An Army veteran bought a FedEx van for $3,000 and turned it into a tiny home on wheels
- Former soldier Jonathan Norris paid $3,000 for a FedEx van that he could turn into a mobile home.
- He spent his weekends for two years converting the van so he could live rent-free.
Jonathan Norris was in the US Army for more than three years.
During his last year, which he spent in South Korea, Norris said he began saving up for a truck that he could live in when he returned to America.
After he got back to Washington State at the beginning of 2020, he found a 1998 FedEx truck he liked in California.
He said he managed to get it for a relatively "cheap" $3,000.
"It was a steal because a truck like this typically goes for at least $9,000," Norris told Insider.
The 37-year-old said he then spent his weekends over the next two years converting it into a mobile tiny home.
He spent more than two years researching van life and the right vehicle.
Norris said he watched dozens of YouTube videos on van conversions and taught himself how to do the work himself.
"I thought about getting a regular box truck with a conventional cab but it would've meant getting into it from the back doors. The nice thing about the FedEx truck is I can get into the back through the driver's door," he added.
Norris paid a relatively low $3,000 for the van.
He had about $25,000 for fixtures and furnishings.
Norris said he got most of his supplies and furnishings from Home Depot, including a refrigerator and a freezer, but went $5,000 over budget.
Norris converted the van while living in army barracks.
"I'd work around 10 hours on Saturdays and up to five hours on a Sunday on the van," he said, adding that it was essentially an "empty aluminum box" when he first bought it.
He started by building a wooden frame for the walls and floor and insulating it.
In the first two months, he also installed an off-grid electrical system and a TV.
During the week he'd research what he planned to build that weekend.
"It was super, super overwhelming at first," he said. "I did that every weekend for two years until I had built an entire home."
He added that "every single thing" he did was a "learning experience," and that it "took a lot of research to make sure I didn't set my home on fire and blow myself up."
He built the kitchen around the microwave oven.
Norris said he added a kitchen countertop and a restaurant-style sink from Home Depot.
He also added a table and seating area for up to four people that can be converted into a guest bed.
"It was like buying an entire house but buying it one screw at a time," he said. "I'd research how to build a wall and then go and buy the supplies from Home Depot to build it that weekend."
The van has a kitchen, shower, queen-size bed, and a storage area for his bikes.
The van has a microwave and a hot water heater. He also added 14 power outlets so that a socket was always within reach.
He said he also had two 800-watt solar panels on the roof as well as lithium batteries and an inverter meaning he can watch TV, listen to music, or play video games whenever he likes.
He stores his bicycles in the back of the truck.
He now lives rent-free and is training to become a helicopter pilot.
As Norris is attending college to earn a commercial helicopter license to become a pilot in the southwest of the US, he said he parked his van on an industrial estate close to the airport.
"Nobody has every said anything or bothered me, I blend right in," he said. "There's often truck drivers who park up and sleep in them on the same road."
Norris said he's much happier now.
He said he felt free from the worry of a mortgage and that he enjoyed not being tied down to one place while spending most of his money on rent.
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