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Custom Truck RV: Modern Motorhome Living or a Tiny House?


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I usually show you tiny houses on wheels but today I’m showing you a modern truck RV/motorhome by MCM Design. Besides that I also like to share teardrop campers and other RVs with you too.

So today I ask you the question, “would you rather go with a modern motorhome like this… Or a tiny house on wheels?” Have a look below first and then decide. I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments at the bottom on what you’d prefer.

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Modern Motorhome vs Tiny Houses

MCM Design Motorhome Tiny House

I think this motorhome is so well designed that I wondered if some of us would consider something like this over a tiny home on a trailer?

Exterior of Modern Motorhome by MCM Design

MCM Design Motorhome

Interior with Skylight, Kitchen, Bedroom and Living Area

Staircase Storage

Storage Staircase

Living Room and Bedroom

View of the Kitchen

Kitchen

View from the Bedroom

Living Area

Large Bathroom with Shower

Bathroom with Toilet and Shower

3D Floor Plans

3d Floor Plan 3d Floor Plan

Floor Plan with Details

Floor Plan

Images © McMarchitects

Source: http://www.mcmarchitects.blogspot.com/

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 42 comments… add one }
  • Ann Seeton
    May 17, 2013, 10:22 am

    Oh, GREAT topic!

    I love that truck camper. Really incredible design. I think teardrop campers are just too small for living in full time, but I bet there are people who have done just that!

    I own an RV that we purchased from an auction that only cost us around 6,000 for over 30 feet, top of the line chassis, incredibly good condition diesel engine, TWO diesel generators, the bathroom in place and usable, etc. It needs work, and yes, it is taking a lot of time to renovate it. But I have a husband who is the king of buying used and getting just the right thing at low prices. We could have done a bus conversion, but the bus hubby had from before our marriage is a standard I simply cannot drive. So a perfectly good bus, already cleaned out inside and ready to go for designing an interior, is parked until hubby can bring himself to sell it.

    I think I prefer our RV. It is mobile and has tons of storage underneath, and socially accepted already, and with the interior done for living full time, and made just for us by us, it will be a good place. AND to get me ready to live with such a big thing to drive, hubby has installed the widest mirrors I have ever seen on my van. He says that this way I can master driving WIDE before I have to master driving WIDE and LONG.

    All this said, there is a nice feel to the tiny homes. I can see why people choose them over an RV. I like to look at them for inspiration. But there are RV’s that are goosenecks and like a tinyhome can be parked. They probably do better on the highways but when parked, I can see why one might prefer the traditional of wood and metal roof and a tiny porch.

    I’m glad all options exist. Diversity is a very good thing.

    • suse
      May 22, 2013, 3:51 pm

      hey ann seeton i’m interested in your bus if you want to email me with details.

      dh and i intend to spend 8 months a year in an rv, so our summer home ( in a private campground) will be a tiny house. while many rvs are lovely i personally find the interiors of most to be distressingly cheap and ugly. i believe knowing i can go back to my ‘real home’ will make the rv living tolerable.
      besides i can’t imagine not having some solid walls on which to hang pictures!
      our tiny house will be 14 x 30, so it can be moved if necessary.
      we’ ll travel for as long as we can before settling down full time in the tiny house,which of course will be ada compliant for the future.
      as for community, i’ve long had a vision of my sisters and me having small cottages connected by decks and patios overlooking the barn and our elderly horses.
      if it all aligned it could be a wonderful age-in-place community of our own making.

  • alice h
    May 17, 2013, 11:05 am

    I would definitely pick the RV if I were on the move regularly, especially if I wanted to blend in and stay quietly anonymous. The tiny wooden house on a trailer is more aesthetically pleasing to me and having the option of moving it now and then is good but they are not the best for being pulled all over on a regular basis. Plus you get a lot of people wanting to look inside or talk to you about it. Not always welcome, especially on bad housekeeping or curmudgeonly days. A trailer might be more practical than a motorhome though. If you had engine trouble you could always move the trailer with a rented vehicle if necessary and wouldn’t lose the use of your home or be stuck someplace if the vehicle had to be put into a repair shop. If you need someplace to live immediately then a “good enough for now” used trailer or motorhome can usually be picked up quicker and cheaper than building something. It all depends on your circumstances. My main reasons for preferring a wooden tiny house on wheels are the aesthetics, higher ceilings, more and larger windows than most trailers and opportunity to customise the interior exactly the way I want but I won’t move very often if at all. In my zoning area a trailer house allows for more square footage than a place with foundations without a permit. Getting a permit would require a lot more expensive place than I can afford.

