‘I’ve spent $30k turning a SCHOOL BUS into a HOME-ON-WHEELS with no experience’

Last updated: 2026/09/23 at 11:43 AM

Sam Coffey

6 Min Read

A woman has spent three years transforming an old school bus into an incredible tiny home – despite never having used power tools before.

Danielle, 27, snapped up the 2007 Chevrolet Express for just $5,500 (£4,000) cash on Facebook Marketplace.

The former school bus already had 200,000 miles on the clock, but Danielle saw the potential to turn it into her dream home-on-wheels.

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She has since spent an estimated $30,000 (£22,000) transforming the vehicle into a fully functioning 112 sq ft home.

It boasts a full-sized bed, kitchen with a two-burner induction hob, wet room and even a skylight providing access to the roof.

Danielle even built her own composting toilet.

A woman has spent three years transforming an old school bus into an incredible tiny home - despite never having picked up a power tool before starting the project. — *Danielle during renovation. (Jam Press/@dani.danielion)*

And incredibly, she estimates she completed around 85% of the conversion herself.

The 27-year-old had dreamed of a nomadic lifestyle since childhood and said soaring living costs in the US helped convince her to take the plunge.

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“That desire for freedom and experiences, coupled with the cost of living in the US, made it an easy choice when I first came across the idea,” Danielle, from New Jersey, US, told Whats The Jam.

“I chose a bus because it has more space than a van and costs less, and I had more opportunity to customise it exactly how I wanted compared to an RV.”

Danielle bought the bus in September 2021 and spent three years completing the mammoth project.

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She tackled demolition, rebuilding and finishing work despite having never previously used power tools.

But doing most of the work alone proved gruelling.

One particularly difficult day saw Danielle attempting to install huge plywood ceiling panels by herself in the freezing depths of winter.

She said: “It was multiple 4×8 pieces of plywood, only a quarter of an inch thick but still very heavy for me. Getting it above head was a challenge. Screwing it in with one hand while holding it with my head and the other hand was even more of a challenge.

“Doing all of this in a freezing bus in early January made it worse. I think I cried that day.

“I think overall the biggest challenges came from doing a job that is so clearly meant for two people, as one person.”

At times, the three-year project seemed never-ending.

Danielle said: “There were times I’d look at my half-built bed and dream of what it would finally be like to sleep in it without sawdust, scrap wood, and tools everywhere.

“Now that I am living in that dream, it feels amazing. Sometimes a wave of shock and realisation hits me that I did all this myself.”

But she said giving up would have meant returning to a lifestyle she was determined to avoid.

Danielle said: “I knew if I didn’t complete this project, the alternative was living in an apartment and working just to afford a place to live. I didn’t want that for myself.”

She is now living in the finished bus and says seeing her original idea become a reality has made all the hard work worthwhile.

She said: “I remember the days when this was just some words on a piece of paper. Then I owned a school bus. Now it is a home.

“I made something that was just a thought a reality, and it was hard work, but I was willing to learn and to do the work, so that makes me proud of myself.”

And Danielle hopes her project will encourage others to pursue their own ambitions.

She added: “I just want to encourage anyone who’s reading this to go after the things they want. School bus house related or not. You’re capable of more than you may give yourself credit for, so dream big.”