LivingEarthEasy
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Two years ago we said our prayers, left our jobs and sailed from Maine down to the Bahamas, looking for adventure and fun. Unexpectedly, we fell in love with the smaller living space and simpler lifestyle that go along with sailing on a very tight budget.
Eventually we figured out how to bring the sailors lifestyle to the land and with the support of family and friends, built a Landyacht. Which is basically an old Fed-Ex truck, we converted to run off waste cooking oil and designed to comfortably house four adults and a dog while living off the grid. The Landyacht uses solar electricity, solar heated water, outdoor shower, 12 volt refrigerator, propane stove/oven and an infallible composting toilet, all of which we were lucky enough to learn about and build(except for the solar PV panels). Since we love plants and gardening we also built a towable greenhouse.
We started with a 1997 Freightliner MT45 with about 300,000 miles and a cost of $4,600.
Key FedEx truck features:
-Cummins 5.9l 12 valve diesel engine(loves used veg oil and easy to work on)
-All aluminum body(doesn't rust, light weight, high scrap value)
-15,000lbs Weight Capacity(fully converted she weights 12,800lbs)
-Large cargo area(14ft long, 7ft wide, 6.5ft tall)
Key Landyacht features (post conversion):
-Runs on WVO(waste vegetable oil collected from restaraunts)
-Solar Electricity(180 watts)
-Solar Heated Water
-Outdoor shower
-Composting Toilet
-Full kitchen
-Dinette
-Sleeps Five
First, the van was gutted. The back roll-up door, cargo shelving, damaged back 3ft of floor and cab/cargo dividing door and wall were removed and sold to a scrap metal facility for about $400.
Next, the interier bare aluminum was pressure washed, scrubbed, and polished clean. Two used truck cap windows from craigslist were then installed and the back three ft of damaged floor was replaced with fiberglassed plywood and pressure treated decking boards. The floor, ceiling, and walls were insulated with reclaimed and factory 2nds, 1.5in thick polyisocinate foamboard. A plastic vapor barrier was installed over the insulation and covered with 1/8in plywood on the floors and walls. Unconventional framing techniques were developed and used to construct the seating areas, walls, storage, and beds in order to maximize space and minimize ease of construction(HA!). The tarp covering the open back was eventually replaced with a back door(made from some of the original aluminum which was removed from the van), a wooden hatch which accesses a large storage area, and a large window made from donated clear acrylic.
With the van sealed against the elements we noticed how stuffy it got inside and added three rooftop vents, one of which is a reclaimed boat hatch. Next we installed oak hardwood flooring(donated by a friend who had extra) in the standing and walking zones of the main living area, and plywood flooring in the sitting and storage zones. The bathroom/bedroom/back entry flooring was done using ripped up paper bags, elmers glue, and polyeurethane. Who knew!
The benches, storage lockers, cabinets, kitchen table, kitchen counter, and shelves were built using primarily scavenged wood from the dump. The 4 burner stove top and oven(used from craigslist) was hooked up to a propane tank mounted to the back of the van using an old milk crate. The sink is fitted with two faucets, one for hot water and one for drinking water. The hot water faucet is run by a 12v self priming pump fed by the 24 gal hot water tank. The water is heated by the solar water heater mounted to the side of the van. The tank was made from 1/2in plywood and fiberglass and built into one of the dinnete benches. The drinking facet has a handle which is manually pumped drawing water from one of two 6 gallon jugs stored below the sink. The sink drains into a waste water tank mounted below the rear of the van.
The cushions for the beds and benches were made from cut-up, used foam mattress toppers and custom made covers. The fold-away cot style beds were made using 2 peices of 1/2in thick iron pipe which run the length of the bed, and heavy duty fabric which was sewn and grommeted between the two pipes. Comfy.
The ventilation fans are used 12v computer fans from ebay. A total of 8 seperate 12v LED lights were installed in the ceiling. Toggle switches were placed strategically throughout the van which control the fans, lights, fridge, and water pumps. A few 12v outlets were also installed throughout the van for charging and using personal electronics. The majority of the wiring is contained behind the removable cork ceiling panels and as it turns out, was fairly simple. Not that we haven't had our fair share of electrical fires and issues along the way.. Mounting the six Deep Cycle batteries(again used from craigslist) under the van was a bit difficult as was mounting the rooftop solar panels.
The fridge uses peltier plates which pump heat from the fridge to the exterior. They run on 12 volts and were bought from ebay for $5. Cheap! These are used in wine fridges and camping coolers/ fridges.
They say the key to composting toilets is creating an environment conducive to composting. This means separating liquids from solids, having plenty of airflow, and maintaining the proper carbon to nitrogen ratio. We came up with a can in a can system which utilizes a movable funnel to direct pee directly into our waste water tank mounted below the vessel. There is also an exhaust vent which, helped by two old computer fans, draws fresh air into the toilet and pulls toilet air to the outside. Instead of flushing with water we simply flush with carbon by scooping some sawdust into the poo bucket after we've deposited our nitrogen rich excrement.
(lots more photo's and info at livingeartheasy.org.)
After a year of research, planning, hard work, and trial 'n error, we managed to build a mobile four person home, with very minimal construction or mechanical experience for less than $10,000. Woohoo!
Now, on the road, we seek out farmers' markets, universities, and environmentally focused organizations. Here, we demonstrate how the sustainable mechanisms of the van work and exchange gain incredible insight into many interesting issues and extremely valued mentorship. We look forward to working with other organizations we meet along the way and offer the Landyacht and ourselves to help further their goals.
Our experiences are documented and shared at livingeartheasy.org. We see this as a kind of science experiment and earnestly hope it will help others as much as ourselves, live a more earth friendly and happier life.
