U-Haul trucks live tough lives. But what happens when one’s service life moving apartments or carting tourists around Hawaii comes to an end? Sometimes they get built into tiny homes like this box truck-turned camper for sale on Tiny House Marketplace for $US17,900 ($23,075).
This isn’t the first U-Haul moving truck I’ve seen converted into something new once it retires into private hands. Some get carved out into flatbed toy haulers and some get turned into living spaces. I love the idea of a nondescript box truck housing a pretty sweet camper or tiny home. This box truck for sale on Tiny House Marketplace turns a U-Haul into something comfy.
The builder of this little cabin started off with a retired U-Haul truck. On the outside, it looks like just another box truck. The best way that you can tell that it was a former U-Haul is with the identification number still affixed to the back of the box.
This truck has the “DC” prefix, which is U-Haul’s code for a 4.57 m-long box truck. It sits on the bones of a 2007 Ford E-Series cutaway. It has a Triton V10 bolted to an automatic transmission. The engine has about 136,794 km with 268,760 km on the body. So, what does a whole 4.57 m of living space get you?
Pull out the ramp and crack open the stylish door on the back and you’ll see an interior that looks like a small cabin in the woods.
The right side of the vehicle has some action going on with a TV perched on a shelf and a solid walnut table. Both the table and the bench under it can swing out of the way to add space, and the seller says that a couch, chairs or storage can fit into the empty space on the left.
Cooking duties are handled at a solid walnut countertop with a microwave on top and a mini refrigerator stashed underneath. The sink is stainless steel sink, fed with a foot pump.
Over in the corner there is a shower that’s fed by a pump and a pressure tank. The seller says that this water setup allows the owner to have water anywhere. The box is said to be insulated, too, so you won’t be entirely miserable if it gets a little cold outside.
The extra space hanging over the cab — normally called Mum’s Attic by U-Haul — is usually used for separating fragile goods from heavy furniture, but in this build it houses what the seller says is almost a full-size bed.
Under that bed is a passthrough to the cab.
While it’s advertised as a tiny house, it seems a lot closer to a camper than many other tiny houses. But that’s fine because it does make for a neat RV. Sadly, the stylish door out back means that the rolling overhead door has been deleted.
It’s a shame — rolling up to a beach and opening up the overhead door would be pretty sweet. It’s also missing the all-important toilet. Unless you get creative or install one, you won’t be too far off of the grid with this.
The price to own this cosy cabin on wheels is pretty expensive. At $17,900, you could buy a completed school bus conversion and many older RVs, and those will have a toilet. Still, I love seeing old trucks repurposed into new lives.