Tiny houses versus campers

There's no right or wrong answer just wondered what everybody thought.
 
Going to stick with my big ass tent and king size air mattress. Not as civilized but las weekend everyone else I went with pulled a camper only time they happened to be in it was to sleep.
 
I don't get the Tiny House fad. Just buy a mobile home, a camper or a normal house.
 
drkelly said:
I don't get the Tiny House fad. Just buy a mobile home, a camper or a normal house.
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Skinny jeans, man-buns....one trip to Montreal and you begin to question society as a whole.

I too think like all that crap is just a fad to be "different" yet all the same. "Lets make a really small home....but wait, lets make it mobile"

Yeah...umm, they've been doing that for years, and better.
fea9a650ee321bce5c2a96d62ec69d91.jpg


But you go ahead and re-invent the wheel and call yourself a trend-setter
 
drkelly said:
I don't get the Tiny House fad. Just buy a mobile home, a camper or a normal house.
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Sorry I should have been a lil more clear on what I was callin a tiny house.I was referring to one on wheels like this.
redwood-tiny-house-13.jpg


Some dude was givin a big sales pitch on one that he was wanting 48K for and I commented on how 48K would buy a nice camper.Dude about lost his mind and couldn't believe I would be stupid enuf to even compare the two.He gave a bunch of reasons why the house was better and about the only legit reason was quality of materials.Ive had some campers and they are built cheap.The way I see it your gonna have the very same situation w either one.Most folks here think like I do and was wondering if I was truly stupid or just unhip and not cool.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Most folks here think like I do and was wondering if I was truly stupid or just unhip and not cool.
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IMHO if you were taking it straight from the MFG and setting it up on the perfect property overlooking "_______" and giving it a foundation, anchoring it permanently, then yes. It would be preferred over a camper. But for actual mobile USE....camper all the way

Oh...and like many of us you ARE unHip and NOT cool :cool:
 
I like the thought of a minimalist home. Shoot, on the right peice of property, I'd live in a storage container. I shit you not. I suppose with the tiny home thing, you're just churching it up enough with more expensive fake granite countertops, "artisan craftsmanship" and curtains to sustain having a woman there full time. Or at least a woman that shaves her body... more than once a week.

As for people who want to raise a family in a tiny home, there's a word for that. gypsys.
 
CasterTroy said:
Oh...and like many of us you ARE unHip and NOT cool :cool:
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Reckon at what age or level of life experience that happens??? I think one of the main things bein pushed w the tiny houses is living w less and mobility.To me its just another way to shame folks who work hard and have things.
 
I'll echo everyone else, I don't 'get' tiny houses...I'd just go with a camper...unless it's going to a permanent location (even then I'd probably just go modular). The only 'improvement' I see is the skin.
 
Side thought about these tiny homes...you see the 'type of people' that they generally attract. I don't see very many of them that could capitalize on the mobility anyway...but I'm not exactly sure what tow ratings for a Subaru or Prius are either.
 
ProbablyBroke said:
I like the thought of a minimalist home. Shoot, on the right peice of property, I'd live in a storage container. I shit you not. I suppose with the tiny home thing, you're just churching it up enough with more expensive fake granite countertops, "artisan craftsmanship" and curtains to sustain having a woman there full time. Or at least a woman that shaves her body... more than once a week.

As for people who want to raise a family in a tiny home, there's a word for that. gypsys.
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I don't want a high maint place either but I do want room to live comfortable and not have to shit in my kitchen.I would take acreage over square footage though.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Reckon at what age or level of life experience that happens???
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For me, it was when my oldest daughter got into middle school and started speaking that weird language "On Fleek" "That's Ratchet" etc...I was then classified as UN-Cool
 
UTfball68 said:
Side thought about these tiny homes...you see the 'type of people' that they generally attract. I don't see very many of them that could capitalize on the mobility anyway...but I'm not exactly sure what tow ratings for a Subaru or Prius are either.
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That was one of my arguments w the dude tryin to sell it.More than likely your gonna have to have a 3/4 ton or better to pull/move it.Thats gonna mean tags/ins/taxes plus tags and,in most states,on the trailer too,some kind of home owners policy,plus the added expense of buyin something to move it or paying to have it moved.
 
ol'Jeeps said:
Uhhhhhhhh....

