My family and I love camping; we started taking our girls camping when my oldest daughter was only seven months old. When went on a trip to Detroit Lake one year in a tent and the day started off beautiful, but one night it rained and it leaked through on my wife and daughter. We were miserable the next morning we woke up and broke down camp in the mud. It was at this point I said never again; I said we needed a camper. But being on a budget and not wanting to buy a cheaply made older camper I decided to build a tear drop.

My thoughts were we needed something to keep us off the ground; something small enough to fit in a single car garage and easy to tow. A tear drop was a perfect fit; but the typical teardrop wouldn’t work because I needed something to fit a family of four and I’m 6’7″. So I scoured the internet for inspiration and ordered a templet and built one that was five feet wide and nine feet long with no plans.

It had a bunk bed that floated in the air that my girls slept on and worked great; with all of us snug as a bug. Eventually though they out grew the bunk and so we sold it to move on to a tent trailer. It was great but on the maiden voyage we blew a tire and packing it was tricky because folded down you had to really plan on how to pack it. I never felt comfortable towing it since the blow out and just found it a lot more work to set up compared to the good old tear drop I once made.

Finally this last year I decided to build another one; but wanted to do something no one else had done. I liked the shape of some of the other tiny campers that had a more square shape. So searching the internet I combined different campers in to my own design. I was inspired to build one that had a easy manual pop up roof with a loft; and again I built with no blue prints just figured it out as I was cutting. So with it being a foot wider combined with a pop up roof I figured the girls would have their own separate sleeping areas and they wouldn’t outgrow it until they became teenagers.

That’s my story and if you would like to see pictures of the builds of both of them I would be honored to accept your friendship request so you could see more. Thanks again for your interest of my story. View construction photos by clicking here.

Most of the designs we see out there resort to the loft for a bed. This saves precious floor space for living. However, this is not ideal for everyone. Unfortunately, at this time I only know of a few designs that take an alternative route to the loft – so I thought I would do a post to highlight these houses. My goal is to inspire others to design more homes with alternative sleeping quarters other than a loft.

The oldest version of a tiny home on wheels that I am aware of is the vardo or gypsy wagon. These homes were designed with a bed that sits up high and has storage below. You still need to crawl up a little to get in, but it is nothing like climbing a ladder. There are not many plans out there for this type of home. The only one I know that is available the “Don Vardo” by Portland Alternative Dwellings. While it is not a complete house I think the plans could be extended to make it into one with a kitchen and bathroom. Dee Williams from Portland Alternative Dwellings and I once talked about this revision and she may have even completed the plans by now. You can get an idea by looking at the picture of the Don Vardo here and a vardo picture I have included above in this post.

(Dee just sent word that she has the 12 foot vardo available which features a bathroom and kitchen. The plans are now available here for only $30. They are in the process of having one built out in Florida and I will share photos, etc. as soon as it is completed.)

12 foot Don Vardo Floor Plan

Another home not using a loft is Dan Louche’s house plans. He designed his home for his mother and she did not want a loft. She uses a futon in the living area as a bed and it is working great for her. You can view Dan’s plans here and check out his blog of the construction of the home here.

Jay Shafer is popular for his loft based tiny homes on wheels the Tumbleweed Tiny Houses. Jay has pretty much stuck with this type of plan except for his most affordable plan – the Popomo. You receive this plan free if you purchase his book or you can buy it alone for $16.95. This is a very modern home, in fact they have just completed building the first one and I had a chance to see it a couple of weeks ago. If modern is not your style, don’t worry, the exterior can be customized to suit your tastes. Here is a picture of the Popomo that Tumbleweed Tiny House Company recently completed. You can see more pictures at their website. Click here to see them.

Tumbleweed Popomo

If you are aware of any other homes on wheels that have not used the loft bedroom please share them with me and the other readers below. Let’s get some new ideas and plans out there for those who need or want this option.

Popomo Interior via Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

I started the house over a year ago, and moved into it only after a month of starting construction. I’m still doing all the finish work – the devil really is in the details.

