You can subscribe to Kevin’s series of videos on his channel here and follow him on his blog at http://kevinsmicrohomestead.wordpress.com/

Thanks Kevin for sharing your knowledge on the renewable way of buildin g a tiny house.

1. Stick to just one color palette
2. Make your furniture multi-task
3. Use vertical space as well as horizontal space
4. Arrange more public uses closest to the door
5. Don’t be afraid to have fun

To read the full article go over to Apartment Therapy and be inspired by all the great photographs.

If you are looking for a place to park your tiny house in the Northwest, Sandie contacted me recently and let me know that she has a spot available in the Bellingham, Washington area. Here is her ad.

Full hook-up available for RV or Tiny House on Wheels.  My property has great soils for gardening + orchard.  View of Mt. Baker & Twin Sisters Mountains.  My property is on Bellingham Bay in Bellingham, Washington.

*Note – Site is rented so is no longer available.

Orchard View

View through orchard

Buck in Orchard

Mt. Baker at Sunset

Twin Sisters Mountains

John says: I follow TinyHouse blog on facebook.

I dream of one day living in a tiny house and practicing sustainability. I’ve also been in love with the idea of traveling the continent and south america in retirement by RV. I had to share this great image taken by my aunt, Ruthanne McEwen, while visiting Nueske’s in Wittenberg, WI. My aunt and I both live outside Milwaukee which is about 3 hours from Wittenberg.

This tiny house/vehicle captured my imagination in both cases. I would be very happy if you could share this image on your blog.

In this video, faircompanies’ blogger Bakari Kafele (biodiesel hauling from our site and from his Bio-Diesel Hauling business) invited us into his 150-square-foot home, an RV in Oakland (California), where the appliances are designed to save energy and water: in a month, he uses about 500 gallons of water and 40kwh of electricity.

Via Kirsten at faircompanies.com

The Sportsmobile is actually a Ford, Chevy/GM or Mercedes-Benz van that is converted into a traveling home. The one I toured was the 4×4 version which is rugged on the outside, but very comfortable, clean and organized on the inside. It’s the perfect touring vehicle for people who want a little more adventure.

Laura and Geoff took their Sportsmobile on their honeymoon and travel around the country in it.

The Sportsmobile has several dozen floorplans to choose from. The 4×4 comes with several seating areas and a full kitchen area with a refrigerator, sink, microwave, stove and a pantry. Most of the Sportsmobiles only have a  portable toilet and and outdoor shower, but can carry up to 17-20 gallons of water. A few of the floorplans contain a wet bath with toilet. Because of the pop-up roof and overhead bed, plus the couch below, there is room for about four to five people to sleep.

Other amenities include door-hung cooking areas complete with BBQ, awnings, air conditioning and heating, solar panels, bike and kayak racks, graywater tanks, and stereos and TV/DVD players. Additionally, because of their versatility, these vans can be customized to be working vehicles as well. Some Sportsmobiles have become mobile medical clinics, vet clinics, photography and artist studios, and touring/exploring vehicles.

Prices for a new Sportsmobile start at about $70,000 for a Ford E-350 V-10 gas engine van, Sportsmobile interior conversion and 4×4. Depending on additional options the price will run $80,000-plus.

Photos courtesy of Sportsmobile and octopup

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Get ready to head into the world of nomads with the Spaceship. Even though this vehicle is primarily used for traveling and vacations, I thought I would include it in the blog for its fun and unique use of space and nifty storage options. Think of it as a Swiss Army knife on wheels!

The Spaceship is only available in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as a vacation and camping rental, but it’s fascinating to look at as an all encompassing place to sleep, cook, eat, lounge and live for a short period of time.

Each Spaceship drives like a car, but has all the features of a small RV or trailer including double beds, food and water storage, awnings, dual batteries, security storage, refrigerator, swivel seats, gas stove, DVD/CD/MP3 player and screen and stereo. The vehicle can seat up to four people and can sleep two in the double bed. Extra sleeping and storage space is available from a pop-up attached to the roof of the car.

Spaceship YouTube Videos:

Sleeping in a Spaceship

Cooking in a Spaceship

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)

Unicats are manufactured in Germany and custom units can take up to 12 months to complete. If anything, these mobile houses are a great example of space saving techniques and gadgets.

If you really want to get off the beaten track and explore some of the more rugged areas of the world (yet still live in comfort) this RV might be for you. If you can afford it. Most Unicats sell for around $500,000.

In the U.S. Unicat offers two styles of RVs. The Amerigo is a family expedition vehicle in 4×4 or 6×6 configurations. The Professional is primarily used for search-and-rescue, natural disaster survival, remote eco-tourism, off-road ambulances, fire-fighting trucks, professional film crew trucks, and off-road racing support vehicles.

