You Built What?!: A Home for the Long Haul

WHITTLED-DOWN CARAVAN

Time: 3 MONTHS
Cost: $1,500

ELECTRICITY

A motorcycle battery stores energy gathered by a 50-watt solar panel on the caravan’s roof. A modified plug-in car inverter transforms the battery’s DC output into AC, and a charge controller conditions power for common electronics. Chambers and Reinish say their system collects enough juice to run three devices—e.g., LED lights, a portable fan, and a laptop—for at least three hours.

Electricity:  Webb Chappell

MATERIALS

Borrowing the travel-light tricks of pioneers, such as rounded caravan walls, helped the couple trim their home’s weight and cost. Corrugated steel gave structural support without the heft of wood planks, and waterproof canvas made for a suitable ceiling. They also skipped insulation, built a mattress out of straw, and dual-purposed couch cushions as dirty laundry sacks.

Materials:  Webb Chappell

PLUMBING

A sink in the caravan drains through a hose in the wall and into a five-gallon jug for disposal. A four-gallon solar shower, essentially a black plastic bag with a hose and perforated nozzle at one end, soaks up solar rays in the morning to provide hot showers and dishwashing water. Coming soon: a composting toilet.

PLUMBING:  Webb Chappell