From 'road-schooling' to gas that costs $500, this family of 4 shares what it's like living in a solar-powered Greyhound bus

The Morris family is synonymous with adventure.

Alex, 32, and Ashley Morris, 33, live full-time with their two children, Declan, 9, and Hadley, 5, in a 45-foot-long Greyhound bus traveling the United States. The family of four, known as "The Wanderlusters," has explored at least 18 states as of August 2022 when they spoke to Insider. At the time, they were looking for orcas on an island near Washington State's coast.

"We like to fully experience an area as much as we possibly can, so when we go somewhere, we'll stay parked for one to two weeks and check out as much as we can," Alex told Insider. "We slowly pick up our home and move it across the country in short little bursts."

The family chronicles day-to-day life with their travel blog and social media, showing audiences how to tackle day-to-day activities like attending school and living with solar power.

The Morris family lived in a traditional home in the Port Huron area in 2017, a time when Alex said they were living the "American dream." But after he got laid off from his job in August 2019, it opened the door for opportunities.

"We didn't know what we were going to do," Alex said. "I started lining all these other opportunities up and Ashley at this point was like, 'Let's go live on the road,' because she'd been trying to convince me for years up until that point."

Ashley told Insider that she was inspired to live on the road after deciding to homeschool Declan. While scrolling online one day, she stumbled across "road-schooling," which means children are homeschooled while the family travels full-time.

"This would be amazing for our family," she said. "Declan would get so much more life experience. He would get to see so much."

Alex was initially hesitant, but couldn't say no when they tentatively listed their home for rent in June 2021 and a willing tenant responded in 24 hours. They used Alex's severance package to purchase a travel trailer in November 2019 and moved out of their home that month.

The family hitched their travel trailer and officially hit the road in February 2020. During that time, Alex and Ashley realized that lifestyle was a perfect fit for their family, prompting them to discuss the next steps.

"We sat down as a family and we decided we loved this life. We wanted to keep it going as long as possible," Ashley said. The Morris family used the money they got for their Michigan home to pay for the $32,000 converted Greyhound bus. After renovations, the family paid around $52,000.

Although the family left their home, they kept their Chevrolet Silverado truck, which they hitched to the bus and brought along with them.

Alex and Ashley said they installed the solar panels themselves after buying seven panels for $65 a panel on Facebook Marketplace. One of the main reasons they wanted solar panels was to avoid RV campground fees. RV campgrounds typically charge travelers fees for renting lot space, electricity, and utilities.

"We can spend weeks or months out in the middle of nowhere and be fine," Alex said. Ashley said most of the bus runs on electricity, including the water heater and lights.

The bus has other amenities like a 75-gallon fresh water tank that lasts about seven days. The family has a 60-gallon water bladder in case they run out, which they can find at campgrounds and other road stops.

The family also uses campground or rest stop dumpsters to dispose of trash between destinations.

"When we were in our house, we would go through one bag of trash roughly every day as a family of four," Alex said. "Now, we try to be as compact as possible."

The home has hardwood floors that span the entirety of the space, sans the bathroom. A long couch sits in the main area alongside a mounted TV and a table. The kitchen sits nearby with an oven, stove, sink, refrigerator, and cabinets.

I can cook while we're driving," Ashley said. "One time, because we have solar on our bus, we were doing a long drive across the country and I actually made us a full dinner."

The children have bunk beds, a desk, and space for their toys on the bus. It also holds a laundry nook where they can wash their clothes and hang them on clotheslines to dry.