Living in a lorry Tour 1
For those who are new to
my blog (and there are quite a few new readers lately I am very pleased to
say), I am going to take you on a brief tour of my lovely lorry which will be
accompanied with a photo series on Instagram (mralexander1234).
My fulltime home is a Ford
Iveco 1069 lorry made in 1985 during the redoubtable Good Old British Industry Thatcher
era. I will talk engines in a later
chapter but I will talk first about the space it gives me to live in.
The actual internal box is
5.7 metres long by 2.3 metres wide by 2.1 metres high. The actual living space (not including the
workshop/store) is an almost perfect double cube. Classical proportions. The box was already
divided into three when I bought it. It
was originally an NHS screening vehicle with a wheelchair lift built in (subsequently
removed to reduce front axle weight). I have kept the basic divisions it was
built with. The largest is the living
space with a door through to the toolstore/storage/porch/dog feeding area. From
here there is a crawl through to the lorry cab, the passenger seat of which is
converted to a large dog bed where my two little ones sleep and travel. The
third area is the bathroom which takes up one corner of the living space.
The rest of the living space
itself consists of three different areas, although in reality it is only one
space. Living, kitchen and bedroom.
Living room. I have a sofa, a chair, a desk, a small dining
table for myself and a large one (seating up to 5 people comfortably). The chair, desk and the dining table have
been designed and made for me by Suzanne Hodgson (www.suzannehodgson.co.uk). She also
made the cupboard doors. I have built
the sofa as a wedge shape as when I’m stretched out on it my feet don’t need
the same width as my shoulders. There are various cupboards and store
spaces. Every space is used for
something. Under the sofa is a large log store for the most essential piece of
equipment I have; my lovely woodburning stove. It’s from www.windysmithy.co.uk and the model is called Wendy. 2 Kw output keeps the living space toasting
in the coldest of snowy nights. It burns smokeless fuel and logs.
Kitchen. The hob is a small two ring unit which I
have found perfectly adequate for all cooking requirements set into a worktop
with a small sink at the other end. There is an oven above the wardrobe with a
cupboard above that for toaster, blender and various larger kitchen items.
There is a microwave above the hob and two ceiling cupboards for food. I have a large fridge/freezer under the hob
which automatically switches between gas/mains and 12 volts. There are two
cupboards under the worktop for saucepans and plates etc. A drawer unit for kfs and oddments. There are
another couple of shelves, including one behind the oven. Again, every cubic inch of space is used for
something.
Bedroom. The same wedge principle that is my sofa also applies to the
bed. I had a specialist mattress made to fit (www.shipshapebedding.co.uk). It is extremely comfortable. Above the bed is a book shelf and a gooseneck
clip for my iPhone so I can listen to podcasts at night. My TV is at the foot of the bed on a swivel bracket
so I can also view it from the sofa. Under the TV is the DVD player, hard drive
and Freesat box, linked to the automatic satellite finder on the roof. I have Chromecast so I can watch catchup TV
and Netflix when I am near wifi.
Utilities. I
have a 100 litre water tank slung underneath which feeds the kitchen sink, the
bathroom sink and shower and an external shower (hot and cold) fitting for
hosing the dogs and filling buckets outside.
There are two hot water sources: a caravan water heater which heats
about 10 litres of water at a time and is gas or mains electric driven. It supplies the kitchen sink. A second water
heater which is an on-demand gas driven Burco boiler which feeds the shower,
bathroom and external shower. This means
I can have as long a hot shower as there is water in the tank. Lovely. The bathroom is a wetroom with basin
and a cassette toilet.
I have an air conditioning unit on the roof for the
very hot days. It keeps the living space
just right, especially when I am working shows in the height of summer.
There are both 240volt and a 12volt supplies wired
throughout the lorry. The 240volt
circuit starts with a Consumer unit with trips under the worktop. On tour the system is driven by my trusty
Honda 3Kv electric start generator (with a remote start for turning it off at
night from my bed). The generator tours
in the step well of the lorry so I don’t have far to lift it. The 12volt system
is driven by three leisure batteries charged from a solar panel on the roof and
by two in-built trickle chargers. The 12volt
system runs the water pump, lights and small battery chargers.
The gas is fed from a 100litre LPG tank slung under
the body. I fill it at LPG stations on
the road. A tankful coats about £20 and lasts several weeks. I can also connect a Propane Gas bottle if it
runs out.
Design features, ambience and art. The inside of the living space is lined with
wood. Mostly cedar as it is very light
and has a lovely patina and colour. I
suppose the style is gypsy/showman/ethnic.
I have a few pictures and some small sculpture, mostly originals which
have significance for me. I have quite a few photos and a lot of objects of all
sorts; a lot of wooden things. I love
wood. If I find something a really like
I will try to adapt it for a use in the space, but as it is small I have to be
very careful. Things must be useful or
beautiful and preferably both. And lightweight.
So there you have it. To finish with I have to say I love the space
it provides for me. It suits my work and
lifestyle perfectly. Once a year, usually in winter I go through all the objects
in the space. If I haven’t used it or
appreciated it at least once in the previous year it goes out. There just isn’t
room for things that I don’t use or appreciate often.
And the bare minimum of things.
Just one teaspoon. But a very
nice Sheffield silver plated one.
If you’d like a proper tour ever do ask at an
event. I’ll be very happy to give you
the grand tour for real.
All the best from a road near you,
Mr Alexander