“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

Converting an awkwardly boxy old 1993 Volkswagen LT28 van into a beautiful tiny home!

In six short weeks, we turned this 25-year-old modern classic from an empty cargo van into an epic little adventure bus. This particular model is definitely the ugly duckling in the near-mythical line of VW vans. No glossy Instagram accounts are dedicated to the LT, and no slow-motion bikini shots feature this chunky brick of a bus in the background on YouTube. But we truly loved our Dory. She ticked all the boxes on our wishlist and stole our hearts immediately. She was no off-road machine and a bit heavily laden, but still saw us through on some of the most gnarly roads one could imagine.

While she lives on in someone else’s care these days–she will live forever in our hearts!

1993 VW LT28 van conversion

A documentary of our epic road trip through Eastern Europe–in winter!

What is nomads for love? Well, since Karma is Swedish and Scott is a Kiwi, we are actually not allowed to live in the same country due to visa restrictions. So because long-distance relationships really suck, we made up this crazy plan of traveling, living full time in a van and jumping borders every 3-months when our tourist visas expire. Just so we can be together until one of us immigrates.

After converting a 25-year-old VW bus to our new tiny home on wheels, we simply drew a boundary on a map of where we could not go and then started driving south. No research and no plan. Guided by curiosity as much as the necessity. Chasing summer.

Turning a tiny van into a minimalist home on a small budget

Meet The Beast,  a tiny beat-up 1994 Toyota LiteAce van. While it is a tad scruffy, it is a reliable little diesel that just won’t quit. Hence the name. Scott already lived in this van when we met. But when Karma also moved in we decided he needed a little bit of love to better suit us two. Our main objective at this time was to save money for an upcoming thru-hike (the PCT), so we had to do this on a very tight budget! We sourced most of the building material for free and we kitted it out with used treasures from op shops (thrift shops). We outfitted our entire kitchen for under $20! We love the idea of giving stuff a second lease on life.

The Beast was our home together for 4 months before we left for the USA to hike the PCT, and years of traveling after that. We left the van in the care of friends and it miraculously survived our long absence. Yeah, The Beast still lives!

1994 Toyota LiteAce van conversion