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The Rose Housetruck For Sale is a guest post/for sale listing by Michael Ostaski
This is a chance to own a classic piece of American history. I use to live in this house on wheels and traveled on the road for many years up and down the California/Oregon/Washington coast but now however I have retired it from the road and I have parked it on several different pieces of land. This truck makes a great “Tiny Home”. It has an incredible history and is a one of a kind.
So what you have here is a hand built totally custom home on wheels. It’s been called a “land yacht”. It’s very comfortable, has many features, and can be upgraded to have a little more modern comforts such as solar, wi-fi, etc.
Update: Price reduced!
Related: ’99 Sterling Roadrunner House Truck For Sale
1948 International Housetruck Tiny Home For Sale
Images © Michael Ostaski
Even though the truck runs and drives, I would recommend not really driving it on the road. It is just a little too slow up hills and has no power steering or AC.
With that being said this truck will have to be picked up on a low-boy tractor trailer; then it could be shipped pretty much anywhere in the United States. Then driven off the low-boy, on to the new property location and could be situated with its own power.
The master bedroom is above the cab, the dining area with the living room and kitchen are in one main area, then you drop down to a lower section which has a really nice bathroom with a sunken shower and sink. Another small space in the lower section is now a pantry. Above that is another small bedroom for a child or even storage that also has a little back porch with a dutch door made of Brazilian Mahogany (both doors are made from the same wood).
- The overall measurements are: 32′ long 9′ wide and 12.6′ tall
- Weighs roughly 6-7 tons
- Master bedroom is above the cab and measures 5.6′ by 8′
- The main cab area (living, dining and kitchen) measures 23′ by 8′
- The back bedroom is 4′ by 8′
- The porch is 2′ x 8′
- The bathroom is 7′ x 2′
- There are 23 skylights which makes it very bright and open (and not one leak)
This is a custom-built home with lots of hardwoods and stained glass windows, exposed beam ceilings, pellet stove, and a 20 gallon electric hot water heater. It’s recently been re-wired with modern lighting, propane stove, etc. And a new 35 year comp shingle roof and fresh exterior paint.
When you park this on a piece of land you would:
- Connect the electrical plug to the power panel
- Connect the hose to the water pressure valve
- Connect the septic to a septic tank
And then you’re ready to go.
The truck has been rebuilt and only has about 25,000 miles on a completely rebuilt motor. It also has new air brakes. The rear tires are in fair shape and the front tires are in very good shape (not retreads). The cab’s interior looks pretty good.
It has 15 forward gears and a 5 speed with a 3 speed browning. But again, I wouldn’t recommend driving it too far.
I have a picture of what it looked like on the low boy from California a few years back.
History
Some people might not care about this history but here it is in case you like that sort of stuff.
The house truck is officially called “THE ROSE” named after the back window. That first piece of stained glass was given to me as a gift. The Rose has been in two books. The first one was Rolling Homes in 1979 by Jane Lidz. And the second one was Some Turtles Have Nice Shells in 2010 by Rodger Beck. This house truck has also been on several TV shows and recently going to be on “You Live in What?” on HGTV.
Images © Michael Ostaski
I did stained glass trinkets and small windows at craft shows and fairs up and down the West Coast. Later I learned to be an airbrush artist and did t-shirts (much more fun!).
I started this home in 1976 and have remodeled the house at least 5 times so I keep it in really perfect shape. I recently added the bay windows on the sides to give it even more of a roomy feeling.
And for a 38 year old house truck it is just AWESOME.
Interested in Owning It?
I’m selling The Rose due to starting a new business building Tiny Homes called Roadrunner (tiny homes on wheels). With my art background I think I can offer some unique and creative homes on trailers or trucks ready to be moved to great pieces of land, helping people downsize, and live a stress-free kind of lifestyle.
Even though this is a classic piece of history, I’m willing to let it go at a fair price. I believe after looking at some of the prices from other tiny home companies that this would be a pretty good bargain at $60,000 $47,500 plus transport fees.
It does have to be trailered on a low-boy to its new location. A few years ago I had it trailered from California to New Mexico and it ran right around $3500. Moving costs would also have to be considered in part of the price. I will love to work with someone who would enjoy this classic home.
If you’re seriously interested in purchasing you can reach Michael at (5zero5) 4five9-two2seven2 or email him at michaelostaski [at] earthlink [dot] net.
Learn more:
- Incredible Housetruck by Michael Ostaski (video tour)
- Google: Michael Ostaski
- Michael’s Art Website: ArtExplosuion.us
Related Stories
- Two Housetruck Tiny Homes that Will Amaze You (by Michael Ostaski)
- Michael Ostaski’s Tiny House Comeback
- ’99 Sterling Roadrunner House Truck For Sale
Our big thanks to Michael Ostaski for sharing and offering his original housetruck!
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Alex
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