Mobile man cave for $14k!

Travel and work used to be a rare combination but these days, all kinds of industry workers are living and working on the road.

We can thank wireless internet and mobile phone technology for that, along with pioneers like Damon Griffiths who hit the road out of necessity over 14 years ago and helped pave the way for a new generation of nomads to live on our Australian roads.

People like 20-something Damon Griffiths, who was having such a hard time finding affordable accommodation for himself and his pet pooches that he decided to build a motorhome out of a 4.3m long by 2m wide refrigeration truck before hitting the road full time.

Damon’s philosophy is an empowering one…

“If you’re thinking about living on the road, a bit of a change of circumstances, there’s no need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a vehicle. You can get away with it quite cheaply - whatever your budget allows you to spend,” he explains.

Damon certainly walks the talk. He spent around three months converting the insulated box on the back of his truck into a comfortable, functional living space he could call his own.

Impressively, Damon accomplished his build for less than $14,000 with a little extra tipped in a few years later to add solar. No mortgage, no debt, no worries. Compelling stuff!

I reflected for a moment on my own misspent youth and tried to conjure a memory of when I had even $1000 or $2000 saved up at any one time. 

It’s easy to look at Damon’s laid back lifestyle and miss that original drive to raise the initial funds for what he enjoys today. 

Damon’s willingness to carry out the work himself saved him a bunch of money too but when asked about this, he reckons just about anyone could knock up a house truck with the right level of motivation. (Clearly he’s never seen me on the tools!)

Looking around his modest yet comfortable quarters, I probably had the edge when it came to keeping things clean and tidy, but the ‘bachelor dust’ couldn’t hide the care and craftsmanship of much of his workmanship.

Damon is a plasterer by trade and while plastering is of negligible use when building a motorhome (it doesn’t stand up well to corrugated roads), being skilled with one’s hands obviously helps. It was then that I noticed there was no toilet.

Damon explained that things that must be done could be handled with a bucket and a bag. I contemplate this for a moment and decide not to press him for further details -- up until this point, I considered ’kicking the bucket’ the end of the line!

Now I had a new definition that was the beginning of a rather unfortunate mess. Damon appeared to read my thoughts and nodded sagely as if to say ‘Clumsy people shouldn’t poop in buckets’.

‘How did you cut out the doors and windows,’ I ask -- ventilation being a natural topic to follow our bucket discussion. It turns out the work can be achieved with a grinder and an extra deep blade and a few lengths of timber architrave to dress things up afterwards.

The other notable item in Damon’s truck house is the double sink.

“I had my heart set on a double sink so that determined the size of the sink area -- underneath the sink, the cupboards.”

Damon built the framing for the kitchen area out of 2x1 pine baton which was then screwed directly to the walls and ceilings. This he lined with VJ pine panelling and topped it all off with more architrave in maple. 

“I think it sets off the actual pine -- a bit of a contrast, makes it look interesting and nice.”

Self-building a mobile home may not be for everyone but the more I spoke with Damon, the more convinced I became that the key ingredient was simply the willingness to give it a go and stay focused on the up-side.

I thanked Damon for being so willing to share and asked him how long he intended to keep travelling.

“I’m going to travel for as long as I can, hopefully for the rest of my life. My dogs are going to travel for the rest of their lives with me and I couldn’t hope for a better life.”