"Our story begins with Jack becoming a professional baseball player," they wrote on Instagram. "We figured it would be a challenge to move if he got traded or moved up which means a different state we would go too. We wanted to be together during season so we came up with building a skoolie to live in. Kinda a crazy adventure we have taken on! On October 30th we bought our 1999 transit school bus. Now our adventure begins."Jack and Madi began by ripping everything out of the bus, from the seats to the steering wheel and everything in between. Jack says the hardest part was installing electricity, but incredibly he learned how to do it all by watching YouTube tutorials! Jack's parents also gave the couple invaluable advice since they too have renovated a fixer-upper house in the past. With a little internet guidance and a lot of elbow grease, Jack was able to rig the bus with electricity and running water. It wasn't long before the project really started coming together.
“It’s set up with 120-volt electric — the same as a household — and has running water and hot water,” Jack explained. “We have AC, heat, a stove, two sinks, a running toilet, a horse trough tub, plus a full bed.”
"We tried to cut costs, but we also spent on appliances and essentials, given that we do not want to be fixing things constantly,” he said. “Some people can do what we did for much cheaper, as well as much more expensive.”
Both Jack and Madi admit to using fixer upper shows on HGTV for inspiration throughout their bus renovation, and you can definitely see the sleek modern design elements modeled on the network when you look through the bus's new living space.Talk about using your imagination to solve a complex problem! Jack and Madi have turned their budget dilemma into a dream house on wheels. Their hard work is so inspiring! We wish them nothing but love and laughter as they begin the next mile of their adventure together.
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