His fabulous studio apartment is hidden inside a work truck!

hey guys jenna here welcome to my channel where i  take you on tours of tiny homes and people living   alternative lifestyles in this week's video we're  taking a look at a cleverly built miniature studio   and while the inside might look like  something that you'd see in new york   city or san francisco you'll see that the outside   is actually a stealth van jason built out  this van himself so that he could live   in the city comfortably while attending a grad  program and avoiding the high cost of living i'd love to know what you guys think about this  one so make sure to comment below and if you like   these kind of videos subscribe and hit that bell  so that you get a notification every time i post a   new video but right now we're going to jump right  in and take a tour of jason's stealth van studio hey everybody i'm jason i'm excited  to show you my van the stealth studio before i built the van i was  living in colorado in fort collins   i was in a big house i had like  five roommates i started thinking   you know why don't i do something different i  knew that grad school was going to be in my future   and grad school for urban planning that means i'm  going to be in a city it's going to be expensive   to live i don't want to accumulate a lot of debt  you know i'm doing a mid-career shift into this so   the idea of having my own apartment on  wheels essentially was very enticing   i wanted something that was stealthy that was not  noticeable that i could feel safe and unnoticed in   i ended up finding a box truck on craigslist and  it had the pass through from the cab to the back   already installed which made it perfect and so i  ended up buying that and uh let the games begin i did most of the build myself i did hire  my friend matt he did the design and some   of the really intricate parts of the  build one of the things that i had   to remember as i was building this is that  so many people that were doing this are 80   outdoors in nature and 20 in the city and  i'm basically flipping that script this is   essentially meant to be an apartment on wheels  that looks like a work truck on the outside   so i can park it wherever so making this an urban  stealth vehicle like this little touch here it's   a construction vest that a friend gave me and i  just stick it on the dash my friends joke with me   that i should also have like an empty bag of like  fiery hot doritos or something but i don't know   it it adds a little bit of you know this  is just an old work truck that's what i'm   going for on the outside i haven't had  a knock i haven't had any issues so far   i moved into this at the beginning of 2021 so  i've been in it pretty much all year and i've   been really enjoying it i can be in a city for  months at a time and really get a feel for it this   allows me to have that urban lifestyle without  the crazy urban rents that we're seeing right now this is a 2004 ford e350 box van and i  decided to go with the box man just to   have a lot more space you know it's a 15 foot  long box it's 8 feet wide the thing i really   like about it is the area that extends over  the cab it really gave me a nice loft space so this ford has a v10 i think it's a 6.8 liter  engine doesn't get grace gas mileage probably   like 7 to 10 generally it kind of depends i  do spend a good chunk of my time in the city   you know a lot of times i'll park somewhere for  four to seven days at a time and i'm just biking   around or taking transit in the city so you  know it's not like i'm constantly driving this   so the gas mileage hasn't been too big of a killer  at this point the truck has dualies on the back   which i am really liking these dual tires are  so nice not only do they add to ride quality but   they've actually saved me in a pinch i did have  one of the tires blow on me while i was on the   interstate and i heard the noise but didn't notice  anything with the vehicle the vehicle just kept   driving straight and fine so the dualies ended up  being a nice kind of safety factor which was great we're on the back driver side of the rig  we've got this box that we mounted and what   this does is this has the 12 gallon fuel tank and  that's for the heater i wanted a window just to   you know get some natural light and be able  to have views when i'm in the mountains but   you know since this is designed for urban stealth  it was important not to just have a random window   showing up on the side of the vehicle it looks  like a vent which is the purpose and i'm short so   it's hard for me but i can open it and then i've  got a view when i'm like here in the mountains   what's cool though is even if i'm in the city  and i've got this covered because we've got   these louvered vents i can still from the inside  slide the window open and still get air flow   in the city when i'm in stealth mode on a hot  summer night this has been like a lifesaver   it's been so nice to be able to get that airflow  coming in while maintaining my stealth factor   all right here we are at the back of the vehicle  roll-up door right yes but no it was a roll-up   door but obviously that would be a huge mess and  get in the way of insulation to take up space and   just be really dirty these are the old panels from  the roll-up door so we were able to upcycle those   reuse them but we decided instead of doors coming  out that would be cool to make a patio out of this   so actually i just push a magic button and then  bring this down and it turns into a patio slash   garage which is really nice to have  a little extra storage back here   so this works out as a patio or a stage i've  actually been able to have some musicians on here   it kind of creates some cool opportunities  that you normally wouldn't have in a van   i've got two latches one on each side and then  so when i close it it latches it shut and then   they're electronic and so i actually have a switch  inside the van i can turn that switch off which   kills power and then people can't get in here  which of course is really important this is on the   passenger side and this is actually a 44 gallon  gray water tank and we've got a skin around it   to protect it and spray foam around it so  this tank is ready for four seasons and the   44 gallons has been great i generally can go  easily like 10 to 14 days with this and then   i have 55 gallons of fresh water inside how do we  get in well actually through the cab so follow me let's talk about the layout of the stealth  studio here so behind me i've got the loft   area i'm able to use my full size mattress this  is what i had in my former place sleeping in here   is really comfortable and i actually like the  fact that there's this narrow sort of opening   and then these these shelves on each side it  kind of makes it feel like a nest in there   one of the things we did i'll actually turn  around real quick as we did put a vent here   and so there's actually fans on the other side of  this and that allows for getting airflow up there   and then what's cool too is there's a lot of uh  hidden little built-ins so back here i've got   like little built-ins for you know here's some  pants and shorts and all that sort of stuff we   needed a ladder to get up to the lofts but you  know ladders take up room and they move around   and they can just be