My Problem with Tiny Houses
I have highlighted tiny houses before here:
Since that post almost a year ago, I’ve been following the tiny house trends and have found myself irked. There have been many times when I’ve wanted to post a rude comment, but have stopped myself. Apparently, I’m not alone, because the tiny house bloggers have started complaining.
- Tiny House Talk: Tiny Houses Aren’t Right For Everyone: And They Shouldn’t Be
- The Tiny Life: A Case Against Tiny Houses
Most of the rude comments are NOTHING like what I would say. They liken the tiny house builders to the sort of recluses who write manifestos. They complain about composting toilets or showering in confined quarters. They assume that the tiny house people want to outlaw all of the McMansions and force everyone to live in 200 square feet.
My complaints about the tiny house movement are more nebulous and, at times, feel more petty than those.
Tiny Houses Are Wasteful
The tiny house people brag continually about how their homes have been built by reclaimed materials. They love to talk about how they scrounged whatever wood they could find from demolition sites.
Want to know what would have been LESS wasteful?
They could have just bought a cheap and used fifth wheel that weighs just as much and needs just as big a truck to tow. I see used trailers in our local classifieds all the time that will eventually end up in the land fill. Instead of scrounging for wood, why don’t they just buy a cheap fifth wheel?
Tiny Houses Are EXPENSIVE
I know they’re touted as cheap to build, but a camper that is similar in size on the used market will ALWAYS beat it. Just today, I looked at my local classifieds and I found over 300 trailers (bumper pull and fifth wheels) that can sleep 6-8 people for under $5000.
No building required.
Sure, some of those campers are beat up, leaking and smell like a hundred deer have been gutted within them, but they are livable homes with toilets, showers and sleeping arrangements for a family. Additionally, it only takes persistence and patience to find the jewel of a trailer that is immaculate, fully functional and ready to inhabit.
Tiny Houses Aren’t All That Easy To Tow
A lot of the bragging about tiny houses is the portability. Whenever you get sick of Portland, Seattle or San Francisco, you can just hook it up and haul it to a new place. You could even haul it to your own tiny spot of land in the desert that you found for sale on Craigslist.
The truth of the matter, however, is if you want to make your tiny house relocatable, you have to build it with more durability than salvaged materials can provide. Driving down the freeway with your tiny house in tow is like subjecting your home to hurricane force winds.
Additionally, it takes a massive pickup to safely haul a tiny house down the freeway. If you have to purchase a massive pickup, then you might as well just add the fifth wheel to the bed and haul a trailer. It’s just plain safer to haul an aerodynamic fifth wheel trailer than a cabin on wheels.
Tiny House Builders Are Elitists
In the end, why DON’T tiny house builders just buy a used fifth wheel camper? It has efficient bath and kitchen facilities. It can sleep just as many people as a tiny house. It’s well-insulated from the cold and just as portable as a wooden house on wheels. It’s probably even LESS expensive.
I can’t escape the feeling that the kind of people who build tiny houses are elitists. They act as if what they are doing is different than the folks who live in Winnebagos. It’s like they believe that a little house that looks like Walden on a flatbed trailer is NOTHING like those trailer trash who live in fifth wheels at the trailer park.
In the end, I feel insulted every time a tiny house builder brags about how cheaply they built their house or how very portable it is. I keep thinking that they could have just bought a fifth wheel for that price and then they wouldn’t have to dump out a chamber pot every morning. They could have a proper black water tank that easily empties into sewer hookups.
Tiny houses are cute. That can’t be denied. They can even be designed to work as efficiently as your typical camper, but almost EVERY time I see a video showing a builder bragging about his tiny house, I want to write rude comments on the post because they could have just bought a cheap camper and gotten all the features they are bragging about so meticulously.
Update 02-24-13
There is now a Utah-based company that is making tiny houses, called Open Trail Homes. You can see my review here:
The most humbling thing is that I feel completely different after seeing one in person.
