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Sniper

Looking for a Flat Bed Open Trailer Supplier

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21 hours ago, Sniper said:

I'm actually going with a completely different design and engineering plan to see if I can actually make some money on THIS one.

Yea,  was wondering about that...

I have the same problem with most of my "fun" projects -- Yes I can make money -- But I would have been better off just going to work

Usually end up making like $6.50 an hour once I actually figure out how much time I put into a project

 

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7 hours ago, Heavyopp said:

This is totally relevant to where the dumpster is -- I've been on some jobs where even I was amazed at what got thrown out -- Plenty of times I pulled something out of the dumpster for myself or to re-sell

I follow the tiny house trend and forums and there were many kids, due to limited budgets, spent like 6 months scouring construction sites or Craigslist looking for free or excess materials to build their houses. Unfortunately, they ended up with a hodge podge built house made with all different materials, windows, doors, etc.

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7 hours ago, Heavyopp said:

Yea,  was wondering about that...

I have the same problem with most of my "fun" projects -- Yes I can make money -- But I would have been better off just going to work

Usually end up making like $6.50 an hour once I actually figure out how much time I put into a project

Ha, that was kinda the situation with the last one. I wrestled with building a basic house or a nice house for the first one, and opted for nice. So I put in a lot of upgraded materials, fixtures, mechanical system, some high tech and really over built it. Many considered it to be a luxury tiny house.

Problem was, I built a Lexus, when the marketplace could only afford a used Toyota Corolla, and at that price range, still couldn't get approved for financing. I ended up almost giving the house away,  just to get it out of here.

In the end, I think I made like $8/ hour. It's a good thing I'm retired and not depending on that money to live.

So, this go around, I simplified the design to go with more basic materials that won't be as labor intensive to build. I learned with the previous tiny house the important point was : Price first, followed by "looks nice" second. That's it. These kids couldn't care less about mechanical systems, functionality or features.

Hopefully this time, I can get a raise to Murphy's $15/hour wage, at least. :yahoo:

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40 minutes ago, silverado427 said:

Question ? Does a tiny house need Some form of building permits and  a Co.  

Nope.

That's  one of the attractions to them. Since it's on wheels, and not on a foundation, the towns have no say. That's how some kids get away with building them so shoddy. They're treated like a travel trailer, although some towns take issues with allowing someone to live in one full time.

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16 hours ago, W2MC said:

@coldsolderjoint --- build one out of used pallets?

 

Ever actually try and take a pallet apart? -- Not as easy as you would think  

Then there's the dirt embedded in the wood -- No way I'd run a piece of pallet wood thru the surface planer

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20 minutes ago, Heavyopp said:

Ever actually try and take a pallet apart? -- Not as easy as you would think  

Then there's the dirt embedded in the wood -- No way I'd run a piece of pallet wood thru the surface planer

Yep - @coldsolderjoint is doing it

 

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48 minutes ago, Heavyopp said:

Ever actually try and take a pallet apart? -- Not as easy as you would think  

Then there's the dirt embedded in the wood -- No way I'd run a piece of pallet wood thru the surface planer

Those are two items I thought of too. Taking apart the pallets is a pain. Many boards get split in the process. Plus, you have no idea what the wood has been exposed to (dirt, chemicals, oils, etc.). Not a great idea to use on the inside of a small, confined living environment.

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On 4/19/2019 at 8:40 PM, Heavyopp said:

how about keeping this thread alive with progress of the build — I would be interested

Well, it's finally done. Now to find a new home for it. Took me a lot less hours this time, due to a simpler design, I almost made it within the time I originally planned. Unfortunately, it went over budget (I just can't build "affordable" and ended up upgrading a bunch of materials and fixtures from the original budget).

 

TH front.jpg

TH rear.jpg

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inside6.jpg

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That looks great!  It would make a great hunting cabin or getaway.

For a trailer base, is it worth looking at old travel trailers and stripping them?  I usually see a few that people are looking to give away just to get rid of them...

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When I get divorced, move to TN or WV, and get my 100+ acres of land, i'm parking a tiny house on it to start with.  I've long said, I only need a couple hundred square feet to "live" in... the rest needs to be a barn for my cars and other toys. :D

On 4/21/2019 at 11:17 PM, Sniper said:

Nope.

That's  one of the attractions to them. Since it's on wheels, and not on a foundation, the towns have no say. That's how some kids get away with building them so shoddy. They're treated like a travel trailer, although some towns take issues with allowing someone to live in one full time.

Careful with that. Lots of municipalities all over the country are catching up to the tiny house thing, and cracking down.   ALWAYS, due diligence is warranted.

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2 hours ago, mustang69 said:

That looks great!  It would make a great hunting cabin or getaway.

For a trailer base, is it worth looking at old travel trailers and stripping them?  I usually see a few that people are looking to give away just to get rid of them...

You will probably spend a lot refurbishing the trailer just to make it capable of working.

