Gnarly Zarleys

Home
Gnarly Zarleys

🩺a travel nurse + a handy man
✈️ who love traveling
🚌 turning our 08’ chevy bus
🏡 into our full time h o m e! 🤙🏼

08/01/2023

WHO ARE WE? ⬇️

We are the Gnarly Zarleys: Jake, Kristyn and Mia 🖤 We live in our short skoolie and are traveling the United States! 🚌

Jake is from Illinois and has called Raleigh, North Carolina home for over 10 years. He is a full time stay at home dog dad! With his background in construction, he was able to build our home on wheels. He has a passion for food and fitness, as well as bachelor’s degree in Nutrition Science 🍱

Kristyn (myself narrating here) is from Indiana and has called Raleigh home for 7 years. She is a nurse with a background in post anesthesia care, surgical trauma intensive care and the operating room. I am a travel nurse, so every 3 months we pick a new location to explore in the US! I have a passion for all things travel- food, culture immersion, adventure 🤿

We met online (tinder actually 😂) in 2016, got engaged in Bali in 2019 and married each other in the Florida Keys in 2021 💍

🐾 2 weeks after we married, we met our sweet pup, Mia. We named after Mia Toretto from the Fast & Furious series 🏎️ She is Catahoula Leopard that is now 1.5 yrs old and loves every bit of our travel life. She’s a fan of hot and cold weather and all adventures- mountain biking, paddle boarding, tasting new food. She’ll never say no to anything 😂

We bought our bus on Christmas Eve 2020 and moved into it full time March 2022. It’s only got 50,000 miles and has a lot of life to live. Follow along our journey! 🖤 •
•
📸
•
•
•
•
•

01/01/2023

24/11/2022

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 🦃 We are feeling extra thankful for life and everyone that we share it with. Love, The Zarleys 🖤 •
•
•
•
•
•

07/11/2022

doing bus work away from a home garage is a whole different beast! thankfully Jake packed all the right tools and made it work just before the snowstorm hit last night ⛄️

The brakes and rotors in the rear have all been replaced and today all of the tires are getting replaced! If all goes as planned, we should be ready to hit the road Wednesday! 🛣️

we’re headed back to Indiana to visit family for two weeks. It’s 2,000 miles one way! We decided to take the bus so that we could be more comfortable on the road- have a place to sleep, our own food to eat & hopefully save a few bucks, even if it means spending more diesel money 🫠

after the two week visit, we’ll drive the bus back out to Reno and finish my last 3 weeks here. Then, it’ll be time to pick a new travel nurse assignment location! 🤪

Where do you think we should go next?! 🤔 drop a recommendation in the comments! it’ll be for January, February & March 😊 •
•
•
•
•

07/10/2022

WE HAVE COLOR! 🟦 I absolutely love neutrals, but Jake was really wanting some color in the bus. I wanted to paint this wall black and do some fun designs, but I compromised and ending up choose a *dark* blue 😆. It’s crazy how much the dimensions of the bus feel different and no, it does not feel any smaller 😅

We’ve slowly been finishing the bus (even though we’ve been living in it full time now for 7 months). As we’ve been living it, we’ve really been figuring out how we use the space and what we would do these different next time.

We’re definitely not done with this area. We have a vinyl design that will be going on the wall, we’re changing out the paper towel holder, working on figuring out what herbs grow best on the counter space, have changed pillows (constantly, just to see what looks right), and definitellllly will be changing these couch cushions. I want those professionally done + will be switching up the fabric/cushion material. This soft fabric wasn’t durable enough (peep the hole in the corner 😂). We’re also playing around with different size mirrors, since right now we literally only have the rear view mirror and that is noooot working out for me 🤣

For now, we’re cozy, comfortable, and happy in our little home on the road 🥰 we feel like as we’re starting to add decor design to this space, we’ll start to show progress photos of every area. Make sure to stay tuned to the stories because I’ll for sure be putting up many polls to come! •
•
•
•
•

26/09/2022

sunday snuggs 🌥️

06/09/2022

since we’ve been in Nevada, last weekend was the first true weekend of us going out to purposely boondock, or do “dispersed camping.” It just means that we go to a spot that doesn’t have any water/electric hookups. We were completely self sufficient with what we had.

We found this spot near Lake Tahoe by using the app called ! It’s an app where people post all kinds of good information - spots on where to dump, water spigots, camp sites, hotels - you name it.

