Am I crazy? Well probably. But I think this whole "tiny house movement" is gentrifying or trying to re-invent the travel trailer. I looked at these things, and they look really cool. but because they are so small, for legal reasons, they have to be built on a trailer frame. So in the end, you got yourself, a very heavy, inefficient trailer. These people act like they are saving the world. Don't they realize people have been living in trailers since they started having trailers. A lot of people live in trailers for precisely the same reasons these people go into the "tiny house movement." To be more efficient and save money. Wow, it's cheaper to live in a smaller structure?? What a revelation. The guy who makes these things wants like $20k to $40k to build one of these things. Do you know how much travel trailer you can get for $10k?
The stigma associated with living in a trailer is too much for the eco-hipsters to bear. They're just a bunch of tinyhouse park trash.
There are stupid people everywhere. Most of the RV resorts that we have stayed at during the last several years are nicer than 99% of the houses and neighborhoods out there. I Googled this photo at random and realized that not only did we stay at this same park for about 6 months, but it wasn't even on my radar as being particularly nice.
You're being very egalitarian but you live in a bus and thus rise above the stigma of a trailer. You're more like a turtle.
Please tell me that you aren't being a dick. I wrote a nasty response - perfectly suitable for framing - but then thought that maybe I misunderstood you.
Back at the turn of the Century (boy, was that weird to type. ) when I was full-timing it, I discovered the wonder of "park models." I think that was before they were cool, but for $16K, it sure would be nice to plop on a little acre somewhere out of the way. http://www.parkmodelsdirect.com/AT/photos.asp
We have a ton of those around here and by and large they look VERY nice, once again considering that the RV community here is primarily a retirement community. There is a separate thread running today on that old subject of housing being made from steel ISO containers. If there was a genuinely portable park trailer out there that I could move every few years, and which I could incorporate a workshop into, I'd give it some serious thought.
Refresh your browser. After I flamed him you I thought that maybe I misunderstood what he you was were saying and I deleted/edited my original post. I'll let him clarify. Perhaps I didn't understand that turtle thang.
Well ... I apologize. Evidently I not only misunderstood, but I also got confuzed (sic) with who said what. No, I ain't been drinkin' but I think that right now I will reach for a big shot of tequila and get ready for bed.
Ah, good times. Sometimes I'm afraid I might have accidentally agreed with someone in one thread with whom I wholeheartedly don't.
8'x35' 1951 traveleer travellodge this was $2500 to buy and $275 a month space rent plus $16 utilities in 1997 in San Diego. [ a studio apt was in the hi $400-low $500 then] I could see from Mt Soledad to the Cuyamacas on a clear day.
Back to the park models and the Tiny House movement, most of the Tiny Houses that I have seen have been on the order of one ISO container, or 20ft x 8ft., or 160 sq. ft. Which, to my way of thinking is indeed tiny. We've literally got double that (40 ft. x 8 ft.) and intentionally bought a motorhome without slideouts, but I have to say ... having been in some friend's less expensive RV's ... Deb immediately picks up on how their interiors are cheaper quality but I always like having the room to stretch out in their living rooms when the slides are out. Here in The Valley there is a really eclectic combination of nice RV's, park trailers, mobile homes, and so forth. Most of the parks are designated as 55 and older, and most of the one in this area are very, very nice. Anyway, the park we are currently in has some older stuff and it's interesting to see. Very liveable as far as I can tell, but a lot of it is "homemade." Like wooden roofs added to the tops of travel trailers to help reduce the heat. Anyway, I have noticed several mobile homes and travel trailers that have these odd "slide outs" and I just realized today that someone has access to aluminum siding that matches those trailers and they have built extension rooms onto them. In many cases they seem to double the floor space of some of those older mobile homes. Honestly ... I have basically zero regrets in life but I do wonder what would have happened if I had bought a nice RV when I got out of college rather than that house in the suburbs. Probably would have hated it because of the climate (central Kentucky in winter is cold) but it would have given me a lot of mobility for job hunting and relocation that I didn't get until I was much older. The Tiny House folks may be on to something.
We get Rockford Files on Retro TV here. I look at his trailer and wonder how in the hell he found that great location without having the county tow his ass away. That, and he seems to have proper water and electrical hookups out there on the beach. Honestly, that's one of the things that I love. I have quite a few photos of us being right on the water, The Wife fishing at 4AM on the bay, etc. This is Corpus Christ. Kind of a blue collar park, but the location was great. If we can't find work in the RGV and/or our entrepreneurial efforts go to naught then we may well wind up back here.
Once again, I apologize for flaming you needlessly. We'll reserve that for another night when you deserve it. Just kiddin' ...
A little retro, but not bad. And I wish that I had a $16 California utility bill ... we just got hit with something like a $265 electric bill. Sounds like a great location.
