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This is the 150 sq. ft. Tiny Drop tiny house on wheels by Tend Building and Architend.
From the outside, you’ll notice it’s like a teardrop camper and a tiny house on wheels combined! When you go inside, you’ll find a beautiful interior with a living area, kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping loft.
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Modern Tiny House on Wheels: Looks like a Teardrop and Tiny House Hybrid, Doesn’t It?
Images © G Wheeler Photography
Images © G Wheeler Photography
Tiny Drop is a tiny house of massive sustainable proportions! At a
mere 150 square feet, Tiny Drop is an ultra energy efficient home
designed and built to demonstrate the enhanced health, comfort,
and durability that cutting edge home technology has achieved.
The home enclosure consists of a continuous thermal blanket,
advanced home sealing technology, a ventilated rain screen and
sun barrier which all work together to achieve comprehensive
energy savings and durability. Stepping inside, the first thing you
notice is how expansive the small space feels thanks to natural
daylighting and carefully placed views every which way you look.
The air you breathe is also healthy thanks to the use of non-toxic
building materials, a fresh air system, a quiet odor and moisture
removing bath fan, and a combustion exhaust controlled furnace
and on demand water heater. On beautiful days, operable windows
and roof windows open up to fully connect to the great outdoors.
LED lighting tops off the package of ultra-efficient building systems.
Tiny Drop goes even further to reach the highest level of
sustainability by going off-grid. Spring water will be filtered for
domestic use, an advanced technology composting toilet system
deals with waste, and solar panels provide all electrical needs. Yet
the greatest thing of all is how BIG Tiny Drop lives, including star
gazing at its finest. Come see for yourself! Tiny Drop is going on the
road for its Just a Tiny Drop in the Bucket Tour.
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Alex
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Oh my gosh! Pretty absodoggone cool! Cudos!
“absodoggone”
Ha ha, love it. Off to the trademark office tomorrow… lol
No problem…it’s all yours 😀
Great idea, a bit too tiny for permanent living for my taste.
I am wondering about weight and rating of axles.
For those of us who are unfamiliar with trailers can you explain what tongue, axle rating and weight mean relative to towing a tiny house? Is there some formula that fits the size of house, weight on contents and horsepower of the towing vehicle? Why should we be concerned if the wheels are at the back, or more centered? Thanks,
Hi Peggy,
I am no expert on this subject, but will try to give you some basics. The axle weight needs to be able to haul a little more than it’s capacity. I.e. If your house is going to weigh 3500 lbs., you want to get an axle that can carry at least 4000lbs., to accomodate the up and down bouncing action of towing that can creat momentary downward thrusts of the house on the axle that exceeds the axle weight limit. Whatever the axle weight is, the combined weight of all the tires needs to equal it. No use having a 3500 lb. axle if your tires can only bear 2900 lbs. right? As soon as you exceed the tire weight, you exceed the towing capacity of the trailer. The specs on every car, and you can usually find this online, will list the towing capacity (or pulling strength) of the engine along with the weight capacity of the frame to hold towing equipment, which itself adds weight, and to hold the weight of the trailer on top of that. This number will be combined.
In a single axle trailer (one wheel on each side), if the wheels are in the middle the weight is evenly divided and effectively only about half the weight of the trailer is resting on the tongue which is resting on the hitch which is pulling downwrd on the back of the car. However because half the weight is dangling off the back of the trailer, it makes it hard to balance and control the trailer when it is moving, so most wheels are placed at a 60%/40% ratio. 60% of the wheel length is in front of the wheel, and 40% is behind the wheel; this makes it much easier to tow. most dealerships would be happy to help you figure this out for your vehicle if you ask them. The same ratio usually holds true of two axles (dual axle).
The easieat way to know if your trailer will bear the weight of the house you want to build is to take your materials list to your lumber store, and if they are worth their salt, they will be able to tell you pretty close how much your house will weigh before you even order. Hope this helps you out.
