Tiny House Movement

[Anorak]

Aw fuck it. Look up Jim Rockford's trailer yourself.

[PirateJohn]

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.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Anorak

Aw fuck it. Look up Jim Rockford's trailer yourself.

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.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Anorak

Ah, good times. Sometimes I'm afraid I might have accidentally agreed with someone in one thread with whom I wholeheartedly don't.

Once again, I apologize for flaming you needlessly.

We'll reserve that for another night when you deserve it.

Just kiddin' ...

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by andruboz

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.

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.

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by osii

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

Personally, I think his lack of experience shows. Absolutely no thought given to the livability of the structure. No thought given to ventilation, airflow, insulation, etc; if it looks house-like, that's good enough. It's not rocket science. He should do some research for tumblweed 2.0.

[NomadRip]

I think they're kind of neat. Probably not what I would end up with, but I can see their appeal. Different people like different things is all.

[PaleRider]

Originally Posted by dlearl476

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.

... Park Model? ... is that a euphemism for you have to supply your own old appliances for the porch and engine blocks for the yard

[k7]

Originally Posted by osii

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?

How long will a travel trailer last compared to a properly constucted home - regardless of size? I looked that the blog site below and some of those structures are very attractive to me - most can be built by one person and maybe a helper on occasion. It might help to know that my father built our home when I was about 5 and I grew up helping him on job sites.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by PaleRider

... Park Model? ... is that a euphemism for you have to supply your own old appliances for the porch and engine blocks for the yard

You trying to edumacate yourself, or are you just trying to be a smart ass?

You remind me of the gal that looked at my Porsche Carrera once and thought that it was an economy car, and then started to compare it to whatever little Japanese auto that she owned. Pretty fucking clueless.

For the rest of the adults here, park model trailers aren't quite mobile homes and they aren't quite travel trailers. They are some place in the middle. They get around some of the zoning issues of many RV parks that basically don't allow mobile homes yet they aren't as portable as travel trailers.

They usually don't have travel trailer features like holding tanks or generators. Many look more "houselike" than you average travel trailer.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by k7

How long will a travel trailer last compared to a properly constucted home - regardless of size?

There have been a number or threads around here on mobile housing, alternative building methods, etc. You might follow some of them and decide for yourself.

There was an inmate that posted some photos of a 50 year old travel trailer (was it in this thread or another thread?) last night and it looked quite contemporary.

The first thing that seems to go our around here are the rubber roofs. They are expensive to replace or repair, and that's why around here we see so many people either build a secondary roof over their trailers or build a carport around the entire trailer/lot.

As I said, this is a retirement area with something like 200 RV parks. There are tons of different places with tons of different policies, but quite a few permanently set park trailer and mobile homes whose owners come back to visit every Fall and Winter.

I would think that you could get 20-30 years out of a modern travel trailer or mobile home or park trailer pretty easily, but your mileage may vary.

[DoNotTouchTheTrim]

I don't understand why people get so hung up on status symbols and whatnot. A mobile home is a noble home. nuff said

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

On the subject of Tiny Homes movement, I'm in favor of the concept, and for some people it can probably work. Wife and I bought 800 [625 not counting sleeping loft] square feet last year, a cabin, not mobile, but it's not a lot of space for two people, we live in it OK, but if we had kids at home it would be more challenging.

Just as a wild guess, I'd go with these smaller places are typically most popular in the warmer parts of the US. A long winter cooped up in 180 square feet is going to be tough unless there's a lot of leisure around you to enjoy.

I suppose these small homes are not much different than the average sailboat and plenty of people live on those full time.

The first time I saw a pic of one of those my thoughts went like this:

1. Cool beans! A small affordable home.
2. I'd need a BIG truck to move it.

When I got out of college, I could have been persuaded to try something like that, had I had access to a place to park it.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by PaleRider

... oh MY goodness, all that, from THAT! Indeed, (but thanks for the education ) ... no more coffee

Gots to keep you on your toes Mon.

Now where's my 2nd cup ... DAMMIT!

[waveydavey]

Folk around here have embraced the tiny house (trailer trash) movement wholeheartedly. Here's a shot of a tiny condo development just up the street.
Very high class, all porch couches have to be leather, or at least some copy of leather.