I was fed up living as a poor man so put my home on wheels & went off-grid – now I have no bills & couldn’t be happier

A MAN who said he was fed up living as a poor man says he couldn't be happier after putting his home on wheels and going off-grid.

Van dweller Chappy has not looked back since choosing the alternative lifestyle and beds down ins his small van every night.

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Affectionately naming his mobile home 'Chapvanistan' he told YouTube channel Liveration exactly how his journey started.

Chappy, 32, said it started with a holiday but his van soon became his full time home.

He said: "Before van life I was depressed in every sense of the word.

"I had a mortgage, full time job and career prospects but I found an average life to be unbearably grey."

It was then Chappy bought a van and took it to Paris and back, realising that going back to a normal life was never going to happen.

The van lifer said it was escape from constant bills and helped him gain "financial freedom and time freedom".

Chappy used to work at motor dealerships until recently when he decided to commit to the alternative lifestyle full time.

While he was working there he spotted a 2009 Peugeot Boxer van for sale and could not resist snapping it up for a decent price.

He said: "It allows a lot more freedom in my life. I don't need to look about how much I'm getting paid, the bottom line on the paycheck everyday.

"Chapvanistan is a little part of the planet where it's my rules and there's not a man in a tie telling me what to do and when to do it.

"It seemed like I was paying out money, hand over first for quite a poor man's lifestyle."

Chappy says that he can't quite stand up in the van but he doesn't mind.

There is also a solar panel roof which can be used to charge devices such as his laptop.

The humble van largely looks completely normal from the outside unless you look closely.

But inside it boasts a full-size double bed and lots of storage space with shelves and a section under the bed.

He also has a toilet installed inside the van and a handy cooker.

Chappy fuels it using a gas tank which can also be used to have a heated shower at the back.

There is also a diesel heater hidden under the kitchen area.

And Chappy claims to have had a party of nine at his van at one point when playing music.

Viewers were quick to take to the comments to weigh in with their opinions on Chappy's lifestyle.

Many were positive and praised him for his bold life choices.

One said: "It was chappy that inspired me to build a van, he's such a gent and a legend."

A second commented: "What a lovely man. Good musician as well! And his home is very cosy & cheerful!"

Another wrote: "I met Chappy in Scotland on the Isle of Skye before I had moved into my van and was giving it a go full time. He was so nice and welcoming, great guy."

Meanwhile a fourth said: "Great video, this man has got it right, life is for living!"

MOBILE DWELLERS

It comes after a full-time van lifer revealed how they travel 500 miles a month for just £200.

Coren lives in a converted Ford Transit, which she has dubbed "Fifi" and transformed into a cosy mobile home.

To take Fifi up and down the country only costs a couple of hundred pounds a month.

Coren pays absolutely nothing in rent, energy bills or council tax.

They are not the only person to switch to a van lifestyle with Liam and his wife jumping between campsites in their converted campervan.

The pair run YouTube channel @ThoseHappyDays in which they document their travels in the Citroen Relay Luton, which cost £15,000.

Elsewhere, a full-time van lifer has revealed a great hack that transformed her tiny home and made her life easy.

Van dweller Beth Johnstone claimed she might have found the best van life trick that just requires a £10 Ikea tool.