Disbelief as Family Finds Ford Transit Van Built Into Their House's Walls

An incredible discovery in a vacation home in Germany has amazed the internet after gaining viral attention on Reddit.

Shared on Wednesday by user ShroomzTV, the picture now has more than 74,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.

Explaining the story, the caption read: "We're demolishing our old vacation home—after ripping down the outside walls we found out that our bathroom was inside this old Ford Transit. We had no idea."

In the picture, the bare bones of a home can be seen around the shell of an old green Ford Transit van.

The Reddit user later explained that the vacation home was purchased in the 1990s, an old wooden hut with an outside kitchen, and inside there was a lower doorframe leading to the pantry and bathroom.

ShroomzTV told Newsweek: "The hut, especially the roof, was rotting away and my parents already built a new 'primary' proper tiny house. The spot where the old hut was will be used in the coming years to build a small log cabin for guests."

"We always wondered why the ceiling was so low but never put it together until today," he wrote in a later comment.

Despite the low ceiling, the family never questioned the space until they began demolishing the structure and made the incredible discovery.

In Germany, they say it's not uncommon to have started a vacation plot with just a camper van and later expanding—although they do note that it would usually be replaced rather than becoming part of the structure.

One Redditor said they had come across something similar before, impressed by how well the structure had been created: "They did a fantastic job of hiding it," they wrote: "I have a friend whose family built their house around a small mobile home. They lived in a trailer while the dad spent years building more and more rooms around it and eventually pulled the trailer out."

"This is truly amazing," wrote another commenter.

"You've got to keep that somehow! How cool is that," wrote another user.

But ShroomzTV said: "It's covered in glue, has no moving parts left, no window or glass, nothing. Sadly it's going to get thrown away."

While the family is moving the van out of their home, many around the U.S. are embracing van life—living full or part-time in a home on wheels.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 140,000 vans, RVs, or boats were counted as housing units in 2019. The RV Industry Association (RVIA) reports that more than 11 million U.S. households own an RV, with an upswing in the last 10 years driven by younger people.

"This is awesome," said another commenter on the now-viral post. While another commenter shared their story: "My parents' house started out as a camper. Every summer we would add a room or renovate an old one. It's now a full house built around a camper, and the camper makes up just the kitchen."

Last week, the internet was wowed when a couple discovered a hidden basement in their new home filled with the previous owners' possessions. Earlier this week, a new homeowner was shocked to discover a mysterious safe hidden in the fireplace of their new home.

UPDATE 05/06/2022, 3:00 a.m.: This article was updated with new images and comment from the Reddit user.