Tiny house on wheels.

[Uplander]

The idea of parking a tiny house in someone's back yard sounds good but in fact most if not all local code officials would have some very big problems with the idea. All local zoning regulations would have to be addressed.
I could do that on my property (20 +/- acres) but most folks do not have that much land....and...even in my case the local code enforcement folks would question the lack of septic for the building and insist on a complete building inspection for code violations and that is just for starters.

The tiny house has made for some interesting hours of television but in the real world it too often does not comply with basic building codes. A fact finding trip down to your local building department might be in order.

What seems like a great idea often is not.

[Mr. W.]

I don't consider it a fad so much as a fringe thing. If it were a fad, all sorts of people from all walks of like would be jumping on the bandwagon. In reality, it seems to be mostly folks with an independent, slightly rebellious spirit (not in the bad sense, necessarily), thinking this may be a way to cover basic needs while avoiding conspicuous consumption. Some of them will love the lifestyle, at least for a time, and some others will decide it isn't for them.

Until recently, I owned a tiny house that was on my property as a guest house. It was 225 square feet, and had full plumbing, kitchen, double bed and living room space. It was really comfortable for two, and was extremely nice, and better than code in all areas. While I could easily live in it, my wife would find it restrictive. But, I believe that going any smaller than that would require significant compromises of some type. This one was built on a foundation, not a trailer.

There is no question that the average house is much larger than needed, often to the point of wretched excess. The tiny house movement is the counterpoint to that - an effort to find the minimum necessary. Basic comfort balanced with economic pressure will eventually lead most people to something in between the two extremes.

[LyleB]

Uplander, Get more information than what you see on one, money motivated, TV show. Calling names and disparaging other people's choices, just because you do not like them is very juvenile. You obviously have not actually investigated the movement, you watched a TV show.

If you intend to fully comply with building and zoning codes, you will not be building a tiny house - that is the point, they are not allowed for very tenuous reasons that have nothing to do with safety, everything to do with more money in the builders (who write the codes) and banker's pockets. That is why most are built on trailers.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Paul E Henning

(clip)
Until recently, I owned a tiny house that was on my property as a guest house. It was 225 square feet, and had full plumbing, kitchen, double bed and living room space. It was really comfortable for two, and was extremely nice, and better than code in all areas. While I could easily live in it, my wife would find it restrictive. .

We used to call those "Mother-in-law" units and the RE ads would also list them with that name. Here is CA they are now often called "Casitas" or "little houses" and are attached to McMansions with a breeze way. But the purpose is the same. Mom's close, but not to close. LOL

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Uplander

...My point is this: This whole tiny house movement is ignoring the very well established quality building methods employed by the industry. The three types that I outlined are energy efficient, exceed national building codes, are stronger than an on site stick built home (because they must be moved once constructed in a controlled factory setting). The quality control of these units puts the tiny house units I have seen on television programs to shame! The manufactured house industry invented the small affordable house many years ago...

I own a site-built home (850 sf, built 1962) and currently live in a double-wide manufactured home (1750 sf, built 2006) provided by my employer. Everything about the manufactured home is lightweight and often poorly assembled. At least a third of the electric switches and outlets had loose connections. The dryer vent in the floor was blocked by a frame member and had to be relocated. The carpet tack strips protruded through thin carpet. The roof supporting structure is so marginal that it cannot support a second layer of shingles on top of the original. Components are designed for light weight, not longevity. Yes, they are designed to be moved… once. According to the transport driver, it is common for an 8-10 year-old manufactured home to weigh 50% more than from the factory (due to lightweight components being upgraded with standard-grade replacements), and for frames to fail during relocations.

I do understand that manufactured homes have their place, their own set of codes, a lower cost-per-square foot, and for a variety of reasons, it was the right choice for our current situation. I will say it is well-insulated: one medium-sized wood stove heats the whole thing on about 3 cords of wood a winter.

But compared to a site-built house… apples and oranges.

[David Tilston]

My brother lives in an 8' x 8' x 7' box in his employers parking lot. His "Cube" can be lifted, by the upper corners, onto the deck of his crane equipped flat deck truck. He uses it for on site housing when working out of town.

Not much room, but he still has a big flat screen.

[Captleemo]

Maybe a little different direction in this conversation about tiny houses but has anyone out there googled or looked on Pinterest at gypsy vardo's? I am guessing because I don't know for sure that these are the original travel trailers. The workmanship and attention to detail on many of these is absolutely stunning. I have not seen any interior pictures of these that have bathrooms or kitchens but many do have small wood burning stoves which would come in real handy in a european winter. There are a few outfits that make them to be towed behind a motor vehicle instead of a horse. It would be nice to see a show about them on a weekly basis like they have for the "tiny houses".

[slowpat]

I lived full time in a 27 foot long travel trailer. It was set up in one place and I had it moved once before selling it. I could not afford to rent any of the houses available at that time. I did not have a vehicle big enough to move it.