  • Barb B
    May 17, 2013, 12:01 pm

    I really like the layout & with a little work, could be adapted for a TH. A Tiny House is a definite step up from a travel trailer but of course, travel is the key word–depends on staying put or hitting the road on a regular basis. Looks like there is plenty of storage too. I don’t even like how tall I am (5 ft) so the ladder thing in the middle of the night isn’t appealing but the nice bed w/storage under, is! Also lugging the truck around–hmmm. By the way, Alex, I did like your little Back to Basics cabin–I get it.

  • Jerry
    May 17, 2013, 12:37 pm

    I think anyone who considers an RV as opposed to a tiny house on a trailer should rent an RV and live in it for a month (a week at least). Pay attention to how flimsy the materials are, to the squeaks and creaks you hear, and to the feeling you get when you come “home” to it. For some it will be fine, but I think for those of us interested in tiny houses, it won’t even come close! I have considered shipping containers, box trucks, RVs, but the fact is none of them make me feel at home when I look at them. We humans put an intangible value on the look of our homes, and you just can’t get that from a box!

    • Ann Seeton
      May 17, 2013, 1:56 pm

      People are all so different. Some prefer a more traditional ranch house look others prefer a very modern style, and still others find that as long as the place is warm, dry and large enough it doesn’t matter how it looks.

      My RV is ugly. It has better than usual materials, and there is the fact that we are using nicer materials inside because we plan to full time in it. It can be home because home is where family is.

  • LaMar
    May 17, 2013, 2:34 pm

    Well, here is the problems with a motor home:

    Most are not insulate well enough for permanent living in very cold or hot climates. If the vehicle breaks down you may not be able to live in it while it is being repaired. Vehicles take gas and repairs which can be very expensive. Vehicles require an inspection and licensing to operate.

    I have seen extremely nice RV’s and most are also extremely expensive and in the range of $30,000 to $70,0000.

    I can build 10 cabins or houses on wheels for the price of most of these that would be insulated and designed for all weather and include their own power system for off grid living.

    Now if you can get a used one cheap and modify it for year round living that is a different story!

    Use the design ideas from RVs but avoid the cost I say!

    • Susie M
      May 17, 2013, 2:54 pm

      Even if you can get a used one cheap and modify it, (err, not sure how to go about that,other than tearing down walls and rebuilding) How
      could it stand up to temperatures constantly in the -20’s in parts of winter, and up to the high 90’s in summer? I live in VT where it’s normal to have frost in the morning, and need your A/C by lunch time. If you don’t like the weather, wait a bit, it’ll change. I must admit, mating a tiny house with a vardo looks to be a viable option though.
      What do you think LaMar? You seem to have the most experience and common sense on these boards.

      • Ann
        May 17, 2013, 3:18 pm

        Well, the plan is to head north for summers and back south for winters. My work right now is portable and needs only an internet hook-up and email to send off bits of writing in the hopes that someone will pay me for them. Hubby is a good bit older than I am and nobody wants to hire a physicist/engineer to do research when he is older. Kind of a bummer for my beloved because his brains are really underemployed on anything except the work of research and development of things to make life better.

        So we can do that, go North to anywhere lovely and park it. Head south to someplace more moderate and park it. I’m sure we will be upgrading insulation but it is still an RV.

      • LaMar
        May 17, 2013, 4:29 pm

        Hi Susie,I am not sure you can call it common sense if only a few people have it 🙂

        The vardo (horse drawn house) that could be pulled by a standard truck or horses would be a better option if you are worried about the future and gas prices in my opinion. Plus they would probably hold their value better than an RV!

  • Bill
    May 17, 2013, 2:47 pm

    Having lived ,for a short time,in a camper with a flat roof I can only speak of one dynamic that I found intolerable…Rain sounds are very loud on a flat surface regardless of your insulation…apart from that I think this design is very nice.

    • Ann
      May 17, 2013, 3:19 pm

      Noise, yes, but I love the noise of rain on a roof. Even loud enough to drown out every other sound.

    • Rob Gray
      August 31, 2013, 4:44 am

      The sound of rain on the roof is a plus point, there’s no better sound IMO.

