Trailer Thoughts
* Update*
I got this! 🙂
I have been having a hard time trying to find a trailer that can hold the weight I need it to, that is the size I need it to be that I can get. I had a thought today, a lot of goose-neck trailers can carry much more weight than the standard ball hitch trailers. I have seen tons of these on Craigslist that are pretty comparable in cost to the standard ball hitch. The reason I haven’t really paid any attention to these is because I have no way to pull them around. It occurred to me though… I drive a Prius… I have no way to pull a standard ball hitch trailer around either… weird, right?? I would be borrowing my dads truck to move it at any point but I am limiting myself simply because of what I am able to barrow easily.
I started really getting into this tiny house idea maybe a month ago (I have thought about it prior to that but I have only been ‘serious’ for a short time), in that time there is SO many doors that have opened. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to park it anywhere and a ton of places became ‘available’ in almost and instant. I have a lead on some potentially free windows (a rather large cost in my 10k budget). I have access to some free plywood through some work contacts… why am I staying so strong to the idea of what ‘type’ of trailer I’m going to use. I can just as easily rent a truck that has a goose-neck hitch on it when it is time to move my trailer around, I only plan on actually moving it a handful of times anyway… it seems pretty logical to include a goose-neck trailer as an option, I have no idea why I didn’t think of it before!
So, as my deadline approaches nearer (with a major holiday thrown in the mix) I find I have a lot more options! So, this is what I’m looking at (it’s my favorite at the moment :):
This is a really nice trailer that meets my weight requirements, it is the perfect length AND there is a place over top of the goose-neck portion that I can build up a ‘storage’ type space, possibly to store a water tank (inside of a conditioned space so there would be no freezing worries) or batteries for the solar panels. I even have a cool idea to incorporate a removable greenhouse space underneath the goose-neck portion while the trailer is parked. Since I opened up to the idea of using a goose-neck trailer I have grown to like it a lot. I can ‘see’ a lot of other great uses that could make it a much cooler tiny house. Besides, I haven’t seen anyone else use a goose-neck to build a tiny house yet, it’s always nice to be different :). While there are a couple of other trailers with this exact dimensions and similar weight limits I really like this particular trailer because it also looks nice, it seems to be in good shape etc. Not that it’s a safety net at all (because I AM going forward) it seems that if plans fall through I wouldn’t just have a hunk of junk, I could have a valid piece of equipment that I could at least get part of my investment back from. It just gives me more security in my investment, and that is important.
That all being said it is still out of my goal range as far as price is concerned… they are asking $2,500 for this trailer. I have allotted 10% of my meager budget for the trailer (that would be approximately 1,000 bucks). Because my goal is to have a trailer by the end of the month in order to keep moving forward, and I have been having a hard time trying to find one I have bumped that number up. Other tiny house websites have told me that you should plan on your trailer being about 20% of your total costs… it seems like (against my wishes) they may be right :); therefore, I am bumping my trailer budget up to $2,000. Besides, it IS the foundation, it has to start out right!
If this one doesn’t work out there ARE two other trailers right now with the same dimensions listed at 1,000 dollars less. One holds a little less weight and the other is a little older, a little rusty, still totally workable but I think I just feel WAY more comfortable checking on this guy first. I have a call into the people, hopefully I won’t jinx anything but I am hoping they can work with me a little on the price. We shall see, wish me luck!
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