Cheers!
Reilly
and
The Living Earth Easy Tribe
Eventually we figured out how to bring the sailors lifestyle to the land and with the support of family and friends, built a Landyacht. Which is basically an old Fed-Ex truck, we converted to run off waste cooking oil and designed to comfortably house four adults and a dog while living off the grid. The Landyacht uses solar electricity, solar heated water, outdoor shower, 12 volt refrigerator, propane stove/oven and an infallible composting toilet, all of which we were lucky enough to learn about and build(except for the solar PV panels). Since we love plants and gardening we also built a towable greenhouse.
We started with a 1997 Freightliner MT45 with about 300,000 miles and a cost of $4,600.
Key FedEx truck features:
-Cummins 5.9l 12 valve diesel engine(loves used veg oil and easy to work on)
-All aluminum body(doesn't rust, light weight, high scrap value)
-15,000lbs Weight Capacity(fully converted she weights 12,800lbs)
-Large cargo area(14ft long, 7ft wide, 6.5ft tall)
Key Landyacht features (post conversion):
-Runs on WVO(waste vegetable oil collected from restaraunts)
-Solar Electricity(180 watts)
-Solar Heated Water
-Outdoor shower
-Composting Toilet
-Full kitchen
-Dinette
-Sleeps Five
First, the van was gutted. The back roll-up door, cargo shelving, damaged back 3ft of floor and cab/cargo dividing door and wall were removed and sold to a scrap metal facility for about $400.
Next, the interier bare aluminum was pressure washed, scrubbed, and polished clean. Two used truck cap windows from craigslist were then installed and the back three ft of damaged floor was replaced with fiberglassed plywood and pressure treated decking boards. The floor, ceiling, and walls were insulated with reclaimed and factory 2nds, 1.5in thick polyisocinate foamboard. A plastic vapor barrier was installed over the insulation and covered with 1/8in plywood on the floors and walls. Unconventional framing techniques were developed and used to construct the seating areas, walls, storage, and beds in order to maximize space and minimize ease of construction(HA!). The tarp covering the open back was eventually replaced with a back door(made from some of the original aluminum which was removed from the van), a wooden hatch which accesses a large storage area, and a large window made from donated clear acrylic.
With the van sealed against the elements we noticed how stuffy it got inside and added three rooftop vents, one of which is a reclaimed boat hatch. Next we installed oak hardwood flooring(donated by a friend who had extra) in the standing and walking zones of the main living area, and plywood flooring in the sitting and storage zones. The bathroom/bedroom/back entry flooring was done using ripped up paper bags, elmers glue, and polyeurethane. Who knew!
The benches, storage lockers, cabinets, kitchen table, kitchen counter, and shelves were built using primarily scavenged wood from the dump. The 4 burner stove top and oven(used from craigslist) was hooked up to a propane tank mounted to the back of the van using an old milk crate. The sink is fitted with two faucets, one for hot water and one for drinking water. The hot water faucet is run by a 12v self priming pump fed by the 24 gal hot water tank. The water is heated by the solar water heater mounted to the side of the van. The tank was made from 1/2in plywood and fiberglass and built into one of the dinnete benches. The drinking facet has a handle which is manually pumped drawing water from one of two 6 gallon jugs stored below the sink. The sink drains into a waste water tank mounted below the rear of the van.
The cushions for the beds and benches were made from cut-up, used foam mattress toppers and custom made covers. The fold-away cot style beds were made using 2 peices of 1/2in thick iron pipe which run the length of the bed, and heavy duty fabric which was sewn and grommeted between the two pipes. Comfy.
The ventilation fans are used 12v computer fans from ebay. A total of 8 seperate 12v LED lights were installed in the ceiling. Toggle switches were placed strategically throughout the van which control the fans, lights, fridge, and water pumps. A few 12v outlets were also installed throughout the van for charging and using personal electronics. The majority of the wiring is contained behind the removable cork ceiling panels and as it turns out, was fairly simple. Not that we haven't had our fair share of electrical fires and issues along the way.. Mounting the six Deep Cycle batteries(again used from craigslist) under the van was a bit difficult as was mounting the rooftop solar panels.
The fridge uses peltier plates which pump heat from the fridge to the exterior. They run on 12 volts and were bought from ebay for $5. Cheap! These are used in wine fridges and camping coolers/ fridges.
They say the key to composting toilets is creating an environment conducive to composting. This means separating liquids from solids, having plenty of airflow, and maintaining the proper carbon to nitrogen ratio. We came up with a can in a can system which utilizes a movable funnel to direct pee directly into our waste water tank mounted below the vessel. There is also an exhaust vent which, helped by two old computer fans, draws fresh air into the toilet and pulls toilet air to the outside. Instead of flushing with water we simply flush with carbon by scooping some sawdust into the poo bucket after we've deposited our nitrogen rich excrement.
(lots more photo's and info at livingeartheasy.org.)
After a year of research, planning, hard work, and trial 'n error, we managed to build a mobile four person home, with very minimal construction or mechanical experience for less than $10,000. Woohoo!
Now, on the road, we seek out farmers' markets, universities, and environmentally focused organizations. Here, we demonstrate how the sustainable mechanisms of the van work and exchange gain incredible insight into many interesting issues and extremely valued mentorship. We look forward to working with other organizations we meet along the way and offer the Landyacht and ourselves to help further their goals.
Our experiences are documented and shared at livingeartheasy.org. We see this as a kind of science experiment and earnestly hope it will help others as much as ourselves, live a more earth friendly and happier life.
Cheers!
Reilly
and
The Living Earth Easy Tribe
