Le Tuan, 36, built this motorized picnic table after speaking with his friends about tailgating. Tuan also owns Extreme Bus Builders at 629 N. 2nd St. in Lawrence.

For some, a street-legal indy car, a Batmobile or a motorized picnic table might be considered luxury items.

For Le Tuan, they’re necessary research and development.

For years Tuan, 36, has revamped, renovated and decked out buses, trucks, trailers, cars and more. Many of his projects can be seen outside his shop in North Lawrence.

But for customers to trust his expertise and his “cool factor,” Tuan said, he’s got to use his imagination and create from scratch.

Le Tuan, 36, built this motorized picnic table after speaking with his friends about tailgating. Tuan also owns Extreme Bus Builders at 629 N. 2nd St. in Lawrence.

Tuan’s shop is littered with tools, parts and scraps, commissioned work and unique imaginings. It’s part body shop, part ultimate man cave.

Pulling ideas from all around him, Tuan spends hours in his shop creating and inventing.

“I get stimulated and I just come up with these things. If it works, cool. If not, I learned something,” he said. “You never know until you try something, and we’re not afraid to work hard.”

One idea came to him as he spoke to friends who enjoy tailgating. Now, Tuan said, he can drive his motorized picnic table, fitted with a propane tank for on-the-go cooking, virtually anywhere.

Across-the-street business neighbor and friend Harry Herington stops into Tuan’s shop whenever he gets a chance. The pair’s friendship began shortly before Tuan built a bus for Herington to use for golfing trips.

“He’s always grinning ear to ear when he’s talking about what he’s doing because he loves what he does,” Herington said. “He’s got that intuitive knowledge and a unique vision when it comes to making a vehicle.”

Tuan said much of that intuitive knowledge comes from both his upbringing and having practiced his craft for years.

A first-generation American, Tuan is the son of Vietnamese immigrants and spent much of his childhood working in his parents’ kitchen.

“I learned logistics, efficiency, everything in the back of that kitchen,” he said.

Aside from his work in the family business, Tuan was always fascinated with the way things work, and he took to creating at an early age. Soon, his passion became his profession.

“I’ve always liked cool stuff,” he said. “We didn’t have the money when I was younger, so I had to build things for myself. And the next thing I know, people are paying me to do it.”

Sometimes friends and family stop by to help Tuan with his projects, but often he works alone.

Jay Draskovich is one of Tuan’s friends who helps out around the shop a few times a week. The two met after Tuan built a food truck for Draskovich, and the relationship stuck, he said.

“He’s crazy,” Draskovich said. “He always has something in his head where he’s thinking, ‘What can I do to make this better?’ or, ‘How can I make this more exotic or interesting?'”

Walking around a custom chariot with built-in ceiling fans, Tuan is eager to show off a golf cart he built with a body resembling a Dodge Viper.

“I don’t even golf,” he admitted with a laugh.

The cart, which has been outfitted to trail several of his other creations, shows off an amalgamation of skills learned throughout the years, many of which are self taught, Tuan said.

“Everything I learned I put to work,” he said. “Fiberglass, metal work, electrical, machinery. I mean, I learned to weld watching YouTube videos.”

But nothing is ever repeated in Tuan’s shop, Herington said.

“He’s an artist, and artists want to create,” he said. “They create first to get that expression out, and then they look to see if somebody is interested in it.

“His canvas just so happens to be automobiles, picnic tables, Batmobiles, things with wheels,” Herington added.

Although many of his creations are purely experimental or for fun, Herington noted, they don’t sit out in front of his shop for long. It’s just not easy to predict what he’ll make next.

“He’s got all sorts of unique things,” Herington said. “He made a zombie apocalypse assault vehicle. You just don’t know what’s going to trip his trigger.”

Moving forward, Tuan said, working as an independent businessman is the life for him. As long as he can maintain discipline with his business, he can keep having fun and creating along the way.

“No two days are the same. It’s not like a routine factory job. I’m just making it up as I go. I’m not fixing broken stuff. I’m creating from scratch.”