I have a funny feeling many of the people posting these house boats have never had the pleasure (or displeasure) of spending any real time on a houseboat. They have most of the expensive needs of a boat, plus those of a house... without any of the benefits of having a boat.
I also lived in an RV for over a year with a 10ft garage (3 motorcycles), and 20ft of living space (bed, shower, kitchen and even hand washed laundry) I enjoy living small. I get to the core of what I want, no extras. Another thing that I have a small issue with is how to entertain people that want to come over. Basically you are throwing a party in your bedroom, it is weird.
Well, the Florida Keys are pretty tough on RVs too. It's illegal to camp on a Key West street, and I am not sure there are still any RV parks in Key West. The next island, Stock Island, used to have two RV parks but the nicer of the two was freaking expensive ... To the tune of $100/night as I recall. For a place that was full of outlaws in the 70's the Lower Keys got really snooty in the last decade. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
There's actually three outside KW now, one is Boyds (super expensive), Leos (much cheaper but sits along a small channel so it's mosquito and iguana central), and another one that's so snotty it's Class A over 32' and under ten years old ONLY.
That aspect of having workshop space and secure storage for tools, bikes, and projects comes up quite a bit for those of us seriously pursuing these kinds of projects. However, the last time that we discussed it here Certain Parties thought that it distracted from their interests in a Little House on a Permanent Foundation so frankly I am not sure if it should be discussed here or in the thread that was spun off to discuss my projects. With that said the answer seems to be a combination of ISO containers, portable garages, purpose-built pole barn shelters, and then figuring out some way to maintain some security. I favored an arrangement where there were likely to be people living on the premises most of the time but recently found what appears to be a pretty nice gated community with plenty of RVers that I plan to check out in a month or two. Then, if you want to move things as part of your lifestyle, even more issues come into play. Some pole barn structures can be moved a time or two if they are bolted together rather than welded. And now there are canvas structures ("sails") that are being promoted as a low cost and easily erected way to provide shade in hot and dry climates. YMMV. But there are plenty of tricks coming along these days for a workshop but things vary depending on climate and the neiborhood. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I've stayed at Boyd's. Really liked it but like you said it ain't cheap There used to be a KOA somewhere in the mid Keys. Bahia Hondo State Park has RV hookups and is super popular but it's so popular they used to have a waiting list that stretched for a year or two. And there is another RV park in Marathon next to the Seven Mile Bridge whose name escapes me. They were supposed to close the RV park and condo it but last I heard that project died and the RV park had reopened. There was once an RV park literally next to Jimmy Buffett's clandestine Key West studio but that closed a few years ago. I think that was called Jarboes or something similar. And there was a mobile home park that had a few RV hookups that was maybe 5 blocks from Duval Street but I haven't heard from them for years. I have been thinking about going back to Florida in time for the Pirates of the Conch Republic gig following Bike Week 2014 so if that comes to pass I'll have to update my notes on the Keys Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
There is also the other hand or re-purposing a larger existing structure as a home and workshop. Barn houses, or old warehouses, and factories with only a part rebuilt with living space, the rest being just an open space for working on things etc. .
I kinda resemble that comment I have a DVD of a movie called Cuba Crossing which has an actor playing a factionalized version of Capt. Tony Terracino, who you and I know was anything but fictional. Long story short the KW of the 70's as portrayed in the movie is a far cry from the gentrified Key West of today. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I think what you are looking for is a deckover with a total deck length, minus dovetail, over 20'. My brother has a Big Tex 20' + 5' that he uses to move around his container full of tools for job sites. He kept the dovetail because he uses it to move equipment as well. http://bigtextrailers.com/pdf/22gn.pdf He also got the dual tandem wheels. You also might want to look into a Haacon lift if you are going to move containers yourself. Every once in a while, they show up in government auctions or eBay. http://www.haacon.de/en/lifting-systems/lifting-devices.html
The comments on the keys are one of the reasons I always bypassed them and sailed to the Bahamas. Little regulation and or enforcement and the spear fishing way better. The gentrified parrot heads have pretty well claimed the keys with their 35' center consoles and Tommy Bahama shirts.
I said it earlier but I realize that it's easy to overlook comments. The trailer is intended for another project related to the whole travel-and-living theme. If its primary purpose were to carry containers I'd go with a different design. But for my purposes a slight modification should allow it to carry a single 20 ft. container every so often. Thanks! I have set a search on my eBay app to see if any come up for sale. I wasn't familiar with that company or those products but that's very similar to what I planned to build myself. Why reinvent the wheel, right? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
You know me pretty well. I was involved in the Parrothead and early club movement enough to get a mention in a book on the subject. At the time there used to be plenty of travelers and adventurers in the Parrothead movement but we kinda got pushed aside by the drunken old gossiping women who are notorious for not tipping when they go to Key West annually. I love the Keys but I stopped attending Meeting of the Minds several years ago when my friends from the Keys started to say that I was pretty cool but they were surprised that I would associate myself with some of those people Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Sorry, I should have been more verbose in my reply. My brother originally started with fendered, low-deck gooseneck that was additionally used for equipment movement. This was another Big Tex that was certainly hefty enough to cover the weight of the container with the contents. He tried a series of adaptations to the trailer to get it to cover both uses. He was never able to get the stability to where he felt safe pulling it. He dropped a significant amount of money trying to get something before cutting and running to a dedicated trailer. He eventually sold the low-deck and uses the high deck for everything. (Along with a car hauler and a few other lighter duty trailers.) Seems like you are moving down a parallel path. My brother and I have messed with a few container ideas as we work on a concept for a shared cabin idea. I saw that lift when I was watching footage of the German military pulling out of Afghanistan. I started watching eBay and saw one pop up that was mislabeled as a 'heavy equipment high lift jack'.
Thanks Amigo! I don't have The Answer. This is something that I have been following for maybe 20 years. Without the budget of the Defense Department one has to go with what one can scrounge Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
An interesting article on moving to smaller houses, in this case trailers, as we age. How The Trailer Park could Save us All.
not exactly tiny, but show me a plan for something in the neighborhood of 20x20 [roughly], 1.5 story/level so the upper is mainly storage... Or, come to think of it, the lower is garage [MC] + storage + farm implements, and the 'loft' is living space.... and re: online floorplans/plans - why do so few offer CAD files? paper... are you kidding me? I realize that folks building the thing will resort to hardcopy but why so few designers offering the CAD files?
Yeah, that was pages back. Still makes me drool. On the trailer park topic: I actually had just finished reading that article before seeing it linked here -- jalopnik posted it. It really does bring up a good point. Modern pre-manufactured homes are built to the same standards as most traditional houses, just a lot cheaper. The communities are often friendly and active. Some friends and I are looking into rental houses for the next year, but now we're thinking of buying a cheap, used single wide. The only issue we're running into are the parks in Arizona -- I swear every single one is 55+. Young people can't want to live in trailers, too?