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Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper (The Wayward Truck Book 1) Kindle Edition
A Vintage Truck: An Amateur Team: An Immovable Deadline
The Comic Memoir of a Crazy Idea
Finalist: Page Turner Awards 2024, Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2024
Awarded a Readers' Favorite 5* Seal
In this captivating true story, join an intrepid married couple as they take another wild leap into the world of nomadic living.
Four years previously, Jackie and Mark gave up work to embark on a permanent road trip with four dogs. However, one Friday the 13th, forces beyond their control cause them to throw caution to the wind and buy a 30-year-old army truck sight unseen from the internet.
Their goal: to create an expedition truck fit to drive overland to Mongolia.
Follow them as they dive headfirst into the daunting but thrilling task of converting this rugged vehicle into a perfect off-grid tiny house on wheels.
Yet their first ever DIY van conversion proves to be a rollercoaster ride, when they sell their house to fund the build, and Friday the 13th comes back to haunt them.
Is their confidence that, ‘there’s always a solution,’ misplaced?
With their relationship, sanity, and finances on the line, can they navigate the pitfalls of their first-ever build and avoid becoming homeless?
Filled with quirky van life friends and unexpected twists, this is an inspiring tale of perseverance, friendship, and finding the courage to conquer the challenges that face those who dare to chase their dreams.
* The Beast made a guest appearance on Ben Fogle’s New Lives In The Wild
ARC Reviews:
Readers' Favorite 5*:
"Although hilarious at times, their patience was stretched to the limit." https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/building-the-beast
“An honest and often funny account of the realities of when people actually begin to live their dream.” Anna Rashbrook, Author
“A page-turner!…You never know what will happen next!” Carrie Riseley, Author
“The trials and tribulations of building a home on six wheels, told with laughter and insight… a must read – even if it’s just to stop you making the same mistakes!” Maximilian Sam, Award-Winning Author
“This book is a fantastic look at designing a unique project and going for it with humor and perseverance. If one is tired of another ‘chucking it all and renovating an old house’ story, this is a quixotic twist that will keep you entertained.” Kari Iverson Lane
“Hugely inspirational, because I think many would have just given up trying, with all the things they had to put in place to get their dream of owning and converting The Beast off the ground. What a story – and a fabulously entertaining book/read.” Julie Haigh, Goodreads Librarian and Top 1,000 Amazon reviewer.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateApril 26, 2024
- File size1.2 MB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Readers' Favorite 5*:
"Although hilarious at times, their patience was stretche to the limit." https: //readersfavorite.com/book-review/building-the-beast
"An honest and often funny account of the realities of when people actually begin to live their dream." Anna Rashbrook, Author
"A page-turner!...You never know what will happen next!" Carrie Riseley, Author
"The trials and tribulations of building a home on six wheels, told with laughter and insight... a must read - even if it's just to stop you making the same mistakes!" Maximilian Sam, Award-Winning Author
"This book is a fantastic look at designing a unique project and going for it with humor and perseverance. If one is tired of another 'chucking it all and renovating an old house' story, this is a quixotic twist that will keep you entertained." Kari Iverson Lane
"Hugely inspirational, because I think many would have just given up trying, with all the things they had to put in place to get their dream of owning and converting The Beast off the ground. What a story - and a fabulously entertaining book/read." Julie Haigh, Goodreads Librarian and Top 1,000 Amazon reviewer.
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B0CZJWR6C4
- Publisher : World Wide Walkies
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : April 26, 2024
- Language : English
- File size : 1.2 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 243 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1739622220
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Book 1 of 1 : The Wayward Truck
- Best Sellers Rank: #821,682 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #778 in Humor Essays (Kindle Store)
- #1,133 in Travel Writing
- #1,381 in Humor Essays (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jacqueline (Jackie) Lambert is an award-winning travel writer, adventure traveller, and dogmother, who loves history and curious facts.
B.C. (Before Canines) she hurtled, slid, submerged and threw herself off bits of every continent except Antarctica. Even though she was single at the time, she asked for – and was granted – 'maternity leave' to backpack around Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.
