Hobbit home on wheels up for sale in Golden Bay

Golden Bay resident Jay Horton is selling this eye-cathing housetruck for $45,000. Photo / Supplied

An eye-catching Hobbit home on wheels is up for grabs in the South Island.

Golden Bay artist Jay Horton has his 1978 J5 Bedford "home-truck" up for sale on Facebook for $45,000. He describes it as a piece of art that turns heads.

"It is unique, colourful, and it's got a whole feel that goes with it - a sort of counterculture feel," he said.

Horton has mostly parked it up in one or two areas - including near the picturesque Abel Tasman National Park - in the three years he has owned it, but says the truck is raring to go "on a big gypsy mission".

The housetruck has a fully functioning kitchen and shower and toilet. Photo. Supplied

Built in 1994 at a cost of $90,000, it was fitted with a seven-litre 1992 Hino engine.

This sends the 9 tonne house truck "charging up and over" the "car killing" Takaka Hill between Nelson and Golden Bay, Horton said.

It also went right round the North Island in 2016 with its previous owners.

"It really deserves someone who is quite handy but wants to go for a big drive," he said.

Horton bought the housetruck three years ago when he split with his wife, but is now "reluctantly" putting it up for sale to move into a bigger place for his two kids.

Despite its size, owner Jay Horton says the housetruck drives well and powers up the hills with its 7L engine. Supplied Jay Horton

"It is one of the most beautiful homes on wheels I have ever seen and is one of the most well built I have ever seen ... or heard of," he said.

It comes with a lounge room that can extend out to a larger size when the truck is parked, a fully functioning kitchen with lots of benchtops, a wood heater and loft above the truck cab that fits a king-sized bed and is big enough to stand up in.

It also has a fridge, toilet, shower and solar panels on the roof.

"One of the best things is that everything is close to hand and it is really easy to keep warm," Horton said.

"On a really cold morning, you hop out of bed, turn on the really small blow heater ...
and by the time the kettle is boiling the house is warm."

It also has a dining table that can seat up to five. Photo. Supplied

"Even though it's got a really nice little fireplace in it, I actually don't run the fireplace very often."

Horton said the house was a really creative space to live in for an artist.

It also continued a love affair with housetrucks he has had since he was about 12 years old when his family moved to New Zealand from Canada in the 1990s.

They all crowded into an old 1930 Austin house truck that didn't drive but was "just slowly composting".

Despite the cramped conditions, Horton has "really sweet memories of that time", he said.

Golden Bay resident Jay Horton is selling this eye-cathing housetruck for $45,000. Photo / Supplied

And while his own kids have enjoyed his latest housetruck, it was now time to sell up, he said.

Horton has put the housetruck's registration on hold and the new owner will also need to hold a commercial truck driver's licence due to the housetruck weighing over 9 tonnes.

Horton thought the housetruck should pass a warrant of fitness easily as nothing had changed since it was last on the road in 2016.