Tiny houses versus campers

I don't really "get" the tiny house thing myself, mainly because of my stage in life at the moment having three kids between 7 and 11, there never seems to be enough room in our existing house, let-alone trying to downsize.

If I were a single guy, or even just a couple with no kids, I think the concept of a tiny house would be kinda cool. I always loved campers and camping until it rains. For some reason, rain hitting a fiberglass roof is a downer, but hearing rain hit a metal roof like you would have on a tiny house makes for good sleeping. The tiny house is made with "real" building materials as opposed to plastic, fiberglass and aluminum camper stuff. While the fistures may be the same (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), you just have a more "home" feel in a tiny house than a camper. BUT - it all depends on how much mobility you are after. If you are moving it every week, then a camper is the win. If you are setting up for a season at a time or a year or longer, the tiny house and it's durability will win out in my book.

Or there's always:

 
I've placed AT&T services in a few Tiny homes around WNC and some were pretty nice but I'd rather live in my camper. It's got better bathroom, more living space, better kitchen, better bedroom, and way cheaper than the Tiny homes I've seen. We have a well built camper that should last many years with minimal maintenance.
 
The tiny house thing is stupid.

Just buy an RV that you kinda like, tear out the shit you don't like and replace it.

It's basically a way for yuppies to be tourists at being poor. If you want a cheap, tiny house, there are single-wides all over the place that can be had for less, have more living space, more amenities, and can be moved as easily.
 
If you want a cheap, tiny house, there are single-wides all over the place that can be had for less,


Trailer? But that's like.....eww
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It's basically a way for yuppies to be tourists at being poor. If you want a cheap, tiny house, there are single-wides all over the place that can be had for less, have more living space, more amenities, and can be moved as easily.

Except for being cheap, I don't see a single wide satisfying most of the other reasons that make people want to build a tiny house. Most tiny houses that I've seen aren't actually portable, and don't need to be. They're just small, with functional design and build quality that blows any single wide I've ever seen into the weeds. That's not to say they're all like that, but if we're broadly talking about why a single wide isn't quite the same thing.....
 
Except for being cheap, I don't see a single wide satisfying most of the other reasons that make people want to build a tiny house.
Single wide : black coffee
Tiny home : mocha soy latte with 3 shots of smug and a dash of pretentious
 
Single wide : black coffee from a gas station
Tiny home : mocha soy latte with 3 shots of smug and a dash of pretentious

Sure, but there's a reason you choose one over the other, clearly acknowledging that they aren't the same.

If you want black coffee from a gas station, you go find a gas station. If you need your 3PM Starbucks pick-me-up (I can't say that without wincing), you grab your lap dog and go to the land of crappy overpriced coffee franchises and drink your cup of brownie chunk pretentiousness.

The pretentiousness argument still breaks down though, because if that's the problem then you wouldn't be caught dead in a house that small when all of your friends have McMansion tract homes with kitchen islands larger than your house. I think tiny houses probably take a level of commitment that pretentious people can't handle. I'm just guessing though, I don't live in one. I'm more of the "support your local independent coffee shop" type of pretentious.

You may think I'm arguing, but I'm not. :D
 
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There's the tiny homes for +40k that are crazy, but quite a few companies sell "park model" homes that are just around ~20k that can be put on a permanent foundation. That would be the logical way to go. A lot of folks use them around Badin Lake, Linville Falls, etc. also for cheaper retirement villages.
 
Theres two tiny homes right across the entrance to our neighborhood. I believe it used to be a smaller, but somewhat normal sized house that caught fire so they turned it into two separate units. I'm pretty sure there aren't any yuppie hipsters living in them :p
 
I do not think anyone has mentionedit but campers are not designed to be lived in. They hold moisture and with 365 day living will have problems with the walls and moisture.

I haven't seen a "tiny house" that was designed with vapor drive in mind. They all seem to be built by people who are very crafty, but have little practical knowledge or experience in construction. I'd bet those roof systems only have a 5-10 year lifespan.
 
I would live in a "tiny house" but it wouldn't be 7' wide, 20' long, & 13' tall, wouldn't be mobile, and I definitely wouldn't be pooping on a composting toilet. Also probably wouldn't be married either....

.I don't see any cost savings in the ones they build on TV, It seems like they run about double the price per square foot of a normal house. But I'm not a numbers man so I could be wrong.
 
I'll say i lived in a one room cabin with a loft for a while. Not really a tiny home but i wouldn't do it if it was more than just me and a dog

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I'd bet those roof systems only have a 5-10 year lifespan.
And be exposed to near hurricane wind levels everytime they are moved.
 
If I were single, I'd probably consider a tiny house.
Not me,Im one of those shallow materialistic people who like to have "stuff".
 
If I were single, I'd probably consider a tiny house...
With a detached 4-car garage.

That's actually what we're considering for our next house, if that happens. It wouldn't be a true tiny house, more like a very modest house (maybe 800-1000sqft). The shop would store the stuff that doesn't need to be in the house, which is most of my stuff.
 
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