Ultimately, this lifestyle has taught us to be grateful and less controlling. However, she became a community project. Did we struggle during the build? Yes, for sure. We are finally finished and are excited to travel. Lavinia, named after my mother, is my midlife crisis art project.

We purchased “Lavinia” in July 2021 from a private party advertised on Facebook Marketplace for $15,000. She's a 1999 Blue Bird Diesel Pusher: 40 feet long, 84-seat capacity, 32' inside by 8' outside, with an inside width of 7' 6". She stands 6' 2" tall inside without a roof raise. Lavinia has an 8.3L ISB Cummins Diesel, 6-cylinder, Allison MT643 Transmission, 5-speed automatic, with 250 HP. She has a 60-gallon fuel tank and a 50-gallon gray water tank. 

She was already converted for basic camping but without any plumbing or solar. She came with a fridge, Nature’s Head® toilet, and all the basic fixtures we would need, and it felt like a great deal. It took Alan two weeks to recover from the anxiety of driving her for the first time.  

First, we took her to Tony at AAA Bus Sales in Phoenix, Arizona, where the bus had a history of service. Tony gave her a once over, installed new belts and hoses, repaired heater lines, serviced the transmission, driver's seat, steering wheel and column, and installed new rear tires, all for roughly $4,000. 

We found affordable storage on the Neighbor® App to avoid fines and abuse from our HOA. I think we paid $135 per month. We called ten van and bus conversion companies, and all were booked up over six months to a year. I went to social media and posted a request on Facebook for someone to convert our bus.

While waiting, we inspected and registered her as an RV at Prompt Title and Registrations in Phoenix. We highly recommend Mike; he took very good care of us. Fun fact: In 2022, he was cranking out 300 monthly bus inspections and registrations. That shows you that the Skoolie craze is more than just a fling. Affordable housing is rare in Phoenix, and people are still getting creative. We feel priced out of home ownership. 

After conversations with available builders via Facebook, we picked Ross @rollinglivingusa in Flagstaff. We never created a floor plan because he was so knowledgeable that we didn't feel the need. We helped with the demolition by removing the bunk beds, walls, and ceiling. Ross confirmed that the electrical work was good and that he didn't need to rewire her. Based on our energy needs, he sourced and installed ten 250-watt solar panels from San Tan Solar in Gilbert, Arizona. 

He suggested the nifty Berkey® fill spout, induction cooktop, and the Husky tool cabinet for a kitchen. We love each. We were shocked and upset when Ross emailed us that he couldn't continue with our bus. We could have responded more gracefully, but we lashed out. We trusted Ross entirely, adopted every recommendation he gave, and felt we were in the most capable hands. The hardest part was that Ross removed the bus entry door. That created panic when driving from Flagstaff to Phoenix.  

While looking for another builder, we decided to get Lavina's exterior painted and replace the door. We picked Fleet Painting. Dan, the owner, paints all the Phoenix city buses, so we felt safe. He treated us like royalty, and we had a beautiful blue bus within a week for far less money than we imagined.

Next, we took Lavinia to Element Metals in Phoenix, for a new entrance door. They made a custom standing desk for Alan but have yet to work on a bus door. We tried to describe how to do the door, but it was challenging. They put the door on backward and broke the top window when they installed the lock. We discovered the broken window when we returned to Fleet to paint the door. The door and standing desk came in at $2,400, and I started making phone calls to the nomads we met at SkooliePalooza.

Virginia from the @thebusyzenbus and Bob from the @morningdewskoolie are two of the nomads we met at Skooliepalooza. Virginia videoed Lavinia for her YouTube channel. When I contacted her about our dilemma, she agreed to host our bus build and recruited Bob. We planned a four to six-week build to avoid the monsoon rains. The next day, the HOA permitted us to load the bus as our neighbor created a scene. She screamed insults as we loaded the bus. Within a few hours, we left for Show Low, Arizona.