@sniper that thing is probably one of the most plain looking tiny houses I've ever seen.  I LOVE IT! :D

Can you link to plans for it? It's exactly what I'd want.

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2 hours ago, mustang69 said:

For a trailer base, is it worth looking at old travel trailers and stripping them?

 

33 minutes ago, Sota said:

You will probably spend a lot refurbishing the trailer just to make it capable of working.

Used travel trailer frames don't work. For starters, they can't handle the weight of regular building materials. Travel trailers are made out of balsa wood and foam, where a tiny house is made out of conventional building materials, and weights a lot more. Some guys tried that route, and ended up with collapsed frames after adding the tiny house.

33 minutes ago, Sota said:

@sniper that thing is probably one of the most plain looking tiny houses I've ever seen.  I LOVE IT! :D

That was my goal, to keep it as simple, and affordable as possible. The target market is ONLY interested in price. They don't appreciate quality and the labor it takes to upgrade everything. I learned that on the last one I built.

33 minutes ago, Sota said:

Can you link to plans for it? It's exactly what I'd want.

I'd have to give you my head, as that's where it came from. I designed and engineered as I went. The only thing I have is my original floorplan below. All other details were designed on the fly.

TH floorplan.jpg

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2 hours ago, Zeke said:

Troll

Your Jealousy is showing...... again...

BTW, this is what successful "tin foil" wearing people can accomplish, after they retire in their 50's....

You should try being successful, for once, you might like it.

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 Nice work Sniper.

I have a 31 ft class C RV so I could easily see how you could live nicely in that tiny house.

One thing that occurred to me is what would be needed to protect it in a bad storm.  One way would be to leave the path of the storm if it was highway safe.  But some sort of abutment and anchor system might work if it was something used as Sota said, on a 100 acre lot for a time.  Reinforced concrete cradle.

As far as towns cracking down, they let people live in mobile home parks full time.  Quite few here in Monmouth county.  But I have no idea how those places are operating.  Double wides get trucked in and planted on a platform of some sort.  These should be addressed the same way I would think.

Any, wife and I have talked about living in a 45 ft Class A as we drive around the country at some point when I’m done working.  This is maybe a bit of a variation on that.

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57 minutes ago, Kevin125 said:

I have a 31 ft class C RV so I could easily see how you could live nicely in that tiny house.

it's interesting, I bought a brand new Class C in the Spring, so now I have a apples to apples comparison of a RV to a tiny house. There's been a lot of tiny house people who say "just buy a travel trailer, and save some money". Comparing the two, it's like comparing a hammer to apples. We were out in the RV this past weekend up in PA and NY, and the temps got down to the upper 40's one night. It was surprising how drafty, noisy and cold the RV is compared to the tiny house. The difference in construction materials makes a HUGE difference in comfort.

57 minutes ago, Kevin125 said:

One thing that occurred to me is what would be needed to protect it in a bad storm.  One way would be to leave the path of the storm if it was highway safe.  But some sort of abutment and anchor system might work if it was something used as Sota said, on a 100 acre lot for a time.  Reinforced concrete cradle.

That could be an issue, and you could tow it away from the area, but remember, a tiny house is a lot heavier than a traditional mobile home or travel trailer, so it would hold up to those weather conditions just like your house does. Same materials.... I suppose you could anchor down the corners with cables for extra safety, but unless it's a tornado, I'd doubt there's much to worry about.

57 minutes ago, Kevin125 said:

Any, wife and I have talked about living in a 45 ft Class A as we drive around the country at some point when I’m done working.  This is maybe a bit of a variation on that.

You're better off with the Class A in that situation, since tiny houses aren't design for frequent moves, and certainly ain't aerodynamic. The average owner moves one maybe once every few years. They go the tiny house/ trailer route to bypass local zoning laws, and take their house with them when they relocate for a new job.

That was one of the reasons I bought the Class C this year. We looked at everything from trailers, to 5vers, to Class Cs to Class As, and decided on the C, so we can go run around and be tourists, and use the RV as a base of operations.

57 minutes ago, Kevin125 said:

As far as towns cracking down, they let people live in mobile home parks full time.  Quite few here in Monmouth county.  But I have no idea how those places are operating.

A lot of towns are still trying to figure out what to do with tiny houses. Some towns have a minimum square foot requirement. Mostly, the towns don't like them because they can't collect property taxes on them, since they're on wheels and not a foundation. This is why many people who go the tiny house route find a place "off the radar" to put them, where no one will complain. Downtown Red Bank won't work. :dontknow:

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10 hours ago, Sniper said:

 

Used travel trailer frames don't work. For starters, they can't handle the weight of regular building materials. Travel trailers are made out of balsa wood and foam, where a tiny house is made out of conventional building materials, and weights a lot more. Some guys tried that route, and ended up with collapsed frames after adding the tiny house.

