Man turns old ambulance into luxury tiny home for £7k

A man has given an old ambulance a new lease of life after completely transforming it into an amazing mobile home.

Mark Bonito, from Chertsey, Surrey, loves ‘van life’ and he previously had a Volkswagen T4, which he turned into a camper.

But last year, he wanted a new project and he came across an ambulance at a local auction.

He bought the emergency vehicle at auction for £5,000 and spent another £2,000 refurbishing it.

Web developer Mark said: ‘We’ve been to Dorset for the amazing panoramic views of the sea, with a 4am alarm to sit and watch the sunrise with a cup of tea.

‘We’ve had a few forest adventures, some riverside stays and last weekend we stayed with the children in the South Down’s National Park, which is a dark sky reserve with an amazing view of the stars.’

The ambulance was still filled with unwanted equipment when it arrived.

Then Mark and partner Sophie Why, 35, started the task of transforming it into somewhere they could live comfortably.

Mark wanted to use reclaimed items so he went to car boot sales, charity shops and garage clear outs.

For example, they bought a bunk bed and turned it into a double bed frame with a bench that pulls out to form a second bed.

The kitchenette was rescued from a skip and they used the original ambulance cabinet as a sink.

On the outside, Mark redecorated so that it still kept some of its character but he had to remove the blue lights and ensure it wouldn’t be mistaken from a real ambulance.

Mark said: ‘We love the fact we have a reuse theme with all our reclaimed and upcycled items. Each item bares a memory of where we got it from.

‘When we’ve been travelling to these places and there has been heavy traffic, we always say how handy it would be to still have the blue lights.

‘We often get a second glance from other road users too!’

The work took them two months, but just before they set off, they realised that the vehicle was heavier than the limit they had on their licence.

Mark spent months working to pass the test to be able to drive the van and now they are finally on the road in the van they’ve named Florence after Florence Nightingale.

Their first trip will be to explore the Arctic together but are currently enjoying lots of trips around the UK.

Sophie, who works as a radiographer, said: ‘Mark is always the first to admit that some research should have been carried out, as owning an ambulance does come with its complications.”

‘He likes things a little on the quirky side and liked the idea of buying a van that was complete with a good standard of servicing, and fully equipped with gadgets galore!”

‘Rescuing a service vehicle that had done a heroic job from being scrapped seemed the right thing to do.’

Mark added: ‘The van has also been great for our relationship. We both have families from previous relationships, so it is great being able to have time alone together in the van but be able to get back quickly to our kids if we need to.”