We had a few bumps along the way, such as our water pump not working for a couple hours and Jake popping his mountain bike tubes not even halfway down a mountain trail 🙃 BUT the weekend was amazing regardless.

We got to sleep with the bus windows down, Mia got to play with all the dogs and swim and hike, we met some friends coming from the TRT (tahoe rim trail), and we got to relax the whole weekend.

We love taking the bus out and can’t wait to do it again very soon! 🪵🍻🫶🏼•
•
•
•
•

05/09/2022

“As long as I can bring my stick mom” 🪵🏄🏻‍♀️ •
•
•
•
•
•

28/08/2022

we’re getting around to the stairs! walking into the bus is a whole new feeling 🫶🏼

we used .official peel and stick vinyl. we’re playing around with this style for right now. we originally wanted a pebble or stone vinyl, but are still trying to find one that we think would work. for now, we trialed this white tiling and we think we like it! we still have to place some trim.

The good thing about using this peel and stick is that it’s lightweight, easy to wipe clean, and can easily be peeled off and replaced anytime. 👍🏼•
•
•
•
•

08/08/2022

tahoe lake days 🤙🏼🦦

16/06/2022

The Shambles- the inspiration for Diagon Alley 🔮•
•
•
•
•

10/06/2022

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY MIA! 🥳💕 From 3.5 weeks to now, time is flying by so, so fast! 🥺

05/06/2022

i keep saying, “I’m going to post more…I’m going to start posting on Instagram everyday” but you know, I haven’t. To be honest, social media has been the absolute bottom of our priority 🤐

We’ve been living life 🤷🏻‍♀️ We’re soaking up our last week here in Hilton Head Island and I’m super sad about it 😞 It’s been an amazing place and we hope to make some ties here for good one day 🤞🏼

We’ve been living full time bus life for 10 weeks now and WOW- it’s been amazing. We’ve learned so much about ourselves and what things we love & what things we regret. In time, I promise I’ll tell you. I’ll get better about it, but just know, we don’t regret it one bit 💕

Cheers to a good Sunday afternoon, cheers to a good start of the week. We’ll be rewatching the Jurassic Park series in prep for the new movie coming out June 10, but on that note - THE NEW TOP GUN IS SO WORTH WATCHING IN THEATERS! ✈️ that’s all :) •
•
•
•
•
•

09/05/2022

the hospital is letting us park on-site for the rest of my contract! 🥳 we are SO excited about this because currently we’re driving 40min to and from the hospital twice a day for me to get to work and while it’s very do-able, it takes a lot of time out of our day and takes a lot of planning with exploring/Mia 😅

We’ll be boondocking in the back of the parking lot (with permission of course), so that just means no water or electrical hookup. We’re still keeping our other campsite near Savannah so that when I’m not on call for long stretches, then we can go back there and have some quiet, in the middle of no where time and Mia can play with all of her new friends at the campsite 🐕

I can’t believe that I only have 5 weeks left of my Hilton Head travel nurse assignment and that we’ve been living full time in the bus now for about 2 months. This has been my favorite location so far and it’ll definitely be one to remember at the end of our full time bus travels 🦪 🌴

I’ve already got my next assignment lined up and I can’t wait to share that news … in another post 😉 I’ve got to secure our next rv spot for good ju-ju first! •
•
•
•
•

01/05/2022

yesterday we made the 5hr drive from Savannah, GA back up to Raleigh, NC for a family birthday party and I (kristyn) drove the bus for my first trip!! Jake supervised in bed while playing video games 🎮 😂

I had drove the bus a few times before, but just small trips that weren’t involving the interstate or gas stations, etc. All went well and we’re back down in Savannah tonight since I work the next couple days.