That was my goal, to keep it as simple, and affordable as possible. The target market is ONLY interested in price. They don't appreciate quality and the labor it takes to upgrade everything. I learned that on the last one I built.

I'd have to give you my head, as that's where it came from. I designed and engineered as I went. The only thing I have is my original floorplan below. All other details were designed on the fly.

TH floorplan.jpg

hey, that's good enough as a starting point.  I don't think I've ever seen one with the entry door on a long side like that; usually they're on the tail end.  I would note though... maybe flipping it on the long axis or rotating it 180* would have been an idea?  so that the entry door is on the "curb" side, and the windows by the sofa would have looked at something other than the tow vehicle? :D

What do I know though... I've never built one.  

And looking at it a bit more, I can see problems with that idea involving the mini split.  These things are a hell of a mental exercise.  :lol:

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2 hours ago, Sota said:

hey, that's good enough as a starting point.  I don't think I've ever seen one with the entry door on a long side like that; usually they're on the tail end. 

Actually, the door on the side is the popular design. I don't like it there, as it doesn't offer any protection from the weather, but many guys are designing them this way, so I'm not fighting the trend. On my last one, I put the door on the rear with a porch (picture is earlier in this thread), and a lot of comments I got, people didn't like it there. The other thing, these tiny houses are backed into spaces and tucked into the trees, so having the door on the rear means you have to walk all the way to the back to get in.

There were a bunch of things I did during the construction that I didn't agree with, but the target market (the Millennials) "think" it's a great idea, and since they're clueless to materials, construction methods, mechanical systems, applications, etc., I just went with the "flow". They don't want to learn or be educated, so I decided to not fight the trend, even if it's wrong in the big picture.

2 hours ago, Sota said:

And looking at it a bit more, I can see problems with that idea involving the mini split.  These things are a hell of a mental exercise. 

What's the issue with the mini splits? This was the first one I've ever installed, and it's a pretty cool concept, and for this type of a application, probably better than a window A/C and separate electric heater (which is what I was originally going to do). The mini splits have been a popular option with these houses.

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20 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

Some entrepreneur should build up 50-100 of these, buy one of the vacant industrial lots near the Harrison Path station, park them all there and lease them out on a weekly/monthly basis.

There have been some people who have jumped on the AirBnB train with these, and rent them out. I've actually considered it, but wonder about the return on investment.

After building the first one, I was considering buying a piece of land, and developing a tiny house community where others could rent a space to park their tiny houses, as it's tough to get zoning permission in many towns in this state. But after seeing how non-creditworthy the buyers of these things are, the last thing I would want to have to do is fight to get paid rent and have to evict non-payers.

I expect the interest to be even higher on this tiny house than the last one, but finding someone with a credit score higher than 500 who can get approved for a loan, I know will be tough.

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15 hours ago, Sota said:

Careful with that. Lots of municipalities all over the country are catching up to the tiny house thing, and cracking down.   ALWAYS, due diligence is warranted.

This is true.  Been house shopping in Maine and finding they're coming down on these in the more "blue" areas.  They don't like how they slip through the tax loops.  Beautiful work BTW.

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1 hour ago, Sniper said:

But after seeing how non-creditworthy the buyers of these things are, the last thing I would want to have to do is fight to get paid rent and have to evict non-payers.

If by "evict" you mean "wait till they go out, tow it to an undisclosed location, dump the contents, and relist it", I don't think it would be as hard as you think.   :rolleyes:

 

(yeah, I know, in NJ the rights are more with the deadbeat tenants, but you'd have fun employing the 'House?  What house?' defense.)

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1 hour ago, BobA said:

Really?  Is that what they're called?

Well, maybe....

midget.jpg

49 minutes ago, 10X said:

If by "evict" you mean "wait till they go out, tow it to an undisclosed location, dump the contents, and relist it", I don't think it would be as hard as you think.   :rolleyes:

Yeah, it wouldn't be a traditional eviction, and probably easier than a house or apartment, but I think with this group, it would be an ongoing situation.

On the last one I built, I could have sold 50 of them if I was willing to be the banker on the deal. Yeah, sure, carry the loan on someone with a 500 FICO, let them tow the house away somewhere, then try to find it and repo it when they default...

No thanks....

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15 minutes ago, Heavyopp said:

That looks great -- Plain simple design but done very nicely

Plain and simple was the goal, to keep the sale price down in the lower end of the marketplace. But it was really difficult, I'm not use to doing lower budget projects, and I kept upgrading a bunch of items, and ended up going way over my original budget.

17 minutes ago, Heavyopp said:

What kind of roofing material did you use?

architectural, dimensional asphalt shingles.

19 minutes ago, Heavyopp said:

How about the toilet -- where does it go when you flush? 

It's got to be hooked up to a septic or sewer. All the drains tie together to one outlet. The connections I put in (water, electric, sewer) are the same that you would find on a RV, since these houses sometimes get put in campgrounds.

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