Tiny House Build and 12v fuse block

[akrvbob]

An Idea I've always had was a cheap piece of land in the desert of AZ and and cheap piece of land in Northerner AZ and be a snowbird between them.

I know RVers who bought land near Show Low and put in sheds or containers, and they were nearly always vandalized over the winter when they were in the desert.

For that reason I'll always either move my home with the seasons, or live on it permanently when I get too old to be on the road.

Your Tiny Home would work extremely well in either of those scenarios!
Bob

 

[Sabatical]

I do worry about vandalism in Douglas where our property is. It is a poor border town. I don't think I would want to ride out monsoon season there (24" rain the past two seasons) but it is a beautiful place. I guess we'll see what time brings. We have lived in many places and I'm sure our tiny house won't be the last. There are so many different things to try yet and we are still young.

 

[highdesertranger]

the pole building with a cover and one or two walls to park an RV under is very common. especially in the desert and in snow country, both for obvious reasons. renting equipment is not cheap around here you also need a business license and fill out a credit app. then you also have to transport it. the charges for delivery and pick up alone to a rural area are quite high. it's better to get smaller equipment that you can trailer yourself. this is were a 1ton is nice. I know I could do a job like that with a skid steer. that I could pull behind my truck. highdesertranger

 

[ZoNiE]

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

Yeah, That costs a lot more.

 

[Sabatical]

the pole building with a cover and one or two walls to park an RV under is very common. especially in the desert and in snow country, both for obvious reasons. renting equipment is not cheap around here you also need a business license and fill out a credit app. then you also have to transport it. the charges for delivery and pick up alone to a rural area are quite high. it's better to get smaller equipment that you can trailer yourself. this is were a 1ton is nice. I know I could do a job like that with a skid steer. that I could pull behind my truck. highdesertranger

Currently my parcel is covered with creosote bush and lot's of it. At some point I would like to do some clearing so I could offer parking to the wonderful friends we are making in our travels. I was figuring at some point after the next RTR we would head over there with a chain saw and do some cutting. It would probably take a few days to clear a big enough spot.
This last winter we went over to Douglas in march when it warmed up and stayed a few days at Twin Buttes on the west side of the valley. It was very nice.
Any construction is probably a couple years out. I need to save up the funds for that kind of project and figure out what would be least likely to be looted while we aren't there.
I appreciate all the input! This group has really become important in my life. I have family where we are, but those that we truly identify with are out there and of course here on the forum.

 

[66788]

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

I have a friend who buried a 40 foot ocean container with 10 feet of earth on top of it.   There were problems with humidity and insects that were not foreseen.   Do your due diligence and keep us posted.

 

[eDJ_]

I like the idea of building some pole barns that look like Tiny Houses.  These won't be finished on the inside and in some areas that means you aren't paying tax on them as long as they are buildings under construction.   Build these in different states so you can snow bird and back a 5th wheel or Van into them when you go there to visit.

These may be listed "absentee owner". (meaning owner lives primarily in another state) 

This way the vehicle you live and travel in has a port in these various areas that is semi finished. 

In this manner a person could travel between these lodges in the vehicle he/she lives in.  There wouldn't be
that much investment and if the property could be purchased inexpensively you could live like the Billionaires
that own several large homes. 

In this case these would be off grid.  The Van or RV would carry the solar electric and batteries. When parked
in the facility the panels could be mounted on the roof of the structure.  The same roof could be arranged with
gutters that would fill a cistern.  Perhaps 3 blue 55 gallon plastic containers. A small solar hot water heating panel could be built and mounted to the roof where a 12 volt DC pump could circulate water to the Van or RV from the cistern and pumped through the Solar hot water panel for hot water.

I've watched TV shows where the "Rich and Famous" travel around the country in their personal Jet to
land at an airport near their "home" where they will be in residence for a month or so. 

I would think a Van or RV traveler could do similar with some locations around the country.  Just doing it on less.  =)

 

[akrvbob]

Right now all my thoughts on the school bus are just that, thoughts, no research yet. In Arizona water simply doesn't go underground, it rolls along and forms into gullies and that's how you get flash floods.

My bus will barely be underground. I'll dig a trench running east-west and the north side will be back-filled so it's covered with dirt and maybe a foot on top. I'll jack it up and use railroad ties as a foundation. Under the bus will be mostly open.

The south wall will be backfilled to the windows and they will all be left exposed. I'll add a over-hang that blocks the sun in the summer and comes off to expose the windows to the sun in winter--passive heating. I'll either use curtains or insulation to cover them at night. The front door will be left open as an entrance

The back door will be backfilled but the door will open onto ground.

The nose/windshield will be covered but the windshield left exposed.

So it will only be semi-underground with lots of windows and lots of ventilation. Except for the openings, I'd cover the whole thing with heavy mill plastic and in AZ I don't think humidity would be a problem.

But, I've done no research and it's all just a wild idea in the back of my mind.
Bob

 

[Sabatical]

Wiring is almost complete. I ran short by 20' for the last hot lead. It's not too ugly. All the solar components and the fuse block will be hidden under a kitchen counter.

 

[WriterMs]

So it will only be semi-underground with lots of windows and lots of ventilation. Except for the openings, I'd cover the whole thing with heavy mill plastic and in AZ I don't think humidity would be a problem.

But, I've done no research and it's all just a wild idea in the back of my mind.
Bob

Bob, your ideas and the others -- it seems like a good theme for a totally separate thread. Something like "Primitive/Rural Ideas for Home Base"

 

[Sabatical]

Built stairs today. Thank goodness for the interet providing me with a stair calculator! They are more like a ladder than stairs but space is tight. There will be a little wood stove nearby.

 

[Sabatical]

Excuse the duplicate pic.

The backside of the box will be storage with the battery enclosure in the bottom. I will make a door to access for maintenance. The risers will be painted and the treads poly'ed. The wife likes them, but I'm pretty sure the dogs are gonna be ticked 😕

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Looking good buddy.

 

[Sabatical]

Thanks Jay [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I'm eager for the Southwest open house

 

[Sabatical]

To see the tiny house you'll have to come to the Adirondacks buddy. It's gonna stay put while we travel with the camper (smaller version this time out), but you're welcome to tour it. I don't imagine the tiny house will move for quite a while. We are parked close to the in-laws so that we can help them as they need it.

 

[Sabatical]

I was just lol about what a spectacle a tiny house would be at the RTR. OMG we would be busy i'm sure. As nice as these things are, I don't think it's really realistic for the type of travelling we do in the desert. It's gonna be a fabulous home base though!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I had hoped y'all were going to take it to Douglas at some point.
I'm sure it would be a challenging move.

 

[Sabatical]

Taking it to Douglas is the rough long term plan....a few years from now. I wouldn't want to leave too much unattended out there. Ya know what I mean?

 

[Sabatical]

This mornings progress. Thin cedar v joint.