Biz Buzz: New business converts old school buses, vans into customized RVs

Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.

BIZ BUZZ

IDAHO FALLS

Looking for an RV? This business can make you one out of an old bus

IDAHO FALLS – Bini Bazer says he’ll never work for someone else again.

In August 2021, the 21-year-old Israeli man and his girlfriend, Tyanna Robertson, 23, of Idaho Falls, opened The Rolling Donkey, a business that converts old school buses, vans and other vehicles into custom motorhomes. It started in Boise, but it’s now transitioning into a shop at 3887 American Way, Ste. F, in Idaho Falls.

For the Idaho Falls couple, it’s been more profitable than they could have imagined. They’ve filled orders for customers across the U.S., and next year, Bazer tells EastIdahoNews.com, the company is on track to make more than $1 million in revenue.

“We’ve probably put about $45 into advertising since we started. We’ve been profitable our first year, and we should be hitting close to a million dollars in revenue in 2023,” Bazer says.

Each custom RV is made-to-order, meaning they buy vehicles and materials based on the client’s request. Many of the vehicles are found in public auctions for a low price. Over the course of several months, Bazer and Robertson gut the inside and turn it into the customer’s ideal motorhome at a fraction of what it would have cost to buy a brand-new RV.

A bus owned by Targhee Regional Public Transit Authority, which dissolved in 2019, was Bazer’s first project.

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Many of the vehicles they customize are capable of being fully independent for people who want to live off the grid.

“These are families that are changing their entire lifestyle, getting rid of their houses, moving into a bus and homeschooling their kids,” says Bazer. “There’s also a lot of couples in their 30s or 40s who are freelancers and work from home. All they need is WiFi (so they can travel while they work).”

The idea for this business was driven entirely by the spike in RV sales at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bazer and Robertson were living in Jackson at the time, and they ultimately lost their jobs after the company they worked for went under during the shutdown.

During this time, they decided to rethink their lifestyle and built their own bus, which they lived in for about nine months.

As they traveled, they discovered communities of people with buses who needed help making repairs or souping things up to make it work. Both of them came from families that were mechanically minded, and both were good with their hands. With the help of YouTube and podcasts, they formed The Rolling Donkey and never looked back.

“I’m working for myself and yielding a lot more money. I will never work (for someone else) again,” he says.

And the fact that he’s opening a shop on American Way in his pursuit of the American dream seems metaphorical to an Israeli kid’s experience in finding success.

For anyone with an unrealized dream, Bazer only has one thing to say.

“No matter what you want to do … if you put your passion into it, you’ll make it happen,” he says. “If you use your time to expand your knowledge rather than sit on TikTok, you might actually do something with it.”

To place an order or learn more, call (970) 409-2172. You can also visit the website, Facebook, or Instagram page.

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