  • Rhia R. Drouillard
    May 17, 2013, 2:49 pm

    It feels cold to me. Anally organized, if you will. I would also require much more sunlight than that. I love windows and being able to view the scenery, even if it’s only in a backyard. Trucks have to be maintained and driven once in a while, much more than I want or plan to move. I would rather own either a truck or just hire someone to move my tiny house. I think it would be more cost effective unless you planned to do a LOT of moving. Even then, I need natural surfaces around me, wood, stone, etc. I am sure that some would find the traits I find to be undesirable to be the MOST desirable. Love it for someone else. 🙂

    • Lisa E.
      October 16, 2014, 6:22 pm

      If you love windows in your tiny house, check out Brevard Tiny House Company from NC online (just Google them.) Have a look at their “Sunnyside” tiny house; it’s a real winner!

  • Lil
    May 17, 2013, 6:11 pm

    Its certainly well laid out and has fantastic storage but for me its a little too sterile looking.

  • Jan Dregalla
    May 17, 2013, 7:16 pm

    Love the layout but feels too cold for me. Like the coziness of Tiny House. Just picked out my cedar siding for my home tonight:-)

  • Mark
    May 17, 2013, 7:19 pm

    To me it looks antiseptic and very uninviting, too much white, too many hard edges and angles. Very un-natural, it would feel uncomfortable and oppressive to stay in there.

  • Lynne
    May 17, 2013, 8:46 pm

    I’ve owned a 31-ft fifth wheel trailer and lived in it for 2 years and travelled the eastern 25 states in it. It was well-designed and well-made and worked out well until the temperatures dropped below the mid-20s. Then the poor R 7-9 RV insulation became problematic. Many full-timers use the fifth-wheel/truck option because you then have a vehicle separate from your “house” for daily transportation and you aren’t stuck if vehicle repairs are needed. I’ve also owned a Class C RV, which is what this MCM vehicle appears to be. But the unit is too tall overall (think stability on the road in windy conditions) and the front end is too boxy with too much wind resistance (like pushing a wall down the road). Gas mileage is usually only 7-9 mpg in these things. Finally, I don’t see where the water tanks, air-conditioner etc. would be placed. A typical RV A/C unit on the roof would probably put the height of this unit over the 13’6″ limit for many highways and tunnels.
    I think a tiny house built on a goose-neck trailer could have a similar interior layout, but be far more appealing visually. It’s the best idea for someone not planning on hauling it someplace on a weekly basis, but maybe just seasonally.

    • Sally
      May 20, 2013, 1:04 am

      Lynne nailed it on several points. I would like to add: For starters, this is useless for anyone still working “outside the home.” Are you going to batten down the hatches and drive it to work every day? Not hardly. The fuel costs alone would defeat the purpose of the tiny house eco outlook. Then where do you park it? Decent RV parks tend to be fairly expensive to rent space. Again, more money. Tires, hoses and other items are not made to sit indefinitely. $$$. Overall, I’d much rather have a tiny house that can be parked while the vehicle and I can go shopping, to work or doctor’s office visits. I can’t see one of these replacing a tiny house if you still have to work. If you’re retired, go for it, if you can afford the gas. But as Lynne also pointed out, the height limit looks a little shaky. And it definitely needs to lose the space age interior. Haven’t seen a bland interior yet in a tiny house.
      P.S. I DO like the idea of getting the bathroom out of the middle of the main room. That’s always a problem in any small structure.

      • Ann
        May 20, 2013, 10:35 am

        It is generally called a TOAD. A nice energy efficient car that when you move the house/RV, is towed behind, and when you park the RV, it is then the commuter car. My RV have more than enough power to tow the little car without any loss of gas mileage. In this way, while there are two engines to keep up, there are also TWO engines so if one breaks down the other is still available for getting to repairs.

        That said, this particular unit in the article is a bit tall. Probably fits the same parking spaces as a typical duly pickup which means hardly anything currently painted on the pavement at the parking lots–so it would fit between the lines but without any inches to spare. So park it WAAAAAY out!

        Tall vehicles catch the wind. Which is why, when we went with an RV, we didn’t go for a short one, but the full length because it wasn’t going to be good in wind– but neither is a tiny house on wheels. If you want good in wind get a classic airstream motorhome. Drives marvelously even in wind– problem is smaller and the constant repairs needed on a classic. But they sure did do nice interiors on those!

  • Patrick
    May 18, 2013, 1:13 am

    I like the floor plan. Might consider something very similar if I could build it to look like a tiny house using wood instead of like a modern RV made out wide a fiberglass exterior and lots of plastic inside. Thanks for posting this Alex.

