It’s totally scratch-built from the fram up, as the pictures show. I used a Dexter torsion-bar axle with electric brakes. Darrel likes keeping things simple, so there will be no electrical system other than the trailer lighting. The lights on the inside are gas, exactly as were used on early airstream trailers.

Darrel will be using a wood-burning stove (a ” Lil Sweetie” boxwood stove from Vogelzang.) for heat. Darrel is building it to camp in, because his Teardrop that he built doesn’t hold three people. He won’t have the interior finished, but he hopes to have the exterior complete enough by late summer for a trip to Yellowstone.

Darrel and his son will just sleep on the floor and use the waggon as a fancy tent this year.

For readers that might be interested in building this style of shelter, Darrel derived most of the major dimensions from a set of plans for modelmakers by a gent named John Thompson. He is pretty sure he’s passed away, but his plans are available from a variety of sources.

He has plans for a reading wagon, a bowtop wagon, and  ledge wagon, which is what his is. The most challenging thing for Darrel has been making windows, which are his design as well. Feel free to browse through the photos Flickr site. Darrel is always curious to see how others are tackling stuff. So please comment below if you have built something similar.

This is my home-built trailer using classic and modern building techniques and style. Based on traveler’s and “gypsy” wagons from Britain and France as well as sheep wagons from the western U.S. I am keeping this to the absolute minimum in size and weight. I don’t plan to live in it so it can be thought of a base camp. I have mulled it over for a very long time and was torn between this style and a teardop design. Each have advantages but this just seems to suit me better.

My final design is certainly not perfect but fit within the very tight parameters I set for myself. Small, light, and relatively cheap were important as were ascetics and traditional building techniques. Unlike modern RVs where people may spend large quantities of time inside the structure, I want this to be used more like early pioneer or “Gypsy” wagons where most of the actual living is done “outside”. The teardrop RV community has taken this to heart, often with a very modern and high-tech design, including microwave ovens, television and entertainment centers, and very modern kitchens.

Here’s a panorama of the inside from the doorway. Its difficult to get a good perspective through the camera lens. Above are few views around the interior.

To learn more visit George’s blog and his Instructable page to see how he constructed his vardo.

I aim to create spaces that have a sense of warmth and character. It is very important to me that my caravans are built with natural, healthy materials and that they are designed in such a way that is mindful of the client’s needs. I spend a great deal of time in the planning stage thinking about how the space will be used and, with that in mind, how to use every bit of space in the best possible way.

I certainly want the caravans that I build to be beautiful but I think even more importantly I want that certain magical quality that you find in buildings which are made with creativity, attention to detail and an appreciation for the materials being used. My aim is for the customer to feel a sense of wellness and comfort in my buildings. If they do then I’ve accomplished my goal.

It all started with the British version of Country Living magazine. That’s where I first saw pictures of gypsy vardos and fell completely, madly, deeply…well I really, really liked them alot. Even the most simple caravans have such charm to them. The ones I have visited are really the most lovely, warm, inviting little spaces i’ve ever been in. And so I was hooked. But still, it took a while for my interest in caravans to turn to thoughts of a career since I was pretty happy and comfortable making my living as a clay artist. And then one day it just seemed silly not to make caravans, after all it combined so many of my interests and previous experiences in building, art and design.

So here I am building caravans, with the help of my husband Lawrence Nyberg, who lends a hand when it’s needed, acts as a sounding board for my ideas and is a great support in general- he is a very fine luthier the rest of the time. We live on Hornby Island, British Columbia, which is probably the most beautiful place in the world, with our two young kids, Finn and Lily and our two dogs Meili and Kaya.

Be sure and visit the Hornby Island Caravans website and contact Michelle if you want to learn more.

Tim says: “We’ve always wanted to teach longer courses as part of our curriculum. We’re going to take that plunge and offer an intensive residential course starting January 2011. This will be a three month/twelve week course that will give any woodworker a very solid grounding in the array of skills they’ll need to develop as a furniture maker, cabinetmaker or (dare we say it) as a maker of Gypsy Wagons.”

He goes on to say: “We’re planning to push the envelope here and offer students the option of choosing to focus on one of these areas in the final part of the course. This would be a way for somebody with carpentry skills to transition to furniture making or finer finish work. For the avid hobbyist to develop a broader range of skills. Or for the Romany at heart to build the skills to complete a Gypsy Wagon.

We believe that this course can change your life. The course will give you woodworking skills that will last the rest of your life whether you make furniture for fun, rebuild your kitchen or plan to finish that gypsy wagon. Through the design part of the course we may uncover hidden passions or flair that help you grow as an artist.”

To get the full details visit the Woodworking website and see if this course if for you.

Libby wishes she would have had her digital camera but was able to get these photos with their iPhone. Thank you Libby!

Shift is an organization in Portland that brings people together for bike based fun. Every year Shift facilitates an amazing event called Pedalpalooza, that spans a 2 week period.

With 291 events, most organized by individuals, bikers of all persuasions are likely to find many events of interest. Nearly all events are free.

A few weeks ago Eli Spevak, from Orange Splot, LLC, organized a Pedalpalooza ride featuring tiny homes. A group of 150 cyclists gathered for the tiny home tour, in Southeast Portland.

Beginning of Ride

We stopped at six tiny homes and saw a number of different housing styles, including: a 14 x 8 gypsy wagon, a little house made of cob, a nanny’s house on wheels, a straw-bail tiny house that is being used as a detached bedroom, an urban village, and a cute little home that was converted from a garage to a little cottage.

