A Five-Year Semitrailer Home, Built for About US$180,000

A library, a spiral staircase and a jetted tub aren't the first things you'd expect inside a semitrailer. Clayton and Teresa's Nomad Monster put all three into a home built for life on the road.

In a 2023 Insider interview, Clayton Balabanov described roughly five years of work and an estimated C$250,000 cost, reported then as about US$180,000. The figure was his rough estimate, not a final total from every receipt. The project began because the couple couldn't find a manufactured RV that suited them.

An Older Truck Came First

Balabanov wanted something that could handle year-round living rather than occasional holidays. He bought an older truck and spent about a year rebuilding its mechanical parts, including the brakes and engine, according to his account.

A used trailer bought on eBay gave him room to build the home itself. The truck and trailer were parts of the same larger project: the year spent on the vehicle wasn't the full five-year conversion described in the interview.

Plans Changed as the Build Grew

Balabanov used a whiteboard to work through the layout, changing it as construction progressed. He said he did most of the work himself, down to sewing the curtains. Teresa sourced materials, a job he described as particularly difficult during the early pandemic.

The intended home was meant to replace their house on Vancouver Island, not simply provide a bed for a short trip. That helped explain the number of domestic spaces the couple tried to fit inside the trailer.

A Staircase Between Two Floors

The spiral staircase connects the levels without taking the space of a conventional straight flight. Upstairs, the reading area gives Teresa somewhere to sit with her books. A kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, office and garage also fit into the conversion.

MotorTrend's 2023 feature showed the two-storey layout, a balcony and the jetted tub. The result looks more like rooms fitted into a trailer than a row of camping essentials. The tub sits in a sunken part of the bathroom, rather than a separate outdoor spa.

Five Years Included Some Trade-Offs

Balabanov told Insider he enjoyed building it, while also questioning how much travelling time the work had consumed. A smaller, less ambitious vehicle could have put them on the road earlier.

The finished home didn't end the maintenance. The couple documented problems on an early trip, including a burst radiator hose, while the interview also described leaks and electrical issues. Solar panels and water reuse were among the features they wanted for the home, alongside the comfort of rooms built around their own routines.