  • David Ridge
    May 18, 2013, 10:22 am

    If this one was built on a slab or wheels, you could reduce its footprint by doing away with the “bedroom loft” and replace the sofa area with some kinda desk/day bed configuration.

  • Joyce
    May 20, 2013, 2:18 pm

    If I had the money required for it, I’d go buy one right now; perfect layout for one person, and sufficient room to put the few belongings I have. I know right where I’d drive it to, and wouldn’t move it again once I got there. Nice, nice unit.

  • Cahow
    May 21, 2013, 2:03 pm

    The second I read the title of this posting, I knew it would be almost split 50-50% on “Yes!” and No!” opinions. Glad to see I called it correctly. LOL Now, where’s my prize? 😉

    NOTE: The following are my observations, only. My comments are NOT 1) bashing; 2) mocking; 3) nor critiques of tiny home lovers, of which I count myself as of a lover of tiny homes.

    To those of you that are calling the interior “sterile”, “space-age”, “cold”…you DO realize, don’t you, that if you paid money to have this built for you, you can CUSTOMIZE THE INTERIOR, right???!!! It’s just a S.A.M.P.L.E. of a design contest that the architect challenged himself to design. So, you can stick as much knotty-pine/cedar/whatnot in here if it was YOUR home to “warm it up”. Whichever design program/colour choice the architect would have chosen, there’d be dissenters. I seriously doubt that most SketchUp programs have a setting called “Little Wheeled Home on The Prairie!” (LOL)

    Regarding the “analy organized” interior: with such a small space meant to be lived in for a vast amount of time, don’t you WANT to utilize 110% of the interior? Some tiny home designs I’ve seen are SUCH space wasters: basically a loft bed, a hard chair, a fold-down table to pull the hard chair up to, and maybe…an area for a sawdust toilet. THOSE tiny homes, by my eye, look spartan, antiseptic and down-right sensory deprived, as if the person had some kind of issue, psychologically, and needed to limit exposure to stimulation.

    I’ve never fully understood the hubris involved with so many tiny home builders. WHY reinvent the wheel when the wheels already been invented? To me, it’s like going to a junk yard when you need a car, and building the car from literally “the ground up”, buying each bolt, spring, gear and light bulb individually vs. finding a good used car that you can maybe sink 0% to 10% to really make it your own. Yeah, I get that there are Gear Heads that have the time and money to tinker in their garage and love the challenge of building a custom ride from scratch, but…and this is a HUGE but…these dudes already OWN a car (or several) that allow them to go from X to Y to Z; they aren’t car-less and spending 1,000’s of hours creating a car from scratch just so they can drive to Walmart. LOL So, I get that there are true House-Heads, who have both the time and money and space to store a barn’s worth of salvaged goods, a patient wife/girlfriend, and the talent to create custom gems like Deek. They do it for the sheer fun and challenge of it, but most tiny home lovers that I’ve read responses from, have only ONE of the above, if that! They don’t have the space to build a tiny home from scratch (especially if they live in an urban area), they don’t have the space to store salvaged materials and they don’t have building experience. If that was the case, I’d think that a good USED motor home would be the BEST.POSSIBLE.ANSWER. to loving and living in a tiny space. Some of the vintage trailers have real wood and a very cozy interior! You see them listed in Tiny House listing, all the time, and for a very good price, too.

    I subscribe to Tiny House Listings and do a cost analysis of each listing vs. square foot. Most of the tiny stick built homes, which average from 90-250 sq.ft, run from $83/sq.ft. to a whopping $371/sq.ft for a frickin’ 90 sq.ft. tiny house!!! Show me where the saving factor is on THAT decision??????? One listing, was for a tiny house that took the man 2,000+ hours to create from salvaged materials and he was listing it for $90,000! WTF??? If I had $90,000 in my pocket, I sure wouldn’t buy a 280 sq.ft. house on wheels, that’s for dang sure!

    And I “get” the whole reasoning behind having a tiny home on wheels: it gets you around building ordinances. But, let’s be honest here, HOW MANY of these allegedly “mobile” tiny homes actually move? Has Dee Williams tiny house ever moved an inch since she moved into her friend’s back yard? I’ve read 100’s of Alex’s postings and I’d say only 10% of tiny homes on wheels actually MOVE, so the question of air drag, deer heads falling off the wall and weight seems moot.