It was unpleasant. In the winter, I'd wake up to frosty walls. I had skirting around it, heat tape on the water hose, and had blocked off half the windows with fiberglass batting. My feet were freezing, my head was quite warm, and sometimes the condensation dripped, so NO SPAGHETTI was cooked during winter. The fridge quit working when temps got in the 20s, which they did for most of the winter. I kept a cooler outside and rented a meat locker in town.


Those tiny houses would be a major improvement. Most look nicer than a travel trailer with skirting and plugged up windows. Because of the insulation, they'd be healthier and more comfy. Maybe they'd have more than 5 gallons of hot water available for showering too?


One would have been perfect for me back then. But they would have cost more than my travel trailer.


I have seen a couple of those shows. One was where the couple decided to use a toilet that holds bags and twists them up. I was thinking that was going to be spendy for them.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by slowpat

I lived full time in a 27 foot long travel trailer. It was set up in one place and I had it moved once before selling it. I could not afford to rent any of the houses available at that time. I did not have a vehicle big enough to move it. It was unpleasant. In the winter, I'd wake up to frosty walls. I had skirting around it, heat tape on the water hose, and had blocked off half the windows with fiberglass batting. My feet were freezing, my head was quite warm, and sometimes the condensation dripped, so NO SPAGHETTI was cooked during winter. The fridge quit working when temps got in the 20s, which they did for most of the winter. I kept a cooler outside and rented a meat locker in town.

I also lived in a 1974 27' Holiday Rambler for 3 winters (typical nighttime lows in the teens, occasionally single digits) and didn't experience any of those things. It was a very well built trailer that had an enclosed underbelly with a ducted heating system. I lined the windows with plastic (except a couple I could open for ventilation on warm days), which minimized condensation problems. I like pasta…

I guess not all trailers are equal when it comes to cold-weather use.

Originally Posted by slowpat

...the couple decided to use a toilet that holds bags and twists them up. I was thinking that was going to be spendy for them.

How did they dispose of the bag afterward? That is the greater problem...

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

How did they dispose of the bag afterward? That is the greater problem...

Hopefully, they stored them in the pantry.
Around here, you can't put dog poop bags in the garbage.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Captleemo

Maybe a little different direction in this conversation about tiny houses but has anyone out there googled or looked on Pinterest at gypsy vardo's? I am guessing because I don't know for sure that these are the original travel trailers. The workmanship and attention to detail on many of these is absolutely stunning. I have not seen any interior pictures of these that have bathrooms or kitchens but many do have small wood burning stoves which would come in real handy in a european winter. There are a few outfits that make them to be towed behind a motor vehicle instead of a horse. It would be nice to see a show about them on a weekly basis like they have for the "tiny houses".

"The Romas" as they are currently addressed, for the most part seemed to have made the transition to Caravans. Their Caravan Camps are occasionally the topic of some British and French films.

In an episode of BBC/PBS's "Call the Midwife", set in the 50's, they went to a Roma encampment and, at that time it was almost all of the traditional wagons. With a number of interior scenes as well.

At least as recently as three years ago, when you took the train from Charles deGaulle Airport to Paris, you pass 3 or 4 of the Roma camps. Some looked well organized and well kept, others not so much.... There were still a few of the traditional design wagons seen among the Caravans as well.

[Uplander]

On the subject of warm winter travel trailers I note the mention of a Holiday Rambler Travel Trailer with a sealed under carriage with insulation and under floor heating ducts etc. I own a R-Vision Trail Lite Travel Trailer that was. built by the same company as Holiday Rambler, it too has all those features and seems to be built to a very high standard. The interesting footnote to this is the parent company for both these brands decided about two years ago to abandon the towable RV market and concentrate on only extreme high-end Motorhomes.
If you are considering a stick built travel trailer you might keep an eye out for those two brands on the used market. Hard to beat their quality.

[EllPea in CA]

I lived part-time in a 27-foot Kencraft for two years while attending college 70 miles away. This trailer had been stored under cover for many years and had (yes!) a complete fiberglass roof which extended over front and rear. We paid $2500 for it, and only invested in new carpet, vinyl and curtains. No hardware needed upgrading.

Living there felt very much like being in a tiny house, or a charming tiny cabin. I believe it was a 1959, but memory is now foggy on that. Once when I had it out camping with a group of people (all of whom either had pricey motor homes or ginormous 5th wheels), one of the wives asked me how much it had cost. When I told her I think she was stunned and somewhat jealous (no doubt still making huge payments on her RV). Plus it was vintage adorable and hers was stick-ugly.

The Kencraft had a fine furnace with thermostat, a good water heater, fridge, nice shower. It did not gather condensation, I can state with certainty, because I often had spaghetti dinners for fellow starving graduate students. They who were sleeping on flea-infested sofas and struggling to get through school were happy to cozy up of an evening with food and drink and conversation. It was delightful.

I can't imagine *quite* living in my 13.5' Lil Bigfoot without a shower and the wonderful storage the Kencraft had. But I can imagine living in a 17 or 19' FG something with a few amenities quite happily.

One significant difference between living in an RV in someone's back yard and living in a tiny house might be that some judgmental types (and neighborhood associations) might consider the RV in the back yard a low-rent or *white trash* situation, while the tiny house is still looked at as green and clever.