Our goal: travel trailer turned tiny home!
Hey everyone! Just stumbled upon these forums looking for websites to aid in my search for the right type of travel trailer for what me & my husband are looking to turn into our tiny home. I don't ...
Forum Discussion
Some thoughts:
- 450sft studio is likely double what you will get in a 25' trailer, so expect a much smaller space.
- If you add insulation, you are going to lose a lot of interior space. RV walls are only about 2" thick. To get decent insulation, you are going to push that up to around 6". That will take your interior space down to around 7' wide
- Slideouts are really pretty reliable, particularly if you aren't moving a lot but they make a night and day difference in interior space. There is a reason, you have to special order to get a trailer without them.
- Do you have any experience building light weight structures? Most tiny homes are drastically heavier compared to the same size RV. That means a good chance, you need to replace the axle assembly on any craigslist special you buy and likely need a bigger truck to pull it. On some even the frame may not be up to the challenge.
- Assuming you follow the weather to stay out of winter weather, a 30# propane tank can last months for cooking and if it's hot, it's immediately cooking when you turn it on and stops producing heat when you turn it off. Electric takes longer to heat up and continues to add heat to the trailer long after you turn it off.
- Do you have any experience with solar systems? It can be done but it's not cheap and if you set it up wrong, it can be a total waste of time.
- Having owned and used a composting toilet on our boat for several years, if your site has access to a sewer drop, use it. Far easier and there is no eco issues at most campgrounds that use septic fields (even if it feeds into a municipal system it's really not any worse).
I would suggest either starting with a solid heavy duty flatbed rated for 30% more than you think it will weigh or just find an existing RV with a good floor plan and use it. Some minor modifications to the interior layout if you feel the need but a total rebuild is likely going to be more hassle and more expense than just starting from scratch on a solid frame that can handle the weight.
- 450sft studio is likely double what you will get in a 25' trailer, so expect a much smaller space.
- If you add insulation, you are going to lose a lot of interior space. RV walls are only about 2" thick. To get decent insulation, you are going to push that up to around 6". That will take your interior space down to around 7' wide
- Slideouts are really pretty reliable, particularly if you aren't moving a lot but they make a night and day difference in interior space. There is a reason, you have to special order to get a trailer without them.
- Do you have any experience building light weight structures? Most tiny homes are drastically heavier compared to the same size RV. That means a good chance, you need to replace the axle assembly on any craigslist special you buy and likely need a bigger truck to pull it. On some even the frame may not be up to the challenge.
- Assuming you follow the weather to stay out of winter weather, a 30# propane tank can last months for cooking and if it's hot, it's immediately cooking when you turn it on and stops producing heat when you turn it off. Electric takes longer to heat up and continues to add heat to the trailer long after you turn it off.
- Do you have any experience with solar systems? It can be done but it's not cheap and if you set it up wrong, it can be a total waste of time.
- Having owned and used a composting toilet on our boat for several years, if your site has access to a sewer drop, use it. Far easier and there is no eco issues at most campgrounds that use septic fields (even if it feeds into a municipal system it's really not any worse).
I would suggest either starting with a solid heavy duty flatbed rated for 30% more than you think it will weigh or just find an existing RV with a good floor plan and use it. Some minor modifications to the interior layout if you feel the need but a total rebuild is likely going to be more hassle and more expense than just starting from scratch on a solid frame that can handle the weight.
