Buy the right trailer. Paint the frame and rewire the lights, before you build on it.

I have sold lumber, windows,  siding and other materials to several people who are building a small house on wheels.

 Most have a sensible plan, that involves a very strong, well-built trailer. Others have not thought things out very clearly at all.

One guy tore apart a light travel trailer, or caravan for those of you in Europe. He  totally underestimated the weight of all the materials required to build his house. Now he is looking for another axle and someone to install it and guarantee that it will work.

Another guy built his floor and then decided that the trailer frame needed to be painted to prevent rusting. He also failed to do anything about the trailer wiring system, until there was half of a house sitting on top.

I am now looking to build a small dual purpose, house and tool hauling trailer, from an old horse trailer. These machines can haul far more weight than I anticipate ever hauling.

Well, that's about all I have to say on the matter. If you're going to build a house on a trailer, get something that is made to haul a lot of weight and then do your calculations.  Do everything to the trailer frame, that you deem necessary, before planting a house on it.

Pretty crazy how many tinyhomes have popped up locally, both on usedvic and just sightings driving around...

Some look really nice.

Some look absolutely goddawful. Half of these ones seem to come up for sale on an urgent basis while nominally 'almost done', as the builder has lost their place to build...

I scored some nice aluminum awning parts and a couple propane tanks from a guy tearing down a small travel trailer for a base for a tiny home... which he intended to sell once completed. I hope potential buyers look underneath...


I think if I ever build a tinyhome, I will build it in 2 parts designed to be lifted by crane or jacks, and put them on a heavy equipment flatbed. Once they don't need to be 'permanently attached' anymore, I can unbolt them, or cut the bolts if needed, and they can become legal 8x12 'sheds', or be integrated into a larger structure...

I would lose out on height available for the home portion, and have the extra weight of the deck to deal with when towing... but I think it would be worth it for the longer-term flexibility.

I have a friend who lives in an undisclosed location, who is planning to hide 6 small houses amongst his trees. Two built,four to go. Although small houses show some promise for people who do not own land, they have an even greater potential benefit for people who have chosen the right piece of land. My friend is effectively creating a mini subdivision without any of the required paperwork. He expects to be caught, eventually. If he gets away with it for 3 years, all units will be paid for. Then he can sell them off or buy another place and start again. Screw the authorities.

The tiny house on wheels is now a full blown fad as the trailer plant about 20 miles from me is cranking these trailers out as fast as they can.
Next time I go by ill snap a pic.
12x24 for only $17,000!!! :X

I watch the tiny house shows and end up pausing the tv to study them. I'm dumbfounded by 2x4's (vs ripping down to 2x3s) , then cladding inside and out with 3/4" thick boards. It seems they are not helping with the problem. You watch it and think no problem.

My tiny house was just a converted shed on skids. Around here anything built on skids has no property tax. And you can move anything on skids quite easily for a modest fee 100 to 150 ish or so. And they can move a rather large skid building 20x40 I was told. I can't imagine ever building a tiny house on a trailer.....there's so many cheap campers to be had that it doesn't seem cost effective.

Yes, campers are cheap but they are not very comfortable for year round living, unless you happen to live in an area that doesn't get below 50 degree F Where I live, the temperature can drop to -40 (at that point C and F are about the same) or you don't have many days above 90. People who live in campers spend almost as much money on propane in the winter months - or other sources of heat - as most people pay for RENT for a real house. Tiny houses - whether built on a trailer or not, usually use at least 2x4's for the wall. A good green insulation, like the recycled denim, will give you an r value of 12 or more, which makes heating a tiny house a more affordable proposition.