A man’s desire to do a fun project led him to build a tiny house out of a school bus known as “skoolie,” and he eventually quit his 9 to 5 job. For a few years, Will Sutherland had been a homeowner. He felt the need to embark on a new and exciting project after completing several home improvements and repairs. For 11 years, he worked as an audio-visual technician at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

One day, while browsing Craigslist for a nice car or something for a fun project, a school bus appeared on the screen. “Perhaps I could make some kind of tiny house or camper out of it,” he thought after first hearing about a skoolie. There were only a few buses for sale online at the time, but he said he is mechanically inclined, so he took a chance on the listing. He drove two hours from West Virginia to Maryland to pick up the school bus.

Will paid $1,000 for the school bus and drove it home. It was his first time driving a school bus with a top speed of 55 miles per hour, he said. In the summer of 2014, he began renovating the bus. “There wasn’t much to inspire my design because skoolies hadn’t yet become popular, but I figured I could figure something out from what I saw.” Will began by removing the seats, which he described as one of the most difficult tasks of his project.

“Pat yourself on the back once you’ve finished removing the seats from your bus. That right there is a rite of passage.” He installed a wood stove, a table, and bed framing after removing the seats. By October, he had completed the renovation entirely on his own. Will stated that during the renovations, he took the bus to a Halloween party a few miles away, and that everyone enjoyed it. “I realized I’d done something cool,” he explained.

Will claims that a friend suggested he list the bus on Airbnb, which was new to him at the time. After listing it on Airbnb, he immediately booked it for $40 per night. His skoolie does not have a bathroom, so he shared his home’s bathroom with his guests for six and a half years. His regulars shifted from college kids who occasionally threw parties to people his and his wife’s age after he raised his prices a little.

The bus now costs around $89 per night, though this varies with the seasons because he uses Airbnb’s auto pricing, so the price also varies with demand. “I’ll check to see if anyone is paying $120 per night for the bus. May and September have historically been good months for earnings. October, November, January, and February are all slow months.” Will also construct a tree house and list it on Airbnb.

He made $50,000 last year from the skoolie and the tree house. His bus brought in between $18,000 and $20,000, and the treehouse brought in at least $30,000. He always begins the day by assisting someone, taking care of himself, his property, and his family, and doing something enjoyable and productive. “Every day, I try to cross each of these items off my list. That is where my true wealth is in my life.”