As an outdoor photographer, Yocom is no stranger to the road life. Prior to meeting Meeks, he spent nine months living in his Tacoma and traveling around the American West while freelancing for various media outlets and brands. The two met during the winter while Yocom was recovering from a recent accident and spent a few months as pen pals before they finally managed to go on a long-awaited date. Shortly after that, the pair spent around six months together in the truck. "We've been glued together since!" Yocom says.
When the truck trip came to an end, Yocom immediately started looking for what might come next. He hadn't paid rent in nearly a year and wasn't keen to start. After seeing a school bus conversion for the first time at a vanlife rally, Yocom joked to Meeks that maybe a larger vehicle was the logical progression. The two had only been dating for half a year, but Meeks was a step ahead of him: prior to meeting Yocom, she'd nearly made the "skoolie" jump with a friend, but ultimately decided against it.
But when Yocom pitched the idea, Meeks was all in. They began searching Facebook Marketplace for a suitable vehicle and eventually found just the thing: a 208-square-foot DT 466 diesel-powered behemoth for $3,000. They bought it a few days later.
Converting the old school bus to a liveable space took roughly one year. "The build probably restored my faith in humanity," Yocom says. "We had so many incredible things happen and take place that just kind of proved that this was the move." Friends offered them a place to park. Older folks in the neighborhood lent them tools. Neither of them had previous training in construction or how to use power tools, so they spent their down time attending YouTube University (aka researching and watching building tutorials online).
A year later, they emerged from the DIY school bus conversion project with a fully outfitted home on wheels, complete with a queen bed, a wood-burning stove, an oven and a fridge, and a full bathroom with a shower. The interior, complete with wood paneling and flooring plus a stone backsplash around the wood stove, is reminiscent of a small cabin in the mountains. Perhaps the best part, though, is that Yocom no longer has to hunch while walking around his home—they chopped off the roof and lifted it up for added height.