Ben Harris is living life to the fullest in the comfort of his self-renovated 1995 F350 4x4 ambulance tiny home on wheels he lovingly calls, The Big Girl! Amazingly, the total cost of the build was only $13,000, most of which was the original vehicle purchase! He did most of the renovations himself, with the help of family and friends, so costs were minimal. Ben is greatly enjoying the freedom that this minimalist lifestyle facilitates.
“My favorite part about being on the road and traveling is, obviously, it’s a tiny home, but you have the biggest yard of anybody there is!”
Ben created a shower into the first step coming into the ambulance by cutting down a sink for the shower base. This step is the only area he can stand fully upright in his tiny home on wheels
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The ambulance had tons of cabinet storage that he just had to repurpose to meet his needs. He made a closet for hanging clothing, adding cedar planking to protect from mildew and bugs. Cedar tongue & groove planking was used for the ceiling and to hold the power-saving LED lighting.
Ben heats his tiny with a small propane Mr. Buddy heater that is perfect; the insulation is incredible in the ambulance and it holds in the heat! In the kitchen area, Ben installed a small sink, two-burner propane stove, and lovely Acacia countertops. He even DIY’d a cool garbage chute next to the sink so that the garbage is outside the living area. He mostly cooks outside and has ingeniously turned the doors to one of his outside storage compartments into an outside kitchen space!
A repurposed walnut divider creates a separation between the kitchen and bedroom. The metal framed bed is SOLID and tall enough for him to sit fully upright (a must-have for him). There is also storage under the bed that houses his Dometic fridge/dining seat for the pull-out table, and serves as garage space accessible from the outside.
“The things that you have in here are the things that you want and you absolutely need. I really like that kind of simple lifestyle! The more things you have, the more problems you have, as far as I’m concerned.”
For powering his rig, he has 300w of roof-mounted solar panels and a 12v battery bank made from two 6v golf cart batteries run in series. Living minimally has allowed him, with some investment luck, to live and travel without requiring him to work. If needed he is a licensed boat captain, a bartender, and has carpentry skills to fall back on.
Ben’s life on the road is everything he had hoped for and much more! He loves living in his tiny home on wheels and plans to continue chasing new adventures indefinitely. He invites you to check out his Instagram and the full tour below.
To check out the full tour:
If you would like to follow along with Ben you can do so on his Instagram at @adventure_ambo.