As luxurious as a fifth wheel feels when I’m camping, it doesn’t really feel like a HOME. Walking into the Open Trails Homes felt like I was walking into a REAL house. I could see that it was on wheels, but it felt like a cabin instead of a trailer. Just seeing their designs in person was enough to make me re-evaluate my entire stance on the tiny house movement.
But not everyone wants an RV. I have a little tent trailer, and I love it. I could easily see building a tiny house, not because it would be better then an RV, but because I would be making something. I think that distinction is important, each of there pros and cons, and the person that owns either does what matters for them.
Comment by Jake Spurlock — 12/7/2012 @ 1:15 pm
You’re right, Jake!
The desire to create is a VERY strong drive. I really wish tiny home builders would talk about that instead of the efficiency, portability and affordability of a tiny house.
Building a tiny house isn’t efficient, portable or inexpensive, but it DOES fulfill that human need to create something useful. THAT should be what the focus of that movement should be about.
Comment by Laura Moncur — 12/8/2012 @ 7:38 am
What I wish the Tiny House people would focus on is the strange and difficult to navigate landscape called building codes. Yea I understand these codes were put in place to protect the public from shoddy constructed dwellings but it has drivin the cost of a home up significantly. The “on wheels” tiny house is a way to skirt the code. So rather than fighting for change they are busy cheating.
Comment by Josh — 1/15/2013 @ 5:48 pm
I totally agree with everything you’ve said in this article! I have always felt the same way about these beliefs too. Sure, a tiny house is nice, but, I’ve been studying them for a LONG time, and I have seen thousands of pictures. I always see something that is not right. The MAIN thing I see is the fact that people are using trailers that are WAY under built to be carrying all the weight people are putting on them. Some take an old travel trailer frame, and build a HOUSE on them! These frames were designed to carry the weight of a TRAVEL TRAILER!! LITTLE framing members, LIGHT aluminum siding, THIN paneling on the interior, EVERYTHING is designed around LOW WEIGHT! That’s just part of my concerns, I don’t have time right now to voice more! PLUS, some of the TINY HOUSES are TALL!! I can see a big wind turning them over. Lots of dangers that these amateurs aren’t facing properly. EVEN the ones that are supposed to be PROFESSIONAL!!! I wonder what they are thinking sometimes!! OK, I’m finished!
Comment by ImReady — 1/16/2013 @ 1:09 am
First of all you have a great site, but I think you get some tiny house builder fans a bit wrong…Some of these people want to build something with their bare hands and most of the time that’s why they are so proud of themselves, don’t get me wrong I live in Europe on a “little” house made of concrete and bricks but I love to work on it and that makes me quite proud sometimes. A simple example, it would be easy for me to buy a second hand headphone amplifer, but I like to build my stuff, so sometimes building one its more expensive than a second hand one, even so I’m proud of my work. Sure you can buy second hand stuff but its way more fun building it yourself. Best wishes.
Comment by Rafael — 2/12/2013 @ 1:07 pm
A camper CAN be as homey as a tiny house. I have seen many wonderful housetrucks, for instance. I once lived in a camper with a wood interior. I gave the ugly old wood an antique white faux finish, and decoupaged some beautiful paper around the sink. I made thick quilted curtains that could seal light out – or in, or could be opened wide for light. I stapled heavy lace around the ceiling light and burlap to the ceiling, then decoupaged a poster on the door of the space where the fridge would have been – we turned it into a much more useful pantry. The 3 burner range was our indirect heater – just put on a pot of coffee and you’ll be warm in no time! What was WRONG with it was exactly the things that are wrong with the tiny houses. It wasn’t self contained (so you always had to be near a bathroom) and it had no oven. I would do it again, only have to have those two things. Other than that, we kept a surprising number of books, paints, a sewing machine, radio – and most of the other conveniences of 1980 in it. No TV, but we’d planned that. Sorry I never got around to putting in a stained glass window. However, I also love the period travel trailer look as yours has. And I also marvel at the horrible price of tiny houses. One girl on youtube made one on a flatbed truck for way under that – about $2000 I think – all salvage and it’s much more individualistic than the standard tiny house.
