Who are you and what is your backstory? 

We are Amber and Elijah! We met in 2014 and slowly developed a close friendship over the next 5 years. During those five years I (Amber) was in college working on a bachelor's degree in biology (I also got minors in both forensics and chemistry). My mom passed when I was 15, so I put myself through college. I worked hard in highschool to ensure I earned TOPS and scholarships to fund my tuition. I was the first generation in my family to graduate from a university.

By the end of my degree, I was itching to travel. Take a gap year, if you will. I had worked hard for 5 years in college and was looking for a break before working a 9-5 the rest of my life. The last few years of college, I had actually gotten into watching van lifers on YouTube. I started trying to plan out how I might live in a vehicle. I thought I might close in the bed of my truck and just take off (I had saved up a small chunk of change during college and planned to travel until the money ran out).

In 2018 a close friend of mine (Eli) bought a bus. He got it in his head that he wanted to convert a school bus then found and bought a bus within two months of mentioning it. It was the first I had ever heard of a “skoolie.” I thought it was so cool and loved working on it with him. I felt it was the perfect learning experience for when I graduated and was ready to build my own van/truck. 

After I graduated in 2019, I connected with a great aunt who lived in the upper peninsula (of Michigan). She and her husband were selling their summer home and needed help moving down to their other house in New Mexico. It was also an amazing opportunity to see a part of America I would probably never otherwise visit. During this time, Eli also went on a mission trip to Africa. Also during this time I realized I was in love with my best friend (Eli). We kept in close touch and continued to build our relationship into something more. After he returned from a month in Africa, he professionally insulated the bus and brought it from our home state, Louisiana, to where I was staying with my aunt in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From there, we spent the next month traveling New Mexico and Arizona. We visited the petrified forest, the Grand Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains, and many other national parks along our trek. We returned to our home state before Christmas 2019. Eli proposed New Years 2020.

 

Take us to the moment you decided to begin your Skoolie Life?

For each of us it was a different reason/circumstance that brought us to the vanlife. Eli lived with his parents until he was 26 years old. He was very accustomed to not paying bills/rent and wanted to continue this. So, he started looking into tiny and cheap living and thought of converting a school bus. For the first year of building, we didn’t know there was an entire community behind it! At this time, we were only friends but I (Amber) had already been looking into vanlife myself and was very excited to help Eli with his build.

After he bought the bus in the fall 2019, Eli found a tiny home festival in Slidell, Louisiana. He brought his dad to this convention full of beautifully converted school buses and got his parents on board with the idea. The biggest fear for Eli was doing it alone, with no support from his parents.

 

Check your oil! Learn where all your dipsticks are located and add some gauges to your dash! And please, PLEASE turn on your bus/ take it for a short drive every now and then.

 

Until I (Amber) officially became his partner, Eli invested in the bus alone. So far he has spent approximately $15,000. A solid $5,000 of that was solely mechanics (Eli has done all the work himself, otherwise this number would be quadruple). We spend money on projects when we have a chunk saved, otherwise progress slows down. We have tried to do the build as nicely yet cheaply as possible. We reduce/reuse/recycle materials wherever possible.

Downsizing hasn’t been extremely hard on us; we both never owned/rented a home/apartment and therefore never bought large furniture/appliances.

 

Tell us about the advantages to the Skoolie lifestyle?

I feel we have so much more freedom now that we live in our bus. We don’t have rent, which runs at least $12k-14k each year (in our area). It is quite easy to save money with our expenses so low. Eli was already a pretty handy man when he started the build, but this has been his first diesel. He’s still not a master, but I think he’s learned so much about diesel mechanics working on our bus himself. I also recently gave my first whack at carpentry and built our couch! (My first solo project). 

Interestingly enough, whenever we care the least about how a project turns out, it comes out better. For example, when working on the front cap, Eli tried to get the curve perfect and worked on the cut and adjusting it all day. He still is not satisfied with it. On a separate project, he half-asssed it and the shoe corner turned out great! We of course try to do good work because we want our home to look nice and not like it was built by a child and is about to fall apart. 

 

We both want to do this lifestyle long term (for at least the next decade) although, Eli doesn't want to raise children in our tiny home. Our main goal for the bus is to live cheaply and explore this beautiful world.

 

We do not plan to have kids any time soon, but I (Amber) am definitely trying to get Eli on board with raising them in our bus, or at the least unconventionally (on the road/out in the wilderness).

I remember going visit the Grand Canyon in late 2019. The bus was still yellow and empty. It was one of the most beautiful, amazing, stressful, and fulfilling times of my life. I feel sometimes I am chasing to recreate that time with him again. We didn’t have electricity or a bed, just insulation and each other. 

During those few weeks wandering the west, we explored and visited more national parks and other beautiful locations than I’ve ever experienced in my life. When quarantine really hit in 2020, we used that time to finish the build and plan a wedding. Now, in 2021, we are almost done with the build and living together happily in Magnolia (the bus) as husband and wife.

 

Tell us about the biggest challenges and downsides to the Skoolie lifestyle? 

One of the most sketchy times in the bus was during our trip in November 2019. I was visiting an aunt in New Mexico and Eli came pick me up to bring me home to Louisiana and start a life with him. We decided since we were in the west, it would be a great opportunity to check out the Grand Canyon and other national parks along the way. 

During this trek, the brakes were sticking and it overworked the drive train. We were overheating in the middle of NOVEMBER (which was bad and practically impossible because it was so cool outside). It was both of our firsts on a long trip in the bus and we learned so much about that machine. (It’s the main reason we are huge advocates for taking your bus out for a spin even during the build process).

