Tag: tiny house traveling

A Guide to Traveling with a Tiny Home

A Guide to Traveling with a Tiny Home

Traveling with a Tiny Home
Traveling with a Tiny Home

Have you ever thought of how it is to travel with a tiny home? The experience of traveling with a tiny home is like going to different places without leaving your house.

Yes, exploring different places on wheels is easily doable with a tiny home. When you live in a tiny house, you can easily go anywhere you want – from different campgrounds to where your loved ones or friends live. You can start having an adventure as you begin to travel to different places anytime without a fuss. Thanks to tiny homes.

If you want to travel in a tiny house and you want to make the most out of it, you must not only keep these guidelines in mind but also follow them. Let this guide to traveling with a tiny home take you to good places yet still make you feel comfortable at home.

Ready, Set, Travel!

Living in a tiny home is fun and can be full of adventure provided that before you start traveling with your tiny home, you plan and follow this simple guide to make your travel more enjoyable and worthwhile:

  • Add bubble levels to your tiny home’s wheels.

A bubble level is a tool that tells whether a surface is vertical or horizontal. It is useful for helping you make sure that your tiny home is level.

Before going on a travel adventure with your tiny home, make sure that you have bubble levels on the back center of my tiny house for both right and left leveling. You also need to have one on the side for both back and front leveling.

When you have bubble levels, you can elevate one side of your tiny home a few inches higher. In addition, when bubble levels are attached to your tiny home, cabinets and doors will close properly so that they won’t swing open.

More importantly, sleeping and falling off the loft will not be something to worry about anymore. When you have bubble levels, you will have a stabilized tiny home.

  • Contact your campground before your arrival.

To avoid possible hassles, you must call your the park where you will be staying ahead of time and tell them, for example, that you will park a 20-feet tiny home.

In addition, you have to inform them about the things that you’ll need – electricity, drain for gray water, as well as water.

Calling certain campgrounds in advance will save you the hassle of being turned down and looking for another campground right then and there.

When you call your chosen campground before you arrive and you are informed that they won’t be able to accommodate you or provide one of your needs, you can just look for another without wasting time and energy.

  • Ensure that loose items won’t fall over.

Before hitting the road, you must secure all the items inside your tiny home and make sure that loose items inside your tiny home won’t fall over.

You can do this by adding a cord to secure books on your bookshelf (to prevent them from sliding and falling) as well as adding fish hooks or locks to your drawers.

More importantly, secure items in your tiny home, which are fragile, such as plates, glasses, mugs, and the like. Doing this will not only prevent your personal belongings from being broken but will also let you enjoy mess-free travel.

  • Use an RV GPS.
Driving with RV GPS
Driving with RV GPS

When you and your loved ones travel with your tiny home, relying on Google Maps for road directions and other driving information is not enough.

As a better alternative, go get yourself an RV GPS, which will provide you with details, such as gasoline stations, alternative routes, road and speed warnings, live traffic updates, graphic images of roads, weather forecasts, as well as other specific stops.

  • Weigh your tiny home.

It is important that you know the weight of your tiny home. In addition, you need to have a tow vehicle that is always ready and capable of handling the load of your tiny home.

One of the most important things that you have to deal with before traveling with your tiny home is the weight distribution system.

Here are more important reasons to know and maintain the weight of your tiny home:

  1. To make sure that the concrete, grass, or gravel where your tiny house rests on can support its weight.
  2. To know if your tow vehicle can drag the weight of your tiny home.
  3. To ensure that the weight distribution is right.

Pros of Traveling with a Tiny Home

  • All the things that you need are there with you.

When you travel in your tiny house, all the things that you need to stay comfortable are handy – this means convenience while traveling.

In addition, traveling with your tiny home is hygienic. Yes, you read that right. Unlike staying in a hotel, tiny home traveling lets you use your towels, sheets, blankets, as well as your kitchen utensils (spoon and fork, most importantly).

