Tumbleweed Tow-Along "Cabin," Cool with FW?

[AntePrincess]

We're thinking of getting/building a trailer style microhome like the Tumbleweed XS (http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/xs-house/) or one of the slightly larger models. It fits on a fairly standard trailer, has standard RV hookups, and is street legal, albeit really cut to see one driving down the highway. They also hold together fine, there have been several cross-country tours of these trailers so far.

Does anyone know how FW would feel about this sort of "camper" showing up at FW? I know that I've seen some wild things set up on campsites, and aside from the mini house, there'd be nothing nearly so interesting or exciting about our set up. Just a car and a house on wheels. (I'm not sure yet whether to finish the house to resemble a more Main Street USA vibe or woodsy, probably woodsy.)

We're not married to this particular minihome, for what it's worth, I've considered adapting a cheaper shed kit, for instance, or even a kid's playhouse if it has a decent sized loft for a mattress. I'd love to hear input. I did search for any threads on this topic before, but couldn't come up with any great search terms. If anyone else is interested in a similar concept and would enjoy a bit of brainstorming, I'd love to hear from you, on the condition that if anyone else does this we make sure to meet up at FW for an impromptu Lilliputian village.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Interesting question.

I have seen all kinds of homemade trailers at the Fort. I even saw people use a U-Haul truck as a camper. So, I would say that if you can legally tow this thing on the road, and the standard utility connections at the Fort will work on it, then why not?

TCD

 

[AntePrincess]

Perfect, I guess we'll make sure to build it with standard hookups. That leaves the fun part of brainstorming and design, then.

A follow up question, I doubt that our little glorified wooden tent will draw as much electricity as a luxury motor home, but is there a limit on how much you can draw?

 

[Joyce in Texas]

My cousin lives in a Tumbleweed in Oregon. As expensive as hers was I'm not sure I'd want to pull it down the road. They are really cute though.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

A follow up question, I doubt that our little glorified wooden tent will draw as much electricity as a luxury motor home, but is there a limit on how much you can draw?

I can't answer that one for you exactly. I camp in a pop-up camper, and have never had a problem with the electric, but I believe there are some limitations. There are some more technically minded folks who visit these boards, and perhaps one of them can give you specifics.

TCD

 

[AntePrincess]

My cousin lives in a Tumbleweed in Oregon. As expensive as hers was I'm not sure I'd want to pull it down the road. They are really cute though.

We're pretty sure we're not going to buy a Tumbleweed, they are lovely, but pricey and not configured for what we're after. That said, apparently a woman by the name of Dee Williams built her own Tumbleweed, from the plans, for $10k, which is comparable to many mobile homes.

Our micro-home will have a comparatively open floor plan and be designed with office space in mind. I'm afraid it'll be really spartan at first, as we can't afford all the possible bells and whistles all at once. We think of our rough draft as a sturdy tent with water, electricity, and a cute porch. Like Dee Williams, we'll be using a lot of found and scavenged materials. It ought to be fun!

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

$37k! I could build 4 or 5 of them for that.

 

[Shan-man]

The full-hookup sites (Full, Preferred, and Premium classes) all have 50 amp, 220 volt service, plus a 30 amp 120 volt, and either 1 or 2 15 amp 120's. This is a fairly common modern hookup. If you were using all 120 volt you could theoretically draw up to 160 amps of power (using all available receptacles)! This is enough to run a medium sized house! Actually, my 4000 sq ft house ran on 120 amps (actually a 60 amp 240 panel, but let's keep comparing apples to apples) before I upgraded the service!

 

[AntePrincess]

$37k! I could build 4 or 5 of them for that.

In point of fact, that looks to be what Ms Williams has done, making her version of a $50k one for $10k. If you look her up (she does workshops on building small houses) you can see that it doesn't seem she skimped on anything. That said, I imagine there's a ton of labor involved in making one of these, so I certainly don't begrudge the man his pay if I hired him to build it. They are mostly hand worked, not factory style.

Actually, my 4000 sq ft house ran on 120 amps (actually a 60 amp 240 panel, but let's keep comparing apples to apples) before I upgraded the service!

Awesome! I'm sure, even with my partner's voltage eating toys, we should be able to run a < 150 ft mini home off the standard electric hookup.

So, I've taken a closer look at photo journals of people building their own tiny mobile cottages, and despite my assumptions: it looks like they use pretty much standard framing and foam insulation. It looks like they could do the same thing with prefab 4'x4' walling from Home Depot. Ok, maybe only if they have exterior walls, which I've never checked. The builder also happily shares what appliances and fixtures he uses, so I now know that that mini fireplace doohickey is a propane boat heater by Dickinson with an exterior vent. Very nice. Probably won't want that it Florida, but my partner is always hankering to see New England, too.

His standard issue wet baths use stainless steel diamond plate, which seems like overkill to me, not to mention pretty heavy. I'm guessing I'll go with wood paneling treated with boat varnish instead. Thanks for all your help, I have one more brass tacks question for the more experience RV users: what kind of camper toilet would you all recommend? If I had the means, I'd probably invest in an Incinolet, but they're up around $2k. I'm nervous about handling sewage tanks, toilet chemicals, and all the other options I've read about.