Courtney and Cassidy, twin sisters living the trendy van life, have taken things a step further by building their own homes on wheels. Courtney, from Minnesota, quit her 9-to-5 job as an operations specialist in 2017 and decided to tour Alaska and Canada in her mobile home, a 1990 GMC Suburban. Courtney was always daring, and though she had never intended to live on the road, she simply fell in love with it.
She enjoyed the freedom of a nomadic lifestyle, waking up in a different location and following a different routine every day. Her car’s transmission failed in April 2018, and repairs to her home on wheels were costly. Courtney was at a loss after her van life came to a halt. However, she found a retro school bus for sale online that cost $2,500. “I didn’t want to give up the freedom I felt for the first time in my life,” she explained.
Initially, the decision was to find a place to live, sell the suburban, or buy the bus – and, of course, invest a few thousand dollars in the conversion and build a home-on-wheels.” Courtney decided to tackle the project of transforming the bus into her new mobile home. “I’d never built anything before, but my ex-partner had some carpentry skills, so I learned how to build a bed, a makeshift kitchen, and figure out how to run water,” she explained.
The project was completed quickly and within seven days, at a cost of $5,000 more. With her van life back on track, Courtney boarded the bus. However, after six months of cross-country travel, she decided the bus was too large for her and sold it for $10,000. She then bought another school bus and transformed it in 10 days. This sparked the idea for a new business venture: converting old school buses into mobile homes.
After her third bus was renovated in 21 days, Courtney began to gain attention, particularly for her designs. “I noticed that I became addicted to new beginnings, and the bus conversions provided me with that feeling,” she explained. People began to notice and be drawn to my designs, styles, and small details. The more buses I built, the more attractive they appeared.”‘
Courtney honed her skills in converting school buses into mobile homes by watching videos and observing others in the communities she visited. “I’m a fast learner when it comes to hands-on projects because I’m quite good at watching someone do something or even looking at a picture and replicating it,” she explained. Over the next five years, she would travel across the 49 states while renovating and selling several buses at a profit.
Cassidy, her twin sister, joined her in March 2022 after growing tired of her nursing job and wanting a fresh start. She, too, had some DIY experience and a background in car restoration. Nonetheless, her experience in this field was limited because she had previously focused on nursing. “So my first conversion was a huge learning process, but I was up for the challenge,” she said of her first project with the company.
Not only did I have to learn how to build a skoolie (a converted home-on-wheels), but I also had to learn how to collaborate with my twin sister.” Cassidy quickly caught up to her sister, and their combined talents resulted in Nomadic Homes, a successful business that transforms school buses into mobile homes. You can follow them on their Instagram page.
The twins frequently share their Instagram journey and process for creating the quirky living spaces – one bus at a time. The clients either bring their own bus or the sisters assist them in purchasing one, and each bus is tailored to the clients’ needs. A full build for a bus starts at $65,000. Their projects have inspired people all over the world, particularly women, to embark on a van life. In fact, the majority of their projects have benefited single women.
The twins are not only converting buses into mobile homes, but they are also using their company to inspire and empower other women. Courtney and Cassidy are using their platform to raise awareness about women’s issues, such as domestic violence and mental health, based on their own experiences. They have overcome personal obstacles and want to help others through their women-empowering business.
“I’ve found a passion in something greater than I could have ever imagined,” Cassidy said. Courtney and I have the power to change people’s lives, whether it’s by constructing a home for them or simply providing support and encouragement.
It’s truly one-of-a-kind.” “We strive to encourage women, and men, of course, to have the courage to travel alone,” Courtney added. I was living paycheck to paycheck when I first started, but I didn’t mind because the money was going toward my experiences and travel – I was living the dream.”
These twins can not only live their own dream lifestyle, but they can also build your home! Anyone interested in living on the road should consider joining the skoolie trend and purchasing a renovated bus as their own home on wheels.