Man sells belongings and converts lorry into 'bougie apartment' to drive to Australia with his dog
31.07.2023 - 13:33
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man is selling everything he owns to drive from the UK to Australia with his dog in a "bougie apartment on wheels" after breaking up with his fiancée. Bobby Bolton, from Wigan, is embarking on the 10,000 mile journey in a refurbished lorry which he plans on spending £40,000 to kit it out with a king size bed and solar panels.
The 31-year old has handed over his company RNB Construction to his business partner and selling almost everything he owns, from the caravan he lives in to his bicycle in order to pay for his “new home”, where he'll live with his beloved seven-year-old fox red Labrador, Red. Bobby plans to leave Wigan in late September, and aims to arrive in Australia around the same time next year.
His former 4×4 water bowser MAN truck into a “bougie apartment on wheels” will be equipped with a king size bed, air conditioning, full-size bathroom, solar panels, slide-out barbecue and standing fridge/freezer.
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“The benefit of a truck over a van is its weight/load capacity is far greater,” he said. “So my old Mercedes Sprinter was 3.5 tonne, whereas this is 18 tonnes, which means I can take 460 litres of fresh water with me and 250 litres of waste water, and it means I’ve got enough solar capacity to run indefinitely. The idea is, I can last about four months completely off-grid.”
“To buy a new or second hand truck, they are anywhere north of £90,000, but I’m trying to do mine, all-in, for less than £40,000,” he said.
The diesel truck, which does around 10 miles to the gallon, has been kitted with a 650-litre fuel tank, meaning it can run for more than 1,000 miles before Bobby will have to find a petrol station. “This