The idea for this box truck modification started with a common goal. Derek “Deek” Diedrickson, an experienced builder and designer, collaborated with Alex Eaves, a passionate reuse advocate, to construct something more than just a place to live. Their goal was to create a mobile education center that highlighted the potential of reuse. “The goal of this project wasn’t just to build, you know, a tiny house for myself, it was to build a reuse education center,” Alex told me.

“I wanted people to come into the truck and see how I live, how I work, how I sleep, how I create, all with reuse and minimizing waste in mind.” Both men have significant experience working with salvaged materials. Deek, who describes himself as “building, cobbling, salvaging, messing with tree houses, tiny houses, for shelters for longer than I care to admit,” grew up scavenging construction sites and constructing forts out of scrap materials.

Alex, too, has been a lifetime enthusiast for reuse, having built his first skateboard ramp out of an old door and a railroad tie. Their partnership began in 2015, when Alex launched his documentary Reuse Because You Can’t Recycle the Planet. Following a screening trip, he sought a more engaging approach to promote his reuse lifestyle.

A simple coffee meeting with Deek spurred the notion to turn a box truck into a house. “We met over coffee, talked about a tiny house idea, and the box truck idea was born,” Deek told me. Building the repurposed little house from waste materials This repurposed tiny home is built on a commitment to reuse things that others may consider garbage.

“This is, like, the roughest way to phrase it, the house is built out of garbage,” Deek told me. Watch the video below to take a tour of Deek and Alex’s upcycled tiny home.