    If I was single and truly wanted to go off grid, low grid or full grid, I’d buy a USED camper such as above, and have a Vespa or TOAD car like Ann wrote about, to zip around and get to where I was going. I’d spend Winters where the camper could handle it (insulation factor) and the Summers Up North. But seriously, I know myself and I know that I could only handle two years, MAX, of living in such a restricting space and would have to live in a much larger space, up to 400-600 sq.ft. if I lived by myself, which I don’t. I lived full-time in a truck camper for two years while doing under grad work in Oregon and by the end of the time, I felt like I was released from prison. I was only TOO happy to move into a home with rooms! and doors! and more than 80 sq.ft.!

    I LOVE this design, I love the anal interior of having “a place for everything” and the sheer genius of the design. If I had the inclination and money, I’d choose a different colour interior (softer), buy a trailer for a hybrid car, tell my husband to “pack lightly”, and then hit the road for a couple of years.

    And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. 😉

    • Sandra
      December 9, 2013, 7:04 pm

      I agree/disagree with you. A really nice motor home costs $300 a square foot. Easily! I actually do not like the salvage tiny houses. But travel trailers/motor homes are certainly different than a well built tiny home. It is like the apple/orange scenario.

  • Cahow
    May 21, 2013, 3:23 pm

    I wanted to add, after visiting Robert Moreland’s blog, is if someone wanted to turn this 26′ long dream home into an actual stick-built tiny home, they could just expand the bedroom footprint off of the wheel-well limitations and gain the same width as the main rooms. I don’t know about anyone else but it is 100% mandatory that I have a wee night stand on the side of the bed for reading glasses, Kindle, lamp, tissue box and glass of water.

    I’d still keep the bedroom elevated, even in a stick built home and would use the void underneath the bedroom for furnace/water heater, etc. Using an old-fashioned storm door would allow you to have a wee basement which comes in handy for storing seasonal clothes and odds and ends that are necessary but aren’t used year ’round like canning supplies. 🙂 This would make the most awesome place for a college kid or out-of-town visitors!!!

  • Nate
    May 25, 2013, 5:51 am

    At 208 square feet (he mentioned in his blog comments that it’s 26′ long & 8′ wide), I see no reason why this design couldn’t be applied to a Tiny House style. You could either have external access to storage under the bed (keep camping or outdoor cooking stuff in there or put a water tank in there) or you could bring the bed down to floor level and add a screen or wider storage so you leave only a door width gap into the bed space (& pull across a curtain/sliding door for privacy when having guests). I think it has a great lay out with possibly the most fantastic amount of storage I’ve seen in such a small space.

    For a TH style you could add more or lengthen the windows, give it a pitched roof, insulate it better, have the sofa free-standing (or have one of those converting desk/sofa/bed types…in fact you could do that for the main bed too if you wanted more floor space/private study space), kitchen cabinets to suit your own needs (including a washer/dryer either in the kitchen or in the bathroom if you wanted) and then even probably be able to substitute the shower for a walk-in bath if that was what you needed/wanted too. And, you could still put in an extra bed loft over the floor level bed if you had kids or regular guests.

    I like that the bathroom is all in one, I think that makes better use of a small space and I like that there’s closet space in there too, which seems more important if your sharing with others but even if you’re alone then it frees up the other cupboard spaces for other uses.

    A normal level bed would make it suitable for people with disabilities, especially if you left that width open where the steps are, but you could add doors that slide from either side or a fold back door if you need/want privacy. I think this is a big thing when you consider that a lot of TH designs aren’t suitable for disabled people due to: the bed being in a loft or taking up a lot of central floorspace; narrow walkways between the two ends of the house where there’s storage or bathroom dividing it; shower rooms that wouldn’t take a wheelchair or won’t close off from the main space if they’re split, and the walk way goes between the two halves; and, kitchens that have no space to manoeuvre a wheelchair or even crutches in. This layout would resolve some of those problems. It would probably need a small amount of adjustment for a wheelchair user, however, at the minimum you’d have to widen the bathroom door (sacrificing that unnecessarily large TV) and maybe you’d even need to redesign the bathroom layout (swap the toilet and sink perhaps etc) or at the max, move the wall forwards a little into the living space to make more space to get by the sink).

    And hell, you could even go for a smaller footprint by doing away with the bed space if you wanted and just have a single day bed or a hideaway bed/sofa where the sofa is.