A.D. (After Dog), with husband Mark, she gave up work to become an Adventure Caravanner. With The Fab Four, their four pups in tow, their stated aim is: To Boldly Go Where No Van Has Gone Before.
Jackie has published six light-hearted memoirs about her travels since quitting work: Fur Babies in France, Dog on the Rhine, Dogs ‘n’ Dracula, It Never Rains But It Paws, To Hel In A Hound Cart, and Pups on Piste.
Her forthcoming books will chronicle her Brexit-busting plan to convert a 24.5-tonne army truck and drive to Mongolia.
A keen off piste skier and windsurfer, Jackie is the wordsmith behind her own travel blog, www.WorldWideWalkies.com. She has contributed to several anthologies, and also writes articles and posts for publications such as Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Newsletter and Dog Friendly Magazine.
Photographs of the Author;
With Kai, her Cavapoo boy
Powder skiing
Windsurfing (photo courtesy of Karen Bornhoft Photography)
Earning some 'serious down time' in Rapid no 18 'Oblivion' on the Zambezi
The Fab Four Cavapoos; Lani, Kai, Rosie and Ruby at Corvinilor Castle, Transylvania, Romania
Blade, The Vampire Slayer
Big Blue and Caravan Kismet crossing the Carpathians on the Transfagarasan
With Princess Ruby
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book entertaining, with one mentioning it's an escapade in itself. Moreover, the book is filled with humor, making it enjoyable to read.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book enjoyable, with one describing it as an escapist adventure and another noting its fascinating places.
"...It is filled with humor and great tips for a simple yet exciting lifestyle. Be prepared for some fascinating adventures!..." Read more
"A good book to read and thank God that “It’s not happening to me.”..." Read more
"...They were fun reads filled with fascinating places, people, and dogs that they encountered on their way...." Read more
"Loved the way the memoir is put together. It's an easy, pleasant and funny read despite what I can only imagine as very stressful and frustrating..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's humor.
"...It is filled with humor and great tips for a simple yet exciting lifestyle. Be prepared for some fascinating adventures!..." Read more
"...With every turn of the page, this book will have you laughing, crying, and nervously biting your nails as you become fully immersed in the couple’s..." Read more
"Loved the way the memoir is put together. It's an easy, pleasant and funny read despite what I can only imagine as very stressful and frustrating..." Read more
"...a self sustaining camper, they keep their sense of purpose, their sense of humor, and their marriage intact...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2024Format: KindleVerified PurchaseBuilding the Beast is a modern-day wish book. Who would not love to be courageous enough to leave their job, creative enough to build their own vehicle, and travel around the world? I especially like that four happy dogs are part of this journey.
As someone who loves to travel, get familiar with different places, and meet new people, I truly appreciate this read. It is filled with humor and great tips for a simple yet exciting lifestyle. Be prepared for some fascinating adventures!
I highly recommend this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024Format: KindleVerified PurchaseA good book to read and thank God that “It’s not happening to me.” I’ve had issue with my campervan conversion but it is nothing compared to the conversion troubles of the Beast. Throw COVID on top and this is a perfect recipe for disaster. But somehow the Beast was completed and travel ready. There are some great tips here for conversions and for living in a small space with dogs.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2024Format: KindleVerified PurchaseThe media could not be loaded.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2024Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reading copy of this book. The following review is my own opinion and free of any bias.
Jackie Lambert and husband AND their four dogs have travelled all over Europe pulling their caravan behind. The adventures they had were described in her Adventure Caravanning with Dogs series. They were fun reads filled with fascinating places, people, and dogs that they encountered on their way.
This book is in a new series called The Wayward Truck Series and is the story of the build of a new vehicle—the Beast—to carry on their travels with a vehicle large enough to carry them, the dogs, their standing paddle boards, and other sporting equipment with plans to travel to Mongolia and stay self-sufficiently along the way. Usually methodical in the way they plan for their travel, they leave the conversion of the former army vehicle to camper truck to a very creative someone who assures them it will be done in time and on budget while they spend time in Italy locked in during the pandemic. What could go wrong? Most anything!
