window.

As a traveler and someone living with little, you have to tread lightly wherever you go. Walk kindly, listening to those around you. You are always on guard and looking for ways to survive and get by. When you need a helping hand, you may be asking a stranger.

When you feel lonely, you will make new friends. No one knows you or your accomplishments. There is no credibility for who you say you are when you’re not in your hometown. I really feel this mentality, and this way of life will help you realize so much about life and what’s important. We are proud to be a Skoolie family.

It is so quiet here.

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