'My Family of 8 Live In a Tiny House Bus'

Before deciding to live in a two storey bus, my wife and I lived in a permanent home in Texas, along with our six kids. We had been based in Dallas for over ten years whilst also renting out another house. But everything changed in 2020 when we were on a road trip to Utah. It was clear to us that spending quality time together was bringing us happiness.

I had always worked long hours behind a desk, which meant that I spent very little time with my family. Since graduating college 10 years ago, I had spent a lot of my time chasing money instead, thinking that it would somehow buy me happiness at some point, or get my family and me to a point of happiness. I soon realized that this was not the case.

On the road trip to Utah, I was rushing to drive back to my job in Texas. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that the kids were being very well-behaved and were having fun. My wife and I had big smiles on our faces, and we were all enjoying our time together. We had passed the great sand dunes in Colorado, an awesome place, but we couldn't visit because I was rushing to get back to Dallas. I thought to myself: Here I am trying to get back to a desk while I'm right here with my family.

At that point, I looked at my wife and said, "I'm not doing this anymore." My happiness was right at that moment with my family and I felt that my job could wait. Although I liked working as head of operations for a tech start-up, it wasn't what was bringing me true joy. And it certainly wasn't making my wife and kids happy, not having me around all day.

So I told my family I did not care what the next attraction was, but we were going to stop and spend more time as a family because I didn't want this happiness to end. So, we stopped at a place called the Capulin Volcano National Monument in New Mexico, and we walked around the rim of this old dormant volcano and went down into it.

The drive back was eight hours. Before we even reached our home, we had already determined as a family that we would live in a recreational vehicle (RV) and take a road trip for at least two years. I wouldn't say that my wife and I were adventurous before this point, so deciding to do this was big for us. I had never stepped foot in an RV before, so it was also a very big change.

As soon as I got back to Texas from our road trip, I told my boss that I was going to leave my job in order to spend more time with my family and travel in an RV. He had a surprised look on his face and said that it was the best plan he had ever heard. He told me that I could work at the tech company as long as I needed and that he would fill my position when I was ready to leave. My wife and kids were happy about this decision, and our extended families were, too.

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We sold our home in 2020, and the home that we had been renting out. We also sold 95 percent of all of our belongings. From that point, we no longer had a permanent home. We do however rent a small space in Texas, in order to get our driver's license and be able to vote. We decided that we would visit the small place one week out of the year so that we could do our medical checks too. I had started a ghostwriting company in 2018 and we also own some websites and some blogs that earn income, and I began freelancing as a consultant for tech startups in May 2021, which allows me to work from home.

We then began looking for a motor home in July 2020, and had decided that we wanted an entertainer coach, as it would have enough bunks for all six of our kids. Then, I stumbled across an incredible two storey bus that had been converted into a hotel on wheels, and it was full of bunk beds. When I saw it, I just knew that it was perfect for us. But I also knew that it was going to need some conversion.

We designed the layout for the inside of the bus and then hired a company in Utah to build it in late summer of 2020. The original plan included a kitchen, dining room, and bathroom downstairs, with the beds upstairs, as well as a living area for the kids to play, relax, and do schoolwork. We also intended to have a laundry room upstairs, and a shower in the stairwell.

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The renovations were supposed to take a few months, but we waited 18 months, and when we picked it up from the company, the bus wasn't quite what we expected. We wanted the upstairs master bedroom to become a playroom for all of our kids, but that did not function properly and the vinyl wrapping wasn't completed to the best standard.

That took an emotional toll on myself and my wife, almost to the point where we decided to not go through with it. But, we decided to drive the bus down to Texas where we could keep an eye on it, and slowly began to get it fixed to the point where we felt comfortable driving on the road, which took another six months. We finally got on the road on June 21, 2022.

We have been living in our two storey bus for three months, and the biggest benefit is family time. My wife and I chose to have six kids; I didn't feel like it was fair to them that they didn't get to spend time with me as often as they should. Another benefit is that we can take the bus anywhere. We have already visited 22 states. If my children wanted to learn something about history, we could directly take the family there. We home school our children and provide them with workbooks for each of their subjects. We focus on science, technology, reading, engineering, art, and math whilst adding in history using several hands-on activities, like sightseeing.

Selling our belongings has also forced us to be minimalists. I found that the more stuff you have in your life, the more things you fill your space with. For example, if I buy the kids a new toy, it would take time, energy, and effort to clean that toy and to make sure that toy is put away. If I own a lawn mower, I have to maintain it. Everything in our lives requires our time, energy, and effort. So, the less we have, the fewer worries that come with it.

Currently, we're breaking even with our living expenses, but that's because we've been traveling a lot. We can make an adjustment to that at any time, whereas this may not be the case when living in a house and paying a set amount for bills. Our living expenses will drop dramatically if we don't have fuel costs. So, if I drive 1100 miles, that'll cost around $1,000, but if we decide to slow down, we'll save a lot of money. We're still settling into the fact that living on this bus is now daily life, rather than a vacation.

The bus is 450 square feet. So, for eight people, we live in a tight space. But in reality, we don't spend much time on the bus. Most of our time is spent outside, where we cook, eat, play, and explore the area we are staying in at the time. There is a sense of claustrophobia occasionally on rainy days, as the kids have to stay indoors. But generally, the bus has four primary functions. It's our sleeping quarters, we travel in it, we'll sometimes cook in it, and the kids will do school work in there.

We get comments from people on social media every day, telling us that what we're doing is wrong for our children and absurd. People have also said that they are going to call child protective services. Ultimately, we know that what we're doing is right for our family and children. We provide a safe home for our kids and we have everything we need. We've also shown our home to plenty of people who have said that they feel like it's bigger than a New York City apartment.

The growth that we've seen in all of our children since being on the road has been incredible. Our older daughter, who is 10, loves traveling. Whenever we travel, she reads the signs and retains the information. She's also really patient with her younger brother and helps him read.

Our children have also gained friends here. We're not the only family traveling and living in a two storey bus. We're in some Facebook groups that have over 100,000 people in them. Just yesterday, a family pulled in and parked in the spot behind us. Our kids had fun playing with each other. We'll go our way for the next few weeks and then meet up with them again on the road in the future.

My wife and I decided that every three months, we would re-evaluate as a family whether living on the road still works for us. If there comes a point when our children are not growing and learning, then we'll stop. This doesn't have to be a permanent thing for our family.

We're not sure what the end goal will be, but we know that we're on a two-year road trip. Two years gives us enough time to spend two weeks in every state. After we've done that, we may fly out and see Alaska and Hawaii. But maybe we'll love this life so much that we would continue living in the two storey bus. We always say that home is where you park it.

Dane Eyerely and his wife, Dina, permanently live in their two storey bus with their six children. Dane holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship, and Dina looks after the kids full-time. You can find out more information about the family by visiting their website.

All views expressed in this article are the author's own.

As told to Carine Harb.