Tips Building a Tiny House

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My nephew is staying with us for a while, and was given an old travel trailer with a good frame and tires. He's starting to take the superstructure off, and plans to build a tiny house on the frame. This will house him and his little boy, age seven, while he saves up for some land to put it on. The trailer body is 22' long (we measured), and I think he said it's a '75 model. He wants to have it self-contained, and will have solar for power. So, anyone have any ideas or tips? He's got some cash but needs to be frugal.

Kathleen

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Insulation will be their friend.

Take one end, make it a tiny BR. Built in sturdy bunks with a pull-out drawer under each for folded clothes.

A small closet on one side, between the beds and the entry. On the other side facing the closet, a small mini closet on the bottom (for the boy), a tabletop/shelf and maybe a small mirror and some shelves above that.

That would give the boy a place for some of his things and for books, etc.

A small (like RV size bath) bath.

The other half can be a living area, with a tiny kitchenette at the end.

 

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Travis was drawing out some ideas a little bit ago, and came up with something similar to your suggestions! I'll see if I can draw your ideas out and show them to him.

Thank you!

Kathleen

 

[Lilbitsnana]

I thought about it some more.

It would be an awkward (unusual) place for a bath, but would keep plumping on one end, if you put the bath and kitchen next to each other and let the living area go adjacent to the BR.

It would also avoid wasted hall space and allow the entry to the BR to be in the middle of the wall; which would allow for the closets to face each other.

 

[Publius]

Tell him to go light with the construction material as it will end up being to heavy for the frame and tires. I have seen people take an old camper that the cabinets and paneling was destroyed and gut it, then caulk all the seems from the inside and then fir-out the walls and ceiling with 1"x1/2" then add R13 insulation and re-panel, then go about adding new cabinets, sink, bathroom and bunks and so on. they had a camper that could still be towed in the winter months for hunting and very easy to heat and they also said it made a great backyard get away in the summer and the Coleman air-conditioner did not work so hard to keep it cool.

 

[Stever]

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

I saw this in yahoo a few months ago.

 

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Yes, I think he's looked at all the tiny house sites, including Tumbleweed.

He knows about the need to stay light -- he's talking about thin plywood for the outside with fiberglass over it. I think he might be better off using steel siding (I've seen some tiny houses -- pictures -- with corrugated metal siding and they looked good).

He's got the old trailer about half gutted out inside. Will probably see if he can scrap-yard the aluminum exterior metal.

Kathleen

 

[blindsquirreltom]

Is there any update on the nephew's plans or progress.

I have been looking at getting a used 24 foot cargo trailer to turn into a stealth home/retreat. It's all still in the planning stages but if it becomes more than just a "plan" I will share photos of the progress if anyone is interested.

 

[Freeholder]

Well, he got the thing completely closed in, but not much done on the inside, when he finally found a job. The job takes him out to job-sites for weeks at a time. He's going to be based out of Cheyenne, WY, and should be coming out here to pick up the trailer in about three weeks. (Hopefully, because this place has been sold.) It basically looks like a gray box, twenty feet long, with windows and a door. (He was given a whole barrel of gray undercoat paint -- we painted the house with it, and he painted the trailer, and there's lots left!)

So anyway, I imagine he'll continue to work on his tiny house whenever he has a couple of weeks off from his job.

Kathleen

 

[Milk-maid]

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

I saw this in yahoo a few months ago.

Taken from the site above...

Do you realize that most people will not have any real money to retire on? It’s true. Look at these sobering retirement statistics:

Take any 100 people at the start of their working careers and follow them for 40 years until they reach retirement age, and here’s what you’ll find, according to the Social Security Administration: only 1 will be wealthy; 4 will be financially secure; 5 will continue working, not because they want to but because they have to; 36 will be dead; and 54 will be dead broke – dependent on their meager Social Security checks, relatives, friends, even charity for a minimum standard of living. That’s only 5% who retire with the American Dream.