My take on tiny house

[loaderman]

It is 8'5" wide by 24' long, with the rounded front end going over the trailer tongue it could be built on a 20' trailer.
The toilet and shower doors would open to close off the bath space beside the bed. Yellow square beside foot of bed is the bathroom sink and cabinet area.
Bed is 54" wide standard mattress.
There would be cabinets at the foot of the bed with a wardrobe closet above.
Beside the chair is a flip up table which with a fold up chair would seat two people.
24" fridge and stove.
The red thing beside the head of the bed is a small nightstand.
Closet just inside the door to the right. To the left is a shoe rack with a solid top to be a stand beside the couch.

[S. Heisley]

It looks very roomy. The raindrop/tugboat style front may be the ideal design for a build that is wider than the tow vehicle.

[loaderman]

Some of the design criteria and needs behind my design.

This is designed as a tiny house which could be moved but probably not all that often.
- The rounded nose to help with aerodynamics
- Inside would be 6'6" high , maybe an arch roof or regular gable for simplicity.
- Made as short as I could and still fit what I wanted to save weight


Bathroom
- wanted decent size but no wasted space
- 32X32 shower for decent room to shower for full sized man
- Toilet in cabinet
- sink beside so could use toilet and/or shower and/or sink at same time for 2 people.
- doors come across to seperate bathroom for privacy

Kitchen
- wanted full fridge and oven/stove. and decent size single sink.
- 24" fridge and stove
- Wanted decent counter space and cabinet space. Approx 8' lower and 12' of upper cabinets. 6' of counter space.

Entrance.
- Would have awning outside, with possible walls to break wind
- decent size closet for jackets
- shoe rack for lots of shoes.
- place for key and such.

Dining.
- Thought about having no dining area and just eating at couch, decided to go flip up table for if it was wanted. would also act as a display shelf.

Living
- wanted 2 places for people so couch and chair.
- angle on toilet wall is for TV and corner shelves if wanted.
- Wanted as much open space as possible so would not seem so small.

Bedroom
- wanted decent bed.Double bed for comfort.
- wanted lots of closet/storage space so cabinet at foot of bed with hanging at the top above your feet.
- Wanted possible privacy so could have flip out doors from toilet and shower cabinets close off area. Could then have curtain/sheet to hid toilet if wanted.
- Need to sleep a couple and maybe company.
- Futon could sleep 2 more.
- If I was to add a loft it would be on the front above the kitchen, with a foam mattress and custom fit sheets. would be for kids. Roof would then slope to back like a tear-drop.
- Thought about having bed come out so easier access from both sides. Would have added 3' to trailer and had lesser closet space so this was a trade off in the design.

[High Desert]

Nice layout, soon great open space in it. I could also see this floor plan working nicely in a V nose 20' x 8' 6" cargo trailer. Thanks for sharing it.

[Bogo]

I like the kitchen up front. The sitting area an bathroom seam a bit skewed, but skewed may better allow two to inhabit the limited space.

With a crosswise bed there will be the climb over issue. Consider having the bed go fore/aft, and small isles on each side. On both sides at the head end of the bed have closets. Also make the bed a Murphy bed that folds up against the rear wall. Then the floor space can be used for a second living space. Alternately put a tub under the bed. With a Murphy bed you could skip the isles on each side and line the side walls with cabinets and closets where there aren't windows.

Double door bathroom with doors to the rear bedroom, and front. Sink on one side, toilet on the other, and shower in the middle. That will allow more space to move about in, but it should also allow it to be a bit shorter lengthwise. Consider making the whole bathroom floor a grated shower drain, then use a shower curtain hung from the ceiling to keep the spray off the walls, etc.. Actually for the grated shower drain floor, you only need a drain grate at each door, then have the floor slope to them. Yeah, the bathroom doesn't work for two unless they are very comfortable with each other, but then I've never seen a small bathroom that works for two who aren't very comfortable with each other.

As for streamlining for towing. If it isn't going to be moved much, why bother. Don't compromise the interior space for streamlining. If it will get what you want style wise, then go for it. Personally, I'd put a deck over the tongue. Fold it up against the door to protect it against wind blast when towing. With creativity a 16' wide by 8' long deck could be made to fold up against the front or rear. Length is limited by the height you are willing to stick the folded up deck above the tongue. If the tiny house is made a few inches narrower, then a full length deck could be hung off a side, and fold out for use. Use a roll up awning for the deck roof. Railings can be removed and stowed between the frames of the deck for transport.

A loft can provide more storage space as well as sleeping space for guests. If you have one, I'd have lofts in both the front and rear unless this clashes with other style wants like a vaulted ceiling.

Yeah I have to many ideas. Feel free to use or ignore them.

[S. Heisley]

You probably already saw this; but, just in case you didn't, this chair (or couch or both) might be nice for those times when you have overnight company. ...One never knows....

