Mobile tiny homes are exceptionally well designed for people who live in tiny houses or want the style of a larger home but don’t have the space for one. Tiny houses are manufactured with high quality, low-priced, light wood frame/structure, such as a traditional, wooden frame-built home you may see installed on a piece of vacant land. Yet, most mobile tiny homes are built directly over the portable chassis or moved within an overall movable structure built upon solid ground. These tiny mobile houses tend to be about 12 feet wide and sometimes vary significantly in size from several hundred square feet to several thousand square feet.
The majority of mobile tiny homes that are sold are typically manufactured as a completely-assembled travel trailer. A “tent” is erected upon purchase of the travel trailer by the buyer, which is then covered with tar/felt sheets to protect the tent against the elements. Tar/felt sheets can be bought at most retail stores and used in construction projects. They can provide excellent protection from the elements while being highly flexible to facilitate assembly on the move.
Although these tents are not mobile tiny homes, they are still highly compact and are usually made of durable, lightweight material. The tents are typically constructed so that the “tents” are on rollers and rolled onto the frame of the travel trailer. Several “tents” may be erected upon one outdoor floor of the trailer. Most tiny home manufacturers provide information on the size of the tent required for each particular model and the maximum number of floors that may be supported by the frame. Therefore, the number of beds varies significantly among models.
Tiny house manufacturers generally sell complete, ready-to-assemble (RTA) tiny houses that come with all required hardware and wiring accessories. In addition, most mobile tiny homes will also come with various building materials, including lumber, non-skid flooring, tiles, gypsum boards, and other components for wall and ceiling construction. It should be noted that all of these building materials are highly weather-resistant and extremely strong.
There are some differences between “portable” (as used in this context) and “immovable” mobile tiny homes that go beyond the types of construction materials used. For starters, they are generally required to meet much tighter regulations regarding building, health, and safety and building permits than are necessary for traditional homes. One of the most important differences relates to zoning. Because mobile homes are assembled on sites rather than on foundations like traditional residences, they are subject to much stricter local building and zoning regulations. These laws are in place to ensure the safety of guests, homeowners, and visitors to these residences and prevent builders from exploiting land that would otherwise allow for better housing opportunities.
As a result of their unique design, tiny houses must also conform to many more stringent design requirements than conventional homes. Because the homes must be constructed in a factory setting rather than on foundations, this can often result in exciting designs. As one might expect, the plans typically produced by these companies are beautiful compared to the cookie-cutter designs commonly made by most homeowners. Many people are surprised to learn that many of these designers studied architecture in college. Many of them had to begin their careers as graduates of reputable architectural schools rather than as “fresh students” entering college fresh out of high school. There is a definite art to making the seemingly simple act of assembling a home a beautiful work of art.
Building regulations in most cities and towns require that new construction and structures have permits. Unfortunately, many people who have chosen to live in RVs instead of traditional homes do not know or even care to get these building permits. This allows for enormous waste, even when the licenses are eventually obtained. Tiny house plans and RVs contain far more regulations than traditional houses because they must be assembled on non-traditional foundations and even in areas with no buildings. Because the rules are so strict, many people are unaware of them.
Another benefit of living in RVs is that they can become off-grid when they are initially built. Most people who choose to live in these types of dwellings and RVs do so because they want to be self-sufficient and explore possibilities like solar power and other energy sources. As a result, many manufacturers of tiny house plans and RVs offer their buyers kits that allow them to build their off-grid electric systems or finance their purchases. The kits are available for RVs of all shapes and sizes, but those made on RVs are most popular.