Please pardon the spelling errors….typing on an iPad 🙂
Thanks, lots of basic info in a nice nutshell!! Appreciate your time!
Peggy,
Excellent question!
Much of this response refers to our decades of traveling with RVs and boat trailers through rugged territory in Third World areas. A breakdown might mean months waiting for new parts to be carted in by camel. Or the ever-popular donkey.
Based on other people’s experience (OPE), we tend to go ‘robust’ and ‘over-built’. So, let’s get to going…
.
.
A single 3500-pound rated axle with matching springs and tires can carry 3500-pounds as its absolute maximum. There is no ‘engineered safety overload’ or ‘grace zone’. However, you might notice the trailer Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) could be 4000-pounds. This additional weight is carried by the hitch on the tow vehicle.
A pair of 5200-pound axles with matching springs and tires can conceivably carry a little over 10,000-pounds maximum. And the towing vehicle, probably a 3/4-ton pickup, carries a few hundred pounds on the hitch, giving a GVWR of about 11,000-pounds.
And so on with 7000-pound axles.
A heavier trailer with a full complement of water plus canned goods plus furniture plus clothes and toys can easily exceed the rated capacity of the suspension and hitch, overloading the brakes. And overloading the tow vehicle.
As you can imagine, insurance adjusters take a dim view of unsafe operation of any vehicle. A wreck involving an overloaded vehicle would probably be denied.
With any tired vehicle, we must always anticipate the possibility of catastrophic air loss. With lighter-duty tires and suspension, this could result in a drop-to-pavement on the side of the trailer experiencing the flat tire. Expect major repairs.
For these reasons, for a 12-14k trailer, we prefer triple axles or tandem-dual axles with 18-20k capacity. Expect a healthy safety margin with a heavier suspension. But still, any tire can fail at any time == for no reason. Like the sign says, be a lert.
For the next step in safety, let’s look at fifth-wheels. Instead of a ‘bumper-pull’, the towing vehicle hitch mounts to the frame over the rear axle(s). Over-the-road (OTR) truckers use the fifth-wheel system for millions of trouble-free miles each year. As you might expect, a fifth-wheel hitch requires at least a pickup truck, and larger trailers benefit from the popular Medium-Duty Trucks (MDT).
Some full-time RVers go the ultimate == a retired Heavy-Duty Truck (HDT) such as a Peterbilt or Kenworth or Volvo. Freightliner offers a crew-cab version, popular with ranchers for safely hauling their favorite horses.
A stouter frame and bigger brakes on a MDT or a HDT means the trailer isn’t pushing you all over the road… more excitement than most people need descending the Alps or Rockies or Cascades.
Our recommendations:
Go with the beefiest trailer and tow vehicle you can afford. Carry spares. Carry tools; since you prepared, you won’t need them, but you can always help fellow travellers. Share your experiences, mentoring costs nothing yet pays substantial rewards.
Let us know about your choices. And remember to have fun!
Peggy,
Large Marge, you show a lot of maturity in that answer. Oh, Great One, I humbly bow, unworthy to kick-start your broom.
In addition to all that garsh-awful fussing [does LM get paid by the word!?!] about spares and strong components, get skills.
You might lose the stuff, but you always carry your skills. On your first expeditions, wagon-train with knowledgeable people, watch over their shoulders. Be interesting, ask questions, you’re good at that.
Now this tiny home has character! Luv the front door. The only thing I would do different is add a staircase…
Tons of it! 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team
That’s a wonderful use of space. I would be the one on the futon to sleep as even in the winter I sleep too warm, but overall a very cute and usable little camper. Nicely done.
This one is a definite cacophony of interest!
I am wondering though about the aerodynamics of this build when driving down the road – is there a lot of wind resistance with that indent and high build over the rounded teardrop?
Don’t like the colour clashing between the red and green.
Ditch all the white graphics on the red panels as it adds to a cluttered look.