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=56100

[loaderman]

I like the kitchen up front. The sitting area an bathroom seam a bit skewed, but skewed may better allow two to inhabit the limited space.

With a crosswise bed there will be the climb over issue. Consider having the bed go fore/aft, and small isles on each side. On both sides at the head end of the bed have closets. Also make the bed a Murphy bed that folds up against the rear wall. Then the floor space can be used for a second living space. Alternately put a tub under the bed. With a Murphy bed you could skip the isles on each side and line the side walls with cabinets and closets where there aren't windows.

--- Lengthwise bed is good idea but would add about 3' to length. For my purposes a tub would not be used. And a murphy bed would stay down 99% of the time.

Double door bathroom with doors to the rear bedroom, and front. Sink on one side, toilet on the other, and shower in the middle. That will allow more space to move about in, but it should also allow it to be a bit shorter lengthwise. Consider making the whole bathroom floor a grated shower drain, then use a shower curtain hung from the ceiling to keep the spray off the walls, etc.. Actually for the grated shower drain floor, you only need a drain grate at each door, then have the floor slope to them. Yeah, the bathroom doesn't work for two unless they are very comfortable with each other, but then I've never seen a small bathroom that works for two who aren't very comfortable with each other.

-- Had first design with that bathroom idea. Does not work for 2 people.

As for streamlining for towing. If it isn't going to be moved much, why bother. Don't compromise the interior space for streamlining. If it will get what you want style wise, then go for it. Personally, I'd put a deck over the tongue. Fold it up against the door to protect it against wind blast when towing. With creativity a 16' wide by 8' long deck could be made to fold up against the front or rear. Length is limited by the height you are willing to stick the folded up deck above the tongue. If the tiny house is made a few inches narrower, then a full length deck could be hung off a side, and fold out for use. Use a roll up awning for the deck roof. Railings can be removed and stowed between the frames of the deck for transport.


-- We think alike. one incarnation had a recess in the side wall in the door area with a small deck. For me in reality a good outdoor rug/carpet would be better.

A loft can provide more storage space as well as sleeping space for guests. If you have one, I'd have lofts in both the front and rear unless this clashes with other style wants like a vaulted ceiling.

-- Thought about a loft for grandkids and/or storage and decided against it. Not sure why.

Yeah I have to many ideas. Feel free to use or ignore them.

[bdosborn]

The bedroom in the back might be an issue if you're planning on using the area under the bed for storage. A lot of weight back there could unbalance the trailer and make it tow badly.

Bruce

[bobhenry]

I think the front kitchen would offset most of that weight.

I took a different path I chose to place my walk thru galley style kitchen over the wheels. The wheel wells were easily hidden by the cabinets and on the otherside offered a heavy duty shelf to bring the undersized rV style stove and the 1.7 cu in fridge and freezer to a more user friendly level. My thought was the kitchen area would be the heaviest concentration of weight with food stores cookware dishes and appliances so I chose to place that weight as directly over the axles as was possible. Now if I could just find a county where they will let me live in it.

Bob

"The homeless man with a house"

[luneywan]

The weight of the bed would depend on the kind of bed. There are some beds are very thin, so are lighter.

I imagine that the frame can also be made lightweight. Most production bedframes are particle board, since it's cheap. Unfortunatelly it's also heavy. Perhaps taking a gander at the ultralight section will provide practical lightweight beds.

In an emergency an inflatable matress would lower the weight a lot. (Not that I fancy sleeping on one long term. )

Pip

[bdosborn]

It's not the bed that would be heavy, it's everything you put underneath it. The bed makes for very nice pass through storage for chairs, stoves, rafts, dutch ovens, etc. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can get in there (and how heavy it is):



Bruce

[working on it]

It's not the bed that would be heavy, it's everything you put underneath it. The bed makes for very nice pass through storage for chairs, stoves, rafts, dutch ovens, etc. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can get in there (and how heavy it is).

Bruce

I was very surprised when my wife got home from a business trip to Minnesota and Missouri. She said that the truck ('98 GMC 1500 extended cab, with 3.73 gears, and about 350hp) was not pulling the trailer ('07 Puma 20 footer) as well as it had been (up hills, etc.). Of course, she admitted finally that she never downshifted, and didn't build speed prior to the inclines. That wasn't enough answer for me...that truck had towed loads that heavy for years, no problems. Then I unpacked the truck and trailer. She had collected rocks from every stop she made (one of her hobbies) and some antiques. At least 500 lbs in the trailer passthru (just behind the tongue). Now she doesn't do that anymore.

[bdosborn]

Hah, that's straight out of the movie:



Bruce

[luneywan]

It's not the bed that would be heavy, it's everything you put underneath it. The bed makes for very nice pass through storage for chairs, stoves, rafts, dutch ovens, etc. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can get in there (and how heavy it is):

Bruce

Ahh. How about for and aft stowage compartments. Allows one to spread the weight.

Pip