On the bus To some youNG people, liFe oN The Road meaNs a chaNce aT adveNTuRe—aNd escape story and photos by Matt bieker m at t b@ ne w s re v i e w . c o m
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aybe it’s a soul-sucking job, a dead-end relationship or just the prospect of another day in the same old routine, but the urge to hit the road and leave it all in the rearview mirror might be familiar to anyone who’s ever felt stuck in life. While a life of freewheeling adventure on 3000 miles of American highway makes for a nice office day dream, an increasing number of young people have found the prospect of living in a vehicle more desirable—and in some cases, more practical—than traditional housing. According to the yearly report from the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, RV sales of all makes and models have risen by an average of 10 percent every year since 2012, with Americans spending over 20 billion dollars on RVs in 2017. The RVIA also indicates that millennials spend more on RVs than other Americans, followed closely
by retiring boomers. However, social media content like #vanlife offers a rose-colored glimpse at a subculture of young Americans choosing remote destinations over roommates and paying gas bills instead of rent—no cushy RV required. To a few young Truckee Meadows residents, their vision of a life on wheels comes in the form of a modified school bus. Lorelei Neft is a 25-year-old who, at the end of last summer, decided she needed a change. “I was having, like, a quarterlife crisis,” Neft said. “I had just walked out of a job working at Renown and, like, using my degree, and it sucked. I was within, like, a month of being unemployed—not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I was like, ‘I just need to travel. I need to get out of here.’ So, obviously, the rational choice is to
buy a school bus and to convert it into a tiny home.” After abruptly quitting her job at Renown Health Center, Neft spent a month abroad in India. When she returned to Reno, she decided to embark on a project that would give her the minimalism and freedom she felt was missing in her life. She began converting the 22-foot-long mini school bus she had purchased a few months earlier into her new home. “When I really sat down and focused on when I was really happiest in my life. ... It’s always been, like, when I studied abroad, or when I backpacked in Japan,” Neft said. “And, so, I basically really hastily came up with the solution that I need. Like, why not convert a vehicle into my home so I can take my home with me wherever I want to go?” Neft budgeted $10,000 for the entire project. She specifically wanted a mini bus for its diminutive size, and found one in New Jersey, where they are more common than on the West Coast, for $3000. Along with another $3000 to ship it to Reno, plus a few fees and taxes, Neft had a little under $4000 left for the basic construction of water lines, insulation and a battery-operated electrical system, as well as amenities like a full-size bed, gas range and cabinet sink, and solar shower with water-less toilet. “I knew I wanted to design the inside, so I could have done a van build, but I wanted to be able to stand up,” Neft said. “So that was an important factor aside from the school bus aesthetic.” The aesthetics of her home are important to Neft, who’s designing the entire space to look like a brick house on wheels—complete with wooden front door and Astro-turf “backyard” on the roof. She and a contractor friend installed hard wood floors and a stately thrift-shop armoire, and she even considered adding a wood burning stove before deciding it was overkill. She believes her mobile-cottage design also has practical benefits, like potentially renting the bus to Burners every summer at an
coNTiNued oN paGe 15 Lorelei Neft is currently renovating her 22-foot-long mini bus. When it’s finished, if all goes according to plan, it will look like a cottage on wheels.
05.02.19
RN&R Family Guide
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