Isn't a "Tiny house" just a Cabin?o_O
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No,hell no,who are you,Daniel Boone??? The hipsters are'nt gonna live in a "cabin".:D
 
For me, I like the tiny house concept. I have an RV, and while it does it's job for what I need/bought it for, I wouldn't want to have to live in it. For one or two, non materialistic people, it can make sense.
Advantages
Lay it out to suit yourself, unlike the RV's
Make it with better materials to last for the long run.
No building codes
While not ideal for use as a camper, you could have several places to rotate around(especially if you are retired)
Keep a tag on the trailer, and it's pretty much legal to put anywhere.
For someone like me, I live in less than 1000 sq feet now, and don't use half of it.
Would be great for a guest home for visitors or, for maybe an elderly family member, gives them some sense of independence, but yet close enough to help when you need to.
You can have better appliances, In my case, toilet, fridge, stove.
An actual table and chairs, vs my dining set with the most uncomfortable couch, and table benches you can imagine.
And for sure, a better, longer lasting roof set up for piece of mind in a rain storm.
If built right, much more economical for electric, heating and AC.
With my situation, can be made for more room for the pooches.
List goes on, but, this is something I am actually considering.
 
The main difference I see, if you are living in a tiny house and drag it around, you have your whole life there. All the creature comforts, amenities, etc. With a camper, it is a temporary place to crash on whatever excursion you drag it on. Roughing it in the camper (to whatever degree) vs. having everything you want/need in the tiny house, not getting somewhere and realizing you left your spare underwear at home.
 
grapehead said:
The main difference I see, if you are living in a tiny house and drag it around, you have your whole life there. All the creature comforts, amenities, etc. With a camper, it is a temporary place to crash on whatever excursion you drag it on. Roughing it in the camper (to whatever degree) vs. having everything you want/need in the tiny house, not getting somewhere and realizing you left your spare underwear at home.
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If you're living in the camper...that becomes moot. In this scenario, the camper isn't a luxury toy, it's where you live. Just like the tiny house would be.
 
In a fixed location, a tiny house makes more sense.
If it needs to be truly mobile, camper.

There's a big difference between "you can move it if you HAVE to, but it will have to be a slow trip with a big-ass truck, and a lot of prep work to the house and your stuff to get ready" and "hook it up to any 1/2-ton truck and go anywhere".
That difference is what you lose by going with the much better construction, personalized layout, better interior etc of the tint house.
 
Fun story:
The people building a house in the lot behind us have a wheeled tiny house similar to the picture above but shorter (and not ugly). They built it for a temporary house on their build lot when they built a house in Raleigh. Then they bought the land, moved here (towed it here?), and are building their house. They mostly clearcut the land, unfortunately, so now our back view is lawn instead of trees.
My spiteful neighbor (borders both of our properties) was mad that her blueberry bushes were getting too much sun from the lack of trees or whatever, so she called code enforcement and got them kicked out of the tiny house, so now they live in an apartment and had to halt the build for 6 months for budget reasons. So then the neighbor got mad about looking at a foundation for 6 months. They just started framing last week, and somehow the port-a-jon and dumpster got placed right across the fence from her kids playset. :D
They're still trying to sell the tiny house, which they're having a hard time doing because no one can get a home loan for it and apparently can't otherwise afford it.

Anyway, a camper is a camper, and is usually made to reduce weight (luxury campers with granite counters aside). I can't see using a tiny house like a camper, because they're not really made for long term towing or to be lightweight. House construction techniques and materials aren't really meant to be portable.
 
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Fabrik8 said:
Anyway, a camper is a camper, and is usually made to reduce weight (luxury campers with granite counters aside). I can't see using a tiny house like a camper, because they're not really made for long term towing or to be lightweight. House construction techniques and materials aren't really meant to be portable.
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exactly my thoughts. They are forgetting the mobility aspect. Which is funny considering

upnover said:
For me, I like the tiny house concept. I have an RV, and while it does it's job for what I need/bought it for, I wouldn't want to have to live in it. For one or two, non materialistic people, it can make sense.
Advantages
Lay it out to suit yourself, unlike the RV's
Make it with better materials to last for the long run.
No building codes
While not ideal for use as a camper, you could have several places to rotate around(especially if you are retired)
Keep a tag on the trailer, and it's pretty much legal to put anywhere.
For someone like me, I live in less than 1000 sq feet now, and don't use half of it.
Would be great for a guest home for visitors or, for maybe an elderly family member, gives them some sense of independence, but yet close enough to help when you need to.
You can have better appliances, In my case, toilet, fridge, stove.
An actual table and chairs, vs my dining set with the most uncomfortable couch, and table benches you can imagine.
And for sure, a better, longer lasting roof set up for piece of mind in a rain storm.
If built right, much more economical for electric, heating and AC.
With my situation, can be made for more room for the pooches.
List goes on, but, this is something I am actually considering.
Click to expand...

I can understand what you are talking about. I have thought about something similar as my MIL gets older. But at ~$50k which is the average price they are going for, it doesnt make an sense. Even flatbed trailers "designed" to have a tiny home built on it are more expensive. Basically a car trailer with some extra boards screwed down. I would buy an RV/camper and replace the interior/parts with stuff designed for fulltime use/comfort. If it wasnt going to move, I would build something onsite, or start with a wooden storage building.
 
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