This Single Happy Man Has Built Himself a Tiny Home Out of an Old Military Truck

Rich quit photography to embark on this journey and fulfill his life by doing family portraits of families in homeless shelters, which are mostly women who ran from abusive life with their kids.

He got his 1954 Dodge M-152 military truck initially built for the Canadian Armed Forces. The price of this oldie was $6,000 (€6,193), but he paid another $3,000 (€3,097) to bring it home to the USA. Since the truck was not functioning when he purchased it, the price after repairs raised to an eye-watering $30,000 (€30,960).

It took him a year and a half to be able to drive this Dodge, selling the old stuff that he did not need anymore in order to repair it. Add to that another year he spent fixing stuff and decorating, and we finally get the military truck tiny home.

This specific Dodge came with an open windshield and a 4-wheel drive system. He kept the original light switch, manual throttle control, and gauges that glow in the dark. Everything else was customized by himself to bring a fresh new look to this aging truck.

Besides the steering wheel, nothing else was working, so he repaired it and added a small block Chevy carbureted engine and a new transmission. Going to the back of this truck home, he arranged an outdoor kitchen that just kind of pops out. Opening the back doors makes us stare at the immense number of stickers he had collected while traveling around.

If you step inside, you can also observe writings on the wall with all the cities he has been spending at least a night in. He refers to those writings as a family tradition.

The whole living space inside is only 48 sq feet (4,45 m²), good enough for the lifestyle that Rich wants, which is just to have a comfortable space to sleep since he spends most of the time outside the truck. He built himself a food storage place made from a railroad desk that had only one drawer. To that, an old wine crate was added for storing all the canned foods, coffee, and kitchen appliances, such as a very tiny fridge and a kettle pot.

Rich has been living and traveling in his military truck for four years, and he admits that this is the life he has dreamed of. A lot of drivers are also happy to see him on the road and are very friendly to him and his tiny home.