Saw a guy building a tiny house on a flatbed trailer at the county fair in July

I was at the Washtenaw County fair back in July and this guy had a tiny house setup on a flatbed trailer, just parked near the livestock pens. It was maybe 12 feet long and 8 feet wide, all framed out in pine with these little windows from a salvage yard. He told me he used scrap metal for the roof and a composting toilet from a kit he got online for $250. The thing that got me thinking was how he managed the insulation with such thin walls, like maybe 2x3 studs instead of 2x4. He said he used spray foam but it seemed like it would be tight. Has anyone else tried building on a flatbed and run into weird weight limit problems or moisture issues?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sean1mo ago

Sounds like a mold factory waiting to happen.

jennifer_mitchell531mo ago

Oh please, people act like a little moisture is the end of the world. I've got a basement that's been damp for years and the worst thing that's happened is some peeling paint. Unless you're storing actual food down there, a dehumidifier every now and then handles it fine.

cameron42620d ago

That "paint is peeling" part you mentioned actually tells me more than you might think. Paint doesn't just peel from dampness alone, it peels because moisture is literally pushing through the concrete and carrying minerals with it. I've seen basements where that same moisture has corroded the electrical panel over time, not the wires themselves but the metal enclosure and breaker connections. A buddy of mine ignored a damp basement for a decade and ended up having to replace his entire service panel because corrosion had eaten through the ground bar. That's not a cheap fix.