I can believe how much space you got out of the trailer. It looks Great on the inside, the outside not so much. But it works & works very well, I love the skylights in the loft, that would be the only way you would be able to get me to sleep up there, the tight place can feel like a coffin, but yours doesn’t. Congrats. on a job well done. Patrick
Sorry I didn’t proof read it. I met to say I Can’t. Patrick
Hello! I tried to reply to a comment the teacher made about tiny homes being good for homeless and the youth. We are starting a tiny home project in Colville, WA 99114, for just that! We are offering homes to the homeless youth, homeless vets, mentally challenged, addicted people who can’t find homes elsewhere because of their issues. This is being spearheaded by our local Dr. Bacon who also does Doctors W/O Borders and goes to Malawai. It’s amazing to read his stories. Anyway, we are working on permits, housing issues, how to get along with the rather straight laced founding fathers and the city. We are planning on having a “den mother” type of situation where the person knows the ins and outs of how to get along with the city, make sure they keep appointments, line up transportation so they can make it to work and medical appointments. We have talked about raising chickens for both food and feathers for Pow Wows, growing our own vegetables, and quite possibly training service dogs for Vets and others who need special dogs to help. We are thinking of building them much like Habitat for Humanity in that we build them and they are allowed to use “sweat equity”. This way they have a home they can rent out if they don’t need it, or pull it behind a car if they need to move for work reasons. So, we’re working on it!
And, I really hate my so called smart phone! I tried 3 times to leave a message and each time it knocked me out off the web page. I accidentally “reported” the teacher and I certainly didn’t mean to, so I greatly apologize for that! I loved your idea, obviously and did not mean to report you for any reason!!! I’m sorry!
Sincerely,
~Pamela Hovland
Eastern WA State
I want to commend you on what you are doing. It would be nice to have this in every town & city.
The den mother approach is a great idea, too. The folks who have been out for a while aren’t used to being helped much and they will truly appreciate the help as much as the housing.
I wish you the best on your remarkable endeavor.
Functionally great, no quite sold on the aesthetics. Really like the interior, except for the excessive use of white graphics on the red. The exterior is a bit odd. I want to like it but it’s just a bit too chaotic for me.
Actually the white graphics on red make me think of a Coca-Cola theme…
And I might as well ask. I didn’t see a stove or refrigerator, which may be due to the way the pictures were taken–could that be a cooktop to the right of the sink in the corner of the pic?
I like the layout, and think it would make a great one-person home.
A very individualized build, to be sure, but a definite and unique visual identity.
I’m a bit confused on how the Drop has a “continuous thermal blanket” when the roof appears to be completely un-insulated corrugated metal. Seems like he’ll be needing that honkin’ huge AC unit, unless there’s something there I’m not seeing.
Still, good luck and happy trails to the dude.
The corrugated metal is just the ceiling panels. The roof is a different layer of standing seam metal. There must be insulation between the two.
So they are! I missed that…..I stand corrected.
Now that I look at it again, the loft skylights do have pretty thick jambs/sills/whatever the term would be, I’m a bit tired to look it up.
AWESOME TINY HOME.
It’s so sad people are so stuck on what they think or colors and not what the person or builder did to make there own living space new flash there was a time when there wasn’t cool air conditioning if you look at lic plate it’s Texas so if they were worried about maybe they would have it maybe the colors they like if people didn’t post what they have done to make them happy where would you all be . I liked the trl and my self would add a way to keep place cool but I wouldnt complain that it didn’t have and figure a way to add
It’s not neccessarily sad that people comment on aesthetics. Just as people post what suits them it’s perfectly legitimate for someone else to say that choice wouldn’t suit them as long as they’re not just saying it’s flat out horrible. It’s not a question of it being “good” or “bad”, it’s simply a matter of preference. Sometimes a person points out something about a feature they don’t like that may help another person in their design choices.
