Comments on: Dan’s Tiny House Project

By: John Boulden

John Boulden — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:39:53 +0000

In reply to prune’s comments on tongue weight and balance. Many builders are extending past the back of the trailer with building lengths to include porches and loft extensions. Not positive of the exact weights, but I’m sure that those extensions do help. I do agree though with your concerns on weight distribution and balance. Safety is important. Thanks for posting

By: Michael Janzen

Michael Janzen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:02:23 +0000

Hi Gus,

Good thinking. Let me take a look at the info Prune provided in more detail and check with him on the idea of collaboration.

By: gus

gus — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:54:05 +0000

Prune & Mike
Enjoyed your exchange and the information and experience each of you bring to the table. Would you consider putting an article on this website together? We’re in the planning stages of a trailerable Fencl and will move it within one year of completion. I’d really appreciate knowing as much about the design balance requirements and towing issues as you two are able to provide. Thanks for the great site…gus

By: prune

prune — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:48:13 +0000

Hi Michael,
Thank you for your reply and tip, but a commercial trailer is NOT an option for me! Been there, done that No! I really like the idea of self made tiny houses, and are currently making my own. That’s why I’m looking into this, and I’m sorry, but most of the mobile tiny houses I’ve seen described on the web, tend to put heavier things (bath, kitchen, loft) in the front! This, together with top heavy construction and rear-displaced wheels, makes the tongue weight way ABOVE the recommended hitch weight percentages! But don’t take my word for this, it’s easily checked out with a scale!
Good to know that none of the owners of tiny houses have had any problems. But it needs only one disaster to ban the self made trailers from the road! Building one myself, I’ll work hard to prevent this to happen.
Towing a trailer is no small responsibility and should be undertaken with great care and an eye toward safety first. An accident with a tow vehicle and trailer can have much greater consequences than carelessness with a small car. Like an airline pilot who is responsible for expensive equipment and many lives, you should take your responsibilities as a designer and tow vehicle driver very seriously and learn all you can about doing the job safely and well. Whether you tow a light boat or camping trailer behind your car, a vacation trailer behind a motorhome or a cargo trailer to haul a race car or move personal belongings, balancing the load and preparing the trailer and tow vehicle are critical to safe handling.
One of the most critical aspects of safely operating a trailer is knowing the weights involved and where they are placed. The first thing to determine is how much is being towed and confirming that it is within the capacities of the equipment being used. Determining WHERE that load is placed is critical to the way your rig will handle on the road.
Leaving too much weight on the hitch can also cause a dangerous situation where the tow vehicle doesn’t have enough weight on the front wheels to control your rig. When you hit the brakes, the trailer dives lifting the front end even more, and you lose most of your braking and steering at the same time.
There is much to be found on the net on this topics, and I’m only trying to help.
Prune

By: Michael Janzen

Michael Janzen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:11:29 +0000

Hi Prune,

Most tiny houses I’ve seen are built on non-custom trailers. Most designs tend to put heavier things (bath, kitchen, loft) in the back of the trailer to offset the rest of the house on the tongue. I suspect that a custom trailer and a carefully planned house would be ideal but so far I’ve not heard of any problems from the owners of tiny houses. Although they tend to be much heavier than normal travel trailers so a stout trailer and truck are best.

If portability is a higher priority then buy a commercial trailer or look into steel like those at Tortoise Shell Home http://www.tortoiseshellhome.com/

Thanks, good question.
Michael

By: prune

prune — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:05:08 +0000

Why are so many of the mobile Tiny Houses made with huge frontal inbalance? The wheels are placed too far from the center of mass. Look at profesionals Trailers! An important factor in towing safety is tongue weight, the weight with which the trailer presses down on the tow vehicle’s hitch. Too much tongue weight can cause problems with the tow vehicle. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/Cars/problems/Equipment/towing/Towing.pdf

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:16:49 +0000

This will be a nice looking house when finished. I like the dormer windows he is building into the roof. He should be able to get the shell complete before anyone complains too much.

By: Kent Griswold

Kent Griswold — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:52:48 +0000

It is so neat to see so many people stepping up to the plate and designing and building their own homes. I think it is a sign of the times that so many do-it-yourselfers are making it happen in their lives. It really inspires me to share as many of these stories as we can to inspire others to step forward and do the same.

Such a cool design Dan and I agree with you about Michael’s inspiration. I look forward to seeing each new design he comes up with.