May Pham, a Vietnamese American living in California, has been long dreaming of a mobile life on her caravan, instead of living in a luxury house like many others.
"We were so determined to realize our dream, partly thanks to our dog named Chloe. You know, Chloe is an old dog, we can't bring him on the plane with us, therefore we decided to make this caravan house so that all of us could travel to anywhere we want", May told Infornet.
Traveling on this caravan house also saves the couple a lot of money, especially during this coronavirus season.
"Besides, we decided to buy and travel on this caravan house to avoid the hassle of long transiting between flights, or finding accommodation", May said.
The old Mercedez Dodge Sprinter freight car costs the couple a total of USD15,000.
"It'd be attention-grabbing if I choose normal camper van like RV or aistream. Therefore, I chose this Mercedez Dodge Sprinter and attach the sign 'hazardous chemicals' or 'plumping company' on the car body to avoid people's attention", May said.
May's husband redesigned the whole caravan, from removing all available shelves and old planks, cleaning rusty areas, to repainting the vehicle.
He then moved on with the soundproofing, heat insulation, wood framing for water tanks, bathrooms, washbasins, dining tables. He has also installed two-way exhaust fans, toilets and shower rooms, and a water discharge system.
The caravan house is also specially designed so that it has enough space to house all the instruments the couple would like to brings along their trip, including a piano, a guitar and a ukulele.
The couple finished renovating the caravan house within three months all by themselves. The total cost of buying interior materials is around USD25,000.
Under the skillful hands of May's husband, the old car has become a handy, comfortable mobile house fully-equipped with basic necessities like bedroom, toilet, cooking stove, wardrobe, desks, etc. The caravan house also has electricity converted from solar power.
"Due to the social distancing order in the US, we have only traveled to neighboring places around Los Angeles such as Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, San Diego since our living inside the caravan", May told Infonet, adding that the couple will plan for further trips with their pet once the pandemic ends.
Photo supplied by May Pham
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