Tag: tiny home

Is Tiny House Living For You?

Is Tiny House living For You?

There are many factors in knowing whether tiny house living is for you.

These are two personal lists of pros and cons after almost 3 years of tiny house living.

Pros:
Extra money each week.
No stressing over paying bills.
Flexibility of starting new business ventures.
Flexibility of traveling with my husband while he works away.
Flexibility of choosing new scenery as often as we want.
Bringing animals with you on trips.
The ability to leave with everything in the case of a hurricane.
The cool factor.

Cons:
Clutters very easily.
Constantly gets dusty.
Constantly cleaning.
Limited space for extra junk. ( actually may be a good thing)
Have to rearrange things before travel.
Not as much privacy.
In the case of having a Skoolie… if the engine breaks that will be a real issue of not having the money to fix it.

My experience comes from living in a 20 foot camper to now living in a 37 foot Skoolie.

Having financial freedom is worth it for me.
Having the freedom for me and my husband to leave the mundane 9-5 is a blessing. I have my own business as of now gabbysnaturalcreations.com . Even though it is slow we still can easily live off of my husband’s $600 to $1200 weekly pay check. But we have no credit cards and own everything that we have out right. Hopefully within the next year my husband can have his own business venture.

Our Skoolie The Ark.

Quit your 9-5 in 3 to 5 Years

What do you think of when you picture a Skoolie? You would maybe think it would be an awesome project to work on to go on some awesome vacations during the summer. Maybe to just be a free spirit with no plans and no care in the world. What if I told you it can be your ticket to a debt free lifestyle, retirement in three to five years. No rent, no mortgage, no utilities within the next 5 years.

MORTGAGE AND RENT

In the US the average mortgage on a home is right over $1500 a month. The average rent for an apartment is around $1000 a month. Which many times will put people in positions where their lives revolves around working until they reach retirement age.

STARTUP OF A SKOOLIE

An affordable Skoolie will cost you anywhere from $8,000 to $30,000. A small loan can be an option that will cost you a fraction of the payment you would have on a house note or rent. Which if you choose wisely you can pay off the note very quickly. Buying out right or building a Skoolie yourself will be the best option costing you nothing monthly in the long run.

ABILITY TO SAVE FOR LAND

If you go the loan option in owning a Skoolie your Skoolie is payed for within the next year or two so you now have up to $1500 in extra cash that would have gone to your rent or mortgage payments. That is up to $15,000 a year of extra cash total after paying rent on a lot of land while living in your Skoolie. In one to three years that is $15,000 to $45,000 saved up to buy a piece of land out right in cash. So no mortgage on a house or land. Within 1 to 3 years.

NO MORE UTILITY BILLS

After paying for your Skoolie and land, the next step is saving up for solar equipment and a water well. These things may run you around $10,000 or less depending if you go the DIY route. Solar equipment and a well can be purchased within the year in cash since you will have an extra $18,000 a year that you aren’t having to pay on a mortgage or rent.

FREEDOM

We can go so deep down into this rabbit hole. You can produce your own food and never pay for food again. You can literally set yourself up to not pay another costly major bill again in your life within the next 5 years. Its possible, there are limitless options in living a mobile life. You can stay put or you can be able to afford to travel the world. You can have true security knowing that everything you have can be payed for. Happy traveling ❤

Skoolie with Chickens

My husband and I travel with his work in a Skoolie. We have two dogs, a pig, and 16 chickens. No the chickens do not live inside of the bus. They only travel inside in cages while moving which is on average every 2 to 3 months. We love our animals like children. We enjoy having them, but it doesn’t come without a cost.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

Having animals means alot of taking up space in an already small home. There are cages for travel. The T Post fences rolled up in the back. Totes of food and medicines and even a chicken coop which we have to go back to get as of now everytime we move.

THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE EASIER

A trailer hitched behind a bus is necessary in smooth travel with chickens. It would be used to store a chicken coop, fence, t posts, nesting boxes, hay and all other pet supplies. This way travel will be alot more smooth and clutter free. This is what we are wanting to purchase next to make our lives easier.

PLACES TO STAY

There can be challenges when it comes to finding places to stay while having chickens but my husband and I have been traveling with chickens for about 10 months now. We aren’t able to just pull up to an RV park to stay because of our chickens, pig and pitbull. Our main resource is Facebook for sale pages in the areas that we are looking to move. We just put some pictures of our bus and animals. We explain the situation, and what we are doing in the area and our need of a place to stay with hookups for a couple months. It may take posting to a few cities around the area but eventually someone reaches out to help for an affordable price. The pictures will look something like this.

