Skilled builder transforms unlikely vehicle into impressive off-grid home: 'Will undoubtedly be a head-turner'

"Joel isn't a stranger to camper conversions." That's what Auto Evolution said about the experienced builder of "skoolies" — school buses that have been transformed into tiny off-grid homes.

Joel has apparently completed a number of such conversions in the past. This one, though, has a unique look, and you can get a good peek at it in a video from New Jersey Outdoor Adventures.

The builder used a special kit and semi-truck wheels to lift this mini school bus high off the ground, as noted in the video. The result is a rather unusual, imposing rig.

Auto Evolution explained that Joel has "been working on it for the past four years, and it's still not done, but it's shaping up to be a one-of-a-kind camper that will undoubtedly be a head-turner." Its variety of energy-efficient touches are pretty head-turning too.

The skoolie's kitchen includes a small induction stovetop, which Joel admitted to New Jersey Outdoor Adventures he hasn't tried yet. When he does, he'll see that it uses less energy and supports cleaner indoor air quality. The appliance boils water about 50% faster than your traditional stove, so you'll spend less time cooking and more time enjoying your meal.

The interior is lit by LED strips, which can last longer and use less power than incandescent or fluorescent lights. The bus is primarily cooled by a mini-split air conditioning unit, which is more efficient than a regular AC unit. On the roof, Joel has installed 400-watt solar panels to bring some sustainable power to his rig.

One commenter on the YouTube video noted the resourcefulness of the project in utilizing some easily accessible components — boat accessories, Volkswagen seating, cabinets and shelves from At Home and Home Depot. "It's creative using readily available products! ... Actually I'm impressed with the whole build!"

Storage and space-saving solutions are key for anyone attempting to fit a whole life onto a few wheels. Being able to remove a table here, pull a seat down there, and stow a bed during the day, as Joel demonstrates in the video, can make an off-grid home more comfortable and more practical too.

Downsizing like this can overlap a lot with the intention to shrink one's carbon footprint. For example, you're heating and cooling less space; you're consuming less stuff because you can't tow it all around — maybe you even end up realizing you don't need as much as you thought.

One person living off-grid wrote at CNET about another surprising benefit of the lifestyle: "What I didn't expect is how taking responsibility for all our basic needs gave me a new understanding and appreciation of how all different kinds of systems work." In a camper or skoolie, you have a lot more proximity to your energy and water sources, which can change how you think about conserving them.

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This lifestyle has the potential to save costs — on utilities, rent, a mortgage, and consumer goods — while conserving energy. But those using gas-powered vehicles would still have to take that fossil fuel combustion into account.

It's worth noting that Joel's bus is also equipped with a gas-powered generator, a propane heater, and an on-demand tankless propane water heater, per Auto Evolution — this isn't a net-zero project by any stretch. But it can be helpful to veer away from an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to learning from others and considering the ideas we might integrate into our own lives to reduce energy waste and cut costs.

Technologically speaking, we didn't hop from gas-combustion engines to electric vehicles overnight but instead step by step. How long before we're looking at lots of carbon-neutral skoolies, do you think?

People in the skoolie community have already surfaced plenty of ideas to help make their buses more eco-friendly too, from using compost toilets and biodiesel to considering sustainable insulation types and even traveling in accordance with the weather to lessen the burden of heating and cooling costs.

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