DRIVING FORCE
Couple almost went bankrupt converting a school bus into their dream home – now they’d rather die than go back
A YOUNG couple who sold everything they owned to travel around the world in their bus almost went bankrupt in the process.
But now they say they'd rather die than go back.
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Content writers Tawny McVay, 34, and her husband Michael, 31, from Montana, made the decision after being unhappy in their home.
They also ran a a family gym business, a three story house and a nice car.
Tawney said: "We were classed as successful and should have been wildly happy, but we weren’t."
"In early spring of 2018 we saw a documentary about a couple who converted a school bus into a tiny home.
"We did some research and put our house on the market a few weeks later.
"Within two months, we had sold most of our belongings, and had the house and our business under contract.
"We searched and searched for the perfect bus, finally found it, and with everything tied up, we bought the bus and jumped in."
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They found buyers for their business and home but both fell through after they’d bought their bus.
She explained: "Our house fell through two days before closing the deal and the person buying our business pulled out.
"We had to move in with Mike’s parents and it was a very taxing six months. According to the numbers we were a week away from bankruptcy."
Thankfully, in December 2018, their house and business were squared away and they moved onto the bus full time in May 2019, documenting their travels on their .
The bus, which they have named Oliver is a school bus from 2004, which they bought from a local company for £3,900 ($5,000).
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The renovations set them back £11,700 ($15,000), which they worked on themselves along with Tawney's dad and brothers.
Tawney said: "It has a living area with a Murphy bed, a full kitchen with range and fridge, bathroom with a composting toilet, shower and washer/dryer combo, and our bedroom.
"There’s almost 100 gallons of fresh water, two propane tanks and a solar system with 600W of panels and 600 Ah batteries."
The couple have already covered 5,000 miles having travelled across the Pacific Northwest, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
They plaN to head to southwest US during the harsh months of winter.
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Tawney added: "We’ve been very fortunate to not have too many problems while on the road.
"We have our Great Dane called Apollo to protect us, but thankfully the only thing ever going bump in the night has been the occasional wild animal when we stay in the woods."
"Sometimes it can be tricky finding somewhere to fill up on water or find a place to park the bus when we are visiting bigger cities."
She said that her family and friends laughed when they said what they were going to do.
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She expanded: "They nodded and went along with it… I suppose they are used to our ‘oddball’ choices.
"We have two kids who also travel with us part time when they’re not with their biological dad. We like that we can teach them to follow their dreams even if they aren’t ‘normal’.
"Every lifestyle comes with pros and cons. Having a home on wheels isn’t always an easy choice, it takes determination as you have breakdowns and travel issues to deal with.
"To be honest, as the saying goes, we would rather die on an adventure like this than live standing still."
Florida couple sold everything they own to live a DEBT FREE life on a BUS with their one-year-old daughter
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They aren't the first people to pack up and travel by bus - a young couple converted a yellow school bus to drive around the world with their two dogs.
A family of five spent £31,000 renovating a school bus and now live on the road in the US.
Another couple converted a Ford Transit into a camper van for less than £2,000 and now travel around Europe in it.