Lots of people dream of shucking their jobs and taking to the open road. Caleb Nelson and his wife, Emilie, actually did it, and from that experience, he built a whole new career.

Nelson is the owner of Backroad Purpose, a business that converts old school buses into RVs affectionately known as “skoolies.” These small homes on wheels offer the advantages of home ownership without the big mortgage, and the owners can stay put or travel at will.  

“I wanted to offer others the same thing I had with my converted school bus – people could own their own home with less overhead and minimal expenses,” Nelson said.

Nelson’s career path is as unconventional as it is successful. When he and Emilie struck out in 2017, they wanted to spend more time together and explore the country, so they turned their mid-size SUV into a live-in camper and embarked on nearly a year of adventure. Along the way, Nelson learned about video production, documented their journey on YouTube and gained a following.

After the couple had their first child (and were awaiting their second), they took a break from their travels. While staying with relatives in Tennessee, the adventurers decided to convert a 35-foot-long school bus into their own tiny home. The finished product was a fully self-sufficient home complete with a tiled bathroom, bamboo floors, butcher-block counters, a wine cooler, solar power and other amenities found in upscale houses.

The project entailed a series of steep learning curves for Nelson, who had no experience in the skills needed to turn a bus into a home. Undaunted, Nelson perfected those skills on his own or studied YouTube videos. He mastered welding, electrical skills, plumbing, mechanics and fine craftsmanship. His wife provided the ideas for interior design, and Nelson learned how to do that too.

“I’m willing to spend the time to figure out how to do things,” he said. 

As Nelson did with his travels, he documented his work on his skoolie on his vlog. By the end of the year, he started getting calls from people who wanted to turn their school bus conversion projects over to him. 

Initially, Nelson performed a lot of handyman jobs such as putting in windows or installing custom storage boxes; then he was asked to take on larger projects. Soon, Nelson was converting buses into tiny homes in an empty field in Tennessee.

“People see you are doing good stuff,” he said. “I got bigger deals and contracts, the projects got bigger and better and nicer, and things went from there.”

In February, the couple decided their business had grown so much they needed to take it to the next level. They moved to Leland, and Nelson rented space for his workshop in the Soda Pop District. 

“I’m fully booked for the next year and a half,” Nelson said. “We’re plenty busy.”

Nelson’s entry into the skoolie business comes at the right time. While skoolies have been around since the 1950s, they are no longer the exclusive purview of the hippie crowd. Skoolies’ popularity spiked during COVID-19, and they continue to appeal to a range of owners, which includes businesses (Nelson recently worked on a skoolie for a nonprofit organization), middle-class families, young adults and retirees. 

The reasons for skoolies’ appeal are based on practicality as well as aesthetics. Unlike most commercial RVs and campers, skoolies are fully customizable, and Nelson said he goes out of his way to make sure he meets his customers’ preferences and needs. Generally, school bus owners show Nelson pictures of what they want, or they work with Emilie on design, and Nelson said he makes it happen with top-grade materials. 

Nelson also makes special accommodations. For example, he used hypoallergenic material and formaldehyde-free wood for a customer with allergies, and he built a skoolie that accommodates an electric wheelchair for a 66-year-old woman and her son who has paralysis. 

Even though their craftsmanship and materials are of superior quality, his skoolies are much less expensive than conventional RVs, he said. 

“The last bus I built was fully customized with quartz countertops, had two AC units, a bunch of solar and slept eight,” Nelson said. “It would have cost between $600,000 and $800,000 for a commercial RV that comes close to that. I built it for under $200,000.”

Nelson can charge less, in part, because he is careful with the materials he uses, and his overhead is low, he said.
Nelson refunds money if he overshoots an estimate or if a job takes less time than expected. That type of integrity gets around, and those who have hired Nelson recommend him for jobs both large and small. 

Although Nelson has only been in business a short while, he has big aspirations. He said he aims to grow his workload to five or six buses at a time, which will allow him to have a full-time staff. 

Nelson also hopes to build a fleet of skoolies that he will rent out. While some of his skoolies may be rented as short-term getaways, others will be rented to people who need affordable housing. 

While Nelson has found the lifestyle of his dreams, he said he is committed to helping others do the same. 

“At the end of the day, I make sure people are taken care of and have the freedom to do what they want,” Nelson said. “My goal is freedom for myself, my family and my clients.”