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Post by Rustaholic on Apr 21, 2016 23:13:45 GMT
I would think you would need a serious car or truck to pull (an stop) a tiny house loaded with all your possessions. Does anyone know how heavy they are?
If you have brakes on all of the trailer wheels and a trailer brake controller on the towing vehicle stopping isn't the issue.
For carrying the tongue weight and pulling it up hills a one ton 4WD is best.
I like the 4WD for two reasons.
There will be times when the ground is softer and a 2WD would be stuck.
Also the 4WD truck usually has a low range for when you are off the pavement in the hard pulling areas.
If that truck has a manual transmission I would like it a lot more for the fuel economy..
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Post by willowgirl on Apr 22, 2016 17:03:34 GMT
I bought a 12x20 structure that was a display model at Home Depot. I think it had been used as an office for the shed sales unit ... it was drywalled, wired up, even came with an window air conditioner! It has two windows plus a pair of French doors and a 4ft. porch across the front. Cute little building. It had to be completely dismantled for transport and rebuilt on my site. The job didn't take long; I think the crew was 3-4 men and they were there for maybe half the day. They put a new shingled roof on. The drywall had to be taken out to dismantle it and it wasn't replaced, but I was OK with that as I got it for $3,000 out-the-door. Bought it on one of those 18-month-same-as-cash deals HD offers on their store credit card purchases. I agree with Numb's comments on making a tiny house portable. If you want something that can be moved easily, get an RV! If it doesn't need to be portable, it's pretty easy to build something on a post foundation if your zoning will allow it. Paying tens of thousands of dollars for something that is little more than a dressed-up shed strikes me as a yuppie fad. More brains than money! But more power to 'em, I guess. Whatever floats your boat!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2016 1:14:36 GMT
For $41,000 we bought a 3-yr-old like new 3l-foot high-end luxury RV with 3 slides, king size bed, nice shower, large freshwater tank, blackwater tank, greywater tank, batteries for when we're off grid, 2 TVs, electric fireplace, super insulated, with air conditioner......furnished........10 foot ceiling, ceiling fan, hickory cabinets...... the layout is perfect and I don't think anybody could do any better building one of those "tiny homes." I've been to Ikea and looked at all their tiny home displays and this is much more comfortable. Plus it's portable and has an amazing amount of storage. It barely uses any energy to keep warm or cool, and for $3000 we can get solar panels to power it.
I've been living in it for almost 5 months now, through the winter no problem, and DH has been with me for about 1 of those months and will be joining me again soon. We love it and it has made our lives so much more simple. I love the tiny home concept but people have been making RVs for decades and the layouts have pretty much been perfected. I know you can't have an RV in a city and you can stack those little cube tiny living homes in a city....but I don't think I'd want to live in a tiny home that was in a stack of other tiny homes....ours is on my dad's property and we're paying rent and sharing his deck, laundry facilities, and using a storage room in his basement. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement while I was being treated for breast cancer but we're thinking we might make it permanent. Combining households has its perks.
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Post by comfortablynumb on Apr 23, 2016 2:17:24 GMT
Paying tens of thousands of dollars for something that is little more than a dressed-up shed strikes me as a yuppie fad. Hipsters. Not yuppies. Yuppies inhabit condos and high end homes.
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Post by kawaiitimes on Apr 23, 2016 2:24:47 GMT
To answer the question of how much hauling all of your stuff might weigh:
It depends on what you own. We are building and including storage for a lifestyle of 10,000lbs or less.
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Apr 23, 2016 3:51:58 GMT
Do you think 'super-size" is better than "obese?" I prefer to be called "a victim of the fork," thank you. Everyone is a victim these days, lol!
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Post by willowgirl on Apr 23, 2016 5:00:44 GMT
I prefer to be called "a victim of the fork," thank you. Everyone is a victim these days, lol! Exactly, and the fork is my oppressor.
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Post by mollymckee on Apr 23, 2016 5:26:10 GMT
I do think the tiny homes could be a good alternative to other types of housing in some cases, especially if you could do most of the building yourselves. I do wonder how well they will work for people that plan on moving them longer distances and often. Most of them just don't look like they are going to tow very well. For people who want to save money, simplify their lives, or need housing for a family member or want a cottage they might be great. Some of them are really cute, I do think there are some builders and sellers that are charging more than a good profit would dictate, but no one has to do business with them.
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Post by willowgirl on Apr 23, 2016 12:28:55 GMT
Another type of alternative housing I read about recently was in urban areas and aimed at young singles. It was something like dorm living -- tenants essentially rented a bedroom and bathroom, and the rest -- kitchen, living room -- was all community space. But the concept was very high-end, with (for instance) big-screen TVs and a chef's kitchen. (Not sure how clean-up was handled!) The residents interviewed seemed to like it, finding it less isolating than traditional apartment living.
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Post by Rustaholic on Apr 24, 2016 21:16:37 GMT
A very compact and fun living place is as it was shown in the movie The Matrix.
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