    Over all, a great design, but I’m with those that say a Motorhome/RV isn’t designed to last with permanent living in. They also depreciate in value quite rapidly as do caravans (as we call them in the UK). Where as, I imagine Tiny Houses will hold their value like any house would – sure it would fluctuate with the market but I can’t see a time when they’d be worth £500 after having paid out £20k for it. I’ve seen several different designs for Tiny Houses on here and I think they’re nice but couldn’t see myself living in one permanently (or even semi-permanent), this is a design I could actually see myself living in though, just not on an RV,

  • Frank
    May 28, 2013, 10:44 pm

    It does seem like reinventing the wheel. I spend a lot of time doing that my self. Sometimes the wheel is better sometimes not so much. So if you are spending say 35k on the chassis, top end everything inside including hot water, cold water,heat,A/C another 65k (rounded corners and expensive laminated high R value panels) gen. Sets, PV panels, aux. Batteries another 15-20k plus labor. You would end up with a really personal RV that would be outstanding for you. If that’s what you want. Or you could buy something pretty close at your RV dealer for a lot less. There is economy in scale and they build hundreds of each model. If you want something unique, relatively easy to construct (flat floor, no chassis to build around, square corners, simple plumbing and electrical etc.) TH looks good to me! But they seem apple to oranges comparison. Sorry about the ramble, but these opinions are from experience. Restored avion camper, 26′ pembroke wood boat, 34′ Shane wood boat, converted ford van, etc. And learned what not to do on each project. And learned what worked for me and what to comprise on.

  • December 9, 2013, 5:12 pm

    If money were no object, this would be almost perfect for me. And I only say “almost” because it looks pretty wide. I will be traveling fulltime in a renovated public transit “wheel chair” van next year. It is only about 7 feet wide — and I gladly give up the extra square footage for the ease of driving on narrow mountain roads. I love the look of the modern truck and its very high clearance (perfect for boondocking). I wonder about the aerodynamics of the top and what its final height would be (my van tops out at 9 feet 5 inches). Love it.

  • Lisa
    December 9, 2013, 8:56 pm

    O.M.G.! It’s FABULOUS!!! I totally love truck houses. My only concern is if these were made of cheap materials that would look terrible given a few years. This is the main reason I love the THM; bc when the materials in the wooden homes age, they look beautiful, as opposed to rusting metal and cracking / decomposing composite wall and floor materials. But the floor plan is wonderful and I could definitely see myself living in one of these… say, by the beach 🙂

  • January 27, 2014, 8:52 pm

    Got a ‘transformer’ fiberglass/metal frame pod that rides on a 5th wheel, 2-axle RV chassis, converts to a cabin using on-board automatically adjustable self-leveling lifts and working on a watercraft base for parking at a dock using removable, portable waste tanks mounted on a hand truck or pulled by the included on-deck propane powered 2 passenger buggy. Somewhat of a moon craft but not makin’ that in my lifetime anymore. I invented a folding, then double-wide mobile home at 16 & 17 after running away from home in NM, becoming a contractor then architect and knew FLW I spent a half day with on my way and was going to attend Taliesin but he died shortly after that and his interview on Dave Garroway’s “Today” show he signed the check for his airline ticket to NY in front of me ’cause his credit wasn’t good. Now there was a man…an architect. He told me he became one because his mother “wanted one…and she got one”…I’m 74 now and never felt as bad or had worse health and somewhat expect to kick the bucket anytime now but God’s not quite finished with me I suppose. Found this site and liked it so I’m just throwing a little fodder on the fire…keep it burning, folks.

  • david
    June 10, 2014, 4:50 pm

    It looks like an emergency clinic.

  • Chris
    June 21, 2014, 3:35 am

    We are actually moving into a 35′ fifth wheel next week.. it was more affordable at this point than a tiny house. Which is what I want eventually. But this is pretty nice-it is meant for living in, although we are not going to move around in it, and so we will build up nice infrastructure around it (deck, and cabins for our grrls). We are moving onto my MIL’s property (to help her stay independent), and so our land cost is minimal, and we have access/use of her 5 acres- which are really beautiful and flat basically with nice patches of tree coverage. Going back to the land, including home schooling our two grrls. Grandma is going to teach them (and me) all sorts of old timey skills that most people have not acquired.

  • Marsha Cowan
    October 16, 2014, 4:41 pm

    Wow! Really unique! I like this “RV” tiny house.

