Internet Sensation Couple Who Built Their Own RV Discuss Life On The Road & An Accepting Community
Christopher Stoll and Tori Edwards, both graphic artists with a focus in production, came back from an overseas gig and decided to build their own RV. Converting an old church bus and completely outfitting it and rebuilding it to their standards with a sense of creativity speak to a new generation of RVers. After a Reddit conversation gave them some worldwide exposure, The Buzz sat down with the couple to discuss practical application, Millennial perspective and their enjoyment of the community on their maiden voyage.
The Buzz: How did you both get to this point?
Christopher Stoll: We actually met working overseas. We were both teaching in Japan. I worked for the JET program and Tori worked for a small company in Ankila. We met there and spent a couple years overseas and decided when we returned to the United States, we didn’t want to reset our lives with an apartment and a 9-5 job. We had some savings. We thought a road trip would be nice.Our first idea was that we would road trip around the United States, experiencing all of these different things that the US has to offer. But that turned into “Why don’t we just live in an RV for a time if we are going to spend 6 months road tripping anyway…” From there it just got more and more interesting and we became more and more invested. Everything we looked up about the lifestyle convinced us that it was worth doing. So as soon as we got back, we went looking for an old bus that we could convert.
Can you comment on the Millennial dynamic of modern technology versus rediscovering the basic concept of living life?
CS: I might not be qualified to speak for a majority of Millennials out there but one thing I’ve noticed is that Millennials as a rule…my generation…people born in the early 90s…are very comfortable with uncertainty and a certain (looking to Tori)…what would you call it?
Tori Edwards: Flexibility. (laughing)
CS: Flexibility. So unlike the previous generation where the expectation may have been to spend 30 years at the same job…slowly accumulating wealth and status and putting down deeper and deeper roots…now I know most of my friends switch from job to job… project to project…and have a multitude of skills. So, for us, it didn’t seem strange to pick up from place to place…switch from job to job and take opportunities as they came.
Tori: I agree. Growing up as a Navy kid certainly prepared me for that…moving around a lot.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the learning process so far and knowing what you need as you go forward?
CS: I have really really enjoyed the community [of people] so far.
TE: Absolutely.
Christopher: We only started 3 or 4 weeks ago. Our maiden voyage was down to Big Bend National Park in Southern Texas, right near the Mexico border. We decided we’d tour through all these small towns and see if we made any mistakes putting the bus together. We would find out if we needed a certain type of supply or if we didn’t need a particular kind of appliance. So we are just finishing that up and returning to some family in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
TE: I was surprised by the community. We met many RVers along the way…and they were just the kindest people.
CS: Very supportive.
The Buzz: How did your experience help you think about time management and help you figure out your own personal schedule?
TE: Well…we spent the first few weeks setting up the schedule and working on how we are going to start our day…organizing ourselves.
CS: [There was not a lot] of expectations on my end. I was a little worried that people would be unfriendly towards us. I know that a lot of RVers are retirees…and there is a generational difference. And a lot of them have more expensive rigs. We saw a lot of five hundred thousand dollar RVs parked next to our rinky dink bus. We were concerned that we wouldn’t be welcome in certain higher end RV parks because we had done the conversion ourselves. We weren’t even sure if we would be able to park places safely. So there were a lot of questions. Initially, I was kind of on guard but that faded away quickly.
The Buzz: What was most important when you were doing the RV conversion on the bus?
TE: We really wanted a good balance. After living in Japan, we were used to inhabiting these small spaces so that really wasn’t an issue for us. But we thought…I was excited to work with a small space. We really wanted a sink at the very least. (laughing) A bed.
CS: I think Tori touched on something really important. We wanted to downsize in a lot of ways. We wanted to live efficiently and simply. We looked through all our stuff, even having lived abroad and coming back. We still felt we had all of this stuff…these objects and items we used only occasionally. So we threw out a lot of clothes and we decided that when we put the bus together, our main focus would be using the space efficiently and balancing our aesthetic preferences and our need for comfort with trying to keep it very tight and very limited. We didn’t want a bunch of extravagance. There was a bit of a push and pull in the whole process: comfort and extravagance versus efficiency and practicality.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the evolution of what you are doing now and doing problem solving on the next leg.
CS: In terms of the evolution of the bus and our attitudes about it, we have gone through a couple different phases where, at first, it was like really this intensely private affair…and we were like “It’s important that we don’t have input from family and friends”. But now we see that there is this community out there where people are excited to see the bus and the reaction from all corners of the internet. [Editor’s Note: They gained a lot of publicity from ABC and The London Mail through a Reddit chat ] There was some negativity but, for the most part, people were amazed. They were enthusiastic. They were offering to let us stay at their places or support us…so that has changed my attitude.
Tim WassbergA graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.