Tiny House Build and 12v fuse block

[Sabatical]

This fuse block arrived today and I am super excited! It is going to be used in our tiny house project that we've been working on for a couple months. We are taking the solar setup off of our camper (it was way oversized) and putting it in use on the tiny house. Living full time with solar and 12v power has been amazing. We don't miss a thing that was available in the huge house we used to live in.
I know that tiny houses aren't really what this forum is about, but some of you may have a home base and maybe a tiny house is on your radar. If so I have many more pics and info to share.

 

[05kas05]

while i agree with you that its not what the forum is about it has wheels none the less so i think they might let it slide haha!!!!
i know i would like to see what you have done with your tiny home, i have my van setup but i would also like to buy a small piece of property somewhere for a permanent place to stay and a tiny home would be an ideal setup for those times when I'm not on the road well if i ever get on the road some day.
i say post away lets see those pics!!!

 

[LoupGarou]

The post doesn't bother me, I'm a fan and subscriber to TheTinyHouseMagazine. You can't go wrong using anything made by BlueSea.

 

[Sabatical]

It looks like a pretty stout unit.
I'll get some pics of the project posted.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah keep posting about your tiny house. many things cross over. I was going to say make sure you buy a quality fuse panel, a Bussman or Blue Sea. but I see you already know about quality. good buy, can't go wrong with your choice. highdesertranger

 

[Sabatical]

This deal started with an 8 x 22 equipment trailer with treated 2x6 deck boards which were removed and turned into the floor system and porch. Insulation for the floor came via commercial roofing jobsite scrap.

The bones of the structure are 2x4s for walls and 2x6 rafters. The shell was housewrapped and covered with t1-11 siding.

 

[Sabatical]

We splurged for some good quality windows. 14 in all. We had two left over from building the big house 6 years ago and they fit in pretty well. All the lower windows are double hung and the uppers are awning style. Lot's of light and ventilation in this space.
We topped the structure off with green metal roofing and stained the wood trim the same color.

 

[Sabatical]

Inside the loft platform is 4x4 douglas fir and 3/4 BC plywood. The doug fir will be poly'ed and the plywood will be painted.
Insulation is in the form of styrofoam and polyiso insulation. I got quite an education on that deal. The carpenter ants that call our sandy soil home LOVE styrofoam and had their way with about a dozen sheets at $35 a pop. Ouch! I had some polyiso in the same area and they didn't touch that stuff. I returned the unmolested foam and got more polyiso. I salvaged what I could of the pieces and it came together ok. R20+ in the roof and R13+ in the walls. I also spread some lovely ant repellent around the place. There's plenty of natural stuff for them to nest in and feed on so they don't need access to our little home.

 

[Sabatical]

Working on 12v wiring now. Pics will follow progress.
Thanks for the interest!
Scott

 

[MikeRuth]

VERY NICE!!! I don't have a problem with this hear, in fact would enjoy seeing more of this. Indeed there would be many cross over items to the "vandewellers"

Mike R

 

[akrvbob]

Very sweet!! But, it doesn't look like you built it with being mobile in mind. Do you have any plans to move it or is the trailer just a way to get around having to build a foundation?

You must have checked, but in many places zoning won't let you live in a trailer, apparently yours does?

As a mobile person, my two big concerns would be weight and height. How much do you think it weighs and how tall is it?

I've actually given a lot of thought to building a small cabin on a 1 ton 4x4 flatbed, it would be 8x12 which is huge by my standards. But I would build with the lowest possible height in mind and lightest weight because it would always be mobile.
Bob

 

[Sabatical]

It is built within DOT limitations (8'6" wide x 13'6" tall). It's going to remain movable althought not as easy as moving a travel trailer. We live in an area where winter weather is a factor and tt's just don't handle that well.
The area we are in has restrictions but they are upheld by the residents of the area. Many others don't follow the rules and I don't plan on pursuing them...I hope for the same respect. We are far from visible to the neighbors and behind a home I built for my inlaws. We did this with the intent of assisting them as they age to allow them to retain their independance, but have help close by.
The beauty of the trailer is the lack of permits and taxes. I imagine some day we will move this out west to property we have in AZ although that would not be a real fun haul. Who knows what the future will bring. We could sell it down the road some day and it could be moved.
For now we'll enjoy the freedom from debt and travel to visit the AZ desert during winter months. You can see the camper in some of the pics.

