full view of the mobile homeless shelter

design enthusiast, paul elkins, develops mobile units, and other small scale vehicles. he previously designed the burning man bicycle camper and his latest development is a mobile homeless shelter which he designed as part of a competition asking individuals to meet the demands of the rapidly growing homeless society – a kind of substitute for the grocery cart situation. elkins wanted his design construction to be a simple, light weight, water tight insulated box on wheels, built with an area for displaying and selling handmade wares.

construction of the mobile homeless shelter

the shelter weighs 225 pounds when empty. the roof acts as a rain catcher. when it starts raining, a valve is turned to stop the flow of water to the collection tank to allow debris to be flushed from the roof. after a minute of this cleaning process, the valve can be turned back on and collect free water. when the tankis full, it has an overflow feature which allows excess water to drain to the ground.

the cart being built

still under construction – interior view

the shelter includes a sleeping / resting area, a kitchen and makeshift washroom.

kitchen area

kitchen area

spigot installed over the sink

overview of the kitchen and sitting area

simple storage solutions

a louver adjustment will be installed at the rear of the vehicle by the two vents in case of strong winds

a cooler is built into the kitchen counter, made from a two gallon water dispenser

this area is meant to act as a night stand, with a small storage compartment below

toilet seat storage and bucket. the mid section of the floor is movable which allows for ample room for use of the bucket.

interior view – kitchen transformed into a sitting area

demonstrating how to push the cart

preliminary computer sketch

preliminary computer sketch