Sir James
At this year’s Burning Man, I was thrilled to find this modified gypsy caravan right next door to my camp. The builders of this unique rig are Christy Horne and Michel Olson, and they were kind enough to give me more information about their comfortable, tiny house which they named Sir James.
Sir James started his life as an 8×12 dual axel car trailer from California Custom Trailers. The trailer came licensed with brakes and everything for $1,700. The house was made with a welded iron “cage” and then wood, tarpaper and plywood layers were all bolted into the cage. It’s 7 feet wide by 12 feet long and it took 4 months to build. Sir James is Michel’s second of four original designs. Continue Reading »
The Tiny Houses of Christiania
A town within a city, a rebel neighborhood within a well-ordered society. This is Christiania (Freetown), Denmark, a small community smack dab in the middle of Copenhagen, Denmark. Within this community are tiny houses, built by hand and with whatever materials are within reach.
Christiania began in 1971 as an occupation of disused army barracks in the southern portion of Copenhagen near a lake. The 900 or so freethinking individuals who inhabit the area are a self governing community who refuse to pay taxes to the Danish government, run their own businesses and schools, live without cars on unpaved roads, build their own houses, restaurants and civil buildings and even have their own currency. Continue Reading »
Living in a Vardo
I recently came across these photos belonging to Scott, who traded in his $1,400 mortgage for a hand-build vardo and a rental lot in a KOA campground.
It took Scott about three years to build the vardo, but he wanted to give it a style like an old gypsy caravan. He calls himself a modern gypsy and as a carpenter, was interested in how to create a tiny house that could withstand highway travel. Also, he built it on the fly.
“I did not have plans. I did not create plans prior to building. It was engineered as I went. The trailer frame dictated how I was to attach the floor and walls. Materials dictated how I was to do the rest,” he said. “I had been saving wood for the project when I first thought about building. I was working in construction as a carpenter, and the amount of wood that was being thrown out over the course of time supplied the means. Before construction actually started, I had saved over a pallet of 2x4s, a dozen 2x12s and various lengths of 2x6s and 2x8s. Materials on hand actually dictated how I was to build.”
The vardo was built just like a house, 2×4 foot walls, all 16″ apart. The framing is held together by exterior grade deck screws and 4″ galvanized nails. Lag bolts, carriage bolts, hurricane straps, hurricane ties and braces are used throughout.
His little home is complete with computer, stereo, fridge, appliances and a/c. He watches movies on his PlayStation. He created a canopy that attaches to the roof, to create outdoor living space and performed a stained-glass treatment to the windows in the cupola.
“I get a lot of passersby, stopping to ask questions, see what I’m doing, or just smile,” he said. “I usually respond ‘It’s nothing new, we’ve just became more efficient at it (as I point to all the fancy motorhomes and trailers), it’s just a modern interpretation on an old design.’”
By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)
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Sheep Wagons
While living in an area populated by people from the Basque region, some residents around the Reno/Lake Tahoe area will sometimes catch a glimpse of a sheepherder, his sheep and his home in the high desert: a small trailer or sheep wagon.
My post on the gypsy caravans was popular, so I thought I would do a post on the classic (and contemporary) sheep wagon.
Sheep wagons are usually about 7 to 8 feet wide and about 12 to 16 feet long. Inside the wagon is usually room for one bed or bunks, a small stove, sink and cooking area, storage for clothes and an eating area. Most sheep wagons do not have bathrooms or showers.
Old Western Wagons
Sheep wagons are more of an American West style and the gypsy caravan is more of a European style. The sheep wagon has a curved roof supported by hoops and looks more like a covered wagon. The roof can be made from heavy duty cloth or wood. I have even seen a few with tin or corregated metal roofs.
Several companies in the U.S. convert old wagons or build new wagons for vacation homes and retreats or backyard offices and country cabins. There are also a few books with great photos and information on sheep wagons including Portable Houses by Irene Rawlings and Mary Abel and Retreats by G. Lawson Drinkard III.
Old Western Wagons
Old Western Wagons
Old Western Wagons
Old Point Reyes Campground Shepherd's Wagon
Stay in a Shepherd’s Wagon in Point Reyes
Story from Mother Earth News on living in a sheep wagon
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