The trip fulfilled their "major lifelong dreams" and has allowed them to spend more family-time outdoors.
Their biggest expenses were health insurance and gas.
The trip was 18 months long. They left New York City in April 2017 to make it back to the city in time for Graham to start kindergarten in September of last year, although the couple decided to homeschool.
“We are constantly influenced by past events, even without actively recalling them, and I think travel’s most salient benefit is in shaping our views, perspectives, and character,” the family wrote on their website in response to people claiming that the children are too young to remember the trip.
As for the decision to convert a bus instead of a van or RV, the bus provided more space and customization than the other options, according to the couple.
David and Madison claimed they had "no clue" how to do a bus conversion and learned by watching YouTube tutorials.
They purchased a used 2007 Eldorado Aerotech created on a Ford E450 chassis from an Arizona-based dealer and named the bus "Buster."
Buster came with 143,000 miles already clocked in.
The bus was already fitted with a Ford 6.8-liter V10 engine, which is known to run for a "looooong time," according to the family's website.
The Bowman family drove Buster approximately 30,000 miles on the trip.
The interior space is about 7.5-feet wide and 16 feet long “depending on how you measure it.”
It was tall enough for David, who is six-foot, two-inches tall, to stand in.
The family gutted the inside of the bus, including removing the handicap lift that was later given to a man who worked in accessible transportation for a neighboring city.
However, the family saved several of the seats to be reinstalled as seating around the dining table.
They insulated the bus by using a one-inch foil-backed foam board. This was placed on the walls, floors and ceilings.
A plywood subfloor was placed on top of the insulation. The couple decided on vinyl plank instead of hardwood because they claim it is lighter, waterproof, and more flexible and durable.
The walls and the ceiling were also lined with plywood.
Buster has a solar system kit, which includes six 100 watt solar panels, two 200-amp hour batteries, a 60 amp charge controller, and a 2,000 watt AC inverter.
They left as much of the original electrical system in place as possible.
The bus has three “rooms”: a kitchen with seating space in the front, the bedroom in the middle, and a dual office-garage space in the back.
Most of the kitchen — the cabinets and fixtures — was furnished with Ikea furniture.
The most difficult part of the build was installing the propane tank, according to the family's website.
There is a full-size bed for the parents, and two smaller bunk beds for the children, all in the same room.
A 39-gallon water tank supplies the kitchen sink. The sink is their favorite feature on the bus, according to the family's bus YouTube tour video.
I spent 2 weeks in India. A highlight was visiting a small mountain town so beautiful it didn't seem real. 
I quit McKinsey after 1.5 years. I was making over $200k but my mental health was shattered.
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