Vancouver BC’s Finest House On Wheels The Ugly Truckling

We visited one of our couples’ tiny homes on wheels for a photography session last autumn and spent some time after doing a short interview. Their housetruck is called “The Ugly Truckling”, but we can tell you, it it is far from ugly. You will quickly realize it’s actually a livable piece of art.

Where are guys from?

I’m from a small island 30 minutes off the coast of Vancouver, BC, and Ben is from an ex-logging town north of Vancouver.

What got you interested in tiny homes / vanlife?

I first became interested in living in vehicles when I discovered an old book titled “Some Turtles Have Nice Shells”, it’s about the subculture of housetrucks and housebuses built by countercultural types back in the 1970’s. Funny enough, this was a decade ago, before the tiny house thing became a bit of a trend, and back when “living in a van down by the river” was still a derogatory joke! I’ve always wanted to build my own cabin, but never thought I’d be able to afford the land, so seeing so many creative and expressive structures built on moveable “foundations” was really inspiring. It was only later that tiny houses became an everyday term, and more young people are aspiring to mobile living, it’s definitely made explaining my lifestyle choices a lot easier to most folks.

Benjamin has, on the other hand, always lived in mobile structures. So far, he’s lived in two 1970’s Dodge B200’s, a steel hulled self kitted-out sailboat, and a ‘83 VW Van. Before we met, he was contemplating a big “overlander” style build, and I think hearing me say “I’m building a housetruck” pretty much sealed the deal!

What are some other big inspirations of yours?

Once again, that book I mentioned is a big inspiration, but also “Rolling Homes: Handmade Houses on Wheels” by Jane Linz, all the Art Boericke and Barry Shapiro hippy building books,  “Builders of the Pacific Coast” by Lloyd Kahn, and “Shelter”, also by Lloyd. As for builders, I’ve been really interested in Jay Nelson’s surfboard-inspired ultralight and super creative plywood and fibreglass creations. Zyl Vardoes down in Washington state is a tiny house builder that specializes in curvy organic shaped structures, and I very much envy their access to a large scale CNC machine. @somedrifters, @coloradocustomcoachworks, @carpenterowl , @humblehandcraft and countless others on Instagram provide a supportive and inspiring community of other builders.

What was your first date like with Ben?
Funnily enough, I didn’t know it was a first date! I was in the middle of moving from one tiny apartment to another, and thought that it was just a “get coffee and chat about boats and tiny houses” kinda meetup. I realized otherwise when Ben showed up looking very fancy and in his nicest clothes!

How has it been living in such close quarters?

It’s been surprisingly fine, we both work long hours away from home sometimes, so I think we both get to have sufficient alone time to not go crazy. The housetruck has more space than all of his previous living situations, and more than several of mine.

How is the winter treating you so far?

Great, now that we have a wood stove installed! We had to wait for one final part to get it installed properly, but now that we do, life is lovely. It was starting to get unbearably cold, but we pushed and got it working right after New Years Eve! I think that us both growing up fairly rural has made the transition to living in a housetruck much smoother, because heating with a wood stove, chopping firewood, and power outages were a part of both our childhoods.

How close are you to completing the project?

I’ve been telling people it’ll be done “next summer” for about three years now….so it’ll be done next summer ;). Realistically though, projects like this are never done, there’s always something to modify or remodel, improve or beautify. But in terms of having indoor running water, lights that work with switches, and a place to put everything away, probably Summer 2019.

What’s been your biggest challenge?

Cashflow. I’ve been building this thing for five years now, always with cash. So the process of finding work, saving money, spending it all, then having to save again, has definitely slowed things down. However, it’s now at the point that it’s inhabitable, and I’m not in debt or having any payments to deal with, which i’m very thankful for.

What do you love the most about vanlife?

The community of people that we get to meet, and the different outlook on life that it gives you. Not having to pay a huge rent in the city has really lifted a lot of stress in our lives as well. For myself, the housetruck is not just a place to live, but also an expression of my creativity and personal esthetics.

What are you looking forward to in 2019?

We have several international adventures planned so far! Wwoofing in Kauai, bikepacking across Iceland, and of course completing the Housetruck build! I’m looking forward to designing and building the cabinetry and finishings. We also have the *next* big project in mind for after the Ugly Truckling is complete, but folks will have to stay tuned for that….

To learn more about The Ugly Truckling and their adventures follow them on instagram @the_ugly_truckling and stay tuned for more tiny and mobile home couples’ @bowlinephoto.