The Paashaus family has been living in their skoolie for a year, traveling the states and adventuring with their two daughters. From multi-day packrafting trip to thru-hiking the Long Trail, no adventure is too big for them. Check out their story below or on their Instagram @deliberatelifebus.
Who are you? Tell us something about you!
Adam and Elizabeth Paashaus along with our two kids Sadie and Wren
We are living in a 40' school bus. We stay in temperatures down in the 20s regularly and occasionally colder (but not often!)
How did your tiny living journey begin and what were your reasons? How long have you been living tiny?
We always had an interest in alternative housing that would allow us to build it ourselves on a budget. When we came across the school bus idea we jumped in pretty much right away. Initially, we wanted to live a stationary life in the bus and move every few years to new parts of the country but we got the travel bug during the build. We built the bus ourselves over a 2.5 year period as we had the time and money. We've been living and traveling in it for just over a year.
How did you decide on a Dwarf stove?
We wanted a quality stove that have good air control, direct air intake, ash pan that can be removed while the fire is burning, and good heat retention.
How difficult was the installation process? Did you need any assistance of any kind?
If you can build a school bus into a house, installing the wood stove is a walk in the park. It was really straight forward. The hardest part was overcoming the scary prospect of cutting a huge hole in the roof (which sealed back us easily with the pipe boot with no leaks.)
How has your experience been using the Dwarf? Have you been enjoying having a tiny wood stove in your space?
We tell people that it was the best decision we made in our bus. On a build where we sought out reused items and budget purchased, buying a $1000 stove and another $600 in parts was a big investment but we wanted to spend the money on the things that were really important to our comfort and freedom. We have been warm and toasty in snowy weather living off the grid for the last year and have had none of the moisture issues that many vehicle dwellers have and it's because of the dry wood heat.
Would you recommend a tiny wood stove to others? Why?
Absolutely! It's a well designed stove that is sturdy and will last forever. The air controls allow us to control the temperature better than many other small stove options. The parts offered allow odd installations like our zig-zag pipe so you don't have to have the perfect space designed for the stove. I love that with a wood stove I don't have to worry about things breaking that I don't understand like with gas or electric heat.
Interested in a small stove for your tiny space? Contact us on the form below and we can help you sort through all the details in getting the perfect stove and installation configuration for your unique space!
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The Dwarf 5kw Small Wood Stove
$1,095.00
