The video follows two partners as they recount the conception, conversion, and ten‑month, 50‑state road trip of a 1988 school bus they named "Maple." They begin with a recurring dream of a bold, fear‑free adventure, decide to turn a school bus into a tiny house on wheels because of its customizability and safety, and detail the hands‑on renovation process—using non‑toxic materials, framing a bunk, installing a bathroom, kitchen, and living area, and dealing with unexpected dimensions. The narrative then shifts to travel highlights and challenges: navigating high‑altitude passes like Tioga Pass, overheating in Death Valley, creek crossings in Oklahoma, and mechanical breakdowns that forced them to learn basic repairs. They share memorable moments such as their first dinner guests, the joy of honking the bus’s horn, and the emotional connection to the vehicle. Upon returning, they discover local RV regulations prohibit overnight stays, prompting the decision to sell Maple via Craigslist, inviting viewers to view an interior tour and consider giving the bus a new adventure.
Chapters
Well, that's hard to believe. Is that not hard to believe? This bus has traveled 48 states in 10 months. Plus we flew to the other— Alaska and Hawaii.
I don't believe we went to all these states.
It's absolutely incredible. And do you know, this time last year, and we went there, and we went there, and went all the way to Vegas. This time last year we were in Oregon. We were at the Subterranean Greenhouse, guys. Remember that? The swimming pool they turned into a garden. Look at what is possible in this subterranean greenhouse. Was once a swimming pool, is now a thriving garden.
They emptied the pool, they put soil in the bottom, put a greenhouse top over it, like built like an apron thing, and then they put clear tin on it.
Yeah, it all started with a dream. We'd always had this recurring dream to do something crazy, chuck it all, and travel all of America. And then a simple question that put us over the edge.
What would I do if I wasn't afraid?
Out of all the traveling choices, we decided to convert a school bus into a tiny house on wheels.
One thing that I loved about the school bus was the customization. We can use non-toxic materials.
I also—
another factor is the safety. Like, school buses are made to haul children around, and that made me feel more comfortable with that as an option.
And we chose this bus. Now that's ripping!
Now that's scary!
You ready?
I can't believe we bought a bus!
This is Maple. We named her Maple for 3 reasons. 1, because she's sweet. 2, because she's made of a lot of maple wood. And 3, it kind of reflects a farm theme, which is what we got her for, to travel all of America She drove all the lower 48 states. We went to 50 states to visit the greatest farms in America. So we got some help to convert her into a home.
Hello! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!
Can we come in? This is crazy!
Like, it's so big. I know it's gonna like get real small real fast.
It sure is massive.
What's gonna be the easiest, quickest fix? Because—
Oh, I'll get it fixed.
You think? Yeah. You should.
I don't worry about that stuff like that.
You don't? I worry about stuff like that.
Have you gotten it finished? Yeah, I think I just finished. I might have a little bit more in the back.
To do.
Yeah, but I think I'm finished out front and I'm ready to primer. I gotta wash it down and primer it. Sweet. We still gonna be ready to paint on Saturday? Yes. Okay.
I've had a realization though. How tall are these?
17.
Because I found this out after the fact. Oh no, they're supposed to be shorter.
Really?
Oh well, it's all part of it, right? This is part of the conversion.
Yeah. Bathroom. I know the walls are coming up, Jeff. Good job. Walls are coming up. Sweet. Your bed is framed. It's getting easier and easier to see it.
It really is beautiful. Wow, and this looks so good.
I got Mr. Brown's bed bunk done. Look at it!
Oh my gosh, look at him. This looks so good.
Can you envision yourself being in the bus?
I think so.
And being— this is how it is?
Yeah, I mean, it's a little, it's a little different. Yeah, because I mean, obviously our house is like large. So now, like, going from like a big house to like this little living space.
How's it feel? You got lots of room.
I love it. I just absolutely love the layout. I'm super pleased. Oh man, it is so deep. It's awesome.
It's gonna be a nice bath. This is nicer than our bath for deepness.
I know, like—
Wow. Hey, it fit! So we're about to move this bus. It hasn't been moved in 3 months, 4 months.
I am so nervous about getting this bus out.
I mean, what do you think?
