Looked Closely at a Tiny House

[2gypsies]

Here's a planned community of tiny homes in Lakeside, Arizona which is near Show Low and Pinetop. They're going to be pricey:

 

http://www.luxtiny.com/

 

http://whitemountainthingstodo.com/local-shops/tiny-home-community-pinetop-lakeside-arizona/

[sandsys]

How about a tiny home group in a Thousand Trails Park? http://tinyhousegiantjourney.com/2016/05/26/mt-hood-tiny-house-village/

 

This batch is built to RVIA standards.

 

Linda Sand

[Jimalberta]

We watch the tv shows that feature tiny homes and every time without fail I just think that an RV would have worked out better or as mentioned earlier if you are not traveling with it , a used mobile home. I could be persuaded however to convert containers in a permanent setting but they would be multiple units with a little elbow room.

[Grassy]

We watch the tv shows that feature tiny homes and every time without fail I just think that an RV would have worked out better or as mentioned earlier if you are not traveling with it , a used mobile home. I could be persuaded however to convert containers in a permanent setting but they would be multiple units with a little elbow room.

 

there are companies that actually do that...cool idea..

[Kirk W]

Our community has some homes that qualify as tiny homes based upon the sizes listed in the links above as 900 sq. ft. is our upper limit but we have several homes of 600 sq. ft. and a few less than that, as well as several park models and a few living in a parked RV. Reading these I am left wondering just what the difference is between the tiny home and a park model?

[Velos]

We watch the tv shows that feature tiny homes and every time without fail I just think that an RV would have worked out better or as mentioned earlier if you are not traveling with it , a used mobile home. I could be persuaded however to convert containers in a permanent setting but they would be multiple units with a little elbow room.

 

HGTV has a series on container homes: http://www.hgtv.com/shows/container-homes

[Velos]

Our community has some homes that qualify as tiny homes based upon the sizes listed in the links above as 900 sq. ft. is our upper limit but we have several homes of 600 sq. ft. and a few less than that, as well as several park models and a few living in a parked RV. Reading these I am left wondering just what the difference is between the tiny home and a park model?

 

IMHO they are the same thing. We stayed in a "Park Model" in an rv park in Idaho last summer and it was very similar to the tiny homes we have seen on HGTV Tiny House series.

 

I think the terms are used interchangeably and/or the particular marketing goal dictates which term is used.

 

We recently saw a Tiny House Hunter episode with a young man looking for a "tiny house" in Baltimore Maryland and the 3 choices he had were attached "row" homes approx 600 sq ft. each.

[2gypsies]

I think 'looks' has a lot to do with the difference between Park Models and tiny homes. Tiny homes are made to look like little cabins or tree houses and I really think that's why the big draw to them - they're cute. However, both really aren't made for traveling the highways and I don't think they even have holding tanks so they're made to stay in one place. I may be wrong but I think they're a big fad and will fade away. I'd take a RV on wheels any day.

[Kirk W]

Are all "tiny homes" portable? I thought that some of those built on a slab or a foundation also were classed as such and that size was the main qualifier.....

[Velos]

Are all "tiny homes" portable? I thought that some of those built on a slab or a foundation also were classed as such and that size was the main qualifier.....

 

 

The tiny house movement (also known as the "small house movement"^[1]) is a description for the architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. There is currently no set definition of what constitutes as a tiny house, however a residential structure under 500 square feet (46 m²) is generally accepted to be a tiny home.^[2]

 

^{For more info on the tiny house movement history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_house_movement}

[mptjelgin]

We have watched a few of those "Tiny House Hunter" shows. While many of them are one-off custom built things, it is fairly common for someone to buy a park model or even a fifth-wheel (in a recent episode) and declare that they've found their awesome new "tiny home". I see this as a marketing fad, nothing more. The Park Model and RV Industries have been selling tiny homes for decades. It is the label that is new and exciting!!

[sandsys]

I am left wondering just what the difference is between the tiny home and a park model?

 

Unfortunately, tiny homes now have more meanings than they were intended to have--kind of like the reverse of people who think RV means motorhome. The original tiny homes were less than 400 sq. ft. and were built on trailer frames. They were comparable to Class B motorhomes with an occasional cab-over bed-like space in a loft. Since most people didn't think they could live in that size space builders started building what were previously known as cottages but calling them tiny homes. Now most people are confused by the messiness of these terms. Kind of like the B+ which is a B with a cab-over bed built on a cutaway chassis so it's really a C but smaller than most Cs? Clear?

 

Linda Sand

[OverSoul7]

Can't imagine what the "tongue weight" is on a tiny house. Or the mpg one gets dragging it around. I remember one tiny house episode where the new owner pulled out of the driveway driving what seemed to be a full size Chevy van towing the new house, made a right and promptly parked. The camera did not get it going down the road and I thought to myself how terrified I would be driving that anywhere. But someone who drives big loads for a living and has the engine to hook it up to would do ok.

 

Another instance where I was glad I took so long to research and look at these. I even had made my own plans of what I would want. That is now a distant "want."

 

Christine

Class B, for now ....

[OverSoul7]

What I am seeing is mostly young people who would love to buy a house but cannot afford to do so. They see the tiny houses as affordable S&B. Yes, they build them on trailers but that appears to be mostly because they don't see working one job for the next 40 years so they want something they can move to where the jobs are. The main problem I see is that they can't find a place where they are allowed to park them once they get them built--neighbors complain then they get evicted. Esthetically most of them want houses designed to fit their personalities. And they don't want things like property taxes.

