Tiny House on a Trailer Bed. Amazing!

[crabbey1]

This woman kicked some serious ass! Take a look.

Here is the company that sells the plans for these cool trailers: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com

I thought Airstreamers might dig these...

[bilby05]

I have been following the tiny house movement for a long time. There are some building code, zoning and location advantages to building on a trailer frame too. They can be placed in locations that a "stick built" home of that small size might not be allowed. I have an AS TRADEWIND that is moving in that direction. Cheers bill b.

[crabbey1]

My girlfriend and I have been throwing around this idea for a while. One idea we had was to have to 22' trailers and rent out two spots at a cool trailer park. That way we have space and privacy and we can decorate as we please. But we will save a ton of money on rent and heating/cooling...

[Lily&Me]

Beautiful!

I love it.


Maggie

[shebeen]

The article starts off stating Macy Miller was and architect, but then says:

"Macy Miller didn’t have a lot of experience with construction, but she was willing to learn."

NO WONDER HER HOUSE GOT FORCLOSED ON!
lol, poor Macy.

[AWCHIEF]

I have a neighbor that has a Tumbleweed designed tiny house trailer for the last 5 years or so. Every summer they take it up to a local water park state park. They basically keep it there thru the fall. When home it lives in the back yard and is a great guest house. It has all the comforts of home plus. They built it with the assistance of construction students from a local junior college and it meets all necessary codes and safety standards. Total cost was under 10k.

[shebeen]

I clicked on Macy's blog link.

She's now pregnant.....AND she has a new puppy!

.....a GREAT DANE!!!!!

Can't make this stuff up.

[Jammer]

I think the tiny house "movement" is kinda cool and have followed some of the blogs and web sites, and even sketched out a few things.

As these are, fundamentally, an adaptation of stick-house building techniques, the houses aren't really capable of being towed frequently or at high speeds or over long distances. In many cases the trailer underneath is just a concession to the reality of building and zoning codes; the structure isn't intended to be moved. Which, to me, is where the Airstream wins.

Many if not most have a loft-type design where there is an upper level used for a bedroom. Interesting but not my cup of tea.

[wahoonc]

Anti-establishment movement?

I have never liked living in large houses/spaces, you tend to accumulate to much "stuff". I think some of the best years of my life were spent living in an 11' cab over pickup camper. I currently spend a fair bit of my life "living" in motel rooms. Airstreams are much more comfortable. Our current house is 948sf and we own a larger one. I would love to downsize to a bit less space that was more efficiently laid out.

The other thing I find interesting is the massive increase in the size of houses and living space over the past 65-70 years. The square foot per person has almost tripled, not to mention the extra bathrooms. I grew up in a family of 6 with on bathroom.

Aaron

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by shebeen

I clicked on Macy's blog link.

She's now pregnant.....AND she has a new puppy!

.....a GREAT DANE!!!!!

Can't make this stuff up.

Danes are great dogs for small spaces, real couch potatoes.
As an Architect, I can safely say that many Architects have no actual experience in construction (the physical act of building), but they do have experience with the process through the administration and field review process.
Now, other than criticizing this woman, have you any actual thoughts about the small house?

[cwf]

Good for her!

[John&Vicki]

Love it. You go girl.

Poppy

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by cameront120

Danes are great dogs for small spaces, real couch potatoes.
As an Architect, I can safely say that many Architects have no actual experience in construction (the physical act of building), but they do have experience with the process through the administration and field review process.
Now, other than criticizing this woman, have you any actual thoughts about the small house?

I agree with the fact many Architects have no field knowledge... a lot of Engineers don't either. It is up to us "Field Engineers" to try and educate them. The last go around the engineer was insisting that a 3/4" long screw would hold down two sheets of 22 ga steel deck to a wood bowstring truss... it might work on paper

I agree Great Danes make great couch potatoes, I have had a couple in the past, so do hounds, whippets, greyhounds, and several other large breeds. My son has a 160# Great Pyrenees/St Bernard cross, that dog invented lazy.

Aaron

[AtomicNo13]

Lets becareful when bashing the engineers OK?

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

Lets becareful when bashing the engineers OK?

Reminds me...

3 guys on death row. One from Yale Law school, one from Harvard Divinity school and one from MIT school of Engineering.

Yale guy is put in the chair first and is asked if he has any last words. He says - I am innocent and believe in the purity of Justice to bear that out. Executioner pulls the switch and NOTHING HAPPENS! Stunned, they conclude he must be innocent and let him go.

Harvard guy is next. He says - I am completely innocent and believe in the mercy of The Lord who will deliver me in my time of need. Switch pulled and NOTHING HAPPENS! They just can't believe it! Another miracle sparing an innocent person and they have to let him go free.

MIT guy gets in the chair and is sort of laughing a bit. When asked if he has any last words, he points to the wall behind the chair and says - hey, I'm innocent too, but this thing won't work if you don't reconnect those two wires back there...

[AtomicNo13]

Ok lol...

[KCN]

A classmate of mine from college is director of marketing for Tumbleweed. I have another friend who built one and keeps it on her land in Vermont. Very popular in Colorado - of course, they are made here.

The one with the house in Vermont has had a problem with the state and obtaining septic/graywater/permits, but if you can get past that... since they aren't that mobile, it's hard to take them to a dump station. Composting toilets of course.

My dream would be to have a cool small house somewhere that I could haul my trailer to and have it be incorporated as part of the house while I'm there like this beautiful example in Austin with a Spartan.

[John&Vicki]

When my boys were growing up I had some land on the beach in Baja south of La Paz. I hauled a sob down there to start with. Next I added on a patio and patio cover. One thing led to another and over the years we ended up having a full fledged palapa built around the trailer, complete with running water, a wood burning fireplace and electricity (12 volt). A great place back in the day: wonderful friendly local people; unbelievable fishing and diving; and living fully tuned to the rhythms of nature.

My wife was a trooper but she never did get comfortable with the snakes living in the thatched roof.

The house in Colorado inspires me. I'd love to build something around the AS here in Central Oregon.

Poppy

[goshawks00]

I want to hear more about the $2000.00 crapper......................

[andreasduess]

I think Macy's house is one of the most successful and beautiful Tiny Houses I've seen. Just for the record, her living this way has nothing to do with her divorce and the foreclosure of the house she owned with her ex-husband. These things did happen, but she was never destitute or insolvent. She tells the backstory on her blog.

I really like the sleek look, both inside and outside. She did a fantastic job. Many tiny houses are too woodsy for my personal taste, but this I could live in. I especially like the beautiful, and functional, kitchen.

If you're interested in small space living, this site is a cool starting off point: http://tinyhouseswoon.com/

Originally Posted by goshawks00

I want to hear more about the $2000.00 crapper......................

Nature's Head.