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Mar 28, 2024

We turned our empty van into a fully functional tiny home using Amazon products

ONE van-lifer has revealed how he turned his vehicle into a tidy tiny home using only products from Amazon, before taking his life on the road. YouTuber Morley Kert has taken to vlogging his progress

ONE van-lifer has revealed how he turned his vehicle into a tidy tiny home using only products from Amazon, before taking his life on the road.

YouTuber Morley Kert has taken to vlogging his progress while building out a home in a 2019 Ram Promaster Extended van alongside his partner, Eden.

The vehicle typically ranges from around $15,000 used to $64,000 new depending on model specifics and age; Kert and Eden paid $48,000 for the vehicle.

Morley typically posts videos ranging in content but all thematically about building and creating.

His biography reads: "Making, designing, and exploring from my tiny apartment workshop!"

This new endeavor is the first automotive home creation he has embarked upon and plans to make it a multi-episode series.

They plan to share how others might go about building their own van home.

A switch to van life is a big transition, but the couple explained how they made it.

Eden brought up the idea to Morley, explaining: "I want to go travel for at least a year and I want to bring our animals with us, and I think the only way to do that is to buy a van, build it out, and hit the road."

When she originally brought this up to Morley, he was quick to say no, but she asked him to think about it before making a final decision.

While swinging in a hammock, the YouTuber has a change of heart.

He explained that his main hesitation was that he had made a living using a stationary workshop and was unsure how that would translate to being on the road.

He explained that eventually: "I started thinking about all these fun ways I can make videos while living out of a van."

Primarily, he is planning on taking his 3-D printer with him in the van and running a series on free 3-D printed repairs, but an on-tour edition.

Once the decision was made they shopped around for a van, wanting something large enough to fit two people, a medium dog, and a cat, eventually settling on the Ram model.

Because the van was in relatively good shape when they bought it, the couple started building right away.

First up was one of the more risky parts of the renovation due to its permanent nature, cutting a hole for eventual ventilation installation.

They also laid down insulation, sub-flooring, and electrical wiring.

Next up was cutting holes for their windows to be installed, another risky part of the process for the same reason as the ventilation cut.

In the spirit of authentic documentation, they admit to making a mistake, improperly measuring the cut on their final window.

Morley went on to explain how they had to think about the issue: "People make terrible mistakes every day. And in the moment this felt like the world was ending, but at the end of the day it's all good."

In their most recent update, the couple shared that they are installing a skylight in the rolling home, along with some other major progress, including designing the interior.

Those following along on their construction journey have been sharing support and feedback in the comments.

One viewer alluded to the couple's window mistake writing: "I love when people doing DIY stuff show their mistakes. It makes you very relatable. I can't wait to see where you go once you get on the road."

Another wrote about the couple's authenticity: "Hats off to you guys. Please keep filming and documenting this process. Such good content to watch and love the authenticity."

Many viewers took to encouraging Morley specifically, saying that he will succeed through this career "pivot."

A particularly supportive viewer also gave some advice on how to tackle the change, writing: "Morley you've been jumping from leather to 3D printing to woodwork to podcasts to whatever interests you at the time for years. You make solid content."

"I'm sure whatever stories you choose to tell on the road you'll find sponsors and an audience to match. Just have fun and enjoy the trip, the workshop will be waiting when you get back."

It appears that the channel's 291thousand subscribers will have to wait until next Thursday for another vlog update, but they can also listen to the couple's podcast in the interim.