
154: Converting A School Bus To A Tiny Home And Travelling For 10 Years Straight – Chris Penn
The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup
How Much Money Do You Have to Put Back Into Your Rig?
Mike Ess lives in a bus that he converts into tiny homes. He spends about 1,000 dollars a month on food and other living expenses. His family is supportive of his decision-making but they don't know what to do when things go wrong.
WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THIS INTERVIEW:
- Listen in while Chris talks about the extensive renovations required after buying his 2002 Blue Bird Skoolie.
- What happens when you realize that you want something bigger and better…
- What life is really like living in a BlueBird Skoolie and travelling through Alaska, Canada and the entire USA for more than 10 years?
- Mikkel and Chris talk shop…1700w of solar, 900ah of lithium battery storage, 26quft. Of cold food storage and 200 gallons of fresh water capacity. Now that’s the way to travel!
- What does life look like after the culmination of lessons learned from hundreds of thousands of miles travelling in many different kinds of vehicles?
- Off-grid life and what features are important when you spend several months on the road.
- Favourite quote of the day: Don’t talk about it, be about it
- Life can be absolutely amazing doing something that makes you happy, and driving coast to coast in a Skoolie is what does it for Chris. But what about money? Chris talks about earning a living, a good living.
- Chris and Mikkel share travel stories, what living on the road can teach someone and is being a digital nomad and seeing the world really in your blood.
RELATED PODCAST EPISODES
143: Building A Business And Finding Romance In Brazil – Kevin Koskella 140: How To Live Your Life Unconstrained – Myles Wakeham 135: Living A Perpetual Traveller Lifestyle – Sergio Von FacchinHOW TO REACH CHRIS PENN
TheOffgridSkoolie.com Tinyhometour.com Zepplin travels.comCONCLUSION:
What a great life Chris has! He travels at his leisure, teaches people how to create a life like his, and works on projects that he loves to earn a great income for himself and his dog! I’ve always wanted to rent an RV and travel through Europe or North America. It sounds better every day!Mentioned in this episode:
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No Plan-B Without the Language
If you’re planning to move overseas—or even just set up your offshore Plan-B—learning the local language isn’t optional. It’s protection. It’s access. It’s power. StoryLearning makes it easy to start today, from home, by immersing you in real stories—not grammar drills. Spanish, Portuguese, French, and more—learn the language the smart way before you land. Go to StoryLearningCourses.com.
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Fiat is failing. Banks are cracking. And smart investors are moving their gold offshore—outside the system. I’ve partnered with a fully insured private vault in the Caribbean where you can buy, store, and protect physical gold… legally and securely. The entire account opening is done online—fast, private, and no nonsense. If you’re serious about protecting your wealth, get the details now at ExpatMoney.com/gold