  • Lisa E.
    October 16, 2014, 6:45 pm

    Alex: Do we have any information on “gooseneck” flatbeds and how they operate and stack up to regular flatbeds for building on? I’ve often thought about this type of foundation for my THOW but don’t know enough about them to make a decision. (A ballpark comparison of price points between standard building beds and gooseneck options would be appreciated.)

    If a “gooseneck” is a good flatbed to build on, then one could take the floor plan above and adapt it to a TH. You could use natural materials (wood, stone) to make your interior instead of cold plastics and metal strips. The bedroom with the drawer stairs would be an excellent design for Seniors (no navigating ladders in the night for frequent trips to the loo,) and being that you are building it (and out of natural materials) you can make certain modifications like a pitch roof with skylights for more light. Also, natural materials age SO much better. I’m sorry but there is nothing uglier than an old RV; the materials are so cheap to start with and don’t age well at all! Also, if you build this floor plan yourself, you can control things like the insulation; nothing worse than freezing when it’s freezing. (I had a friend in younger years (pre S.O.) and I stayed overnight at her RV; I could feel the cold seeping in through the walls, I could feel the wind and/or rain outside like “I” was outside, there was nothing comforting or soothing about the materials in the walls, the whole place rattled (old RV) when you walked from one end to another… in other words, no redeeming qualities. I suppose if you have the money for a new one and you’re going to be doing a lot of traveling it makes sense, but there is NOTHING like your own wood home, with all your things right there no matter where you land. And ever since I discovered Brevard Tiny House Company, there’s no turning back; I found my dream home and I’m killing the cc’s off and have my savings coffee can going. Happy for the day when I take possession of my TH! 😀

  • B. Kvistad
    October 16, 2014, 7:40 pm

    How much is this proposed truck camper going to sell for? Either I’m blind or it doesn’t say.

    Alex: I think this thread really hits on a major and rapidly increasing problem w/traditional THOW — They are too expensive for the alleged target-market to buy! So instead of folks using sustainable and recycled materials, they are buying and living in (for various amounts of time) in plastic, fiberglass, etc. RVs, travel trailers and truck campers. These THOW substitutes initially and ultimately are not good for our planet.
    I understand that THOW builders should absolutely make money as businesses; however, the reasoning for the initial high prices was cuz builders were learning as they went. Well, it sure seems that they should have learned by now, this prices should be decreasing. Instead, prices continue to increase!!! This apparent attempt by these builders to ride the wave of THOW success could thwart the exact industry they are sapping. I hope many people w/clout in the TH movement and community concur and will attempt to convince the top builders to, at a minimum, have some foresight. Plus, as. most people continue building their own THOW or buying less expensive alternatives, then these THOW builders won’t have much business!

  • Suzi
    October 16, 2014, 9:39 pm

    I love the design integration of the loft stairs. & kitchen cabinets, enlarging the space & letting it flow. Very we’ll crafted!

  • Cat
    October 16, 2014, 11:10 pm

    Beautiful motorhome, inside & out!
    Love the floor plan, the abundant but unobtrusive storage, and the non-RV-like appliances and fixtures. Especially love the storage staircase up to the sleeping area. I think I’ll figure out something like that for my own RV. It would need to have a passage around the bottom step, so kitty can get to her litter box, which lives under a little table in the space between the 2 front seats in the “cockpit”.

  • Elle
    October 17, 2014, 2:49 pm

    Really beautiful, up-to-date finishes with an open space and clean lines throughout. Amazing design for an RV, even though it has not been produced yet. Someone is finally awakening to the fact that the grandma designs (colors/finishes/configs of old that are mainstay of RV companies) are just not cutting it for the rest of us. Thank the gods!

  • Paula & James
    April 28, 2015, 3:28 am

    I like the cab-over but I need help with a remodel job on our 1986 31 foot motorhome.
    Paula

  • Randy
    June 7, 2021, 11:52 am

    I really like the new design. I like the compactness of it where every inch is used but I don’t like the blase genericness of the interior. It is absolutely bland. I love and appreciate the character and uniqueness of homebuilt tiny houses as well. Each nook and cranny was considered by the builder/owner. But, I think for me, the new one might win for one reason alone: it’s new. Being new it might be more reliable, it might provide more years of service and the two would allow me to go, see and do more. But, if I were looking for something where I wouldn’t be on the move every single day, I’d certainly prefer the homebuilt models.

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