Tiny Home on Wheels - I need advice/feedback!

I know practically nothing about building a tiny home on wheels, but I have an idea for a tiny home set up and was hoping to get some knowledge/advice/feedback.

So, due to the expenses of building a traditional wooden tiny home, I've been brainstorming something that would be cost effective and light weight for my own personal situation.

My questions are:

1. Is it possible to build a flatbed tiny home but instead of using lumber set it up as a foundation for a wall tent?
(That way the tent and everything can be packed flat onto the trailer.  If this is feasible I'd plan on things portable/packable/foldable as possible.)

2. Could I build foldable extensions to accommodate for a wider and longer tent?
(Obviously I would need lumber and hardware for this part! Just not sure about how I would construct it.)

3. And my last question-- I know every state in the US is different as far as laws but does anyone know if this thing would be legal on the highway (completely flattened and packed up of course)?

Thank you to anyone who reads and responds!

Well, this sounds a lot like a pop up camper.
Building one from the trailer up provides an opportunity to customize.

As for legality,  it should be no different than any other trailer load.

Assuming I understand what you're asking ... you want a Tiny Tent on Wheels (TToW), and perhaps for not a lot of money?

1. get a harbor freight 4x8 trailer, build a frame on it; elevates the sleeping platform, provides storage
2. some 4x8 plywood sheets; one folds out from the other, and ladders hold the fold-out up
3. a tent that fits the 4x8 shape

Scale everything up or down to fit your budget. If done right, it should look like the following pic when done (and your hauling vehicle should look the same, after a bit of buffing up).

Personally, I wouldn't use lumber for anything that is movable.

At the very least, I would use angle iron and lots of bolts.

But my first choice would be welding.

We don't know if the OP would buy a pre-made steel trailer, or a HF kit (steel trailer frame, wheels, etc., that you assemble yourself). Either way, you end up with a street-legal, steel trailer.

The HF kit just needs labor added, for a 50% or more savings in up-front costs.

I bought one of the 4x8 HF kits, assembled it in a day, and built a wooden plywood deck on it. Later on, I built wooden siderails for it. Got it licensed as a home-made trailer in Colorado, and have had it for 5+ years now ... nary a problem for it's load class.

Others build *tiny* tiny homes on them ... this "tent" option is another route, and should be safe and street legal (or could be, if done right).

Buy a trailer, if within the budget ... but, given the creativity of others, there are also many alternatives to choose from!

I've been looking for a light trailer for a couple years now.
The Harbor Freight trailer is my  point of comparison.
Boat trailers and popup trailers and even small travel trailers can often be had for less than the 600 ~ that HF costs.
Are they worth the hassle of modifying them, scrapping  the extra bits, and rebuilding?
I'm not sure.

Boat trailers, old pop-ups, etc ... these tend to be "projects"; while they can be had for next to nothing, they come with lots of problems. So, the real question is whether or not one is a project *person* ... can you take a pile of rust for $100, cut away every useless part, weld on new parts, and keep tackling every problem that pops up, until it finally resembles a HF trailer kit, or a purchased/new trailer?

Some folks can ... I admire them (and I think they have a nice, warm, 2000 sq ft shop with every tool known to mankind)!

On our 40, old stuff tends to stay old ... I keep checking my project "piles" to see if any have progressed much, but they hardly move at all.

Whereas the HF kit pretty much got done in a weekend, as there were literally no problems encountered that made it go "back-burner" for awhile (rarely to be resumed).

I have much better luck turning old things into spare parts for new things ... at least these piles are "shrinking" somewhat each year, as I take parts off of them!