An Exterior Revamp
While the majority of the restoration was likely spent preparing the interior of the skoolie, the hands-on fam also worked on beautifying the exterior. Before applying the final layers of white paint, they used “special metal paint from Rust-Oleum that had primer in it.” Outside, the RV had access to four enormous under-storage bins, two on each side of the vehicle. Tawny and Mike keep off-grid needs including two 40-gallon water tanks, a battery bank for the eventual solar system, and camping goods there.
Old Treasures Repurposed
The original cheese bus was unrecognizable by the time the school bus conversion was finished. The two layers of paint completely transformed the skoolie, which Tawny and Mike dubbed “Oliver.” They also replaced the original windowed door with a more unusual design. “[The door] was actually constructed by my father,” Tawny explained. “A lot of the metalwork on this bus was produced by my dad, who does metalworking as a hobby on the side, and he custom made our front door out of this like rusted piece of metal that I fell in love with, as well as two of the original bus windows.”