Converted Garage

The homes were incredible and the builders relied on the following concepts when constructing the little dwellings:

• Using salvaged and sustainably produced building materials whenever possible.
• Using design to make it easy for neighbors to share resources.
• Incorporating durable construction materials to minimize the need for ongoing maintenance.
• Re-utilizing existing structures whenever possible.
• Locating the structures to make it easy to live without a car.
• Incorporating artwork and quality craftsmanship to make projects beautiful and unique.

Also, a few of the ride attendees mentioned that the city has reviewed a number of reports focusing on smaller homes; specifically that smaller homes are more efficient and have a smaller carbon footprint, in comparison to larger Leed certified homes that tend to be tremendously cost intensive.

Gypsy Wagon

The ride was inspiring and informative, thanks to Eli’s efforts. And I was happy to learn that the City of Portland’s Planning Department is fairly flexile when it comes to tiny house zoning specifics (e.g. waving fees, assisting in approving innovative designs, etc.).

Little House at the Urban Village

There is a lot of good news for all things tiny in Portland!

You can check out my photos from the ride by clicking here.

Straw Bail Tiny House

A Nanny's House on Wheels

The Cob Dwelling

Each trailer is 12 feet long and weighs 1,200 pounds. They are custom made with hand built oak and birch walls and cabinets. The Vintage Trailer Crazy design team will consult with you to create your custom Woodie Love Bug. These trailers are built new from the ground up, but use VIN numbers from vintage 1930-1950 trailers. Over 500 man-hours go into the production of each little trailer. They cost around $12,500 and Dayton told me that they sell a lot of them, primarily because of the popularity of smaller trailers.

Each trailer contains a small kitchen area with plenty of storage including a charger and converter cabinet, a dining booth which converts into a double bed, and holding tanks for fresh and gray water which are stored under the sink along with the battery. A propane tank and hookup is available on the front of the trailer and a storage cabinet is located on the back. Vintage style windows and doors add to the details.

Included in each trailer:

• New heavy-duty frame with torsion bar suspension
• 12 volt battery or 110 volt for power
• DVD/CD entertainment center
• “Smart” battery charger / converter from 110v to 12v
• 2-burner propane stove
• Stainless steel sink with running water
• 12 volt fridge
• Solid wood flooring

Trailer options:

• Air conditioner/heater combo
• Interior/exterior color schemes: red and white, turquoise and white or black and white
• Hitch / propane tank painted to match tow vehicle
• Exotic woods (like birds eye maple)
• 1950’s black and white tile, vintage “Boomerang” or “Cracked Ice” counter/table Formica
• 1950′s Diner style aluminum table/counter edge trim
• Matching awning

For more information contact Dayton Taylor at Vintage Trailer Crazy.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

My partner and I are building a bow-top gypsy wagon and documenting our progress on www.whittleddown.com. This is our first tiny house, and we will be moving into it in one month, when we depart our home in Santa Fe, NM and begin a cross-country move to New England. We plan to live in the wagon for the remaining warm months of the year, and haven’t entirely ruled out retrofitting it for winter living later. The wagon is based on a gypsy wagon design, but we like to think of it as a contemporary take on the prairie schooner.

Our gypsy wagon design meets our three main goals: 1) To build a home for just over what we currently pay for a month’s rent ($1500 total), 2) To build a portable home that can be towed by my Hyundai Elantra, which has a 1,000 lb tow rating, and 3) To find a design that provides all our basic needs (food prep, sleep, electricity, toilet) in a small space.

The 54 sq. ft. wagon is built on top of a 4×8 utility trailer. The wagon is built out of a combination of new and used/salvaged materials, using tools borrowed from our local Tool Lending Library. The finished wagon will have a solar panel for electricity, a kitchen area with a sink and a one-burner stove, a sleeping area, and a multi-use food prep/dining/work area. We are also working on a design for a homemade composting toilet that will not have to be emptied into an outdoor humanure pile. The pictures you see here show the wagon with a temporary tarp roof–the finished wagon will have a natural canvas roof. As you can see, we still have lots to do in the 4 weeks we have left!

I am a beginner builder, and my partner is handy but also inexperienced. I hope that readers with limited funds and experience will be inspired by our project. You can read our blog, www.whittleddown.com, to follow the project and glean ideas. Anyone can build a tiny house!

Thanks Libby for sharing your story and I look forward to seeing the completed schooner.

Ann says: The interior of ProtoStoga is difficult to photograph because the space is so small. The floor area is 4’10”x7’6”. At the ledge it is it’s widest 6’4”x8’3”. I hope the photos I included this time will give a better idea of what the space feels like. The one through the front door is a photoshop collage and does not quite line up correctly but it still gives a pretty good idea.

We had our first guest this weekend. It was really exciting! We set up the interior as a bedroom with a full-sized bed across the space. There was enough room left over for a bags and stuff. She made a little video and when she sends me a copy I will share it with you…

Ann on the Bed

Using a home built trailer using classic and modern building techniques and style. Based on traveler’s and “gypsy” wagons from Britain and France as well as sheep wagons from the western U.S. George is keeping this to the absolute minimum in size and weight. George doesn’t plan to live in it so it can be thought of a base camp.

You can view more pictures and follow his project at his Paleotool’s Weblog. I will also do an updated post when George completes the vardo, so stay tuned.