From the Unicat website:

In designing the body, first priority is given to functionality and performance criteria such as weight distribution, center of gravity, stability, and reliability. Next, a well-balanced interior layout comprised of seating/eating area, sleeping accommodations, kitchen, toilet/shower, storage, water supply, heating, lights, and electricity. Thirdly, we enable individual choices for interior appointments such as upholstery, flooring, counter tops, and cabinets in many finishes and materials.

Although UNICAT will gladly build custom one-of-a-kind vehicles, we recommend and prefer to build standardized models. Much research and testing go into the design, engineering and build-out of every new model and it’s extremely expensive and time-consuming to go through that rigor for each vehicle. Customer benefits include greater reliability, better value, greater serviceability, faster delivery, and most importantly, a better chance for an overall ownership experience over the long term.

“Drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Tierra Del Fuego, Chile, roads optional. Ship your EV to the Sahara, Gobi, Kalahari Deserts or the Australian Outback. See people and places that others can only dream of. All this in a vehicle offering the highest standards of reliability, safety and comfort.”

Photos Courtesy of Apartment Therapy and Unicat

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)

Courtesy of RoadTrek

Class B’s get better maneuverability than their larger counterparts and usually get better miles per gallon. You don’t need a tow vehicle for a Class B and you can usually park it in a driveway, a small camp spot and a single parking space.

Class B’s are really only large enough to sleep 2 or 3 people, but they can be very versatile. Most of these RVs have driver and passenger seats that swivel, a dining area that converts into a bed, heating and AC, a small kitchen with microwave, stove, oven, refrigerator, freezer and storage, closet space, and sometimes an RV toilet or in-head shower.

Courtesy of RoadTrek

Courtesy of FourWinds

Newer Class B’s are downright luxurious with custom carpeting and cushions, Corian countertops, wood cabinets, flat screen TV/DVD combos with surround sound, patios awnings, slide out pantries, day-night shades, full baths, generators, motorized slide-out rooms, “basement” exterior storage, tow packages, and rear backing cameras.

I’ve seen older Class B’s for sale for about $12,000 to $15,000. Brand new Class B’s can go for $50,000-$100,000.

Courtesy of the Digital Vagabond

Courtesy of the Digital Vagabond

Pat, the Digital Vagabond, lives, works and travels in a 24-foot Chinook Destiny which he says is “…built like a yacht, with high end woodwork and components from bumper to bumper…it is really more motor lounge than motor home”.

Courtesy of Pleasure-Way

Several manufacturers of Class B’s include:

Airstream

Pleasure-Way

FourWinds

RoadTrek

Great West Vans

Additional Information:

Roaming Times

VanTastic Vans

Courtesy of RoadTrek

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)

Fiberglass trailers first became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, but since then several dozen companies and manufacturers of fiberglass trailers have been developed.

A fiberglass trailer is usually built out of two parts. A top part and a bottom part. Each created from a mold or form and then attached together. The benefits of this is there are fewer parts to create and replace and the insulation is more effective.

Fiberglass trailers have become popular in the last few years for their low weight, access, options for customization and their cute, bubble shape.

Courtesy of Per on Fiberglass RV

Courtesy of Technomadia

For a smaller trailer (13-16 feet long), there is not a lot of opportunity for a large amount of design changes. The typical layout is usually a small dinette which becomes a bed, a small kitchen area, maybe a second seating or dining area and sometimes a small bathroom with shower. However, small fiberglass trailers do have all the amenities available to larger RVs including flat screen TVs, air conditioning and heating, awnings and solar panels.

Courtesy of EggCamper

Some of the most widely known fiberglass trailers are the Casita, Scamp and the Oliver. But there are also lesser known trailers like the Trillum, the EggCamper, the Oxygen and the Burro.

As a tiny house, there are still space challenges, but storage design keeps getting better. The newer designs have storage under the seating areas, in above compartments, small closets and in the bathroom. The biggest benefit of having one of these trailers as a tiny house is that you have the freedom of pulling your lightweight home with you wherever you go.

Cherie and Chris, of Technomadia, live full-time in Orion, their Oliver trailer

Hillary of thistinyhouse travels and blogs about her 50 square foot fiberglass trailer

Bruce lives full time in an RV in Yuma, AZ, but has traveled all summer in a 16-foot Scamp

Pete Jolly refurbished a 1950s Willerby Vogue

Monica lives full-time in her 16-foot Scamp with her dog

Johnny B. is a comedian living full-time out of his Casita

And, if the nomadic lifestyle is to your liking…

Join the Casita Club

RV Full-Time

Courtesy of EggCamper

Courtesy of Oliver Trailers

Courtesy of Casita Trailers

Courtesy of Trillum Trailers

Courtesy of Chris and Fiberglass RV

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)