I wondered if I would enjoy such a book with a truck conversion at its center, but I not only enjoyed it, I loved it. The stories of the dilemmas they face when deadlines aren’t met, when creative people come up with outlandish ideas (that often worked against all odds), and when even picking the truck up from its original “home” is an escapade in itself were so much fun. If you enjoy books about fresh starts then this is one for you—and read her other series of dog/travel books also. So many laughs!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2025Format: KindleVerified PurchaseLoved the way the memoir is put together. It's an easy, pleasant and funny read despite what I can only imagine as very stressful and frustrating circumstances
- Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024Format: KindleJacqueline Lambert and her husband, Mark, are no strangers to living on the road, caravanning across the world with their dogs. So when they feel a bout of wanderlust setting in, what better idea than to build a mini-home out of a military truck and drive to Mongolia.
This book chronicles the inspiration, the design details, and the challenges of international travel in light of Brexit. On top of that, add the onset of covid-19, closed borders, and stalled supply chains. And to make matters even more complicated, add the complex interpersonal negotiations with friends enlisted and hired to help with the build. Deadlines? Yeah, right.
So part of this book is focused on technical details that DIYers, retrofitters, and caravanners will find interesting and helpful. At times, the information was over my head, and it definitely convinced me not to touch a project like this with a 10-foot pole.
What I enjoyed most about the book was the people involved in the project, many of them unconventional and quirky, creative, and unreliable. There’s a lot of humor, grace, and flexibility, as well as unmet expectations and heated faces. Jacqueline is the main narrator, but some of the participants in the build share their experiences, including Mark.
The pace moved along well and the writing is well-edited. Recommended to readers with an interest in mini-homes, caravanning, retrofitting travel vehicles, and to readers looking for an unusual story.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024Format: KindleVerified PurchaseIn search of the next adventure, Jackie and Mark decide to buy a truck. A very, very big truck. A decommissioned Volvo that had belonged to the Belgium army. During Covid. Post Brexit. “There’s Always a Solution” is their mantra, and in spite of not always being in tune with the tradespeople helping with the conversion to create a self sustaining camper, they keep their sense of purpose, their sense of humor, and their marriage intact. They have 4 dogs, are keen skiers, paddle boarders, and cyclists and it was fun to read about their accomplishments from the comfort of my own couch.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2025Format: KindleBuilding the Beast is a laugh out loud riot from beginning to end. Buying a decommissioned army vehicle without seeing it first, hiring a free spirited contractor and no real plan to convert it into a home on wheels, what could go wrong? With her typical good humor, the author paints a vivid picture of the process, the characters and what not to do should you be tempted into your own conversion project.
Can't wait for the sequel.
Top reviews from other countries
- DGKayeReviewed in Canada on June 30, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging read of determination
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseThis book is an incredible read. It may be called Building The Beast, but this is so much more than the build, and so far away from a ‘how-to’ manual. This is a memoir about the author and her husband and their big dream to build a roadworthy mobile home to travel and live in. It is wonderfully written with rich descriptions about their retirement dream and every single obstacle they encountered from searching for the right vehicle to the many trials and tribulations they faced on the way to the build. They found a thirty-year-old decommissioned Volvo in Rotterdam, which once belonged to the Belgian army. Mark had to travel to Rotterdam to purchase it, and the nasty journey back to the U.K. with it, and of course – Covid setting in, in a most untimely fashion as well as a blizzard, to disrupt all deadlines. The fact that this author can write with such humor about situations that were far from humorous adds to the intrigue and fun of reading the book.
The author details their initial research to find the ‘Beast’ and much more research to learn how to convert the vehicle to adapt to their lifestyle, as well as finding someone who could do the converting task. Details of what is required to build the beast, along with the many characters who helped to put the vehicle together are stories in themselves. With so many delays and interruptions, crises, pandemic, deadlines, right down to the quick of becoming homeless, these two travelers invite us into their world of chaos that will keep us turning the pages and rooting for them all the way.
We’ll also learn some interesting facts from some of the aside chapters where the author states her opinions on her extenuating circumstances, such as: Brexit, another problem that landed in the middle of the build, calling it ‘The Death Knell’ for many Brits’ retirement plans. There is also a wonderful chapter devoted to the economics of the beast, climate change, the flack they took from some for driving such a big machine, a lesson on the evolution of batteries and so much more!