Comment by adrienrain — 3/25/2013 @ 4:24 pm
I feel that same way as to using trailers for a tiny home. The article slips past that not a single tiny home I have seen has been constructed to RIVA standards for humane habitation. Not a single building code has been implemented in their design or build…Campers come with these certifications and are designed to withstand going down a highway at 60 mph. I bought a 1983 32.5 foot Shasta bumper pull on eBay for $3,500.00 and it came with $2,000.00 worth of deck and sheet metal awning. My home is RIVA certified and can be sold and transported very easy.
Comment by Larr Slick — 3/25/2013 @ 4:45 pm
I can see both sides of this. On one hand, it is very gratifying and rewarding to build something with your own hands, most of all, a HOME! On the other hand, it’s practically the same thing as a trailer, and it could be as satisfying renovating one of those into a functional home. Trailers do have issues with formaldehyde, though.
I always thought it was ironic that many people who chose to build a tiny home for the purpose of being “independent” wind up parked in the driveway of a family member, hooked up to their electrical and plumbing, leaving all the neighbors wondering when they’ll hitch up their “home” and move on so the community can return to normal. I am much more impressed by those who build a tiny home on land with the purpose of actually BEING independent, and truly are.
I’m thinking many people who build these homes-for-one will be in the market for larger homes once the novelty wears off. Unless your hobby is purely focused around outside activities, it seems like “a weekend spent at home” would be very limiting, especially on a rainy day.
For that matter, why not fix up a dilapidated mobile home? I follow Trailer Chics’ blog, and love how they renovated small mobile homes under 500 sq. ft. into suitable homes for themselves. It cost them about the same or less to rebuild an old mobile home as many invest in a tiny home, and is much more livable. If you’re going to stay hooked up to the grid, wouldn’t this be a better option? In some areas, trailer parks are beginning to lose their reputation as being the places where lowly, destitute people wind up. Many people occupying these communities are now young professionals who, for once reason or another, fell on hard times, or cannot yet afford the American Dream in their chosen community.
Comment by Traci — 3/25/2013 @ 5:04 pm
I would be nice to return to a nomad nation. Go where its warm in the winter. Go where its cool in the summer.
Comment by Tim Proksch — 3/25/2013 @ 7:11 pm
Some valid points. But you can’t live in an old camper in winter in northern Canada. At least not comfortably. Lightweight isn’t necessarily practical everywhere. Also, as other commenters pointed out, it feels good to design and build – or just build – something yourself. This shouldn’t be underestimated. We’re humans, not robots. Cheers -
Comment by Lara — 3/25/2013 @ 7:14 pm
The reason why i would build my own RV is because I have intolerances to lots of synthetics. I have tons of problems with my throat and sinuses after being in mostly plastic RVs. With building my own place I could avoid a lot of that, but with 2 kids and living in an area that does not allow you to live in an RV on someone’s property, it’s not doable. But I am going to have some fun making a big shed into my & my husbands offices since we actually live in a small house and really need some private, separate space for our hobbies.
Comment by Laurie — 3/25/2013 @ 8:38 pm
My main problem(s) with tiny homes is a problem that all single-family buildings have: location. Houses can only be built in the middle of nowhere, or in suburbs which have all the downsides of the city with all the downsides of the country and none of the advantages of either. And my main problem with living in the country is that transportation becomes an expensive mess of 80-mile commutes in the same 6000lbs monstrosity you use to tow the house in the first place. Meaning any money you saved over a studio apartment, you just lost in a ridiculously expensive commute. And don’t even think of telecommuting, high-speed internet very seldom exists in rural areas, or is very lackluster.
Comment by anonymous — 4/27/2013 @ 5:29 pm