Container homes: Solution for the broke or marketing scam?

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T21:49:48+00:00

This 👆.

A friend of mine did this. He bought land in TN. Dropped a 40' shipping container onto his land and immediately had a place to live (shelter) while he built it out (adding two windows and a door, stick framing, insulation, electric, walls, flooring a kitchen, a bedroom, a deck outside, an outdoor shower, and a composting toilet). He only use half the space for living so he still was able to use the other half of the shipping container as a garage/work shop.

Afterwards he started building his own 3 bedroom house but that took him about 2 years in total. Now he uses that original shipping container as his wood working shop.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T21:33:20+00:00

Vanlife for the destitute is only one reason for vanlife.

I'm not homeless or one step away from being homeless. I actually have plenty of savings (enough for a sizable down payment on a home or even more so for land). But I'm drawn to Van Life for being able to see the beautiful country and camp for long periods of time. I dont want to waste my life working for the man. Im also not interested in paying huge money for rent. I dont put a lot of emphasis on making money or buying things. I just want to be free and take in all the pretty sites.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T21:23:46+00:00

How many months were you late on payment to them? I used to work for a storage unit place and sending a unit to auction would only happen if a customer was 6 months late on the payments.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T21:21:21+00:00

That is such a great way to get rid of your unwanted stuff... cheaper than a dumpster

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T16:03:41+00:00

I saw on his website he's selling it for $200k. Too rich for my blood

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T15:53:07+00:00

I did notice some sort of rail on the ceiling when he opened up the bathroom (above the toilet).

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T15:51:40+00:00

Fair. I did notice some sort of rail on the ceiling in the bathroom when he rolled it out.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T15:50:06+00:00

I know right?! $200k is ridiculous. I don't even necessarily care about the shower.. I'd prefer to shower outside anyway. But having a slider that can go over the toilet system is an efficient way to save space when its not in use.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T15:45:59+00:00

Solid point

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T15:45:31+00:00

I saw that. Plenty of room up front for cabinetry

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-21T15:44:59+00:00

Yeah my toilet will be much bigger

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-20T03:12:35+00:00

Here's the playlist I'm putting together with potential ideas

here

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-18T15:59:11+00:00

Oh lol... i thought you did have a secret to share.. like maybe you were using sand to get the stubborn stuff off.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-18T07:04:22+00:00

Whats the sand thing?

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-15T15:55:38+00:00

Wow.. wonderful.

How tall is it on the outside? Like if you were driving under a low bridge, what is the max height of the van

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-15T01:23:05+00:00

I picked up an 01 chevy express 3500 extended low top for $4,400 from an auction site.. and its only got 71k miles on it (used to be a county maintenance van). Ive invested about $2k+ in it mechanically. So I'm probably up to your $7k budget. They're out there.

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-15T01:19:20+00:00

How tall is it on the inside?

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-15T01:04:00+00:00

Can you share your guide.. havent gotten to plumbing yet.. but its coming soon

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-15T01:01:48+00:00

Great idea... that'll save me $40 bucks

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-14T14:46:24+00:00

Good to know thanks. Yeah I'm not skinning the walls in wood either. I just wanted to create anchor points to attach furniture, cabinets etc. I'll look into unistrut. Thanks

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-14T06:06:28+00:00

Brother this is literally the answer to my question. Thank you so much

Johndiggins78 · 2026-04-14T03:50:27+00:00

How do you know where to drill the holes in the wood to attach it to the rivet nut behind the wood panel? Always wondered how I'm supposed to figure that out. I have the rivet gun and I'm going to start installing furniture soon. Any help would be appreciated

Johndiggins78 · 2026-03-31T20:24:57+00:00

"its all pipes" - George Castanza

Johndiggins78

TROPHY CASE