I built the house myself. I hammered every nail with a hammer (I still haven’t figured out why I didn’t purchase a nail gun – sadist I guess). I framed it, even raised the walls working alone, did the plumbing, electrical, etc. I enjoyed every bit of it, but those 100 degree Texas summer days were brutal. The worst part was the roofing. I’m afraid of heights, and working on a 12/12 roof laying shingles isn’t the best way to spend one’s time.

The house is stick frame. I used 10′ boards for the walls so I could have extra 2′ upstairs before the roof angled. I use hardi-siding on the exterior. I have built also constructed a 14′ x 8′ deck that houses a few chairs and grill.

The house is about 90% complete on the exterior (still have to put siding on the addition) and about 75% complete on the interior. I’m currently doing drywall (I hate drywall!) and trim.

The house has a small country house look from the exterior, but I wanted modern on the interior. I actually went for a modern/industrial look on the inside of the house.

The upstairs loft is the full size of the house, with the only cutaway being for the 36″ wide stairs leading down. The stairs go up the north wall of the house, reach a platform, and turn on the west wall. The front of the house faces East.

• The exterior pic of the house was taken this summer.
• The cabinets are Lowes cabinets that were painted black and I installed brushed aluminum inserts.
• The ceiling on the downstairs is corrugated metal cut to fit between the upstairs joist. I then trimmed with 1×3′s.
• I have a 92″ projector TV screen on the north wall of the house above the staircase. I also have surround sound, and subwoofer plus all hometheater hardware (HTDV satellite receiver, Xbox, DVD) installed under the staircase. The HD projector hangs from the ceiling on the south side of the house above the couch. It fires the picture above the couch and below the ceiling fan.
• I used 1/2″ aluminum conduit to make a shelf between the cabinets to hold pans as to free up my cabinets for food. I also hang cooking utensils there as well.
• I have low wattage flood lights illuminating my photos on the south wall above my couch.
• I have a small bar sink installed on the right side of the cabinets facing the front door.
• The upstairs loft contains a queen sized bed centered in the house with small drawers on either side and lamps. I also have a 24″ ceiling fan upstairs.
• I have an L-shaped computer desk on the west side of the wall upstairs.
• The bathroom and utility room is the 8×10 addition on the back of the house. It contains the washer/dryer and shower/toilet. The addition is only 50% complete.

View Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and also be sure and subscribe to the Youtube Tiny House Blog Channel here. You will than be notified of any new videos on this channel.

On my road trip to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, I had to stop and take some photos of this darling little log home just outside of Cedar City, Utah. The Mini Pine Hollow log home by Pine Hollow Log Homes is 11 by 16 feet with a full loft and a 4 by 16 foot covered deck.

Pine Hollow offers this tiny cabin as a kit and will deliver it within 250 miles of Cedar City. It takes about two weeks to have a kit delivered. This particular home was unfinished inside, but the Pine Hollow website should have updated photos of the Mini log home soon.

The Basic Package includes:

• Blueprints
• Treated skids
• Floor framing
• 6″ starter/finish logs
• 6″ wall logs, gable ends
• 8″ oly screws/construction adhesive
• Calking for windows and doors
• Loft floor joists
• 2×6 rough sawn window/door bucking
• Windows and door
• Deck framing
• Roof framing with OSB sheathing
• Porch posts
• Porch framing with OSB sheathing
• Milled 3×2 handrail
• Dormer framing with 1×6 tongue and groove siding

Cost: $8,781.00 (plus 6% Utah sales tax)

The Deluxe Package includes:

• All of the above items
• 1×6″ tongue and groove soffit
• Batt insulation
• 1×6″ tongue and groove ceiling
• 2×6″ tongue and groove loft floor
• 1×6″ tongue and groove porch sheathing
• Tar paper
• Steel roof, trims, flashing and screws

Cost: $10,865.00 (plus 6% Utah sales tax)

Pine Hollow offers other log home kits, most around 1,000-2,000 square feet.

By Christina Nellemann

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