As I understand it, the graphics/”Coca-Cola” colors are part of the “non-toxic building materials” that we all hope to have when living in ANY situation, but certainly in a TINY one 🙂 Aesthetics aside, I’m impressed with the creative placement and dual purpose use of space…as a true claustrophobe who has become so enamored with tiny living, this is pretty darn amazing!
What a tiny gem! It has everything you need. Great work.
Thanks Trish!
I love it.. It’s huge…! Not going to be the most popular trailer in the next KOA, but so long as you’re moving on the next morning, what the hell do they care….!
Strangely wonderful.
Glad you liked it 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team
This tiny looks like it’s in some kind of metamorphosis. Kinda cool. Always fun to see other peoples vision become a reality. This build is definitely unique & has some neat things going on. I looked several times, didn’t see any solar panels nor could I find additional info at the links. I liked the bathroom footprint but don’t get using the portable ladder. It seems really out of place.
Glad you liked this funky gem 🙂 — Tiny House Talk Team
I guess if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.
Definitely unique! I would bet laying in that loft at night stargazing is amazing!
Ah yes! A dream 🙂
Funny but nice, strange but confortable. The front structure “(bow)”, favors the aerodynamics of headwid, effective enough.
Yes a unique little build 🙂
They managed to put everything in a small package. The tiny loft is probably for star gazers…
Gotta love star-gazing 🙂
I’m gearing up to build a THOW, or rather maybe more of a camper with modern style and from nearly indestructible materials. But, it has to be light as I want it to be easily towable through the mountains behind a mid-size SUV (Jeep Patriot when not driving my F-150 v6), and so that I have a relatively large safety margin weight-wise.
So my first question is, does anyone here know if builds that were done using a structure of welded square tube? My approach so far is to use 2″ square tube, welding everything together. Inside to be covered with 1/4″ ply, outside to be sheathed with Tyvek house wrap and then reclaimed corrugated tin roofing, with 2″ foam board insulation in between. This seems like it would end up weighing about 25-35% of what it would using wood. Also, using steel tube will provide a path for all wiring, be much stronger in the event of an accident, and make for easy changes/customization in the future (I can weld pretty well) after the initial build is done and my wife and I (and our pack of 3 hounds) have spent some time in it to see what is left to be desired.
Other questions:
1.) Has anyone here ever used a similar layering scheme for the walls, and do you think that 2″ of pink foam or the foil-clad foam insulation will be sufficient? We live in Iowa, and will be traveling in it, so we need to be able to maintain a confirtable climate inside when outdoor temps range from perhaps 10*-110*F.
2.) I build custom wood/steel furniture, mostly using reclaimed materials from barns, and work as a handyman; there’s not much I can’t build. Any ideas for really neat, extremely useful things or features that you could suggest?
3.) For heat, I plan to buy or fabricate a small wood stove. Ill have a generator built into a compartment, large enough to power a small air conditioner and charge a bank of 3-4 12V car batteries, which along with some solar panels should provide enough power for all of the usual comforts of home. Will have shore power capability too. Cooking and hot water to be fueled with LP. I’m undecided on how much water to carry, and what sort of a container to use. Any suggestions in the arena of utilities?
I enjoyed reading about this tiny home, and am still checking out everything on the site. The THOW has a nice style that I think has appeal for people who like a lot of different styles. Can’t wait to show off what I build; hoping to start in October. Glad this forum exists, thank you!
-Alex
Any insulation in the new ceiling?
With that tin roof I bet it gets very hot inside
Cute… it a gypsy sort of way! But all that tin/aluminum has to be a tad warm!
Interesting. Not my style, but it is kinda cool. 😊
Out of the box and fun for camping or traveling across the US.
I do like the size and interior. I would change the odd white outside. Paint in a blue maybe. The everything inside works for me except the ladder. A ship ladder would do. Not as big as stairs. A few adjustments, & could be a good seller. Would’nt mind a cost run down. Or estimate if they are making more.
Dr. Who would be proud!
The toilet looks like an RV low flush. I’m I wrong? How much is this ?