As someone who lives in a vintage RV, I love seeing other old vehicles serving as beautiful tiny houses. This tiny house in Atlanta, GA is a 1995 Gilling High Floor Phantom Transit bus. It used to carry passengers around Salt Lake City. It still isn’t quite old enough to classify properly as “vintage,” but it certainly has a vintage look and feel about it. Let’s take a look!
The bus measures 40 feet in length with an 8-foot width and a height over 6 feet. It is powered by a Series 50 Detroit Diesel engine and features an Allison automatic transmission.
While the odometer reads 480,000 miles, the bus has six brand-new tires and has received extensive servicing to keep it in tip-top shape. While the exterior still looks much the same as it did when the bus was operating in Salt Lake City, the interior has been completely refurbished and transformed!
The floor is hardwood, and the cabinets were handcrafted just for this vehicle. The doors on the cabinets were purchased from IKEA and custom-installed. The butcher-block countertops are positively massive! This is one of the most spacious kitchens I think I’ve seen in a tiny house. Great use has been made here of that 40-foot length.
A hot plate and a microwave are already installed.
A commenter on the sale post for the bus pointed out that all those windows are beautiful, but they would heat up the tiny house quite a bit.
As mentioned before, my own tiny house is an RV. And it’s true—windows all around do mean a lot of heat during the summer. But you can open them up to create a cross-breeze for natural ventilation. Plus, during the winter, that extra warmth is nice to have, and it’s all passive solar.
The dinette is awesome, because it provides lots of space both on the table and around it. This is refreshing, since a lot of dinettes in tiny houses are very, well, tiny. Anyone could sit comfortably at this table and enjoy a meal.
On that note, there is no photo to share, but another exciting feature of this tiny house is the shower. The seller mentions that it has a 6’6” clearance, which was made possible by constructing it into the staircase at the back of the bus.
This is a big deal; RVs and motorhomes almost always have tiny, cramped showers only small people can comfortably use. This shower is actually large enough to accommodate a diverse range of body types and heights.
I just love how open the space is in this bus!
I’m not totally sure what this little alcove is. Storage?
I wish there were a better shot of the bedroom. I am sure that it is as amazing as the rest of the home.
Want to make this converted bus your own tiny home? As of the time of this writing, it is listed for sale for under $33,000. That is a great deal for a beautifully-converted and well-maintained bus. The owner was originally going to rent it out through AirBnB, but his plan fell through, so his loss can be your gain. You can find out more or contact the seller by checking out the post on Tiny House Marketplace.
