Building a Tiny Home in a Ford Transit is Easier Than You Think

By Tony Markovich - June 30, 2016

Sometimes, the simple life is the best life. Steve Santagati certainly must think so. Despite having his own New York Times best-selling book and appearing on television numerous times, he built his own tiny house out of a Ford Transit 250. And he did it on his own for about $6,000 in about one and a half months. We took notice when he tweeted at a friend of ours, Mike Levine, who is the Ford Product Communications Manager.

@mrlevine I have it in my tiny home I built in a 250 transit https://t.co/4gK04Xzmts My best recoreded mileage is 19.45mpg highway at 70mph

— steve santagati (@stevesantagati) June 29, 2016

So we checked out the video and were impressed by his DIY project. After being weary about the risks of buying used, he went out and bought himself a brand new for about $37,000. With the interior completely down to the metal, he started from the ground up, lying wood to even the floor, insulating with liquid foam, set up new electric with more batteries (if you’re not familiar with electric, get help), and so on.

He went into the project with the vision of making the interior look like a Nantucket cottage, and he pretty much nailed it. The finished product has a full bed, cabinets and space for outdoor gear like his surfboards, he has a sink and stove, a small “kitchen table,” and even a hammock swing. At one point, it garnered so much attention that it was on Extra TV and had Mario Lopez inside.

If you’re intrigued, check out the full build below: