They say home is where the heart is, but that home doesn’t have to be stationary if it has wheels. Instead of tying himself down to one location, Michael Fuehrer has allowed his heart — and his body — to continue wandering by converting a 2004 Thomas Freightliner yellow school bus into a tiny home on wheels.
This bus, which Fuehrer bought online for $3,600, is nothing like the ones you took to school. He gutted the thing in order to build his dream home. The process took about nine months and primarily took place in the driveway of his parents’ home. Fuehrer documented the process on his blog, Navigation Nowhere, where he says the hardest part of the entire process, from tear down to building his new home, was removing the bus seats—though he did find $1.52 worth of change in them.
Once Fuehrer managed to get the inside of the bus completely removed, it was time to start filling up the 35-foot-long, 180-square-foot home. Most of the furniture in the bus serve multiple functions. The two couches on either side of the living room offer seating most of the time, but they can also be moved together to create a bed. Under the couches is a wood table that can be used to serve dinner to up to eight guests.
Past the living room is a full kitchen area that comes complete with a fair amount of counter space for meal preparation, a sink, and a full oven and refrigerator. Just past the kitchen is the bathroom, which features a tiled design and has a full shower and composting toilet. Then there’s the bedroom, which features a sofa that folds out into a bed. Surrounding it are two desks that can lock into place for work.
The exterior of the bus is about as impressive as the inside. Atop the mobile home is a solar panel, three skylights to let the sun in, an air conditioner, and an 8-foot by 10-foot deck. The undercarriage of the bus hides a 130-gallon tank of fresh water, a 100-gallon gray water tank, a 100-gallon diesel tank, a 29.3-gallon propane tank, and seven feet of additional storage boxes.
Fuehrer is taking his bus around North America. He’s racked up more than 18,500 miles visiting 36 states so far, and doesn’t plan on stopping. You can follow his journey on his blog.