Professional driver drove it into there, so you got to see it.
They've cleaned it up.
It looks So good! Oh my gosh, holy cow, the fridge is done! Oh my gosh, we got our toilet! Like when I was running up the, um, driveway here, I felt like the first night it came, we were running up. Yeah, make sure it was— well, he even said, he was like, what day did we put it up there? It was like September 19th. He's like, so we've been doing this for like 3 months.
3 and a half.
It's kind of weird. It just feels longer. It does.
Here he comes, first time moving in 3 and a half months. Finally, after months and months, she was finished and we were ready to go. First, it was the East Coast. We took many meals inside of her, but one of the most memorable ones was our very first guests inside of the bus. All right, guess what we got here? Our first dinner guests. They showed us how to cook these pork chops. They look absolutely amazing. Whoa, you like that too? Yeah, yeah, kids at the table. Adults, can you control yourself? I think we can handle it.
On the couch.
Now she did great for most of the East Coast, but it wasn't all smooth sailing.
Purchasing a 1988 school bus to convert was a risk.
Maple is broke down. You did better than I had done. Ready? Yeah. And she needed a little extra love and care in the high altitudes. Pulled over on the side of the road. Our engine warning light came on. We were at 10,700 feet. Our engine water has gotten too hot.
When that warning buzzer came on, oh, I was so afraid. I was like, I thought it was the brakes and I was like, oh no.
I told Papa to pull over.
Yeah, you did. You were worried.
But like the Little Engine That Could, she just wouldn't stop, and we headed west. And eventually we learned to work on her ourselves. This one on there, just so I know. Okay, yep, you wanted to wrap it to get it to there. Okay. I'll never forget, out west we traveled through some of the most wild and woolly terrains. Driving through Yosemite was absolutely nuts. And right out of Yosemite, we had to come down Tioga Pass, which was insane. We got up the mountain all right. We did have one almost overheated, so we pulled over, let it cool off, didn't let it overheat. But this is the craziest road we've ever done. This is 6 miles at 8% grade. Holy mackerel! But she made it. So it was with that experience we go into confidence through the hottest place in America, Death Valley. It was over 100 degrees, 103 degrees.
Come on!
At 5:20 in the afternoon. Just taking a little break. Nothing's wrong with Maple. We're just going to be real careful going through Death Valley. It is hot. Feels like a furnace here. You guys feel the furnace? And as we headed back east out of the mountains, I thought all the treacherous drives were behind us, and then we came to Oklahoma. We had to go down a creek bed and then across a creek, and then we had to get back out. One of the things I like most about Maple is her blowhorn. Hey, I get to honk it first. I know everybody wants to honk it. This might be one of the last times I honk it. That is so loud. And I'll never forget the joy I had after traveling 50 states, thousands and thousands of miles, being gone 10 months, of coming down our road and honking the horn to let everybody know we're here. Okay, honk the horn.
Say honk the horn.
Honk it just, uh—
Yeehaw! Yeehaw!
We had hoped to keep her forever-ish, put her up in an Airbnb on the farm and just have her as part of the family. But it turns out in this county it's illegal to spend the night in an RV. We looked into the loopholes, we looked into making legal, and long story short, it's It's just not worth it. And just the other day, I was walking by her and I thought I could hear her say— I felt it in my soul— that she's ready. She's ready for a new home, but even better yet, she's ready for a new adventure. We've had our adventures. She's taken us all over America. We've seen the beautiful sights. Now it's somebody else's turn. Some folks will ask me, are you gonna do it again? To which I say, I'm like Johnny Cash, I've been everywhere. It's somebody else's turn. Go for it. I don't know if it was nostalgia or denial, but it's taken us a long time to list her, and now it's taken us a long time to to promote her, but it really is somebody else's turn to take an adventure. She doesn't just need to be parked there, just sitting there. So a while back when we first started the tour, we did a nice tour of her. Leave that link in the description. You can go see an inside tour of Maple.
Welcome to our bus home. This is our sofa. This is our dinette area. And then this is our kitchen. Here is our workstation. Here is our bunk area. So comfortable.
We've also got her listed on Craigslist if you want to check that out. Specs, pictures, all that good stuff. Let's get Maple a new adventure.
