A young couple are converting an old school bus to live in full-time to beat the housing crisis

As the housing crisis bites, the popularity of mobile homes has soared. Meet a young couple who have found a creative solution to make their own nest.

More South Australians are resorting to living in mobile homes and caravans to beat rising housing costs.

Young married couple Heidi and Tristan Mellett are busy converting a former school bus and plan to live in it permanently by the time their first child is born in November

Caravan dealerships are also reporting a surge in new customers, as more and more people struggle to afford crippling mortgages and skyrocketing rents.

The Melletts had planned to travel around Australia in the bus for up to five years.

But that all changed when they found out a baby was on the way as they wanted to stay close to family in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

The couple paid $6000 for the bus and plan to spend up to $60,000 converting it into a family home. That will be a massive saving, compared with Adelaide’s median house price of $630,000.

“Looking at the market, we could build our whole house for only a fraction of what you would pay,” Mrs Mellett, 22, said of the bus project.

“It’s so unsustainable paying the amount that some people are paying, or what people are asking for.”

Once the bus is ready to live in, the couple will rent land at a caravan park in Moana for about $170 a week.

Converted skoolie – young couple Tristan and Heidi Mellett are converting an old school bus to live in full time when their baby is born. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Eventually the bus will be completely off-grid, which Mrs Mellett said would reduce the rent to $110 a week, compared with Adelaide’s median rent of $460 a week for a house.

“For 60 grand, we’ve made a house that we absolutely love … it made so much sense to us.”

Graham Potiphar, owner of Talking Caravans, said 20 per cent of his recent business had been couples and families seeking caravans to live in full-time.

“It probably used to be 3-4 per cent, if you’re lucky,” Mr Potiphar said.

He said at least 20 couples a month bought caravans from him to avoid soaring rents.

“It’s not going to slow down – it’s more popular now than it was three years ago.

“You can travel if you want, you don’t have to be permanent, it’s a lot cheaper … you’re probably looking at $250 a week at a caravan park.”

Mr Potiphar said he charged between $5000 and $100,000 for a caravan.

Earlier this month, he offered a caravan free of charge for three months to a mum who was sleeping in her car.

Tristan and Heidi Mellett hard at work on the new interior of their bus-home. Picture: Tricia Watkinson