We rented a room at the KC Motel so Alan could work. We unloaded everything from the bus into a tent. Bob and Virginia framed everything in two days. They installed our solar system: two Victron® controllers, 250/70 and 150/100, which regulate energy flow, and two Renogy® 3000 watt inverters, which transfer the DC to AC power from batteries. 

They installed three 206-volt batteries for 618 volts of power from SOK®, a mini-split, sinks, a husky tool cabinet for our kitchen, and the tall black file cabinet as our dresser. Three smaller filing cabinets provide side tables and more storage. My favorite area Bob did is our Quan Yin Alter to my mother. I rescued the Balinese statue from Goodwill, and she presides over our home, instilling compassion for all. We then left Arizona, heading north.

Our first attempt at free camping sucked as the roads were too rough. That left us driving around searching for parking in the dark. Defeated, we decided to pay to park in RV parks. We loved River's Edge in Heber City, UT, and a week at Ken's Lake in Moab. The water saved us as temperatures hit 100 degrees outside. We scaled a 9,000-foot incline over Soldier Summit outside of Moab, and Lavinia overheated. Coolant was boiling out all over the highway. We had to limp her to Landon's Diesel Repair and found the only motel under $150/night to stay. Landon flushed the radiator and added a new cap for $800, and we paid another $350 for a motel.    

Lavinia let us know she doesn't like to travel in hot weather. We continued to overheat unless we woke at 4:00 am to travel. We spent a week in Idaho with Alan's folks for a much-needed reunion. We shared snow-birding stories and swam with grandkids and cousins as temps reached 105 degrees outside. On July 5th, we made it to Union, Oregon, looking for cooler weather.

My daughter found parking for us in a vacant lot owned by one of her friends. After obtaining the required town parking permit, I immediately posted help-wanted signs for a handyman/woman help in the grocery and hardware store. I then called every contractor in a 60-mile radius. After several weeks passed, and no one showed up to look at the jobs, we felt defeated. Except for the window guy, he did show up when scheduled and did an amazing job. Having the upper window in the door made Alan's driving much easier. 

A break came when we entered Lavinia into the annual Union Oregon Grassroots Festival and car show. We connected with the townspeople and found a guy to tile the shower. When we were ready to leave the event, Lavinia would not start. As the streets cleared, we paid for Coach-Net and had the bus towed to the Freightliner in LaGrande, Oregon. 

We spent another few nights on my daughter's floor and $2,000 at Freightliner. However, they could not address the real issue, the fuel solenoid. The new unit from the manufacturer was over $1,100, so we called Tony at AAA. Again, he told us to order the new solenoid from Ebay® for $30, and he'd install it when we returned to Arizona. Hooray for that win-thank you, Tony, but now we have to push up the solenoid by hand to start her. Oh well.

The last straw was the tile guy at $90/hour, who came with promises of a one—to two-day job. However, he got frustrated, packed up his tools, and quit. Thankfully, the company's owner didn't charge us for anything, and we now had half a shower, but we were at our emotional limit. We were hot, frustrated, and very grumpy. We decided that if all we do is confuse locals, we need to meet others living like us.  

We bought tickets to Descend on Bend®. This event is held annually and is popular with all the van lifers. The music was fantastic, but we were unprepared for the heat and dust. Before leaving our new friends, we learned of another event, Northwest Nomads®, in just a few weeks. As we yielded to enter the highway, our door handle broke, and our heavy door flew wide open, nearly causing us to wreck. That ass-puckering driving situation caused so much stress that we needed several days to recover.  

We returned to Union, Oregon, when our friend and Alan's new golf partner Sylvain @theunionmerc volunteered to help us. He put the tile up, and I grouted it. Sylvain then attempted to weld the new door but needed more power than our solar system could provide. We called Nick @deadmanplasma, and he agreed to try. Our solar system was not powerful enough to run his welder, either. 