Because of that, you won’t have to share those items with somebody you don’t even know, and you will have more peace of mind.

  • You can travel safely because of your tiny home’s durability.

The materials used in constructing your tiny home are the same as those which are used in building real houses. That makes your tiny home as durable. So when you travel in your tiny house, your safety and security won’t be compromised.

Cons of Traveling with a Tiny Home

  • You have to spend more on fuel.

When you live and travel with your tiny home, you have to refuel all the time. We all know the price of fuel these days. You have to be ready to spend more on fuel because traveling with your tiny home will burn a hole in your pocket.

  • Not all roads are passable to tiny houses.

Traveling with your tiny home comes with a few restrictions. Since you are driving something that is big and heavy, there may be possible route restrictions.

Tiny houses must travel on wide roads. In addition, they should be able to pass the vertical clearance, so make sure to plan your route ahead.

Always Bring these Helpful Tools:

Driving Tools
Driving Tools
  1. Hydraulic jack
  2. Coupler lock
  3. Jack stabilizers
  4. Spare tire/s
  5. Wheel levers
  6. Wrench

Tiny-Home Driving Tips:

  • Always have driving tools with you.
  • Drive slowly, but surely. Do not over speed.
  • Inspect your side mirrors frequently.
  • Plan your route, and know which roads are passable to tiny houses.
  • Take wide turns.
  • Turning right or left? Do it slowly.

Related questions:

  • Can tiny houses get evicted from campgrounds or parks?
Notice of Eviction
Notice of Eviction

Yes. When someone from the neighborhood where your tiny home is parked complains about you, you will be given an eviction notice.

  • How big can a tiny house be?

The size of a tiny home can range between 100 to 400 square feet. That is why when you travel in a tiny home, you have to plan your route ahead and make sure that the roads you will pass are wide enough for your tiny home.

  • Do tiny houses get inspected?

Yes. Like regular houses, a tiny home also has to pass inspection for safety as well as power and water supply availability. To learn more about this, check this article about tiny house inspection.

Can You Move or Travel in a Tiny House

Can You Move or Travel in a Tiny House

Traveling in a Tiny House
Traveling in a Tiny House

Traveling as much as one wants and as often as one can is a dream for a lot of people, but for individuals who live in a tiny house, it is their lifestyle.

Being able to move from one place to another is easy for people who live in a tiny house. Living in a tiny house enables tiny home dwellers to roam around the country for as long as they want and they are able to because of the minimalist lifestyle that they have allows them to do so.

Traveling in a Tiny House

Living in a tiny house is your ticket to exploring far and different places. When you live in a tiny house, you do not have to worry about leaving the comforts of your home for the simple reason that you are actually traveling with your tiny mobile house.

In addition, a tiny house is built for the purpose of moving and traveling from one place to your next desired destination. Also, because a tiny house is an actual “house,” all the things that you need are in there. Hence, it makes it a lot easier and more convenient for you and your family to travel and explore different places. Also, you won’t have to go through the hassle of having left something that you need or will be needing while you are traveling.

Moving from one city or state to the other or simply traveling to different places is easily achievable by living in a tiny mobile house. Instead of taking long and tiring bus or plane rides, having a tiny house allows you to be on a journey as well as to enjoy going and exploring different locations. It’s like traveling and at the same time staying in the comforts of your own home.

Going places in a tiny house is a unique and more economical way of traveling. Not only does it come with the freedom of movement, but it is also associated with being able to enjoy life on the go without having to part with all the comforts of home living.