This front area of the bus near the door is usually used for shoes or storage, but we decided to make it a personal space for Mia. We tested it on our drive to see if she’d even lay there and she did! I’ll have to make her a bed and get the area ✨ pup approved✨

ALSO…. JAKE IS TURNING 3️⃣0️⃣ ON FRIDAY!!! He has no idea I’m telling the world this because he doesn’t check Instagram (or even have a personal account) so we’ll be planning out our weekend this week to hopefully have a great time celebrating out on the Hilton Head waters 🛥 •
•
•
•
•

28/04/2022

she might need her own insta. lunchtime in Savannah ⛲️ •
•
•
•
•

17/04/2022

Happy Easter everyone! 🐣🌸 We stopped in Beaufort for some morning coffee, then spent a few hours at Hunting Island State Park. We found a couple “Easter eggs” at the beach too- a sand dollar, lettered olive shell, blue crab and conch shell! We grabbed some lunch at the marsh on the way out before the storms came in. Now to spend the rest of the evening relaxing in our little tiny home, watching movies during the rain storms ⛈ •
•
•
•
•

14/04/2022

We love South Carolina!🍍The weather has been getting hotter and hotter, and we’ve found ourselves running the AC constantly throughout the night now. We aren’t complaining about that though, after having spent the last few months in colder weather 🥶

Unfortunately our inverter or shore power is still giving us some trouble, but we’re charging our batteries other ways and are doing okay with the power we have! We can’t turn on the hot water heater though (too much power), so we’re sticking to Planet Fitness showers right now😂

We’re finally getting settled in at our campsite and will be here until at least May. We’re going to try looking again on a Hilton Head Island (HHI) for the month of May, but if all else fails we’ll probably continue to stay here. It’s just a little farther from work that we’d like, but we’re making it work! 🤙🏼

This week is RBC Heritage week on HHI so we’re going to try to explore some other places like Savannah, Tybee Island l, Beaufort, just so we can stay out of the business on the island 🌾 •
•
•
•
•

07/04/2022

clocked out of work and went to the beach. it was Mia’s first time and she loved it! she was soaking the sun right up 🌞 •
•
•
•
•

04/04/2022

WE’RE FULL TIME BUS LIFE!!!! We’ve left our friends in North Carolina and have found an “off-grid campsite” per say down here in between Savannah and Hilton Head.L, South Carolina. We’re so excited and are enjoying our celebratory beers (and bone for Mia). Cheers, to the first night of an adventurous journey ahead 🍻 •
•
•
•
•

25/03/2022

it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come. moving in full time is so, SO close. Almost time for the fun decorations too! 🌿☀️🌸•
•
•
•
•

19/03/2022

first night in the bus- 💫🌚•
•
•
•
•

16/03/2022

SUPRISE-S! we’ve got lots of things to update you on.

1. THE BUS IS OFFICIALLY AN RV! 🚌 Within 4 hours, we got everything done. First, we went to the DMV for an inspection to make sure it meets “house car” requirements 🔍 Then, we had to go get an inspection to make sure it passed the state safety inspection 🧐 Lastly, we headed to a different DMV to get the title paperwork changed over and both the vehicles up to date on registrations/tags🧾

2. With all the being said, you can gather that we’re back in North Carolina right now! ⛱ The warmth has been amazing🤪 We’re here for 2 weeks in between my travel nurse assignments.

3. Where is my next assignment? 🏥 HILTON HEAD ISLAND! It’ll be a great place to work for the beginning of summer and an even better first place to live in the bus for the first time- no worrying about pipes freezing or chopping up some firewood for a while 🏌🏻‍♀️🏝

4. If anyone has any campground recommendations around Hilton Head Island, let us know!

5. There’s lots and lots of bus updates, but first, OUR FLOOR IS IN! What do you think?! We loved the different tones and it’s so nice to see it all throughout the bus now! 🐾🌿 •
•
•
•
•
•

05/03/2022

Mom came up to visit for the day to help me knock out some curtains! It took longer than we thought, we’ve got 2 out of 12 done, but hey - they’re looking goooood! 🪡

PS: We went with the hooks 🤩🤙🏼 •
•
•
•
•

25/02/2022

I think I might have forgotten to *officially* mention… WE HAVE POWER AND RUNNING WATER!!! 💡 🚿

Which means …. THE BUS IS LIVEABLE! 🥳

Last week Jake turned on the electrical system for the first time and everything works perfectly - the lights, the outlets, the switches, the solar panels, battery charging, shore power - holy moly.

Once we knew that was good, we were able to test our water system - our pump, accumulator, water heater, water filter - and all is good!

I still can’t believe it. Our toilet came in this week and our new shower is coming in within a few days (our old one had a broken piece).

With that being said, it’s time for the finishing pieces - painting, cabinet doors and handles, trim, flooring.

AHH! 🤌🏼😎🤪
•
•
•
•
•

24/02/2022

Mia found her cozy spot 🥰🔥❄️ •
•
•
•
•

11/02/2022

WHAT A SMOKESHOW IS THIS?! 🔥 Scott, Jake’s dad, is absolutely incredible at woodworking and he brought our vision to life with this project.

