There are so many options these days for choosing a
Tiny Home ! What to do?
Tiny Home ! What to do?
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Let's look at the 3 most popular TYPES of Tiny Homes
Type 1 -- The tiny house
The typical ready-made tiny house like one built by Tumbleweed T.H.C. (see above left photo) costs about $63,000 and it is built on a trailer that has to be pulled around by another vehicle. So you have to have or buy a SUV or truck as well ! It is a very conspicuous design, EVERYONE who sees it will know you are pulling a habitable shed on a trailer. It's also very difficult to find parking for this type. Unless you also buy or own land, plan to live in a trailer park or have a friend who will rent a spot in his yard, you're going to have a LOT of problems settling down into a home routine. Because it is build on a trailer, for insurance and registration purposes it is considered an RV (recreational vehicle). Additionally you will have to face and deal with local building codes or laws which frequently restrict having this type of home or nosy neighbors who object to having a cabin on wheels in their neighborhood. Many people find that their dream of having a tiny home is crushed by the reality of how difficult it is to find a friendly, legal place to settle down. Consider the following videos...
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Type 2 -- The Motorhome
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Another option for "living tiny" is to choose a Class A, B or C motorhome. These homes combine the house and vehicle into one simpler to manage unit. Also called an RV (recreational vehicle), these RVs are easier to relocate and you have more options for finding long term parking. Motorhomes can be very spacious with lots of amenities. The downside is that they are gas guzzlers, expensive to drive around and are very conspicuous. EVERYONE knows it's a habitable vehicle and generally speaking, nobody wants one of these parked in front of their house or in their neighborhood. Additionally, most cities do not allow these vehicles to be parked with in city limits. Do you really want to spend your life hopping between Walmart parking lots? If you have an RV, in many ways you will be a target for a lot of negative attention. The prices for these vehicles can vary wildly and the quality of their construction also varies. If you buy one of these you HAVE to be handy and be capable of general maintenance and repairs. Lastly, unless you REALLY know what you're doing, the purchase process for an RV can be a nightmare. Consider the following videos by an legal expert on the subject of RVs--attorney Steve Lehto, followed by HIGHLY experienced advocate of RV living--William Prowse.
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type 3 -- the Stealth van tiny home
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In many ways, the Stealth Van tiny home combines the best qualities of Tiny Houses and Motorhomes, while minimizing or avoiding altogether, the pitfalls of option 1 & 2.
The positives....stealth van tiny homes can have nearly all the functional features of a Tiny House (bed, sink, food prep area with stove, microwave and refrigeration, toilet, solar panels, entertainment center, propane heating) and the benefits of a Motorhome (all in one design, entirely self contained, highly mobile). Stealth Vans can offer off-grid living somewhat easier than either Tiny Homes or Motorhomes in that Stealth Vans can travel to and from locations inaccessible to option 1 or 2. With Solar installation, electricity is available on a daily basis from the sun, allowing for the operation of several conventional appliances. Solar Batteries store energy providing electricity at night and the batteries automatically recharge every morning. Parking is easy, legal everywhere and available in locations off limits to Tiny Houses and Motorhomes. Most vans chosen as a stealth Tiny Home are so popular and commonly encountered that they now have become invisible through familiarity. This means that vans like the Ford Econoline, the Chevy Express and the Dodge / Mercedes Sprinter or Freightliner have become so bland, vanilla, and commonly encountered that they now register below the radar of most people in society--including the police. The psychology of people is that they stop noticing what they see every single day. It's the unique and different things that stand out. The principle of Stealth relies on the human tendency to ignore what seems common and boring. Your Tiny Home can be invisible in the middle of a crowded street or parking lot. When people see your Stealth Van they will assume you are just a generic worker driving a generic work van going about your generic work day. Completely invisible. A zebra hidden inside a herd of zebras, a fish hidden inside a school of fish.
