This man from Camarines Norte transformed an old and dilapidated tricycle into a camper home in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
36-year-old Benjo Guzman Dimaandal dreamt of a van life since then. When he relocated in the province after he closed several businesses due to the pandemic, he went all in to create a mobile home.
“I’ve failed in so many different ventures. Hindi lang siya nag-zero balance, negative talaga, nabaon sa utang. Wala na talaga kaming bahay. I’ve been stripped away of everything nung pandemic, lahat ng napundar ko. Lowest of my life Sabi ko wala nang mawawala sa ‘kin eh, so might as well take a chance in my dream and the rest is history,” Benjo told The Philippine STAR.
When he saw his mom’s old tricycle parked outside their house, he immediately planned and visualized his dream mobile home.
He spent around P100,000 transforming the tricycle into a small roving home.
“’Yung trike itself basic lang.Meron akong sofa. It can trifold, na pwedeng pang-dalawahan ‘pag kami ni wife ‘yung magkasama. At the very end nandon ‘yung kitchen ko. ‘Yung aking lutuan naman is using butane. I added my water system. ‘Yung loob, ako na rin nag-design. Mostly mga PVC na parang wooded ‘yung kanyang look para aesthetic,” he described his “Magic Trike.”
According to Benjo, nothing beats waking up to the sound of nature during road trips.
“Favorite ko talaga ‘yung paggising mo disoriented ka kung nasaan ka. Andito pala ako paggising mo dagat, bundok, palayan. So very fulfilling in my part na nagagawa ko na ‘yung gusto ko, ‘yung dream ko na van life and road life,” he noted.
As of this writing, Benjo now has more than 47,000 followers on TikTok. The online community was amazed by the places Benjo visited with his camper home.
“Hanep grabe ang utak ng Pinoy! Salute sayo sir ganda solid po!” a netizen commented.
“Travelling house. Goals po!” another netizen said.
After he went viral on social media, several brands approached him to work with him.
“Hindi ko expected na magagawa ko ‘yung ganito dahil nga lang ‘yung situation ko has brought me here. Currently, I’ve been living part-time sa tricycle that I have converted into a home. Because it’s a tricycle, mas maraming eyeballs na nahahatak. I have online business. Kaya I’m able to do this kind of lifestyle,” he said.
“I’m planning to do full-time na sa pagro-road life. My goal naman talaga my aim is to make this as a day job. ‘Yung aking passion for road life and traveling to turn it into a day job,” he added.
Benjo wants to encourage others to never give up on their dreams.
“Iba ‘yung pakiramdam ‘pagka you’ve strived for something na gusto mo. Kasi even if you fail, you did something na gusto mo so hindi siya failure. Kung sinubukan mo, if you took a chance. You’ve given your dream a chance, that’s the only time you can get it,” Benjo stressed.
