Tiny Homes

I doubt that many tiny homes could stand up to the rigors of real road life. Think about taking your house down a bumpy road at 65mph while it was raining. RV's are engineered to do that, tiny homes not so much.

Cute trend right up there with "glamping". One other issue would be admission into campgrounds. Many public and private parks do not allow home built units in due to unsure quality of build and safety.

I imagine it varies by state but in Ohio it is very easy to register a self built trailer. All I needed was a weight slip from a scale. Maybe I also needed receipts of materials, I don't remember, it was a while back.

I've watch a couple of these shows on tv and on You Tube. Mostly its a tax and zoning dodge. If its got wheels, its a vehicle not a house mentality. Once the zoning boards catch up, they'll be singing a different story. Some set cargo containers on pillars/supports so they are not a "permanent structure" and they avoid property taxes and building codes on the structure. To be a "trailer" it is required to be built within certain dimensions and have certain lighting patterns (example: brake and marker)and/or reflective material. They are just playing with loop holes in the zoning laws.

I consider my 24 foot RV to be a tiny house. I've often thought about full timing in it. Maybe some day I will.

a few years back Aliner co. built a "cabin on wheels", I think it was called the cabin A retreat model. It had a fold up front deck and was actually pretty spacious and I believe it had holding tanks. I saw one on clearance a couple years ago near me, it was about $20,000.

Kennedy64 wrote:
I've been seeing a lot of shows and articles about Tiny Homes. The one article I just read was a 150 sq ft, 8' x 20' house built on a double axle trailer frame. Just curious if these types of homes can be registered and hauled around? I understand a TT, etc have all the holding tanks & hookups but still. If I was rich, I think it would be a fun project (my dad and sister built a teardrop years back), but since I'm not, I'll be sticking with my Jayco 20'.

Those are "made for TV" reality shows.. The "tiny homes" they portray range from $70K upwards and above $200K. Most if not all not really designed for low weight/towing so a pretty good chance it will take a pretty heavy duty TV to pull them.

While they may be built on a double axle trailer frame I think you will find most of them not legit to haul on the road as is. Takes a bit more than a steel frame and a pair of axles to make such trailers able to be registered and plated for road use.

To be legit they must be 8' 6" or under in width, have proper size axles with brakes, proper tires for the weight along with all properly placed marker lights and tail lights. I would bet your local DMV will be scratching their heads trying to figure out how to title them..

There's no inherent reason why they couldn't be registered and towed about. Depending on the state laws and how they are outfitted, it may not be possible to register all of them as RVs, but an ordinary trailer registration should still apply provided the appropriate safety and other DOT regulations (height, width, etc.) are adhered to. In many cases, if not an RV, this would be a sufficiently large trailer to need a CDL.

An RV, as opposed to a general truck or trailer, is legally defined in most places as having at least a certain number of certain living quarters types of facilities: a bed, a toilet with a holding tank, a sink with running water, an installed electrical system, a furnace, a cooktop, etc. The specific requirements do vary from state to state. Any vehicle or trailer that meets these requirements may be registered as an RV.

Many of the tiny homes I've seen information on are not really designed for continuous travel, but instead more of a transportable shelter—closer to a park model RV or small mobile home than a travel trailer.

If you've seen the pictures and videos you'll know that although they can be registered as trailers and can be towed that they have 2 drawbacks - aerodynamics and weight.

You'll notice in the pictures where the Tiny House company shows them delivering a unit that they use a U-Haul box truck. It's my opinion that part of the reason for the box truck is to deflect air around the trailer while towing. The box truck probably also hauls install-related supplied as well. I suspect any pickup-style tow vehicle will get terribl;e fuel mileage.

You've seen the construction of the trailers. Many have nice finish grade tongue and grove walls and ceilings. They are built more like S&B houses. I would expect that they are very sturdy and will have a long life. In comparison an RV is built more like tooth picks and styrofoam.

No that's why I would have to be rich LOL. One show this weekend, the couple was looking upwards of $130k. I thought tiny houses, meant tiny mortgage LOL