What a great read this book was! It was inspiring to read about the chutzpah and tireless ambition this couple experienced despite the ongoing missed deadlines, agonizing situations, a pandemic, and weathering storms, all for the price of getting out of Dodge and going after their dreams – all of course, with their four dogs.
- Peter BarberReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars A Hilarious, Heartfelt Ride on Four Wheels (and a Dream)
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseBuilding The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper is everything you didn’t know you needed in a travel memoir with added grit, grease, and an army truck named The Beast.
Jackie Lambert’s writing is witty, warm, and wonderfully human. You don’t have to know a cam belt from a carburettor to enjoy this book. It's not a technical manual, it's the story of big dreams, bigger disasters, and a couple (plus four dogs!) who simply refused to give up.
From ordering a decommissioned military truck sight unseen, to navigating through Brexit, COVID, dodgy builders, and the black hole that is the DVLA, Jackie’s storytelling makes you laugh, cheer, and wince in sympathy. The book is incredibly well written and readable, and her pragmatic but playful tone brings the whole chaotic adventure to life.
What makes this book shine isn’t just the madcap escapades or endless roadblocks. It’s the quiet determination, the undeniable bond between Jackie and Mark, and their shared love of the open road. Whether you’re an armchair traveller, a would-be overlander, or just someone who appreciates a great story, Building The Beast is a fantastic reminder that the journey is often far more interesting than the destination.
Highly recommended. Five stars from me.
- ChrisReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2024
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseLike countless others I daydream about heading off for far-distant lands in a vehicle but realise, deep down, that it probably won't happen. If it does it's years down the line after children have left home and university fees & mortgage have been paid; in the meantime reading about someone else doing it is an enjoyable pastime. I found this book well written, well-paced, amusing and very useful for pointing out all the things to take into account with an overland vehicle & trip - learning from someone else's mistakes is always useful. A couple of minor criticisms - there's a mix of imperial and metric measurements with some things measured as one or the other and some both - the latter either way round; it a bit clunky to wade through umpteen brackets and imperial measurements for each thing.
We're told pronouncing bath and path as barth and parth is faux-posh; using the same logic is saying baff and paff faux-common?!
- Julie HaighReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it, it was fabulous.
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseAfter 'Adventure Caravanning' with their dogs for a few years with caravan Kismet and their panel van Blue, Jackie and Mark started searching online for a 4x4 expedition vehicle. They needed something to travel in, live in, and to keep all their sports equipment, and belongings in. The aim was to go to Mongolia, negotiate the Pamir Highway, and the Gobi Desert.
This was a great book, so easy to read, and I really enjoyed it. Short chapters, yet so much is said, I love how this moves along. Her books are fun, witty, and always have great word choices, and interesting facts and figures. It's good that there's a bit of background at the opening e.g. as a memory-jogger for those who've read her other books, or to fill you in if you've not yet read any, and are coming to this book first.
I've read all her previous books (except Dogs 'n' Dracula-not read that one yet), and loved them. I've heard and seen about The Beast via her blog and interviews, I really wanted to read this book. But I did wonder if it’d be too technical for me.... did I have to know about car and van parts etc.? (I don't); would I get bogged down in all that? Not a bit of it!
What an inspirational couple. They've already travelled extensively and achieved so much with Kismet and Big Blue. Now they have a bigger plan. Everything that could go wrong did. There were lots of hurdles; many spanners in the works. A great story with all the mishaps along the way - which make better reading than everything going smoothly! All very interesting and fun to read.
It's hugely inspirational-because I think many would have just given up trying, with all the things they had to put in place to get their dream of owning and converting The Beast off the ground. What a story-and a fabulously entertaining read.
As I was reading, I seemed to be saying blimey and crikey a lot. Anything that could happen, it happened to them. Any hurdle, they would face it- and more, and more. What a journey! What an experience.
‘The Wayward Truck Series’- Fabulous to learn that there will be more!
- geoffReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2024
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseOk read