A New Zealand couple needed a home upon returning home after living in the UK , so they built one on the back of an old flatbed truck . Hannah and Alex purchased a 1986 Hino flatbed and undertook their year and a half labor of love . The result was a solar-powered two-bedroom , wood and steel home that now allows them to live almost self-sufficiently in Nelson , New Zealand . How a truck becomes a home : A New Zealand couple built this country home on the bed of a flatbed truck . Making do : Alex ( left ) and Hannah ( right ) wanted a home that was cozy and all their own , but could n't afford to buy a full-sized lot . 'We came back to New Zealand from the UK in 2009 , ' Alex told Smoking Tire . 'We knew we could n't afford to buy property at that point . We did n't have money . ' So , the couple started building . After a year and a half of taking the project one step at a time , the project took shape . Though , to hear Hannah tell it , they just slapped up the place in a weekend . ' [ We ] welded a frame , put the wood on and built this house , ' the modest Kiwi told Smoking Tire's Matt Farah . Once they finished , the couple drove their truck home out to a lot they 'd purchased in Nelson , New Zealand . Now the couple and their cat live surrounded by nature : aromatic cypress wood inside the home and majestic trees and a babbling brook outside their door . Ingenuity : The couple started with a steel frame and slowly , project by project , built a home in about a year and a half . Gorgeous : Hannah and Alex now have a gorgeous , wood-lined home in a lot surrounded by trees and a babbling brook . Details : The couple has a wood-fired stove to keep out the cold , stained glass windows and other creature comforts . They 're nearly self-sufficient , too . The home is powered mostly by solar panels . Alex said their first power bill was just $ 25 . The stove and hot water are gas-powered and water comes from a nearby spring . ' I did n't want to live inside a plastic box , ' Alex said . 'Not because I 'm a hippie but because it feels nicer and is just a nicer place to be . ' All told , the project cost Hannah and Alex about $ 25,000 . And the couple even plans to build another one like one day . 'It 's really , really nice , ' Hannah said . 'We love it . ' Two bedrooms : The home has a bedroom for the couple as well as a loft that doubles as a spare room where the cat sleeps . Green : Water comes from a nearby spring and most of the electricity comes from solar panels .
Hannah and Alex needed a place to live after they moved back to New Zealand from the UK in 2009 . The couple had been living on their own for about two years when they decided it was time to get married. They then purchased a secluded piece of property and drove their nearly self-sufficient $ 25,000 home there .