A COUPLE have converted a retired military truck into a purpose-built, one of a kind off-road mobile home. Kourtney and Trevor Smithson of Virginia, USA built their very own home on wheels using an original Stewart and Stevenson M1078 LMTV troop carrier which they picked up at a military auction. The conversion took just six weeks to complete and cost the couple around $37,000, including the purchase of the truck. Its owners named the ex-combat vehicle turned cosy mobile home, ‘Wazimu’, which translates as ‘crazy’.
00:00Everybody's like, oh, how many miles per gallon? How slow is it? Blah, blah, blah.
00:03I'm like, you know what? How fast is your house?
00:20Check, check, check.
00:24All right, here we go.
00:25This might look like a military vehicle, but it's actually so much more.
00:36Together we built our own M1078 we've named Wazamu.
00:43Owners Trevor and Courtney have customized this purpose-built army truck
00:47into their very own mobile home.
00:55What's more, the couple did it on a tight budget. We did our entire build for $37,000 that did include the purchase of the truck.
01:06We got it at auction out of Daytona. So $37,000 later, this is what we have. Instead of taking our time to make the absolute perfect vehicle
01:17from the very beginning, we just did it. Got on the road.
01:19So this used to be where our generator sat, which is now back here. Updated our entire solar system with lithium batteries.
01:25Went from good air conditioning, went from good air conditioning, good heat for about six hours, depending on the heat outside, to we have it for days.
01:38Having a truck built for extreme purposes has some unusual advantages.
01:53Now this truck is designed to be able to handle up to four feet of water. We've done about three feet, had no problems.
02:03So that actually is our cross through. So while I'm driving, Courtney and the boys can jump on through, no big deal.
02:11And on the other side of that hole, the truck's original army features are unrecognizable.
02:16We have a U-shaped couch, which is also used for our clothing storage at the moment.
02:27And then on top, as you've probably guessed, is our bed, which is on a crank system that usually people use like in their garages.
02:35We just crank it down at night.
02:36We're going to live like hippies. I didn't want to smell like hippies. So I really wanted a nice bathroom situation.
02:47The shower is actually super spacious. It's actually big enough for me to even like sit down and like read a book and take a bath.
02:53Originally, we had an actual like refrigerator and one trip off-roading, it detached and laid itself on our couch and all the groceries are everywhere.
03:09So that didn't last long.
03:13We've always talked about living full time on the road or just traveling a lot.
03:18We purchased a vehicle about a year and a half before we actually started working on it.
03:21Yeah.
03:23The build of this truck served an additional purpose for the couple and simply providing a home for them.
03:29I wasn't a very good husband at that time.
03:32Turns out I was quite a bit of an alcoholic.
03:35While Trevor was going through sobriety is when he was building the truck.
03:39It was probably as chaotic as it was. It was the best possible way to get sober.
03:44Because I wasn't focusing on anything other than burning my hands, busting my knuckles and getting the thing done.
03:51So it's a very privileged lifestyle. I tell people that all the time. Like we are super,
04:00super lucky. It is not for the faint of heart. It's not for everybody. And it's really not that easy.
04:06It's worth it if it's something that you want. We love it.
04:09So how does it feel to drive? It drives like a Cadillac. Like a big old boat.
04:17We're a slow truck and a fast house.
04:18I like that. But it means it's not for everyone.
04:21We did save up for three years. And then we sold everything we had.
04:25We quit our jobs. You know, all that kind of stuff.
04:28It's a gamble. And I definitely always encourage people.
04:31Like, yes, like don't wait until tomorrow. If you've got like a dream, especially like with your spouse, definitely do it.
