Southwest Airways Pilot Turns Catering Truck Into Tiny Dwelling

A Southwest Airways pilot purchased a catering truck for $3,300 and spent seven months changing it right into a small cellular house.

Mark Pankey, a former US Air Power pilot from Louisiana, retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2016 after 20 years of service.

He has been a business pilot for Southwest Airways for the previous seven years. He’s skilled with van life, having lived in a van when he first joined the corporate.

“After I first acquired employed on the airline, I purchased somewhat lot of land in a city referred to as Crested Butte in Colorado,” the Southwest Airline pilot informed Insider, including that he needed to create a house like a hangar, purchase an airplane, and fly to work.

Throughout that point, he lived in an house close to his lot and traveled to Denver and Los Angeles airports for flights.

He determined to purchase and renovate a van to save lots of on resort prices, which had been round $800 a month.

He parked his van at airport heaps and slept in it whereas working, which he did for a number of years.

When the pandemic prompted the aviation business to halt, Mark thought of it a chance to rethink his way of life and ambitions.

Throughout that interval, pilots had been required to take unpaid go away, prompting Mark to delay his house-building plans.

“If COVID-19 can shut down the world, perhaps it’s not a good suggestion to enter debt proper now and construct an enormous outdated home,” Mark stated.

He loved renovating his van and determined to do it once more with a bigger undertaking in thoughts.

He noticed field vans at work and thought residing in or changing one can be cool.

Later, when he shared this concept with a fellow pilot, they knowledgeable him about an public sale of such vans in Seattle.

Mark bought a Southwest Airways catering truck for $3,300 at an public sale, confirmed by Insider by means of on-line information.

The truck encompasses a scissor raise that raises the cargo space to airplane degree, facilitating the loading of meals and drinks onto the plane.

“It really spent numerous time in Las Vegas, after which they moved it as much as Seattle,” he stated. “It’s about 20 years outdated.”

The truck, initially primarily based in Las Vegas and now in Seattle, is roughly 20 years outdated and arrived almost empty, requiring Mark to filter out some cabinets earlier than starting his renovation undertaking.

The Southwest Airline pilot began by redesigning the truck’s flat roof right into a sloped one utilizing welded metallic beams.

He prolonged one aspect of the roof by two toes to create extra peak and area. His aim was to gather rainwater on one aspect of the roof.

Mark talked about {that a} sloped roof would naturally angle any photo voltaic panels he put in towards the solar.

He additionally noticed that the unique fiberglass roof of the truck was fairly skinny and felt flimsy.

Mark spent per week insulating the truck’s inside with spray foam, discovering nice aid when he completed.

The insulation saved the within heat and considerably decreased noise, he famous.

The Southwest Airline pilot defined that it was so quiet inside that outdoors noise couldn’t be heard even when utilizing energy instruments.

The pilot constructed his tiny house outdoors his Colorado house complicated, dealing with every little thing from flooring to cupboards.

Whereas some neighbors had preliminary issues in regards to the undertaking’s location, Mark stated most had been supportive and visited day by day to cheer him on.

He loved exhibiting them inside the house once they expressed curiosity.

Mark reworked the truck’s white exterior to gray, harking back to the fighter planes he piloted within the Air Power.

He embellished it with painted rivets to imitate an airplane’s look. He spray-painted a hen motif on the hood, impressed by a automobile from the 1977 movie “Smokey and the Bandit.”

The Southwest Airline pilot began renovating his truck in April 2020 and accomplished it by November, naming it “SnakPak.”

He estimates the full value, together with the truck buy, to be between $30,000 and $35,000.

The truck nonetheless options its unique airline catering banner with the slogan “The snacks are on me.”

Marked hoped to maintain the truck’s banner, and his pals thought it suited him properly as a Southwest Airline pilot.

Though he needed to take away the corporate’s title and emblem, he was allowed to maintain the banner.

The scissor raise on the truck nonetheless works and might attain 17 toes, although Mark not often raises it that prime. He often lifts it about 5 or 6 toes to degree it with the entrance deck for simpler entry.

Elevating it offers nice views however requires warning to keep away from stepping off the sting. To remind himself, Mark hangs an orange lanyard flag that claims, “Take away earlier than flight.”

The truck’s field part is 14 toes lengthy, with the loft and storage cupboards at one finish and the kitchen countertop within the center.

Mark sleeps within the loft, which inserts a queen-sized mattress. He makes use of a foldable, telescoping ladder to achieve the loft however needs he had constructed a hard and fast ladder as an alternative.

The opposite finish of the truck’s field accommodates the composting bathroom and bathe cubicle.

Mark selected a tempered glass corner-style bathe for sturdiness, which has held up properly throughout journey.

To safe his objects on the street, he makes use of wires and magnets, gluing magnets to kitchenware and utilizing heavy-duty cords to maintain bigger objects like jars and containers in place.

Mark reworked the outside deck with synthetic turf to create a yard really feel. It features a small desk for meals and area for his grill and range.

In the back of the truck, there’s an outside showerhead and a small platform.

Ornamental logs from a timber mill Mark visited cowl the truck’s again.

He powers the truck with photo voltaic panels on the roof and makes use of a water tank that may be full of rainwater or at truck stops.

Mark collects rainwater when potential or fills a water bladder if it doesn’t rain.

The truck has a plug for connecting to utilities at campgrounds or RV parks.

Mark embellished the edges of his plane catering truck with outdated downhill skis and snowboards minimize to suit across the home windows.

He has lived full-time within the transformed truck for over two years, having bought his house and land in Colorado throughout this era.

Mark makes use of his Toyota Tacoma pickup, towed by the plane catering truck, to run city errands.

Reflecting on his expertise, Mark discovered transitioning to a tiny house residing comparatively easy, having lived in a van beforehand.

Mark famous that transferring from the cramped van to the spacious truck was a big change.

He acknowledged the potential stress of such a way of life shift, mentioning that leaving a standard house for a full-time cellular residing could be anxiety-inducing.

Nonetheless, he reassured himself that he was prepared for the problem, embracing the journey enthusiastically and decided to make it work.

Mark advises potential way of life changers to evaluate what suits their way of life and capabilities.

He suggests contemplating whether or not full-time residing is the aim, whether or not a van or a bigger automobile is preferable, and whether or not a bigger automobile will function the first mode of transportation.

Mark highlights that smaller RVs with no separate automobile for errands danger shedding their campsite when they should go away for provides.

Mark means that these contemplating related initiatives ought to consider their constructing abilities.

He advises eager about whether or not you possibly can repair issues your self or when you’ll want to rent somebody.

Having constructed his personal truck, Mark understands its format properly and might deal with points as they come up.

“That’s the massive distinction between shopping for any person else’s creation and constructing your individual,” Mark stated.

Right here’s a video of the “SnakPak,” a tiny house made out of an airplane catering truck constructed by Mark Pankey, a Southwest Airline pilot: