Georgia man turns Barbie camper into gas-powered ride

A Georgia man may have found one of the most unexpected ways to beat high gas prices. He took a child’s Barbie Dream Camper and turned it into a gas-powered ride.

Mali Hightower, a 30-year-old handyman from Ellenwood, Georgia, transformed a broken pink Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper into a working mini vehicle, CBS News Texas reported. The transportation hack has since caught national attention because, honestly, who among us hasn’t looked at gas prices lately and wondered if there had to be another way?

Hightower says he found the discarded camper, stripped it down, welded it onto a go-kart frame, and added a one-piston engine from a power washer. He also upgraded it with brakes, lights, music, and a horn; essentially giving the toy car enough grown-up features to help him run local errands.

This budget-conscious engineering project is the perfect commentary on just how expensive everyday life has become.

Hightower told People the vehicle can reach speeds up to 55 mph and gets about 40 miles per tank. He said it costs about $3 to fill up, compared to the roughly $90 it takes to fill his 1996 Mercedes-Benz convertible.

As of May 23, AAA reported the national average for regular gas at $4.529 per gallon, more than a dollar higher than this time last year. With Memorial Day weekend travel underway and summer road trips on the horizon, many families are feeling the squeeze before they even pull out of the driveway.

That math alone explains why this story resonates, but Hightower’s viral moment also lands because he isn’t just tinkering for fun. On May 10, he appears to have announced his engagement on Facebook, sharing photos with his fiancée and adding a human layer to the story: a working man getting creative, saving where he can, and preparing for a new chapter in life.

For Black families and working-class households already navigating rising food costs, rent, insurance, and childcare, gas prices can become one more daily expense that forces people to rethink how far they drive, how often they run errands, and what gets cut from the budget.

Known in his community as “Sota,” Hightower said his neighbors are already used to his creative builds. He has transformed old toy boats into working boats, and he’s the kind of person who turns “weird things into logical things.”

Still, he warned that this is not a project everyone should attempt.

“Don’t try this at home,” he said, advising people to leave that kind of tinkering to those who know what they’re doing.

For everyone else, the larger point may be less about Barbie cars and more about resourcefulness. Hightower said there are plenty of other ways to save money getting around, from bikes and electric bikes to other lower-cost transportation options.

His version happens to be hot pink, low to the ground, and impossible to ignore.