More positives...stealth van tiny homes avoid building code restrictions often placed on Tiny Houses as well as avoiding the need for a secondary truck or SUV for towing and relocation; is inconspicuous whereas Tiny Houses and Motorhomes obviously stand out and attract negative attention. Stealth homes avoid the politics of city parking laws associated with Motorhomes; and is MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than either a Tiny House or Motorhome. Repair costs for a Stealth Van are the same as any other light duty vehicle, sometimes lower since work trucks and vans are often built more sturdy by manufacturers than passenger cars. Stealth Vans are modular, meaning that any add-on part can be removed and replaced as needed if it fails and a stealth home is extremely customizable according to the wants and needs of the owner. Any customizable part (solar panels, 12 volt refrigerator / freezer, flat screen television) is essentially considered to be aftermarket and so costs are more affordable, priced at market rate and are available from nearly every retailer (like Amazon.com). Stealth Tiny Homes function beneath the radar of corporate society. These residential vehicles allow the owner to live a life of tremendous freedom, independent and nearly autonomous from the energy grid--offsetting through the use of solar power what it consumes in fossil fuel. A stealth vehicle can be built for less than the cost of an average used car, and can be built by anyone with BASIC skills in power tool use. Nearly all the parts for building a Stealth Home can be gotten from local hardware stores or through online retailers.
The positives....stealth van tiny homes can have nearly all the functional features of a Tiny House (bed, sink, food prep area with stove, microwave and refrigeration, toilet, solar panels, entertainment center, propane heating) and the benefits of a Motorhome (all in one design, entirely self contained, highly mobile). Stealth Vans can offer off-grid living somewhat easier than either Tiny Homes or Motorhomes in that Stealth Vans can travel to and from locations inaccessible to option 1 or 2. With Solar installation, electricity is available on a daily basis from the sun, allowing for the operation of several conventional appliances. Solar Batteries store energy providing electricity at night and the batteries automatically recharge every morning. Parking is easy, legal everywhere and available in locations off limits to Tiny Houses and Motorhomes. Most vans chosen as a stealth Tiny Home are so popular and commonly encountered that they now have become invisible through familiarity. This means that vans like the Ford Econoline, the Chevy Express and the Dodge / Mercedes Sprinter or Freightliner have become so bland, vanilla, and commonly encountered that they now register below the radar of most people in society--including the police. The psychology of people is that they stop noticing what they see every single day. It's the unique and different things that stand out. The principle of Stealth relies on the human tendency to ignore what seems common and boring. Your Tiny Home can be invisible in the middle of a crowded street or parking lot. When people see your Stealth Van they will assume you are just a generic worker driving a generic work van going about your generic work day. Completely invisible. A zebra hidden inside a herd of zebras, a fish hidden inside a school of fish.
More positives...stealth van tiny homes avoid building code restrictions often placed on Tiny Houses as well as avoiding the need for a secondary truck or SUV for towing and relocation; is inconspicuous whereas Tiny Houses and Motorhomes obviously stand out and attract negative attention. Stealth homes avoid the politics of city parking laws associated with Motorhomes; and is MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than either a Tiny House or Motorhome. Repair costs for a Stealth Van are the same as any other light duty vehicle, sometimes lower since work trucks and vans are often built more sturdy by manufacturers than passenger cars. Stealth Vans are modular, meaning that any add-on part can be removed and replaced as needed if it fails and a stealth home is extremely customizable according to the wants and needs of the owner. Any customizable part (solar panels, 12 volt refrigerator / freezer, flat screen television) is essentially considered to be aftermarket and so costs are more affordable, priced at market rate and are available from nearly every retailer (like Amazon.com). Stealth Tiny Homes function beneath the radar of corporate society. These residential vehicles allow the owner to live a life of tremendous freedom, independent and nearly autonomous from the energy grid--offsetting through the use of solar power what it consumes in fossil fuel. A stealth vehicle can be built for less than the cost of an average used car, and can be built by anyone with BASIC skills in power tool use. Nearly all the parts for building a Stealth Home can be gotten from local hardware stores or through online retailers.
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This website will guide you through the process! Let's take a journey together !!!!
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