 

Linda Sand

I've watched these shows for years also and think Linda hit the nail on the head.

[Lorrie]

I built a tiny home off the grid years ago. I should say started it. It is on blocks so no permit needed. This was the original intention of Tiny Homes, avoid permits. Many put them on a trailer because they did not own land and needed to be able to move it. My Tony Home is 10 by 20. It has two sleeping lofts.

I keep my stuff there and travel by RV.

Thinking about selling the land and Tiny Home.

[TrapperBob]

Tiny houses are a fad of the times and strike me as nothing more than oversized lawn sheds. Anyone that would spend that much money for something like this seems to have more money than common sense.

[TrapperBob]

We full time and o can not agree more with jc2.

 

Still have never seen one on the road or in an RV park. No way they could hold up to road travel.

[sandsys]

Still have never seen one on the road or in an RV park. No way they could hold up to road travel.

 

Before you say, "No way," you might want to check out http://tinyhousegiantjourney.com about a tiny house built to RVIA standards.

 

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

Still have never seen one on the road or in an RV park. No way they could hold up to road travel.

Neither have we and they are still just fancy versions of a park model, with no holding tanks or plumbing & electrical systems that operate free of the utilities. About as practicle as buying a park model to travel with.

[Chalkie]

Neither have we and they are still just fancy versions of a park model, with no holding tanks or plumbing & electrical systems that operate free of the utilities. About as practicle as buying a park model to travel with.

 

Friends of ours went to a tiny house show, at the US Air Force Academy of all places, and they said you can get them made with holding tanks. However, from the pictures they took and the descriptions in brochures, I will stick with my fiver. Likely it is as well, or better, built for a whole heck of a lot less money, with twice the room.

[sandsys]

Neither have we and they are still just fancy versions of a park model, with no holding tanks or plumbing & electrical systems that operate free of the utilities.

 

I repeat: "Before you say, "No way," you might want to check out http://tinyhousegiantjourney.com about a tiny house built to RVIA standards." The company that built their tiny home builds all of theirs to meet RVIA standards so the buyers can pull into any campground and hookup just like we do.

Just because many are not built to be stand alone does not mean none are. Just like many RVs not having double pane windows doesn't mean none do. Or that you can't winter in one that doesn't have them. After all we didn't have double pane windows in any of the rigs we lived in for six winters.

To me this is a good example of never say never.

If you are still saying never regarding tiny homes you either have not done your research or you are refusing to believe what you read.

Linda Sand

[Grassy]

Their web site is down...

[Velos]

 

I repeat: "Before you say, "No way," you might want to check out http://tinyhousegiantjourney.com about a tiny house built to RVIA standards." The company that built their tiny home builds all of theirs to meet RVIA standards so the buyers can pull into any campground and hookup just like we do.

Just because many are not built to be stand alone does not mean none are. Just like many RVs not having double pane windows doesn't mean none do. Or that you can't winter in one that doesn't have them. After all we didn't have double pane windows in any of the rigs we lived in for six winters.

To me this is a good example of never say never.

If you are still saying never regarding tiny homes you either have not done your research or you are refusing to believe what you read.

Linda Sand

 

 

Linda's dual pane window is a good example. As different as RV's are: motorhome: Class A, B, C, tow trailer, fifth wheel, pop up etc so goes the Tiny Home and no two people agree completely on any modes of travel.

 

Variety, progress and change can all be bumpy roads; what works for one may not work for another but I am thankful people are always at the drawing board trying new things. Trial and error adds to products we currently have and may eventually have. ie: TANG, velcro, teflon. When we first started traveling motorhomes interiors seemed to be a lot nicer then fivers, but year after model year motorhome features were seen in fivers. Toy haulers were really pretty rough and tumble when they came on the scene and now many of them have added "motorhome" amenities.

 

I will say as nice as the Tiny homes look inside, all the open shelves and knick knacks for show could be a pain to take down and put up every time you move? But that is my preference, I just want to make sure all the doors and drawers are secure pull in the slides and go but another may enjoy the loading and unload of stuff with each move? And some tiny homes probably have no open shelves. In watching the Tiny Home shows they do come up with some ingenious multipurpose pieces that could work well in an RV.

 

We use to look at park models and wonder why people wouldn't' just buy a fiver because they seem to be built better and employed a better use of space but last summer we rented a park model for a weekend in the mountains and were very impressed with the log cabin** type exterior and the roominess inside. I've read on the Carriage forum several people have bought Carriage Fivers to park permanently for vacation homes.

 

**My dream home would be a log cabin but after seeing all the maintenance required from several DIY home improvement shows this log cabin park model would be a fine substitution for me when the time comes to hang up the keys permanently.

[Lorrie]

I think the tiny homes is more meant for a structure that stays put for a long period of time but can be moved maybe from your relatives property. I had built a tiny home on my land several years ago on over 2 acres in CA , creekside.

 

Considering selling it as I am traveling more.

If the reverse happens and someone wants to travel less, this is good option. Itvos on pier blocks, no trailer. Has two slleping lofts and is 20x10. Little bit larger than most tiny homes. PM me if interested.

[Barbaraok]

Biggest downside to me is the loft for sleeping. Just no way at our age. Love our park model for the winter, then travel with motorhome for the summer