🚚🏡 The Ugly Truckling: A Hand-Built House Truck in the BC Woods
✨ This is one of the coolest “tiny home meets off-grid” builds we’ve seen. Kai (carpenter + artist) spent years hand-building a full house on a truck — framing, cabinetry, doors, shakes, floors, and all the details. Her husband Ben handled the electrical + gas systems and keeps the truck running strong. They’ve been living in it full-time in the woods of British Columbia (with their cat Opie) for almost 8 years.
🛻 The Platform
🔧 1992 International 4900
⚙️ DT466 diesel (mechanical / non-electronic)
📏 ~200 sq ft on a custom flat deck + steel supports
💰 Started as a $4,000 CAD linen truck; ~ $50,000 CAD in materials (not counting labor)
🪵 Built to Last (and Look Like a Hobbit Cottage)
🌲 Cedar driftwood shakes + board & batten siding
🪟 Salvaged wood windows + portholes
🧰 Reclaimed materials: boxcar wood, antique hardware, thrifted fixtures
🔥 Cozy + Practical Interior
🛋️ Built-in couch converts to guest bed + hidden storage
🪵 Small wood stove + big round “light-flood” window
🍳 Handmade kitchen cabinetry with “lock-in” drawers for travel
🧼 Composting toilet + shower/soaker tub made from a wine barrel
🛏️ Loft bedroom above the cab with a shipwreck-salvaged porthole
⚡🚿 Systems & Real-Life Living
🔌 Shore power now + battery/inverter setup (solar-ready)
💧 Well water + freeze protection
🔥 Propane fridge + water heater (with safety ventilation)
📡 Satellite internet (mounted in a tree!)
🌲 Remote living tradeoff: more freedom, more logistics, fewer “easy buttons”
🧭 Prepping Communities Takeaway
This is skills-based resilience in real life: build what you need, use what you can salvage, keep systems simple, and design for mobility + self-reliance. Not just a “tiny house”… a rolling proof-of-concept.
📌 Follow their build: @theuglytruckling (IG/TikTok/YouTube)