Once our went in, we realized that we wanted (really needed) a place inside the bus to put the kindling and small pieces of firewood so that we wouldn’t have to go outside all the time when it’s cold to get wood🥶 It needed to be reasonably close to the stove and in a spot where if it got a little messy, it’d be okay 🧹

In our bus, we’re trying to really incorporate lots of different natural, earthy textures and neutral tones▪️I really wanted the firewood to look “aesthetically pleasing” without it looking messy 🤷🏻‍♀️

Scott created this natural looking firewood storage cubby made out of leftover pine wood that he picked up from a local house. He didn’t have any plans for it yet and it found its’ way to us to be the perfect project. Check out more of his work at ⏪

We couldn’t be any happier or more excited about this!!! Let it burn! 🪵
•
•
•
•
•

04/02/2022

we’ve put a lot of pressure onto ourselves in getting the bus done.

we bought the bus on Christmas Eve 2020 with plans to be done with renovation in 6 months, just before our wedding, June 2021.

that deadline got extended to October 2021.

and again until February 2022.

here we are with a new deadline of March 2022. my current nursing contract was supposed to end this week, but I was thankfully able to get a month extension.

the reality is,
-we don’t have unlimited cash to buy everything we need all at once (and we’re not going into debt for it)
-we don’t always know what we’re doing and are learning it along the way (thanks YouTube/IG)
-I travel for my job 3 days out of every week and don’t get to help jake (but also let’s be honest here, you can’t count me as physically helping on the bus, I’m much better at the researching/design/buying side).
-some materials are taking WEEKS to get in
-getting up to work in below or near zero low temps doesn’t help
-we’re tired. it’s not an easy project.

it’s stressful and emotionally frustrating to not be done and on the road yet waking up in the Tetons. but we promise you, we’re getting there. *See you next time *

but you know what? we ARE making progress, even though sometimes it’s hard to see. the discouragement can get blinding.

so here’s some pictures to celebrate some progress and share enlightenment! things HAVE been getting done and seeing it come together is the fuel to our fire, to help keep us going.

Jake’s dad has cabinet doors up. Jake’s putting in outlets. I’ve got the bed ready for some priming. the electrical and plumbing is 80% done. our floor is down in the garage.

let’s cheers to that! 🤙🏼🍻
•
•
•
•
•

15/01/2022

let’s talk POWER🔋 to be completely transparent, this has definitely been the part of the build that Jake & I have dreaded the most. it’s the most expensive part of our build and we don’t completely understand the millions of things that go into it. kind of scary right? 😖

we had a ton of help from . they helped us design a system that would work for our needs and their website provides tons of diagrams and videos to help along the way 🗂

we have an electrical system to allow us to be completely off grid. off grid means we can be completely self sufficient with our own electrical and water system and not hooked up to anyone else’s ♻️🔆

here’s what we’ve got:

•100aH 12V batteries x 4 = 400aH
•200W panels x 2 (maybe 3)= 400W
• Multiplus 3000a 12V Inverter
• a million of things like alternator charging kit, battery monitor, solar charge controller, temperature sensors, etc.

i doubt we’ll be able to help guide anyone else through this stage until after we’ve done it, but if there’s anything else we can tell you or any advice you have to offer us, reach out! 🤙🏼

⚡️⚡️
•
•
•
•
•

14/01/2022

For our ceiling we used 1x6in pre-primed Shiplap Planks from . Now we’re filling in the screw holes with putty and are spray painting it all white.

What do you guys think?!? It’s so “bus-changing” to have a ceiling again 😍•
•
•
•
•

Address

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Gnarly Zarleys posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Gnarly Zarleys:

Videos

⛄️ you thought we were done with the snow?! Snoooow way! 🏂 We’ve got an Ikon Pass to fully fulfill and some more Breckenridge Brewery porters to drink 🍻 Cheers, to starting the new year and spending the next 3 months in DENVER! 🤙🏼 • • • • • #ikon #ikonpass #denver #denvercolorado #denverco #colorado #milehighcity #snowboard #skiresort #aspen #coppermountain #abasin #breckenridge #glenwoodsprings #mountain #snow #travelnurse #travelnurselife #travelfam #tinyliving #lifeontheroad #travel #wintertime #traveldog #snow #sendit #travelnurseadventures #coldweather #wintertime #skiseason #porter #stout #nurseoffduty #travelnurses #visitdenver#visitcolorado

tahoe lake days 🤙🏼🦦 #laketahoe #laketahoecheck #tahoelife #travelnurse #travelnurseadventures #nevada #summer #lakelife