About then, Alan started a conversation with our only neighbors, Terry and Kathleen, whom we still needed to meet. I'm unsure what Alan said, but within a few minutes, an extension cord ran from their house to Nick's welder. Nick welded the new lock, and we celebrated a functioning door! It was a great gift! We have friends for life, and having a shower makes events way more enjoyable. 

We returned to Bend and met our Descend friends at Phil's Trail Head. We hired Heidi at Way Finder The Bus to paint a custom mural on Lavinia. This group taught us how to read online maps, helped us fix our water pump, figure out our grey tank, and more. Then we connected with Shawn and Jess @CruxandBeta and hired them to hang our decorative doors.

The next morning, we woke up to a bus filled with white smoke from the solar closet. We were terrified that our bus would be too dangerous to continue. 

While the doors were mounted, we called a solar company in Bend to see why we had smoke and why the mini-split kept failing. The solar company requested we email detailed photos of our system. They gave us a list of "problems" with our design and quoted us $2,000 to fix it. Luckily, we ran into Scott at Nomad Solar, who fixed all our solar problems for much less. We said goodbye with a gorgeous mural on the sides of the bus, a working mini-split, feeling safe and ready for the last leg of our journey to Washington.

After a week, the weather turned cold and rainy in Puyallup, WA. We had to get creative for electricity. We ran an extension cord from our friend's building for a week until the flooring could be installed. Next, we invested in an electric mattress pad, which is still among our best decisions. We chose recycled rubber flooring from Justrite® for $400. We like that it's antifungal and antibacterial and that we can glue it down. I even like the color, black with blue flecks, but cleaning it is a chore. We thanked everyone for their kindness and headed south on I-5 just as the sleet and snow flurries began.  

Our most expensive month of traveling was in California. Diesel fuel was $7/gallon, and no free camping was to be found. We received our first "knock on the door" from the police in Solvang, California. That shook us up, and we did not enjoy moving late at night. We agreed to pay for a Harvest Hosts membership that allowed us to stay at golf courses, wineries, hobby farms, and various unique places: the golf fees, fuel, and the Harvest Hosts mandatory purchases made this month more expensive than expected. 

The rain continued at our first tiny home show, Tiny Fest, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The rain dampened the Skoolie tours, but it was fun for our grandsons. They met "real" Skoolie kids and were suddenly fans. The rest of the finishing touches on the bus have been done in little bits by nomad friends we met camping. One special friend, Mark (no social media), has helped me complete all the wood trim, screens, and too many odd jobs to list. 

Skooliepalooza 2023 was our girl's big reveal. We hung out with our friends from 2022 and made many more. We met Stewart at Stewart Skoolie LLC and agreed to hire him in Lake Havasu for the diesel heater installation. The heater has been a dream: no more condensation or running out of propane at two am. Ah, the joys of bus life. Next, we will install shore power. We need that for Washington, and we feel confident we have found the right person. 

We travel up and down the West Coast, visiting Alan’s customers and playing golf at Harvest Host stops. Alan will take the next step in his golf game in August by qualifying in the 2023 USGA Senior tournament. Like life, golf requires self-mastery. Alan is self-taught and is very proud of his three hole-in-one certificates. He recommends hot yoga, massage, and tons of practice for anyone looking to golf better. He golfs for fundraising and enjoys raising money for children’s golf programs. 

We treasure seeing Alan’s folks. They were snowbirds from Idaho to Arizona for over twenty years. They like to reminisce and laugh at our escapades. The world is so different now, and we see the nomadic movement for equal and reasonable housing for younger people and less about elder seasonal pleasure.  

We don't recommend doing things as we had to. Unable to plan strategically, we drained our savings and had to take out a line of credit. The total investment in Lavinia is $86,500. The total interior cost was $33,200. The solar costs $12,000. The bus, paint, mural, and signage on the bus came to $23,000. Engine repairs cost us $9,300. Fuel for both bus and car in 2022 was $9,000. That doesn't include our living costs and all the money spent on failed attempts to do things ourselves. Our financial story is made worse by our physical limitations. However, our home is paid for free and clear! That's my American dream!

We understand that components fail and that plans change. That people sometimes show up differently than you expected. We feel strongly that peace begins within, and we meditate daily to remain mindful when disappointments happen. 

We have met the most incredible people who have graced our lives and given us hope for the future. We laughed and cried. We are grateful for our marriage. It took a few knocks, but we survived. We are more centered and loving of each other than ever!  Do you know what that adds up to? Happiness. We are feeling so alive!  We are also building the SkoolieLifestyle brand and continually seek opportunities to serve our nomad community.  

Regardless of why people live nomadically, escaping the matrix and finding yourself is essential.  Everyone needs to step out of the norm and ask themselves…am I happy?  If not, you need to be willing to change. To operate from a place of unapologetic wholeness.  Only there will you reunite with your authentic self.  If like us, you will gaze into your partner’s eyes and see them, maybe for the first time. The emotional healing that we have experienced has rejuvenated our marriage.  We are closer and more in love now than ever before.  Be well, namaste. 

Bus Specifications

General

• Year: 1999
• Manufacturer: Blue Bird 
• Vehicle Weight: Stock 19,480 lbs. Currently: 27,000 lbs.
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 60 Gallons
• Miles Per Gallon: 6 - 7
• Engine: 8.3 Cummins
• Transmission: Allison MT643
• Overall Length: 40’
• Overall Width: 8’
• Overall, Height: 6’2”
• Raised Roof: None
• Solar Power Total KW: 2500 
• House Batteries: 618 Volts
  • What Type & How Many: Three @ 206 Volts
• Inverter: Two 3,000 Watts Renogy        

External Equipment

• Fresh Water Tank Capacity: 100 Gallons
• Black Water Tank Capacity: None
• Grey Water Tank Capacity: 75 Gallons
• Tank Material: PVC    
• Water Heater Type: Camplux 
• Plumbing Materials Used: PVC
• Propane
  • Tanks:  3 Removable 
  • Total Capacity: 60lb

Internal Equipment

• Stove: Cooktron Induction Cooktop
• Oven: None
• Microwave, Convection Oven: None
• Refrigerator: Thompson Apartment-size 7.5 cu ft (Top Freezer) 
• Air Conditioning: Aux Mini Split
• Heating: Diesel Heater 5kW, 40W, 12V
• Ceiling Fans: Maxx Fan Delux 7500K 
• TV: Vizio 27”
• VCR, DVR, Blu-Ray: N/A
• Internet: Starlink
• Satellite TV: None
• Bed(s) - How Many and What Size: Lucid 10-inch Memory Foam RV (short queen)

Interior

• Wall Material: Beadboard paneling
• Ceiling Material: 1x6 Shiplap
• Flooring Material: Justrite Recycled Rubber
• Type of Insulation: Wool/Styrofoam
• Cabinets: Husky, Aobabo Metal Lateral File Cabinet & three 3-drawer file cabinets
• Countertop Material: 8 ft Butcher Block
• Window Coverings: Original Tint-Shear Curtains
• Lighting Type: 12V LED strip

Miscellaneous

• How long have you owned your bus? 3 years
• Did you do the conversion yourself? No, we bought already converted. Hired complete remodel.
• How long did it take? 12 months
• How much did you spend on your bus and your conversion to complete it? $86,500
• Notable Features: Husky Cabinet for a kitchen, Berkey Fill Spout, Rubber Floors 
• What would you do differently next time, or do you have any afterthoughts? Would have loved to work with a single builder that could complete the entire job. Rework the shower; it’s a waste of space. Build a comfortable toilet.  Get Starlink first, we wasted money on every other inferior option.  Wait to start any kind of business until we understand how nomadic life will affect Alli. Alli is not a remote worker and requires more social work environments. Therefore, attempting to create a “job” for Alli on the road was a total waste of time and money; she needed jobs on location.