Mitchell Pike said he and others had the idea about a year and a half ago while sitting at lunch.

“No one believed in it,” Pike said. “We thought it was crazy at first, but then we found one on eBay or Craigslist, I don’t remember which, and suddenly we were off to the scrap yard.”

Pike and his friends brought the bus home from the scrap yard and have slowly been working on it since. Once renovated, the bus will sleep eight comfortably; the plan is to use it for camping throughout the summer.

A lot of the work Pike credited to himself, his father, Josh Pike, and his girlfriend, Brittin Orlando.

Pictured are Mitchell Pike, Brittin Orlando and Josh Pike on the former school bus the trio have slowly been renovating. Once work is complete, the bus will be able to sleep eight people comfortably. Submitted photos

“My dad did the wiring and my girlfriend and I worked on the paint and constructing the beds, and everything else that needed done,” he said.

While the bus is not 100% done at the moment, Pike said they are really close. Most of the time has been taken up with ripping things out of the bus and figuring out the wiring. They have had to work on it on-and-off throughout the school year, so Pike said they have only been working on it “here and there,” which is the main reason it has taken a year and a half to complete.

Pike said when the project is finished, they will use it during the summer for smaller vacations.

“It’s like ‘glamping’ almost,” he said. “I think we will enjoy it as a family and with some of my friends. We plan on having a lot of fun.”

While Pike has not renovated a bus before, he has previously done projects in woodworking and other similar projects.

Southwestern student Mitchell Pike is pictured with some of his friends after buying the bus. Submitted photo

“I was never much into woodworking, but I thought I could use it in the future,” Pike said. “I thought it could help with what I can do and help me build a skillset that I could use in the future.”

Future plans for the bus beyond the occasional vacation aren’t yet known.

“You can get a lot of money for them, but I think we will keep the bus for a while,” Pike said. “It’s kind of a prideful thing for us. It was a family bonding experience because I got to work on it with my dad. We will be keeping it for a while.”

Pike advises those who are thinking about starting a big project like his work on the bus to take their time.

“Don’t rush it,” he said. “My dad taught me that if you rush big projects you will be more likely to mess it up and have to go back and fix it later. Take your time.”