built on a tiny 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer?

Started by mikeschn, May 26, 2011, 04:21:51 PM

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mikeschn

Has anyone here built, or seen a tiny house, ala Jay Schafer, built on a tiny 4x8 Harbor Freight trailer? Just wondering if it's even possible, or what modifications would have to happen...

I'm thinking, maybe if it were stretched, you could do a 6 x 12 house...

Or would one be better off starting with a 5x8 H.F. Chassis?

Mike... 


bayview

#1
   Jays small homes over at Tumbleweeds are quite extraordinary!    And expensive!   His "Epu" seems to be the smallest "home" on a trailer.   Finished price of $45,997.

  Personally, I think some of the "Canned Hams", "Standys" and trailers with the slide-outs on your forum are the way to go.   I think a trailer with a loft on a small footprint would be top heavy.    Not real road worthy except for short distances.

  PS:   Love your forum!   I have spent many hours admiring the members accomplishments.  

  Here is a couple I have in the planning stage . . .      6 ½ ft wide by 12 ft long   The "loft" design would incorporate a hinged roof.   The stabilizers would slide out to handle the extra height when parked.   The design with the slide-out has a convertible sofa that "jack-knifes" into a bed. . .    The other trailers dinette would drop down for the bedroom.   Entertainment center w/flat screen tvs. . .    

/.




    . . . said the focus was safety, not filling town coffers with permit money . . .


mikeschn

I hadn't even gotten that far, to think about the top heavy part. It's a good point. So I would have to start with a 5' wide trailer, and build out over the sides, to a total width of 78".

What about the length? You have a 12' design... do you think that's long enough to live in?

Mike...

Quote from: bayview on May 26, 2011, 07:27:53 PM
  Jays small homes over at Tumbleweeds are quite extraordinary!    And expensive!   His "Epu" seems to be the smallest "home" on a trailer.   Finished price of $45,997.

  Personally, I think some of the "Canned Hams", "Standys" and trailers with the slide-outs on your forum are the way to go.   I think a trailer with a loft on a small footprint would be top heavy.    Not real road worthy except for short distances.

  PS:   Love your forum!   I have spent many hours admiring the members accomplishments.  

  Here is a couple I have in the planning stage . . .      6 ½ ft wide by 12 ft long   The "loft" design would incorporate a hinged roof.   The stabilizers would slide out to handle the extra height when parked.   The design with the slide-out has a convertible sofa that "jack-knifes" into a bed. . .    The other trailers dinette would drop down for the bedroom.   Entertainment center w/flat screen tvs. . .    

/.






bayview


   I would go with a full width trailer with brakes.   (6X12)   I don't think a HF trailer would safely carry the weight.

   Personally, I would find it difficult to live in such a small place for an extended period of time . . .    I was going to build for weekends and vacations.

   In the following plans I have eliminated the ladder to the loft.     Keeping it all on one floor.   Adding a table for the sofa-bed.   Roof air/heat. . .    Water heater under hanging storage.   Large bath with standing shower.   Water storage under stove.

   Probably need at least a ½ ton to pull it safely. . .

/.




    . . . said the focus was safety, not filling town coffers with permit money . . .

Squirl

I have seen the trailers with little food or vender sheds built on top of them.  They were true 4ft wide and did not over hang the edge. The roof height was probably 6-6 to 7'.  I actually thought they were one of the most attractive vendor trailers at the farmers market. I have one of those 4x8 HF trailers.  You can't beat the price.  It can handle a good load, but sometimes it seems a little bouncy.  I would definitely want a lot of cross bracing and as much reinforcement as it could handle.  I guess it would depend on what you put in it.  Even if you build it with 2x4's, plywood, and foam, which are very light, it is all the extra stuff that is heavy.  Most of the little house ones are 12' long for a reason.  There is not much more you can to in 7'-5" other than lay down.  I would also worry about the bend of the floor joist with half of it overhanging and unsupported.


MushCreek

I'm currently building a camper on a junky old flat bed I had laying around. The frame is 5' wide, so I went out past the tires a little to 7' wide. The frame is 10' long, so I made a Vee-nose on the front for less wind resistance and a little more space. The inside height is 74", which fits my stumpy old self just fine. It's a dual-purpose rig, with a swing down ramp door in the back, plus a man door and a window in the sides. I'll use it to haul all of my tools to my build site, and then as a place to live while I get the barn done. Live in it? well, it's OK for one person without any possessions, I suppose- people in other parts of the world are getting by with less, that's for sure. After the build is done, I might make a proper little camper out of it.
Jay

I'm not poor- I'm financially underpowered.

Freeholdfarm

My nephew got a free travel trailer, a 22 footer.  There was too much rot to salvage anything but the frame, axles, and (good) tires, so he tore off the upper part down to the bare frame (huge job!), and is building a tiny house on it for himself and his seven-year-old son.  I think he said the inside measurements will be 7' X 22'.  He's got the floor decked, the walls framed, and is putting the roof framing on now.  He plans for them to live in that (they are living here with me right now) until he can get a piece of land and build a permanent house.  It will allow him to travel for work, too, as long as he has someone to look after the little guy.

Several years ago, when my marriage first broke up, my daughter and I traveled from New Hampshire to Oregon and back in a small 4-cyl. pickup with a flatbed that had a six-foot-square box built on it.  I built two, 2' wide, cots with a two-foot-wide aisle between them.  The cots were three feet off the floor, so we had plenty of storage space underneath.  Carried a camp stove and water jugs.  We weren't trying to live in it, but I thought at the time that it wouldn't take much more space for us to be able to live in it (especially if we stayed in climates where we could be outdoors a great deal of the time).  You can live with a lot less than you think you can!

Kathleen