A man converted an old ambulance into a sustainable campervan and now travels the US with his dog - saving more than £15,000 ($19,000) a year in rent and bills.<br /><br />James Williamson, 24, paid £7,500 ($9,000) for the 1999 Ford F350 Ambulance in 2019 and hasn't looked back since.<br /><br />The ambulance needed totally refurbishing and James spent £17,000 ($21,000) turning it into a self-sustainable, modern-day camper.<br /><br />It uses 650-watt solar panels to power electrical items, StarLink to connect to the internet and it can fill up on water from lakes.<br /><br />The set-up means James can live self-sustainably and save more than £15k-a-year in rent and bills.<br /><br />James now travels around the western states of the United States with his beloved Hungarian vizsla, Ruger.<br /><br />After running a service business, James quit his job and bought the vehicle with nearly 100,000 miles already on the clock.<br /><br />With money he had saved, he gutted the van of all its ambulance trappings and got to work converting it over the course of six months.<br /><br />He lived on the aluminium floor of the van with Ruger for two months.<br /><br />James, originally from San Diego, California, said: "When I bought it, it was a full-blown ambulance and I converted it. I tore everything out and handcrafted all of this.<br /><br />"It's something I'd always wanted to do."<br /><br />James kitted the van out with a wood stove, oven, fridge/freezer and a 46-gallon sink as well as a TV, and a comfortable living and working space.<br /><br />"I immediately got rid of my apartment and slept in it from day one. I tore everything from the inside, and I took a lot of stuff out of it," he added.<br /><br />Being self-sustainable means that James can set up camp anywhere and has been on long expeditions from California to Colorado and back.<br /><br />And if he needs to, he can use his dirtbike as a "deployable vehicle".<br /><br />James added: "I'm in the desert starting from scratch, working on a new business to support the vision for the long haul - just me, Ruger and the ambulance.<br /><br />"I always wanted to do it, so I listed out the vision of what I wanted for my life.<br /><br />"It's a home on wheels and I didn't want to plug it into anything to make it work."<br /><br />In his free time, James goes surfing, climbing and hiking in the most scenic places across the country and documents his adventures on his social account @jameswilliamsventures.<br /><br />James has lived the van life full time for the last nine months on the road, living off his savings.<br /><br />And James, who lived in the vehicle while converting it for two-and-a-half years, has no plans of returning to the bricks-and-mortar life he left behind.<br /><br />He has dreams of completing a tour of the Pan-American Highway, which spans from the top of Alaska down to Patagonia.<br /><br />He said he'll only live in a regular house when he wants to settle down with a family.