There are several differences between traveling in a tiny house and taking trips using public transportation:

  • When you travel in a tiny house, you do not need to think of what to bring anymore because everything you need is already in it.
  • Traveling in a tiny house is more economical since you won’t need to buy a plane ticket anymore. In addition, you also do not need to pay for travel taxes.
  • When you move from one place to another in your tiny house, you set your own schedule and pace. You can rest from driving for a while whenever you feel tired. Rest when you have to and continue driving whenever you are ready.
  • Traveling in your tiny mobile home is more comfortable and convenient. Unlike traveling by bus or by airplane, you do not have to share a seat with a stranger anymore. Dealing with annoying passengers will no longer be an issue. Your entire tiny house and mode of transport is all to yourself.

Kinds of a Tiny House

Tiny House on Display
Tiny House on Display
  • Shipping Container Homes

One more type of recycled materials that can be used as a tiny house is metal shipping containers. When shipping containers have already served their purpose, which is to transport goods from one place to the other, it can already be recycled as a tiny house for the reason that shipping back these containers unfilled.

So instead of not using them and just letting them turn out as scrap metal, builders and producers of tiny houses convert them into new tiny houses. Shipping container homes can either be assembled on the site or shipped out.

  • Tiny Luxury Homes

Living in a tiny house does not necessarily mean living just a plain and simple lifestyle. Tiny luxury houses can even have lavish amenities, such as small hot tubs, surround sound, in-floor heat, as well as home automation. For as low as $35,000, you can now own and live in a luxurious tiny house.

  • Tiny Texas Houses

This type of a tiny house is for individuals who prefer something that is a bit bigger and more permanent. Tiny Texas Houses are available in two different sizes – 240 and 336 square feet. These are constructed completely out of recycled materials. They feature a laid-back and rustic style. Texas Tiny Houses are put together in Luling, Texas. They can be shipped and installed to the buyer’s chosen location.

  • Tumbleweed Tiny Houses

The Tumbleweed Tiny Houses is one of the best-known producers of tiny homes. It has four house models. All of which have wood exteriors, but owners can choose between rustic and contemporary style. As for the size, Tumbleweed Tiny Houses can be 117 up to 221 square feet. This type of tiny house is mounted on trailers for towing.

Pros of Traveling in a Tiny House

  • Durability

A lot of people think that tiny houses have issues when it comes to durability. On the contrary, materials used in the construction of large houses can be used in building a tiny house. That means a tiny house can be as durable as a real house. And like real houses, a tiny house is also built to last.

  • Low maintenance

Aside from the fact that a tiny house costs less and is more economical, it is cheaper to maintain as well. Utility bills (electricity and water), fuel costs, as well as waste disposal fees are all much lower compared to living in a real house. In addition, a lot of tiny houses even feature a composting toilet that can break down waste without having to be hooked up to a sewer line.

  • Freedom of movement

Because a tiny house is built on a trailer, their owners can bring them wherever and whenever they want to. Living in a tiny house is being able to travel and go to different places without leaving the comforts of your home.

Cons of Traveling in a Tiny House

  • Zoning rules

Yes, a tiny house only requires a small piece of land. But then again, there are still towns which make it difficult to put up one. More often than not, zoning laws come with a minimum size for houses. The minimum, which is 200 square foot, is not big enough in general to make the cut.

  • Small space and less storage
Tiny House Toilet
Tiny House Toilet

To live and travel in a tiny house, you must get rid of all your unnecessary belongings. But then again, giving up some of your belongings and most prized possessions is not easy. If you have a shoe collection, you must get rid of some and keep only your favorite pairs. If you have workout equipment, which are big and consume a lot of space, then it’s time to say goodbye to them.

Tips for Traveling in a Tiny House

  • Have your tiny house weighed.
  • Secure everything that’s inside your tiny house, especially those that are loose.
Tiny House Interior
Tiny House Interior
  • Call the campgrounds and make the necessary arrangements beforehand.
  • Invest in Bubble Levels.

Tiny House FAQs

  • How do you do the laundry?

You could buy and install a ventless washer and dryer, and then hang clothes on a rack inside.

  • Where does the toilet waste go?

You can have a composting toilet, which separates urine from the stool. They are then stored in tanks that are manually emptied.