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NY Post
New York Post
20 Apr 2023


NextImg:Southwest pilot turns aircraft catering truck into a tiny home

This Southwest Airlines employee lives in a decommissioned part of his job. 

When Mark Pankey’s not operating planes, you can probably find him in the industry vehicle he’s transformed into a mobile dwelling.

“I had seen these box trucks at work, and I thought about how cool would it be to live in one of those, or to build one out,” Pankey, a Louisiana-born pilot for Southwest Airlines, told Insider

After expressing as much to a fellow pilot, his colleague alerted him to the fact a “a whole bunch” of the catering box trucks — which have a scissor lift so food and beverages can be more easily offloaded onto the aircraft — were being auctioned off in Seattle.

Pankey purchased a 20-something-year-old one for $3,300 and soon got started on building it out into a livable space. 

At that point, the Air Force veteran had long lived in a Crested Butte, Colorado apartment complex and, when convenient, out of his van — which he’d park in the airport lot and sleep out of between jobs instead of spending money on hotels. 

“I didn’t have a whole lot of room in the van, so when I got into this thing, it was massive,” Pankey told the publication. 

He estimated it took seven months and between $30,000 and $35,000 (including the cost of the truck itself) to turn the unique vehicle into a habitable, fun-size abode. 

Pankey removed Southwest’s logo from the side of the truck.
Instagram/snakpak20

southwest pilot tiny home

SnakPak on the go.
Instagram/snakpak20

southwest pilot tiny home

An artificial turf-covered outdoor deck area.
Instagram/snakpak20

southwest pilot tiny home

Pankey covered the truck’s interior with insulation.
Instagram/snakpak20

southwest pilot tiny home

Pankey estimated he spent slightly over $30,000 transforming the vehicle.
Instagram/snakpak20

To start, he covered the interior in spray foam insulation, then outfitted it with custom floors, walls and cabinets. He also painted the exterior gray, built a loft bed, a compact kitchen, and installed a composting toilet and shower cubicle.

On the back of the truck, he installed an outdoor shower head, and on the hood he spray-painted an homage to the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit.” 

Now, SnakPak, as he named the car, is his full-time home.