finicky and i like to climb  and so i thought well why don't i just do like a   climbing wall hold ladder the thing people  really like is this it is a pull out closet   and it's you know i got my dress shirts and  some sport coats and then there's a shoe rack   down here it just slides in and out and then  there's a latch for when i'm driving to keep   it in place with this arrangement because we  wanted to kind of bury all the utilitarian stuff   the electric is actually tucked back here we do  have a distribution panel over here so that gets   me access to my fuses and circuits and then if i  want to do a quick disconnect to the battery or   shut off the solar circuit i've actually got a  little drawer hidden in the climbing wall here   and so i can get access to those switches  pretty quick that's something i would definitely   recommend if you are in a position where you  kind of have to bury your electric at least try   for those things you're going to maybe use  more often try to have them accessible at least   on this side we've got a stereo cabinet and the  stereo is great it's nice and loud especially   being in this cabinet i think helps a lot i've  also got a wi-fi extender so i can mooch wi-fi   and then i've also got a cell signal booster  in here so this is kind of like the electronics   cabinet keep that stuff out of the way a  little bit we've got a little closet in here   55 gallon drum of fresh water it's a food grade  drum that is able to find for pretty cheap   i've went as much as like two and a half  weeks with with that amount of water on board   i like to cook a lot for the kitchen i wanted a  lot of counter space i wanted to have easy access   to my most used appliances i don't feel like i've  made any sacrifices this is if anything an upgrade   from what i had before and i do basically the  same stuff in the kitchen that you know i did   when i lived in a house or apartment so i'm  really liking that i have such a great space   here and then i've got these mason jars the lids  are screwed into the underside of this cabinet   and that's pretty cool because i'm able to  just unscrew them and use them as my drinking   glasses but then when i'm driving they're not  rattling around or taking up counter space   have a fridge something i'm going to upgrade at  some point it's a little smaller than i'd like   and i have a microwave which i love for  heating leftovers up and then i do have   an induction cooktop so i can pull  that out of the drawer and use it i ended up going with a deep sink which i'm  super happy about i don't like doing dishes   but obviously you know you're not gonna throw a  dishwasher in a band a sink has been perfect one   of the best parts of the build is all the storage  and these upper cabinets have worked great we used   an ebony stain on them and i'm really happy with  this color it contrasts with the white very nice   it's a little unique too i haven't seen too many  uh vans with this color contrast so i thought it'd   be you know give this its own kind of flavor it's  one of the better features of the build and it's   out of the way too which i like so this is one of  my favorite spots is just chilling on the couch   chilling the couch listening to music a lot the  couch is something that you know at some point i'd   like to upgrade but you know anytime you're doing  a build you you do some things or you just want   to get them done and that was the case with this  couch it was you know this section was the last   area to get done and i was just ready to be done  building and moved in and so i had some friends   that were kind enough to give me their couch  had been ate up by rabbits as a big sectional   and i was able to salvage enough of it to cut it  up and and use it as a tiny little couch in here   and it actually works out works out well and then  behind me i've actually got a wind sock from the   snow kitten expedition that i did with a bunch  of friends years ago we crossed north dakota   with snow kites and spoke to like 10 000 students  is really fun this is the back side of stealth   studio so this is where i have my desk i went  kind of big on the desk maybe a little too big but   uh you know i do i do some remote work and gig  work and there's grad school coming up and so i i   definitely like having a bigger desk i don't like  my dust constraint retrofitted a bathroom door   actually is what the desktop is so it's something  that i already had and it works pretty well   i'm pretty lucky with all the insulation  i have in here i mean we have two by three   studs in the walls and have lock and then spray  foam in the floor and ceiling so you know really   up into the mid-80s it's fine in here i can run  fans and and i can live but it's been getting   hotter than that you know climate change right and  so i did want some ac and i decided the cheap easy   solution for now is a portable air conditioner  at some point i might do a ductless mini split   but for now this works pretty well it vents out  into the garage so it blows the hot air out and   blows cool air in it does suck up a decent  amount of power but you know i can run it   for short stretches cool it down in here and  make it a little more livable part of being   a stealth studio you know an apartment on wheels  is you do need a shower and a bathroom obviously   uh and you know having the box truck did give me  an opportunity to actually have a real shower so   i'll pull the curtain i've got my composting  toilet in here it's a nature's head   and so when i want to shower i just pull  that out and then this is a regular like   32 by 32 shower pan from you know one of  the hardware stores definitely recommend   if you can get some sort of shower i mean the  gym works but it's nice to have this on board i've been applying for grad programs and  you know doing some gig work this is nice   because it gives me a ton of flexibility and  options i can i can do that stuff from anywhere   and then i also don't have a ton of overhead you  know i'm able to keep my expenses really low right   now which is nice because i am in a period of  transition i learned that you have to figure out   like what your needs are and stay focused on that  and then design your build around that and that's   like the advantage of this lifestyle right think  about you know what are your goals what are you   trying to accomplish where do you want to be and  then and then build something that works for you thanks for watching this week's video  make sure to like share and subscribe   and i will see you back soon with another  tiny house or alternative home tour you

Channel: Tiny House Giant Journey

Views: 1,810,188

Rating: 4.9293094 out of 5

Keywords: tiny house giant journey, tiny house, Tiny houses, tiny homes, tiny house tour, vanlife, van dwelling, stealth van, van tour, stealth van tour, boxtruck tour, box truck, micro apartment, micro studio, 125 square feet, tiny home tour, micro home, vanlife tour, van dwelling tour, van conversion, camper van, house truck, house truck tour, DIY house truck, tiny home tours, van life, van life tour, van life journey, nomadland, affordable housing, alternative housing

Id: py4zetCEYzA

Length: 15min 16sec (916 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 22 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/happydgaf]

Cool stealth build