Tiny House Blog

The summer camping season is starting to heat up and for those Tiny House Blog visitors who are lamenting the loss of the tiny Retro Traveler, the Toad Camper is a nice and affordable alternative to the ultra lightweight trailer. Toad Campers are built by hand in North Carolina with the best American-made products and can be towed by most 4-cylinder vehicles. What I thought was a typo, was that the campers start out at $2,999 for a basic streamlined weekend trailer.

The company offers four basic models: the Micro, Micro XL, Tadpole, and 20-foot Bull Frog. Each of these models have very flexible floor plan arrangements including small bathrooms with showers, full or queen beds or bunk beds. They also come with the following features:

• Heavy duty axle with bearing buddies
• Insulated frame
• 13″ Radial tires
• Laminate flooring
• Various color choices
• Microwave, refrigerator, air conditioner and flat-screen TVs
• Wash station or full kitchen
• Central roof vent
• Durable rubber roof

The Toad Camper company also offers their trailers as rentals so you can test drive their different sized options. They also build custom trailers for just about any other kind of use including kayak trailers, refreshment trailers and restroom trailers. Continue Reading »

I am currently on my way to check out some tiny houses in the tropical nation of Belize. However, I thought I would leave you with a video of my teardrop trailer, the Sunflower, put together by the lovely Kirsten Dirksen of Fair Companies. Last fall, I met Kirsten’s parents at Austin Hay’s tiny open house and began to converse with her by email. She became interested in my bright yellow teardrop and wanted to show the lifestyle from my point of view.

From a mix of random video that I shot with my Sony Powershot, Kirsten edited together a very nice snapshot into the average life of a teardropper. During our final fall camping trip in the Eastern Sierras, my fellow teardropping friends and I get a little goofy in the video as we hike, soak in natural hot springs and cook over hot coals with a Dutch oven. My little cat also makes a guest appearance. If you are interested in learning more about how I got my teardrop and about teardrop trailers in general, you can visit my blog at www.tinyyellowteardrop.blogspot.com.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Even if you don’t plan on making a back country trip to Norway any time soon, these tiny cabins may give you a few ideas on how to create a tiny house that melds nearly seamlessly with its natural surroundings. Koiene (pronounced koi-eh-n) are a system of tiny, convenient cabins scattered around the countryside of Trøndelag, Norway for use by anyone who’s in the area for hiking, fishing, foraging, hunting, cross country skiing or snowshoeing.

The simple, little structures can be rented through a website that specializes in memberships for these types of vacation cabins. The site and the cabins are run voluntarily by groups of students. The cabins are named after the area they are in and these multi-syllabic locations are distinctive from each other: some are on a river or creek, some on top of a mountains, some by the lake or other larger body of water. Continue Reading »

A few years ago, Kent covered the Pod, an innovative and mobile tiny house designed primarily for camping. Another company in the United Kingdom has upped the ante on this type of building with the Log Pod, a portable wooden structure that comes in two beautiful designs. The Log Pod can be used as an office, mediation or retreat space, in a campsite or as a tiny house.

The company designs and sells two different designs: the Log Pod and the Gothic Pod. The Log Pod has an angular roof and is 11 feet by 7.6 feet, and because of its raised foundation can be placed on slopes, uneven ground or even in flood prone areas. It has a 4 foot deep covered porch with a glass door in the front and a rear fire escape rear window. Lights and electricity come standard. The Gothic Pod has an arched roof and curved interior lines. It’s the same size and has the same amenities as the Log Pod, and it is wheelchair accessible. Continue Reading »

I recently started a new blog just for teardrop trailers. After traveling around and camping in my tiny yellow teardrop for about five years, I’ve received a wide range of accolades, comments and questions. I thought a blog would be the best place to address these questions and put up posts for anyone who has considered purchasing or building a teardrop trailer.

The blog will focus mainly on my own teardrop trailer and the experiences of camping in a teardrop, but I will also be featuring various teardrop builders and owners, including my friend Guy, who lives in his trailer full time. I will also be posting camping tips, tricks and recipes, campgrounds, teardrop manufacturers and, of course, lots of photos.

I would love to hear any questions you may have about teardrop trailers and I’ll do my best to address them. Also, please let me know of any teardrop owners or builders who would like to be featured. Here is the link to the blog http://tinyyellowteardrop.blogspot.com/

Photo by Christina Nellemann

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

For someone who wants to be close to nature, but doesn’t mind a little less privacy, a new bubble hotel/campground has been built just outside of Paris by designer Pierre-Stephane Dumas. Each of his “rooms” are transparent, air-filled plastic bubbles placed discretely in the garden of the Chateau de Malmaison, which is the former home of Napolean’s Josephine.

“I think nearly everyone of us has dreamed of something like this,” Dumas said. He built these bubbles primarily to stargaze from the comfort of bed without having to set up a tent. Continue Reading »