A house on wheels. That is the dream of Hoogeven resident Sjoerd Poppema (32) and his lover Marieke Mulder (26). But the duo wants more than a simple camper: they need a full-fledged house for their travel plans. That’s why they bought a former fire truck from the Berlin fire brigade. It just needs to be thoroughly renovated.
Armed with all kinds of tools, Sjoerd works on the vehicle in the cold, while the snow swirls around him. He explains what still needs to be done before the fire truck turns into a real house on wheels. The plan is to place a wooden living box on the car’s trailer.
Why did the duo choose this special project? Marieke works as a tour guide in Scandinavia. There she met carpenter Sjoerd. Together a dream emerged: a traveling tour company. The fire engine turned out to be the perfect basis for this.
Sjoerd enthusiastically points around the wooden living box. “Here comes the bed,” he says, pointing to an upper corner. “And here comes the kitchen,” he continues, pointing to the other side. The box looks compact, but the couple wants to make optimal use of the space. They create different living spaces with vertical planks.
Taking customers on a trip to Lapland, that is the goal of the pair. “But we can’t make it through next winter,” says Marieke. In the meantime, she opens a door of the fire truck. “The firefighters normally sat here. We will soon sit here with our travelers. How cool is that?”
According to Sjoerd, the fire truck, including living box, is safe to travel with. He is more concerned about his own calculations. “These records are extremely expensive. If I made a mistake, it’s a waste of money,” he explains with a smile.
Still, he has confidence in the design. “The walls are six centimeters thick and well insulated.” Marieke looks around with satisfaction. “The fact that we are now standing here in the snow is already beautiful. This is a good baptism of fire.”