The Ugly Truckling is an absolutely INCREDIBLE house truck that was hand built by a woman named Kai in British Columbia, Canada over the course of many years. She is a carpenter and an artist, so she did all of the design, the woodwork, the framing and cabinetry, the floor panelling, the shakes, the doors, etc. while her husband, Ben, worked on the systems for electricity and gas, and he also does any mechanical maintenance work needed on the truck itself. Kai and Ben been living in the house truck full time in the woods of British Columbia, Canada (along with their cat Opie!) for almost 8 years now!
You can follow and find out more about The Ugly Truckling here:
https://www.instagram.com/the_ugly_truckling/
https://www.tiktok.com/@the_ugly_truckling
https://www.youtube.com/@theuglytruckling
The 200 square foot house truck is built on a 1992 International 4900 with a DT466 diesel engine – which is non electronic so it's super reliable and runs like a tank. It used to be a linen delivery vehicle before she bought it for $4,000 CAD. She had a custom flat deck fabricated for the truck and steel vertical supports welded onto the truck to create the frame for the house. Then she finished it all in wood, using red cedar driftwood for the shakes on upper half, and cedar board and batten on the lower half. In total she figures she's spent approx. $50,000 CAD on the project (not including her labour to build it all).
Kai and Ben are super creative and innovative and they came up with loads of great ways to build a unique home. They've used mostly reclaimed and salvaged materials, like wood from old boxcar trains, brass door handles and light switches, thrifted light fixtures, wooden windows, porthole windows, and more!
The house truck has a cozy living room with a built-in sofa that slides out to convert into a guest bed with loads of hidden storage for shoes and gear built into it. Across from the couch is a small wood stove and an area that will eventually become a bookshelf and coat closet. There's also a massive round window brings in a ton of natural light into the house, and out the back door there is a built in deck that goes with them wherever they go!
The kitchen is a stunning masterpiece of cabinetry that Kai built using locally sourced wood from trees native to BC, like alder, maple, and cedar. She built the drawers with a special notch at the base so that they "lock" into place without any special hardware. This keeps all the drawers safely stowed even when they're driving down the road. They have a 2-way gas and electric fridge, and will soon install a propane stove and oven (they've been using a camp stove and toaster oven for the past 7 years). They have a cozy little dinette with built in storage as well!
A little closer to the front of the truck is a walkthrough bathroom with a composting toilet on the left, and a shower stall on the left that is made from half of an old wine barrel and serves as a small soaker tub that you can sit in.
And finally, up the ladder, you find the cozy loft that sits above the cab of the truck and features a lovely porthole window that Ben salvaged from a shipwreck as a gift for Kai.
Kai was inspired to build a magical tiny home on wheels after finding books from the 1970s about rolling homes, as well as books by Lloyd Kahn like Shelter and Homework. The Ugly Truckling is actually featured in his latest book, Rolling Homes! You can check it out here:
https://shop.adventurewithkeen.com/shelter-publications/
You can also follow and find out more about The Ugly Truckling here:
https://www.instagram.com/the_ugly_truckling/
https://www.tiktok.com/@the_ugly_truckling
https://www.youtube.com/@theuglytruckling
Thanks for watching!
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CREDITS
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Music Credit: Exploring Alternatives
Editing Credit: Exploring Alternatives
Filming Credit: Alex Harris
https://www.instagram.com/alexrooted
Photos Provided by: The Ugly Truckling
https://www.instagram.com/the_ugly_truckling/
#housetruck #tinyhouse #houseonwheels