Alan built this DIY tiny house after losing his wife, seeking a positive change and a more affordable way to live. He supports himself on Social Security with some DoorDash work on the side. By purchasing an LTVA (long-term visitor access) pass to BLM land, he pays just $25 per month in rent.
His DIY home features meaningful touches like his late wife’s wardrobe and a family heirloom desk, along with a full bathroom, galley kitchen, and twin-sized bed.
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DIY Tiny Home with $25/Month BLM Land Rent
Images via Cheap RV Living
Galley Kitchen with RV Stove
Images via Cheap RV Living
Meaningful Keepsakes from His Late Wife
Images via Cheap RV Living
Bicycle and Utility Trailer Storage
Images via Cheap RV Living
Video Tour: $25/Month Rent on BLM Land
Design Details
- Owner: Alan
- Type: DIY tiny house on wheels
- Location: BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land
- Land Cost: $25/month via LTVA pass
- Kitchen: Galley layout with RV stove
- Bathroom: Full bathroom
- Sleeping: Twin-sized bed
- Special Features: Late wife’s wardrobe, family heirloom desk
- Transportation: Bicycle with matching trailer
- Income: Social Security plus part-time DoorDash
Lessons from This Build
- LTVA Passes Enable Affordable Living: The Bureau of Land Management’s long-term visitor access passes allow camping on public land for about $180 per season ($25/month), making this one of the most affordable housing options available
- Social Security Can Be Enough: With low enough expenses, fixed income can cover living costs—supplemental gig work like DoorDash provides extra cushion
- Keep What Matters: Alan incorporated his late wife’s wardrobe and a family desk into his tiny home, proving you can downsize without losing meaningful possessions
- DIY Keeps Costs Low: Building your own tiny house significantly reduces costs compared to buying pre-built
- Tiny Living Enables New Beginnings: After losing his wife, going tiny gave Alan a positive change and a new chapter focused on travel and simplicity
Learn More
Related Stories
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- His DIY Tiny House in Europe
- Former Backpacker’s DIY Tiny Home
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Alex
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What is BML land?
BLM (Bureau of Land Management)… Basically, government owned and managed land that is free for public to use, as long as everyone follows the rules…
where do you find such land?
There’s plenty of resources, like the BLM government website has links for maps, etc. and plenty of camping and RV’ing group sites have similar resources to find good spots…
BLM can also issue leases and permits for long term stays. Such as 100 year lease agreement that can let someone place a certain type of structure, depending on agreement and location, on the land for that length of time and live there.
For non-permit stays, it’s basically 2 weeks/14 days per spot. While permits can allow for longer stays, more freedom to do certain things, etc. before needing a lease, but fees will typically be part of any permit or lease deal…
If it’s free for public use, why does he need to pay $25/month?
For long term, lease, stays… Again, for non-permit stays, it’s basically 2 weeks/14 days per spot that you can do free. However, that means you need to move to another spot every 2 weeks/14 days…
Were can I get the info for the BLM land
So basically he’s living completely off grid? Would have been nice to know about solar set up, batteries, composing toilet emptying rules on BLM land, etc. for a fuller picture of how this is made workable.