‘I Was Sick and Tired of Paying Rent—So I Spent a Year Transforming an Old School Bus Into My Dream 2-Story Home’

A South Carolina man who was fed up with paying monthly rent has revealed how he spent more than a year—and $57,000—transforming an old school bus into a two-story, two-bedroom home on wheels.

Chay Denne, 25, who goes by President Chay online, documented the entire bus renovation in a fascinating series of YouTube videos, explaining every element of the meticulous bus build and its makeover into his “dream house.”

“We’re going to turn a 40-foot school bus into my personal tiny home,” Denne explains in one clip. “This is the biggest, most expensive video we’ve ever done, and it took us more than a year to complete.”

The YouTube star—who had previously tackled similar vehicle transformations on a much smaller scale—explained that his exasperation with sky-high rents prompted him to turn his attention away from petite projects like micro campers and tiny cabins toward something big enough to serve as a full-size home.

“I decided I’d had it with rent and bought a full-size school bus,” he shares. “This bus was going to make the perfect house because it ran beautifully and was super powerful.”

Denne paid around $7,000 for the bus and then poured $50,000 into renovations. The project began with the removal of 28 seats from inside the vehicle, leaving an empty shell that would form the foundation of his tiny home.

“Once we eventually got [the bus] home, there was a lot of work to do,” he says. “It was time to remove 28 seats out of this bus.”

Denne reveals that the bus was functional when he purchased it, so it needed minimal engine work to ensure it would run. This allowed him to focus on refitting and expanding the bus.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to go it alone. He enlisted the help of his girlfriend, his dad, and his brother for the mammoth project.

“While my girlfriend and I are removing the seats, let me explain just how crazy this build’s going to be,” he says in a voiceover while showing a time-lapse clip of how he cut the roof off the bus and raised it 4 feet.

“This will make it possible to put two stories in the back and make 9-foot ceilings inside,” he goes on. “This will be the highest roof raise any bus has ever gotten on YouTube.”

After stripping the interior of the bus, Denne ripped off the metal ceiling “like a can opener” and removed the “old, nasty” insulation. Next, he removed the windows and showed off the two wooden jacks his dad designed to help lift the roof.

“These went on either side of the bus and made it possible to jack the roof up safely and squarely,” he says.

“Once everything was cut, it was time to try lifting it. It took many tries to get it right, but eventually, we raised it up. You might be surprised to know that we went another foot higher.”

The size of the bus became “monstrous,” he jokes, noting that the No. 1 mission became securing the roof to avoid it blowing off in strong winds. They then clamped steel tubing to the cut metal and welded it, working all night to secure the shell. Then they added siding.

“With the roof raise complete, the bus stood 10 feet high from the bottom to the top,” he says.

Next, they installed the floor, starting with a thick plastic layer to keep water out. They added 3-inch closed-cell foam to prevent mold and provide insulation. On top of that, they laid two-by-fours and a thick subfloor that wouldn’t flex underfoot. After that, they started framing out the walls.

“The layout of the bus includes a bedroom, an office, a full-size bathroom, and a second bedroom,” he explains, showing off his blueprints. “We framed a loft that also acts as a second bedroom, and the wall supporting it closes off the driver’s compartment.”

To give the interior a unique touch, they framed a flat ceiling instead of the traditional curved one seen in many school bus conversions. They then framed the bathroom, which will include a toilet, sink, and full-size shower. (Massive water tanks are installed on the bus, which has working plumbing.)

The kitchen has a bar and can seat four people.

After the drywall, lights, air conditioning, and vents were all installed. The group added a pantry and a 9-foot “attic” above the bathroom for storage. A dehumidifier was installed to prevent mold growth.

The entire build took six months, and at the end, viewers are met with a surprise—a proposal on the roof of the tiny home.

“My girlfriend, Kelsey, still had no idea I was planning to propose to her at the beach,” he says. “She has been my biggest supporter since Day 1, even helping with the first video on this channel.”

They drove to the beach where they were engaged on the newly completed roof deck of the school bus.