By the time we made it from Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Grand Canyon (Arizona), Eli made the decision to disconnect the back brakes. At this point, we couldn’t go ten miles without the bus overheating to the point of ruining the engine. 

We planned to go from the Grand Canyon, through Sedona, and down to Mesa to meet my uncle who lived there. Eli disconnected the brakes after we left the Grand Canyon. 

While coming from the Grand Canyon into Sedona, we ended up on the road that went through sedona. This meant we were coming down a mountain with half of our brakes working on a 10,000  lbs bus. Also, did I mention it was raining? And there were NO runaways? 

I was scared for my life. 

It has actually been the ONLY time I’ve truly felt the real possibility of not making it. I don’t think I’ve EVER put so much trust into a person. 

But, we made it to the bottom of the mountain all in one piece and eventually made it back to Louisiana where Eli performed a brake job on both the back and the front sets.

 

How do you find a sense of community when you’re always moving? How do you maintain and build relationships on the road? 

The sense of community has only grown since starting this journey. It is truly amazing how wonderful this community is and how easy it is to find them with today’s technology. We have found most of our new friends through instagram; a fellow bus dweller will notice we are all in the same city and reach out. We have met 4 different bus dwellers (in person) this way!

• @free_range_nomad
• @yeehaw_skoolie
• @dinomingobus
• @_justdoingmything_

 

How do you support yourself financially?

Right now, we both have multiple jobs. We hope to quit our restaurant jobs when the bus is complete. Our other job is with an auditing company. We travel for this one!

There has not been much of a transition for us financially since we both didn’t really have many bills to begin with. This has not changed much (at all, really) since moving into Magnolia (our bus) full time.

Our links:

• Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr0j1mV-Ok-n8n7QhCM9uzw/featured 
• Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/parishskoolie/ 
• Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/parishskoolie

 

What is your one piece of advice for people who want to do what you do?

Check your oil! Learn where all your dipsticks are located and add some gauges to your dash! And please, PLEASE turn on your bus/ take it for a short drive every now and then. If you plan to do any traveling in the bus, it should not sit for an extended period of time. While not travelling, we turn on our bus (and let it get to operating temperature) at least once a month.

Eli added a boost gauge and a fuel pressure gauge to the dash which further helps him monitor the motor. We have a high mileage bus (300,000+) and keeping the engine healthy is important to keeping your bus running for a long time. 

We also have a few how-to videos on our channel for some of the problems/maintenance we have done on our bus. 

A few of our most popular how to videos are:

• Exhaust wrap tips and tricks: https://youtu.be/2ptJep72Gnc
• How to Paint your school bus: https://youtu.be/nTeod6R42vI
• Mini split install: https://youtu.be/86monWNHbSg
• Rear Brake job: https://youtu.be/MLyHvpNm4e8
• Bumper extension: https://youtu.be/fr_t4e-vqeg

 

What have been the most influential and helpful books, podcasts, blogs, websites or other resources? 

We have found facebook groups such as National Skoolie Association, Skoolie Planet and the Skoolie Nation to be helpful with specific questions. You can search the page to see if the question has been asked already and find threads of other bus people and their experiences. We also have found meetups through here.

Instagram has been amazing in helping us connect with more bus lifers. We can normally find another skoolie to meet in most cities we visit. Instagram and facebook have also been a great source to see how NOT to do things.

Youtube is the best for step by step how tos.

  

What does the future look like?

We just got married (April 2021) and our first goal is to fix our transmission. Aside from all the chaos of planning a wedding, we have been saving for a new transmission since February. We took a trip out to Florida to the Skoolie Swarm (a meet up of over 100 bus conversions!) and found that our transmission really isn't doing well. Our bus is over 20 years old, and we have been putting her to work the last few years. This bus hadn’t been on the mountains until us. 

We both want to do this lifestyle long term (for at least the next decade) although, Eli doesn't want to raise children in our tiny home. Our main goal for the bus is to live cheaply and explore this beautiful world.

 

Is there anything that you need that you can't find or anything you are seeking help with?

Our biggest hurdle was solar. This community is absolutely amazing. We found all the help we needed through the community (and then some). We actually are extremely grateful to this community, we had our panels donated to us by an anonymous donor last February.

Our current situation is our transmission. We would love any help or recommendations. After we find a transmission that fits, we also have the task of figuring out how to do it ourselves or find someone with that kind of know-how.

 

Rapid fire questions

 

What are the top 3 Skoolie essentials that you couldn’t live without?

• Sunscreen
• bug spray
• water bottle

 

Top 3 favorite places you’ve visited?

Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Chicago!

 

Where are you now?

Our home base is currently in Louisiana

 

How long do you usually stay in one place?

When we travel, only a few days to a week, however we have not been able to travel lately because our transmission needs an upgrade.

 

When did you first start Skoolie Life?

We officially moved in this past February, but feel we have been a part of the community for since we’ve really gotten into the build (2019).

 

Are you full-time or part-time Skoolie life?

Full time

 

How many weeks have you spent in the Van in the last 12 months?

We started living full time in our bus in February 2021

 

What kind of vehicle/rv/trailer/setup do you have? 

We live in a school bus! Aka a skoolie! We have a 2000 Freightliner with an Allison 545 with a 4-speed transmission

 

Where can we go to keep up with you and your adventures?

• We are EVERYWHERE @parishskoolie

• Facebook: @parishskoolie 

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/parishskoolie?igshid=1u6duvbfhg7iz

• YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr0j1mV-Ok-n8n7QhCM9uzw