Cubic Mini Wood Stove - First Burn

the first burn 🔥❄️ #cubicminiwoodstove #woodstove #skoolieconversion #skoolielife #vanlife #rvlife #tinyhome #lifeontheroad #travelnurse #travelfamily

decisions, decisions🥸 we got our tile in! now comes the design part where we figure out how to place the wood stove and where to place the tile around it. 👀 stay tuned! 🙃 • • • • • • #skoolie #schoolbus #schoolbusconversion #busconversion #nationalskoolieassociation #skooliebuild #skooliesofinstagram #skoolieconversion #skoolienation #buslife #skooliecommunity #tinyhome #homeonwheels #travelcouple #rvlife #travelnurse #travel #travelnurseadventures #travelcouples #tinyhomebuild #vanlife #ardex #vanlifediaries #buslifeadventure #homeiswhereyouparkit #diy #vanlifemovement #renovationproject #travelcommunity #cubicminiwoodstove

all the new ✨things✨ #skoolieconversion #skooliebuild #tinyliving #travellife #vanlife #travel #gnarlyzarleys #travelnurse

Mia’s a swimmer! 🦦🌊📍#FallsLake #FallsLakeNC #visitnorthcarolina #northcarolina #travelfamily #traveldog #adventuredog #puppy

that avacado toast & iced coffee just hits different in the bus 🥑 or maybe it’s just that cool September morning weather 😉🍂 #skoolie #skoolieconversion #tinyhome #travel #vanlife #tinyliving #travelfamily

bless this mess! 😂 installing the subwoofer & roof rack feet this weekend! #skoolie #skoolieconversion #travel #tinyliving #tinyhome #weekendwarrior

Mia is 9 weeks old and is growing faster than our hearts can handle! 🐾🖤 #rescuepuppy #rescuedog #dogsofinsta #dogstagram #puppiesofinstagram #puppy #dog #puppies

the pool and piña coladas made our souls quite happy @amaracayresort 💙🌴

HOW TO apply @kilmatusa sound deadener to all those awkward angles & nooks + crannies 🔊🙅🏻‍♀️

a staycation at the @thecottonwoodhotel 🚿🧘🏻‍♀️ #kimptonhotel #omaha #kimptoncottonwood #nebraska #travel #luxuryhotel #staycation #visitomaha #travelnursing #travelnurse #luxurytravel #luxuryhotel

A Sunday stroll through @lauritzengardens 🪴🌻 #travel #visitnebraska #omaha #omahanebraska #nebraska #lauritzengardens #travelnurselife

Kilmat Application

The Kilmat is up! Kilmat is a sound deadening mat that helps reduce excess outside noise - rain, tires/engine, road noice, etc. It also helps with insulation. It comes in 50 mil (0.05 inches or 1.3 mm) and 80 mil (0.08 inches or 2mm). We got the 80 mil! The mat has a self-adhesive on the backside that sticks to a clean and dry surface when applied. You then use the roller to smooth out the embossing on the foil, which indicates that it’s placed correctly. We purchased it from Amazon.com !

DEMO IS DONE! We are officially starting our build. I can’t tell you how nice it feels for us to finally start addddding things to our home😍 Before adding things to the bus, we used a fog machine to eliminate any existing mold (thankfully we didn’t see any) and to prevent new growth. Misting allows it to get into the tiny little crevices and areas that are typically hard to reach. We closed up all the windows and filled the Fogger tank with Concrobium Mold Control. You run it for an hour, let it dissipate for 20min and air it out! Wipe off any excess. It’s not harmful and was easy to use!

It’s not that simple

THROWBACK Tuesday😉 Is that a thing? 🤷🏻‍♀️ Anyways, throwin’ it back with a bus seat removal reel 🔩 #skooliebuild #skoolieconversion #skoolie #skoolielife #buslife #vanlife #tinyhome #busconversion

Skoolie sticker removal! (Probably the longest & most tedious way too we've found out! 😂🤷🏻‍♀️)

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Contact The Business
Videos
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Country:

City: