Silvia and Sergio, a retired couple from Rosario in Argentina, left their house to live in a 1995 Mercedes-Benz 1215 bus converted into a motorhome. For more than a year they have been travelling across South America without a fixed address.
Sergio bought the bus to take parts for his lorries. Silvia saw another possibility and suggested turning it into a home on wheels for holidays. The idea grew when she asked: what if we travelled for good? The conversion took months of planning, and one of their sons, a metalworker, helped build much of the interior. Before leaving, the couple cut their belongings to a minimum, following a simple rule: anything not used leaves the bus.
What the motorhome has
- four 450 W solar panels;
- a 3,000 W inverter with peaks of up to 5,000 W;
- two 200 Ah lithium batteries;
- a 500-litre fresh water tank and a separate grey water tank;
- a dry toilet that uses no water.
With this setup the couple run an inverter fridge, a washing machine, air conditioning and a fully equipped kitchen. Sergio says they are calmer and less nervous since they took to the road. For Silvia, the main advantage is choosing where and with whom to be.