About


Ruby on Wheels: The story of a developer living on the road.

:wave: I’m Jakob, a German software engineer. I call an old Mercedes truck my home, while working remotely for GitHub. On this website, I share my insights and adventures related to building, maintaining, and working from vehicles.

At GitHub, we utilize Ruby on Rails, a web application framework for the Ruby programming language. I playfully replaced “Rails” with “Wheels” in the title of this blog, reflecting my life on the move.

In early 2017, I bought an old Mercedes-Benz 209D camper, ordered a solar system, transformed the camper into a mobile office and learned how to fix it.

My Mercedes 209D in Morocco

After over a year of traversing Europe and Northern Africa, I sold the Mercedes 209D in June 2018 to embark on a new venture – converting an old military ambulance van into a perfect mobile home and office.

My Mercedes 508D in Sweden

For over four incredible years, I lived, traveled, and maintained my 508D until I decided to start yet another building project – a mobile house atop an old Mercedes 1113 truck.

My Mercedes 1113 in Germany

Since abandoning my apartment in Berlin on May 11th, 2017, my journey has led me through diverse places across several countries, introducing me to numerous amazing people.

I thrive on connecting with others. Interested in meeting up? Shoot me an email!