 

[Sabatical]

Bob, you've told me about your idea to bury a bus on your property. Maybe something like this would be a good alternative. It costs a bit more than I imagine it would to build out a bus, but the expense of digging and burying would be avoided.
Between your trailer and van you probably have more square footage than an 8x12 trailer would give you.

 

[akrvbob]

Bob, you've told me about your idea to bury a bus on your property. Maybe something like this would be a good alternative. It costs a bit more than I imagine it would to build out a bus, but the expense of digging and burying would be avoided.
Between your trailer and van you probably have more square footage than an 8x12 trailer would give you.

I haven't rented a small Caterpillar in a long time, but I'm sure I could rent one for a day and dig out a long trench for a few hundred dollars. I'm not good with them so it could be two days but, the expense won't be too big

The big reason to go underground is the stable temperatures. All of Arizona has highs and lows that are uncomfortable and my land is at 6000 feet so it will snow in the winter and get up to the mid 90s in the summer. My plan for a buried school bus should handle both quite well.  

But I can ask a similiar question to you. It seems like a good used 5th wheel would have met all your needs and eventually made the trip to AZ much better.

My guess is you did this for the sheer joy of creating something so wonderful!!! And I can understand that... and it is truly wonderful!! 

But my buried school bus will give me every bit as much joy because it will be so cheap and so good for the envirnonment. I'll take a junk school bus and reward it for it's faithful service by turning it into a home that takes very little to heat and cool. And that will make me very happy!! 
Bob

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Hy Scott...Sure is looking good. Nice to see y'all realizing your dream.

 

[Sabatical]

Hy Scott...Sure is looking good. Nice to see y'all realizing your dream.

Thanks Jay. It's a boat load of work but I'm enjoying it. I've made a promise to Lora...last big project for a while.

 

[Sabatical]

I haven't rented a small Caterpillar in a long time, but I'm sure I could rent one for a day and dig out a long trench for a few hundred dollars. I'm not good with them so it could be two days but, the expense won't be too big

The big reason to go underground is the stable temperatures. All of Arizona has highs and lows that are uncomfortable and my land is at 6000 feet so it will snow in the winter and get up to the mid 90s in the summer. My plan for a buried school bus should handle both quite well.  

But I can ask a similiar question to you. It seems like a good used 5th wheel would have met all your needs and eventually made the trip to AZ much better.

My guess is you did this for the sheer joy of creating something so wonderful!!! And I can understand that... and it is truly wonderful!! 

But my buried school bus will give me every bit as much joy because it will be so cheap and so good for the envirnonment. I'll take a junk school bus and reward it for it's faithful service by turning it into a home that takes very little to heat and cool. And that will make me very happy!! 
Bob

Get ready for a big surprise in the rental equipment game... holy crap are they expensive! You'll enjoy the project though.

I wasn't trying to sway you towards a tiny house... alright maybe a little, and as I think about the reason why I guess it's because I couldn't live underground. Huh funny how the subconscious mind works. I love the bus idea and I'd love to live in one...maybe some day. I don't love the 5er idea. We've comtemplated that and walked through so many. Way to fancy for our tastes and the prices are insane! I know we could find an older one cheaper but there's a whole long list of reasons why it's not for me. An aquaintance of mine lived in a 5er (real nice one) for a winter while waiting to move to the southeast. She bought a ton of propane and froze her butt off. The tiny house "should" be much more comfortable in extremes of weather.
As far as movability, I wouldn't be worried about towing it. It most likely will weigh more than I think it does... and it's far from aerodynamic...and I'd probably worry for the first dozen or two overpasses, but I would do it.

You never know what life is gonna do next year or the year after. I like the idea of having a piece of land in the desert and I like the idea of living in something for short periods there. We had such a great time at the RTR and met so many amazing people that we enjoyed travelling with afterward. I see alot more of that in our future.

 

[ZoNiE]

Nice. We're thinking of building a "living room" in a similar fashion and putting it on a piece of land so we can bring our Travel trailer to it and have more hard wall space when there.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

What a lot of RVers do is go for a pole barn, with part of it closed off and the rest open-walled.  The trailer is then parked in the open area, but it's under the roof.

Regards
John

 

[Sabatical]

We've talked about doing just that and incorporating rain water catchment with holding tanks inside the building.