From school bus to tiny, travelling home
Kansas couple’s remodel of vehicle to tiny abode puts adventure in gear
WICHITA, KAN.— Imagine paying less than $20,000 for your dream home.
Now imagine being able to take that home with you everywhere you travel.
That’s the reality for Wichita couple Sam and Jordan Page, and their dog, Penni.
After converting a school bus into a posh tiny home over the past eight months, the Pages intend to head out on their “Paging Adventure,” and travel the country in their home on wheels.
Sam has a doctorate in physical therapy and works threemonth residencies in different parts of the country. Jordan works remotely as a communications manager for a New Jersey-based company. The two will travel wherever Sam has to go — chasing good weather, national parks and, occasionally, good cellphone signals.
“(Travelling) was something we always had in our minds, but it never worked out with my job,” Jordan says.
She started working remotely in November. “The second she got this job, it was like, ‘It’s time to go,’ ” Sam adds.
They bought a retired 2003 Chevrolet Blue Bird school bus last December. “We finally drove back around midnight, and I’m following my dad, driving the bus, and I’m thinking, ‘What have I done?’ ” Sam jokes.
They set an all-in budget of $20,000 for the project — and, barring any unforeseen complications, Sam says, “we’re going to be well below that.”
The two designed the floor plan themselves, inspired by other school-bus conversions they’d seen online. And though it’s only about 204 square feet, it feels larger — partially because of extra 16 inches of headroom they added by welding on a higher roof.
The bus is decked out with vinyl, wood-look flooring; a kitchen with miniature range, sink and wood-burning stove; a shower and composting toilet; and a bedroom tucked behind a rolling bookcase.
That, combined with the two couches, a wall-mounted desk and a wood accent wall, make for a cosy living space. Nearly every seating area also doubles as storage and even their bed can fold into the back wall to create extra space when needed.