Chickens are possible while living the Skoolie life it just takes alot more effort and time in planning your traveling around them. For us its worth it. Happy traveling❤

What To Look For Before Purchasing A Bus For A Skoolie Conversion

There are many things to consider before making a purchase on your next home. A good foundation is always a great start. A place that will keep you secure while riding down the road is a must. I will explain the 5 most important things to look out for in purchasing a School Bus for a Schoolie Conversion

CORROSION

Corrosion is the process of deterioration of materials as a result of chemical, electrochemical or other reactions. In other words extreme rust. If a bus has extreme rust stay clear away. It is important to check underneath the bus for Corrosion and also around any hatches or windows inside of the bus that can be prone to leaking. Some surface rust is normal and can be treated.

THE LOCATION OF A BUS

You would think that the place that you purchase your bus is irrelevant but knowing the place is very important in the questions you ask the seller before you make the trip to see the bus. Northern State busses are known for having more rust because of the salt applied to the roads that can cause rust underneath busses. You can definitely buy a bus in cold climates but just take extra precautions when it comes to rust.

AGE OF THE BUS

When deciding on a bus that is right for you, age is always important. The newer isn’t necessarily always better. It will depend on how much you will will work on your bus when needing to be repaired vs a mechanic. Newer busses 2004 and up are nicer and there will be less rust and most likely less mileage which is great. The thing about these newer busses are the newer you go the harder it is to fix any mechanical issues yourself. They are more electronic so more electronic tools are needed to fix them. If you were to break down this is where a mechanic usually will need to step in. 1990 to 2003 can have more rust and mileage but there are for sure great things about them. This year range is less electronic so its is able to be mechanically fixed by your average person that will do the research without having to worry about certain specific electric tools. 1989 and older can have a more unique vintage look to them which can make them appealing, but this would for sure come with a cost to your wallet and also your time. This year range is not electronic but there will be many things that will need to be considered. Corrosion and high mileage can be almost certain for busses in this year range unless it has been stored indoors and hasn’t been driven much.

DIESEL VS GAS

Diesel Motors are highly coveted in a Skoolie. They are more fuel effecient and will last for longer mileage. 12 Valve Cummins and DT466 are great motors to come by.

TIRES

A good set of tires on a school bus is something to look for. Good grip, no cracks or dry rot is very important because a new set of tires will run you at least $1000.

There are many things to consider in buying a school bus to convert into your new home, but these are just some of the things that are very important to consider in choosing the perfect bus that you will not regret. I want you to have the best Skoolie experience as possible. Happy traveling.❤

How To Choose Your School Bus Home. Should You Build Your Skoolie?

School busses come in many different forms. There are long ones, short ones, flat nose, stubby nose and dog nose. There are handicap busses with taller ceilings that can get up to 6’4. There are some that sit right over 5 and a half feet. The options are limitless. Believe it or not you can even do a roof raise and have a ceiling that is over 10 feet tall! You may think to yourself “.I don’t know how to build a school bus home.” I will l just let you know. There are options. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

BUILD YOUR OWN SKOOLIE

The Skoolie movement only became popular a few years ago but there are many YouTube videos with great resources out there. You will have to do some searching and planning. You will need saws, grinders, drills, screws staple guns and much more. You can buy these things and still have a nice bus built for $10,000 or less. I know this to be true from experience.

The kitchen in our Skoolie The Ark. (Almost finished)

GET A CONTRACTOR

There are people out there that build Skoolies for a living. They do beautiful work that can be worth it for people that don’t have the time or ability to build their own Skoolie. You can get your bus custom built with your own layout. If you go this route you are going to come out of pocket alot more. The Skoolies can range from $30,000 to $80,000 depending on the contractor and the cost of materials.

BUYING A USED ALREADY CONVERTED SKOOLIE

If you dont have the most money to spend and also don’t have the time to build your own Schoolie this is a great option for you. These already done Skoolies can cost anywhere from $60,000 to as little as $10,000. People build them and end up moving on to a different home or no longer want to travel and sell their already built Skoolies.

PARTIALLY BUILT SKOOLIES

There are many unfinished Skoolies for sale that are cheaper in price. Some have roof raises, some are almost done and some have just been gutted out. These are great to purchase because the grunt of a Skoolie build is removing the seats. If that’s done already you should consider yourself lucky.

RESOURCES

The best resource for looking into getting a Skoolie at any stage would be Facebook groups. People are always sharing their progress and asking questions at all stages. Get plugged into a few Facebook groups and start your journey to Skoolie living today!