Floor Box - Day 1

It has begun.

Yesterday I ordered (and received) my floor box lumber, plywood, joist hangers, and nails. Today Dad and I suited up and got to work. So far--after about 3 1/2 hours of work--we've put together the outside rails and the main plywood-edge-supporting (A and B) joists.

Our strategies, results (good and bad), and lessons learned... after the jump!

Hitches 101: Electrical Stuff

Okay, part two of my learning-by-writing series on trailer hitches and towing. Last time I covered the Mechanical Doo-Daws; now for the Electrical Stuff. Dad and I did some of the electrical work ourselves and some we had done professionally, so my expertise here varies accordingly!

Homemade RVs in Washington State

Tiny house living involves some legal gray areas, some of which can be resolved by getting the house legally designated and registered as a recreational vehicle (RV). Unfortunately, this is usually only possible if the house was built by a certified RV manufacturer, like Tumbleweed Tiny Homes or another tiny house building company--not if it was homemade. But at the Portland Alternative Dwellings workshop last month, I learned that in Oregon--and, we were told, only in Oregon--you can have someone from the DMV come out, inspect your homemade tiny house, and certify it as an RV. Cool! But... only in Oregon. Bummer.

However...!

Planning the Floor

The work station, here pictured minus the usual cat.

Now that I have my trailer, the real work begins. The first task will be to build the floor, but before that... I need to figure out how to build the floor.

Until yesterday, I thought "Yeah, yeah, I pretty much know how the floor goes together" and didn't worry much about it. But then I sat down to actually draw out the plans and... oof.

Hello, Trailer!

Woohoo!

Today was trailer day! Rob from Iron Eagle Trailers told me my trailer was finished late Friday afternoon, so we went ahead and drove down to Gresham, Oregon (right next to Portland) on Sunday, stayed at a motel there, and picked up my trailer this morning.

My trailer.

The first real, solid piece of my house.

My future Going Home!

Hitches 101: The Mechanical Doo-Daws

I'm just starting to learn about trailer hitches and all that, and I need to organize and cement that knowledge by writing about it. So, at the risk of a blind-leading-blind scenario, here's a post on what I know so far!

Trailer Hitch is a Go!

Trailer hitch--installed!

Our trailer hitch arrived today! This is a Curt 13105 Class III receiver hitch, newly mounted to our 2008 Toyota Sienna Limited, and together they will bring my trailer home from Oregon. (Yep, we decided: we'll do the drive ourselves to save us the dealer's $500 surcharge.)

The hitch is just the first component that the Sienna needs to make it tow-ready; we still need to install a wiring harness and, most likely, a brake controller. We're also looking at a set of air springs to give the back end extra support when the trailer's tongue weight comes knocking.

Pre-Trailer Confuddlement and Learning(?!)

I'm ready to order my trailer. I was ready to order my trailer two weeks ago. I want to get started, already! So the day before yesterday, I finally called up Rob Mandzij at Iron Eagle Trailers, gave him my specs and preferences and contact information... and then I asked, "Could I pick up the trailer at one of the Iron Eagle dealerships?"

You see, the Iron Eagle manufacturing facility is way down near Portland, Oregon. Picking the trailer up closer to home--say, at the trailer dealership in Mount Vernon, Washington, that sells Iron Eagle

The PAD Tiny House Basics Workshop Weekend!

My first major investment in my tiny house was a pair of tickets to the Nov. 1-2 Portland Alternative Dwellings (PAD) Tiny House Basics Workshop. This was intentional: I didn't want to take any concrete steps toward building my "Going Home" until Dad and I had had time to attend the workshop, hear from the experts, get our questions answered, and actually spend time inside an honest-to-goodness tiny house on wheels. And I'm very glad I did!

Here is my (very long and somewhat thorough) report on that weekend.

Welcome!

 
I'm Anna, a 20-something recent college graduate. My dad and I are building an 8'x20' tiny house on wheels in Washington State. This is my personal blog to document the building process and my thoughts along the way.

Here's a little background on me and my motivations for building my own tiny house.