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How Fast Is Your House? Wazimu Overlander Is Hippie Instagram Star

You can either dream about a life free of restrictions and packed with travels and all sorts of adventures, or you can simply work to make it happen. One couple from Virginia, USA, wasted little time to make their dream come true.
The Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truck 12 photos
Photo: WazimuLife.com
The Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truckThe Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truck
As of the moment of writing, Kourtney and Trevor Smithson have been on the road for some 17 months, traveling across the country and taking the time to make important memories along the way. They’re traveling with what Trevor calls either “a slow truck or a fast house,” the so-called Wazimu.

Wazimu is an overlander / tiny home Trevor and Kourtney built on their own, starting from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truck that was once used to carry troops. They bought it a while back at a military auction and it arrived at their home when they were on a trip to Africa. It would be another year and a half before Trevor actually got to work on it.

As they explain both on their official website and in the video at the bottom of the page, they always dreamed of traveling all the time, of maybe leaving behind their old lives and starting to live in the moment. On the road.

The Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truck
Photo: WazimuLife.com
The truck was a flat-back initially, so Trevor needed to build the “house” part of the overlander. He started on the task as he was dealing with his alcohol addiction, and it helped keep him focus. He stripped everything off, leaving just the driver cab, and set forth to building a different shell. He built a steel box-like frame and put the wiring and plumbing inside, added 3-inch (7.62-cm) insulation and then a steel outer layer.

The project took some six weeks to complete, which was surprisingly little. That’s because they didn’t aim for creating the perfect overlander or tiny home, but rather something that was comfortable enough to get them going. And off they went, selling all other possessions and packing whatever was left in the Wazimu (which, by the way, means “crazy” in Swahili).

The “house” and the cab are connected by a crawl space, which is exactly what it sounds: it’s a crawl space through which Kourtney and their two dogs can pass while Trevor handles the driving. Inside the house, there’s an actual kitchen with sink and stove, a living room with a U-shaped couch, the bedroom section with a queen-size bed that lowers on a crank system from the ceiling, and a bathroom where no compromise has been made. The bathroom has a toilet and a spacious shower that can actually serve as a bathtub.

The Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truck
Photo: WazimuLife.com
The interior is 127 square feet (11.7 square meters) of optimized living space. Since they’ve already been on the road for a very long time, the interior has gone through several changes and upgrades. The result is that everything looks like interior deco inspo of the kind you see on Pinterest. It's all very hippie, rustic / shabby chic, and very endearing - and it's proven a hit on Instagram.

That said, it’s no surprise the two are fully documenting their life on the road on social media and the official website. It’s a source of income, as well.

Kourtney mentions light “office work” in the morning but she doesn’t say what it is. In a post on their blog, she also says they both have jobs that allow for remote work and that entails traveling. Just in case you were wondering how they can afford to be on the road full-time and leave their old life behind.

The Wazimu has a Turbo diesel caterpillar 3116 engine that delivers 227 hp, and it’s all-wheel drive and able to go through water as high as four feet (0.37 meters). They wanted a vehicle that would take them virtually anywhere, whether that’s a sandy beach or up a rocky road on a mountain, and this is why they opted for a military truck.

The Wazimu overlander was built from a 1998 Stewart and Stevenson LMTV M1078 military truck
Photo: WazimuLife.com
The tank holds 58 gallons (220 liters) of fuel, while the water tank is good for 90 gallons (340.6 liters) of freshwater. There’s A/C both in the house and the cabin, and the old generator has been replaced by three 200-watt solar panels and batteries, which allows them to stay off the grid for much longer than before.

And that’s precisely the point. Wazimu is far from fast, topping a speed of 60 mph (96.5 kph), but it gets them where they want to be and, perhaps just as importantly, allows them to stay there until they decide it’s time to plan for the next destination. Or, as Trevor puts it, “it’s a slow truck, but a fast house.”

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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