- Clayton Balabanov spent $180,000 changing a dilapidated truck and used trailer right into a spacious RV.
- It took 5 years to rework the semi, which he and his spouse now dwell in full time.
- The “Nomad Monster” features a studying room, a sizzling tub and a spiral staircase. Have a look inside.
Clayton Balabanov and his spouse, Theresa, needed to hit the street once they retired, however could not discover a cellular residence to purchase that met their wants.
Clayton Balabanov was approaching retirement age and knew he needed to satisfy his dream of hitting the street. He envisioned spending his senior years together with his spouse, Theresa, touring up and down the scenic byways of the US and Canada.
However, first, he wanted to purchase a cellular residence.
Balabanov mentioned he could not discover something in the marketplace that suited him.
“I wasn’t pleased with the producers’ items,” he mentioned. “They only did not appear to face as much as year-round use, moderately than simply for the vacations.”
So the couple determined to construct their very own. Their plan was to transform a used trailer right into a spacious and sustainable residence on wheels.
Balabanov needed to show a trailer into a house as snug as their residence on Vancouver Island, Canada.
However there was one other key requirement: it needed to be sustainable.
“We would have liked photo voltaic vitality, recycled water and stuff like that, which would go away a smaller carbon footprint, offsetting how a lot gasoline the truck used,” he mentioned.
5 years in the past Balabanov purchased a “dud” of a truck and began engaged on it. He additionally purchased a trailer on eBay.
Balabanov mentioned he could not afford to purchase a model new truck. “So, I purchased an older one after which spent the following 12 months rebuilding it,” he mentioned. “Brakes and engine, and all that form of stuff.”
He additionally purchased a used trailer off eBay, which was just about a clean canvas for his imaginative and prescient.
“It was empty, and I made a decision to go for it,” Balabanov mentioned. “I deliberate issues out on a whiteboard and stored making adjustments. As I constructed, issues modified too.”
It took plenty of effort and time to rework the trailer right into a livable area, not least as a result of the couple did a lot of the work themselves.
Balabanov spent hours engaged on the conversion practically day-after-day for 5 years.
“I did most of it myself,” he mentioned. He even sewed the curtains himself.
Balabanov mentioned that because it was a one-off construct, it will have been an excessive amount of effort to seek out somebody who understood his imaginative and prescient. “It could take longer to elucidate than to really do it.”
In the meantime, Theresa was answerable for materials procurement, she mentioned, which has been particularly difficult through the COVID-19 pandemic.
It additionally wasn’t low-cost. Balabanov estimates it value round $180,000.
Balabanov mentioned he does not have a precise variety of how a lot it value to construct, as he has but to do the maths and examine his many containers of receipts.
However he gave a tough estimate of C$250,000. That is $181,126 in US foreign money.
The couple began making the truck cozier by including a seating space and kitchenette.
The kitchenette is supplied with a microwave and fridge, and there’s a loft mattress above the seating space.
They then began work on the trailer, which concerned constructing a space-saving spiral staircase.
The trailer has a number of rooms, together with an workplace, kitchen, storage, lounge, bed room, library, and loo.
It additionally has a grand wanting spiral staircase, which results in the second flooring.
“It seems nice and takes up much less area than for those who put in common stairs,” Balabanov mentioned.
The couple constructed a full kitchen as a result of they’re too outdated to outlive on beans on toast, Balabanov joked.
The fashionable kitchen has all normal home equipment together with induction stoves which run on photo voltaic vitality.
“[It’s] a full kitchen, larger than what you discover in most flats, as a result of we need to spend the remainder of our lives right here and we need to be snug,” Balabanov mentioned.
“At 75, I am not going to cram myself right into a tiny little kitchen attempting to make beans on toast,” she added.
Balabanov additionally constructed a “cinema” contained in the trailer. The couple use Starlink to entry streaming providers.
The comfy area has a 75 inch 4K TV and encompass sound system.
star hyperlink, the satellite tv for pc web service launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX permits the couple to observe Netflix and Amazon Prime content material even in out-of-the-way areas.
“That is how we are able to loosen up within the night and watch a superb film for leisure,” mentioned Balabanov.
Theresa Balabanov spends plenty of time studying within the library corridor.
The onboard studying room consists of a chair and bookcase on the high of the staircase, which Theresa has already put to good use: She has learn 42 books since transferring into their semi-trailer residence on the finish of September 2022.
“Theresa likes books, she determined that this could be her major leisure,” Balabanov mentioned.
The trailer additionally has a sizzling tub put in.
In a sunken part of the lavatory is a whirlpool tub.
“For the bathtub, it made sense to purchase one with jets,” Balabanov mentioned. “It is not that massive a [price] distinction, so we would as effectively insert it”.
The couple cooked for pals and hosted them of their eating room.
The eating room is not significantly spacious, however it will get the job achieved, Balabanov mentioned.
“We had some individuals over for tea… I believe three individuals had been sitting there, and I normally simply sit on the steps, which is true subsequent to the eating room desk, so I am within the dialog,” she mentioned.
Internet hosting individuals for dinner is a “good neighborhood factor” and a good way to fulfill different nomads, Balabanov added.
However it hasn’t all been straightforward, with many issues going mistaken on their maiden voyage.
The couple skilled roof leaks, photo voltaic battery points, and free wires.
In a YouTube video Since late October, the pair have documented a burst higher radiator hose whereas in Nebraska.
“That is our maiden voyage, the place all the things breaks down,” Balabanov mentioned. “So we’ll change the issues that did not work, and enhance the issues that labored, and clear up.”
“After which we’re off to cross Canada,” he mentioned.
Balabanov mentioned he maybe regrets spending a lot time engaged on the truck.
Reflecting on the method, Balabanov mentioned he maybe regrets spending a lot time constructing it.
“It has been 5 years of my life the place I might have simply gone out and purchased one thing smaller and fewer succesful, after which gone out and spent these 5 years on the street,” she mentioned.
“However alternatively, I actually loved doing it.”
He would have suggested anybody considering of doing the identical to be much less bold than he was.
Balabanov’s high tip to these hoping to show a trailer into a house: “Begin small and develop.”
He mentioned he would solely suggest those that are “exceptionally expert” and in possession of plenty of gear to construct their very own.
“It simply takes plenty of trip of your life,” she mentioned.
However the pair say they’re excited to journey the continent of their “Nomad Monster” residence.
The Balabanovs have bought their household residence and taxi enterprise, which suggests they’ve long-term plans to remain of their semi-trailer residence.
They plan to benefit from their senior years residing there, driving throughout the US and Canada, whereas taking their bikes for rides to scenic spots.
“You solely dwell so lengthy,” Balabanov mentioned. “It is completely assured that you’ll die, so benefit from life between at times. That is what we’re doing.”
