My Bug Out Bus Conversion

For the last 9 months I have been building an off-grid tiny home on wheels. I have decided to join the "Skoolie" community and convert a school bus into a self-sustained tiny house on wheels for boondocking and recreational use. The entire bus relies on solar power and alternator power (when the bus is running) to charge the house batteries that run everything. I decided on a very simple build with EVERYTHING in the bus except the fridge on low draw 12 volt lighting, stereo, TV, water pump, fans, etc. The fridge runs off a 12V to 110V power inverter.

This bus can go weeks or months or indefinitely without "shore power" or be needed to plug in for electrical power. I have (2) 100 watt solar panels charging (2) 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series for a complete 12 volt system. The system also includes a 1500 watt pure sine wave power inverter to run an apartment sized fridge and a 110 volt power strip for small house appliances.

The oven is run by propane and so is the instant hot water heater. The propane system works perfectly on regular 20 lb propane exchangeable canisters. So much easier than finding a fill station. The bus has a 33 gallon water tank and the grey water tank is a simple 5 gallon water bucket under the sink and movable to under the shower. This eliminates the need to find a dump station for a gray water tank.

This video is from a couple months ago, but today the power has been out for hours out due to storms and we are hanging out in the bus tonight. I am actually posting this from the bus using my cell phone reception.



The entire bus build video log can be found on my YouTube channel. I feel that being self sufficient depends on what you build or do in this world. Eventually I will leave the rental house I been in for a long time and live free in the bus. I will travel the country and make money on the road with my mechanic skills......