Couple spent $30,000 to turn a school bus into a tiny home

In 2021, Tanya Nestoruk, 31, and Arya Touserkani, 38, were living in a four-bedroom house in Canada when they decided to sell it and move into a van.

“I love the simplicity and versatility of being able to live and travel wherever you want, have minimal impact and explore new places,” Nestoruk told CNBC Make It.

Nestoruk, an environmental educator, and Touserkani, a photographer, lived in the van for several months when they realized they wanted something bigger. They opted for a school bus.

“We wanted to do something more adventurous and thought the school bus would be a fun way to give a retired vehicle a second life,” says Nestoruk.

Nestoruk found the retired school bus on Facebook Marketplace. The seller was a school bus contractor, which the couple said was a blessing in disguise because it meant the bus would have up-to-date maintenance records and be relatively well maintained.

“Someone drove it on its last school trip, and then we took it home right away,” she says.

The couple purchased the school bus for $7,200, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

The two agreed they wanted to renovate within six months of their big purchase. During the renovation, Nestoruk and Touserkani tried to recycle everything they could from the bus, including donating the seats to a local children’s camp and selling the luggage racks to someone who would reuse them for their garage.

The couple wanted to renovate the exterior of the school bus, but the Canadian weather had other ideas. They rented a workshop where they could work regularly on the bus.

Because they wanted to DIY the renovation, Touserkani told CNBC Make It that the two spent their days building and their nights Googling and watching YouTube videos on how to do the next day’s things.

“It was non-stop and we worked on it as much as we could,” he says. “I was so obsessed with everything to do with this bus.”

“It was a challenge because we weren’t able to switch off because we had to plan the next steps while trying to achieve the current steps,” he added.

The couple had to stick to their six-month schedule because they wanted to escape the Canadian winter and travel to Baja California, Mexico.

“We were following the warm weather as snowbirds in training,” Nestoruk says with a laugh.

The couple spent around $30,000 and a year transform the school bus into their home. The bus has a bedroom with a king-size bed, a living room with a custom-made sofa bed, a kitchen with a three-burner stove and oven, and a bathroom. They also found an RV washer and dryer on Facebook Marketplace.

There is hidden storage space for food, an on-demand water heater, the couple’s belongings and much more.

Nestoruk and Touserkani say what people like most about their school bus are the two skylights they installed. Touserkani is 6’1” and wouldn’t be able to stand up straight on the bus without them.

“They provide so much natural light, and that makes this space really special for us,” he says.

Nestoruk adds that the dormer windows were also a cost-effective way for them to raise the roof in key areas without having to do the whole thing.

The school bus is equipped with solar panels so the couple can be completely off-grid.

Nestoruk and Touserkani built stairs that lead to the roof and asked a friend to weld a rear hitch that holds their motorcycles, which they use as daily transportation. There is also a table outside the bus that they use for barbecues and whenever they have guests.

The two men say they don’t think the bus renovations will ever truly be finished, but they stopped work in November 2022 to travel to Mexico.

“We found that the bus attracted a certain type of energy and it was just fun,” says Touserkani. “Everyone has always had a strong connection to this bus. It’s been a lot of fun interacting with people who are drawn to the bus.”

The couple have been living on and off the school bus for over a year now and say that, like any life situation, there are pros and cons.

“You have to be proactive in your daily tasks, which is good and bad. There’s also a freedom with that, which is great, and we love it, and the reality is that sometimes it may require more work,” says Nestoruk. .

“If you decide to live in a vehicle, whatever it is, there will always be some level of maintenance work that needs to be done. It’s not as carefree as living in a house,” says Touserkani.

The couple’s biggest concern is being environmentally conscious on the road.

“We want to have as little impact as possible,” says Nestoruk. “We also want to promote an environmentally friendly lifestyle to others.”

The couple is currently on a break from living in their school bus and are considering selling it and exploring other small living options. They also want to build their dream home on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

“We hope to be able to enjoy the bus for as long as possible and we hope that the next owners will take it to new adventures,” says Nestoruk. “He still has a lot of life left.”

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