Sizable 4x4 Converted into Modern Tiny House on Wheels
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Zolo’s family are refugees from Afghanistan so when they left Afghanistan they kind of spread all over the world and her mom instilled in her that seeing your family is really important, as well as taking the time to travel, so ever since then she’s made travel a high priority. Pedro’s family is from Brazil, and his dad moved to Hawaii. Being a surfer, as well as his dad, living in Hawaii was an absolute dream. When he moved to California and met Zolo, they continued living the surfing lifestyle.
They were in Nicaragua at a surf break when Zolo noticed two vans parked nearby. One of the vans had a California license plate. She looked over at Pedro and was like, "did these people drive from California?" he explained that it was something a lot of surfers did. Living out of vans so they fould travel with the seasons and hit the best waves year round. It didn’t take a lot of convincing to get on board with the idea of doing something similar.
They ended up getting a 2009 F-350. It's a 6.4 diesel engine, and with proper maintenance these engines should go for half a million miles. It used to be a Border Patrol truck, very well maintained, and only has 68,000 miles on it. They got rid of the stock tires right away and put these 34 inch tires on it with 18 inch rims, beefed up sway bars, shocks, and airbags in the back. They installed HID lights so they can see better at night. To keep the camper in place they have Forklift tie-downs that hook up to the frame of the truck. They're spring loaded, you go over bumps on the road, it absorbs the shock while maintaining a rock solid connection. They have their propane tank in an external locker that vents to the outside. This allows them to run their water heater, stove and fridge.
Since the vehicle is pretty large and a little difficult to maneuver, they have a rear backup camera as well as a side mounted camera that gives them a good sense of their position. On the back they put a cargo rack that is capable of holding 500 pounds. There is storage for looks in a back locker that Pedro installed magnetic tool strips inside. This keeps tools organized and prevents them from rattling around when they’re driving. There’s also an LED which makes seeing inside easier.
Pedro and his buddy ended up welding their own ladder from scratch. It has a hinged design that can fold up and double as a bike track. It’s super handy and is rock solid when used in conjunction with bungee cords. It allows them easy access to their home made roof rack which took them six to seven months to build. It allows them to hold additional gear, and they even installed some astroturf which allows them to treat the area as a rooftop deck, which they love.
Their vented propane furnace does a great job keeping the inside warm without introducing additional humidity, and on the drivers side they have an external hot shower for rinsing off. For power they have a 12v battery that can be charged off of 110 shore power. For water they have a 30 gallon tank which lasts them for about a week.
The inside has had some pretty extensive renovations done. The bathroom has banana leaf wallpaper, a teak wood floor and marble contact paper on the cabinets. It has a fully functional RV toilet and a shower with hot water. The original door to the bathroom was broken, but they decided to use an Ikea roll down blind as a replacement, which provides them with ample privacy.
In the kitchen they redid the backsplash and tick-tack tiles. It’s essentially a giant vinyl sticker, which is glossy and easy to wipe off. Going this route also helped reduce weight when compared to going with conventional tiles. They use magnetic surfaces a lot particularly in the kitchen. They have a knife holder, a metal sheet that they cut to size and use to mount their magnetic spice containers, and the vent over the range holds all of the magnets that they collect on their travels. Their stove is a three burner, which is plenty for the cooking they do. The unit came with the camper and even has a tiny oven.To keep food cold they use a Dometic Fridge which Zola covered in white marble contact paper and it works really well.
The bed goes over the truck of the cab and features plenty of storage for clothing, bedding and Zola’s crystals, singing bowl and incense. By the entrance they have a sitting area that is able to become a guest bed by collapsing the table. Primarily it is used as the living room and office. These cushions came with the camper but they were blue. To match the rest of the redone interior, they reupholstered them. They took out the old flooring in the camper and we put in click together vinyl planks. Above the eating area they have additional cabinets with an entire hinged front face that allows it to convert into an additional bunk.
Their advice for anyone on the fence is to just do it. Make the plan and just start doing things. You're not gonna be ready to go the next day, but they’ve taken a year now to slowly get the camper up to par with what they wanted to do with it, so it just takes time. If you do a little bit every day you'll get there. You have to really look at what you want to do with your vehicle. They took into account their hobbies and the things that they wanted to be doing, and that’s what informed their decision to go with a truck camper that's four by four and has a big roof rack on top. It’s also important to realize that you may have to make some sacrifices too financially. When they moved out of their house, they were staying with Zolo’s mom for about a year, but that allowed them to save up some money to get the project done. While it might not be the conventional choice for most newlyweds, it was essential to their journey and they couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
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