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!