3,000 miles

34 days

9 States

This summer was our maiden voyage in our tiny house! Traveling in a 40 foot bus that you built yourself is loads of fun but boy did we have a lot to learn. Our converted school bus (skoolie) started it’s journey in South Florida and made our way up to Long Island, New York.

The game plan was that when I got out of school (I am a special education teacher) we were hauling tail out of here. That was all fine and dandy except we didn’t have the electrical completed yet, so that was our first delay.

Golden Rule

Nothing ever happens the exact day you want it to.

Once the solar was done being installed up and everything loaded in the bus, it was time to roll out! June 11th was the big day! We pulled the cars into the back yard, pulled the bus out into the road, and assumed positions to head down the road. As we were about to go I realized…. we forgot the dogs! Beginner tip numero-uno;

1. Check for your fur children before getting on the road.

Dogs in tow, we were ready for the road! Now, my dogs Ali and Jezebel are the two sweetest critters but when they are in a moving vehicle they turn into gremlins. Jezebel was panting her hot, stinky dog breath and Ali just HAD to sit on my lap. No matter how many of those “good breath” chews I gave them it still stunk! Hot stinky dog breath, long-haired dog sitting on my lap, and Jezebel shaking….It’s June in Florida. Hell on Earth and these two fur balls are all up in my personal bubble. This leads me to beginner tip number two…

2. Bring a dog cage, CBD treats, or Benadryl if your dogs have bad travel anxiety.

Now this is the most important tip. Before you minimize and sell all your personal belongings and hit the road, take a weekend camping trip.

3. Go camping in your yard or on a local spot to learn the ins and outs of what you need and your systems.

Put everything you think you’re going to need inside your skoolie, tiny house, or van and live in it. Did you forget that can opener, or worse, the wine opener! This gives you time to get more comfortable with all your systems. Learn your electrical and plumbing so if you mess up you have your home and tools. This will prevent you from leaving the valve open and over filling your fresh water tank causing it to fall out from under your bus in the middle of South Carolina. Sounds oddly specific, I know, it’s like it happened to me or something.

4. Download all the apps before you leave!

When you’re on the road you are going to need all the apps. Uber, Lift, Dominos (they deliver anywhere), Campendium, All-Trails, REI, and Good Sam are our favorites. Have your accounts registered and the apps downloaded before you get in your travel machine. Have another travel favorite? Share it below in the comments!

5. Bring your allergy medicine.

If you’re blessed like me, seasonal allergies are the plague of your existence. The pollen in other states are not like the green sneezing particles you’re used to. I sneezed more times in New York in a week than I have all year in Florida.

6. Expect something to go wrong. Prepare for the worst!

Nothing in life is rainbows and butterflies something is not going to go according to plan. So when the oil light and the water light come on when you’re driving in North Florida you don’t panic. Pull over, google search, realize it’s too damn hot for the bus to be driving and hang out so she cools down. When the water tank falls out from under the bus you don’t have a mental break down in middle of nowhere South Carolina. You packed drill bits and a long bolt. You punch that bad boy all the way though the floor and get her back up there. Bring your tools, screws, bolts, silicone sealer, and Eternabond tape for when of a leak happens.

If someone is building your bus for you be their right hand man. Knowing everything about our bus made all the difference in the world. We didn’t have to rely on a mechanic or contractor. Ask questions, you’re paying them.

7. Know your size and height if you’re going near bigger cities.

We came across a serious problem when we were heading into New York to get to Long Island. There are so many bridges, parkways, and roads with low bridges and limitations. Google Maps doesn’t care about what you’re driving so it will take you to the shortest route, not what you’re allowed to drive. We used a trucker navigation Sygic Truck GPS and used the free trial. It was able to eliminate the bridges and parkways we were not allowed on. Sygic does have to download the maps so do it ahead of time!

8. Skoolies- Prepare yourself for the sticker shock of your first fill up.

Before we left our town, we filled up the tank. Now, I know that the tank was big but I never did the math. That first fill up hurts a bit……it’s a $300 blow depending on the size of your tank. The good news is your bus guzzles diesel fuel but your tank is so big you can really get a far distance! We made it from South Florida to the North Carolina South Carolina line before we needed more.

9. Use your composting toilet before you have to pee on the road.

We set up our C-Head composting toilet or but didn’t use it before we left and that was a mistake. Learning how to aim into the funnel while the bus is in motion and the dogs are at your feet is not easy. Splatter happens man…..When we hit the first Walmart we got the only medium we could find; hamster pine shavings.

10. Laugh, look, sing goofy songs, and wave at all the gawkers!

Traveling on the road will be a huge chunk of your adventure. You have to make the most of it because it can be boring. Have a project lined up, write blog posts, listen to podcasts, or read a book! We genuinely enjoyed the road! I would sing Celine Dion at the top of my lungs to entertain Jonny, watch the sunrise and sunsets from the windows, and wave at all the people showing us through their cars that they followed our bus on Instagram and Facebook!

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