S01E04 - 220 Sq Ft Bohemian Escape

[Snarkette]

A young Ohio couple builds a 220 foot long tiny house on a trailer so they can travel for work.

 

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My favorite episode to date. Particularly because the couple themselves were so likable and the bathtub and kitchen were so liveable (even without an oven). The sacrifice was clearly the public areas -- no real den/livingroom space, more focused on each person having an individual zone. I think that was a pretty good solution for these two. Plus I loved the TV they added to the studio.

 

Best part of the ep was the driving lesson and the music-studio reveal. I also enjoyed seeing that Hansel cottage.

 

Update: The following also occurred to me. Couple 4 already had a tiny lifestyle. Everything they did in this house was to improve how they were living and move forward that way. Contrast that with Couples 1 and 3 who decided to downsize for economic reasons but wanted a tiny home that matched their social status, even if it meant abandoning their cats.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Snarkette

[LittleIggy]

This was my favorite, too. The couple had a real, practical reason for getting a tiny house. It wasn't just a whim. I loved that they could get a full tub in there. I would insist on one too. Would they stay at an RV park while at her job assignment? I wish they would discuss the hook-ups for the mobile houses. The Hansel House was too cute!

[auntjess]

I agree, this was the best house they've done.
At first, the tub and kitchen sounded like unreasonable requests, but they were what made it look like a real house, not a dollhouse.
I'm interested too on where/how they find an available place, and also what they do if they have overnight stays on the road.
 

[StatisticalOutlier]

I thought this was pretty impractical for a traveling nurse.  It's not as cool, but really, an RV would be a much better choice since it will be moved a lot.  Everything in those open cubbies will have to be put in boxes or something every time they travel.  And that thing is really really tall, so they won't be able to take it anywhere they want.

 

They already have to have an enormous truck to pull their tiny house--they could get a really nice 5th wheel trailer, with a full residential kitchen and bathroom, and it's made for travel.  I don't really even like 5th wheel trailers, and I do love a lot of tiny houses, but for their needs, I really think a 5th-wheel would suit their lifestyle better.

 

Some of the traveling nurses I know use it as an opportunity to travel between assignments, and no way you're doing that with the tiny house.  So they're limiting their options.

 

And I don't know if they misspoke, but generally, you don't need a commercial driver's license (CDL) to pull a big trailer.  You need one if you do it commercially, but if you're pulling a private vehicle, you need a special kind of driver's license, but it's not a CDL, with its medical clearances and draconian penalties for traffic violations, etc. 

[SmithW6079]

I finally caught this episode. I liked the couple, especially when the wife choked up talking about her job. However, I call BS that that house ever moved. In the "three months after" shot, the close-up was on the couple, with the tiny house in the distance and slightly out of focus. It looked as though the trellis that surrounded the trailer and the plantings were the same. And once again, no explanation of water and power hook-ups, so they were once again squatting on a relative's land.

 

While I think an RV would have been better in terms of mobility, they probably got more "bang for the buck" with the tiny house -- or at least a greater sense of "home" than they would have with an RV. 

[outback]

My favourite episode so far but a couple things stood out. I also think it hasn't moves in the 3 months. What happened to that nice set of stairs for the entrance? Why did they trade it for a hay barrel?

Why are people using the term squatting? The homeowner/landowner is allowing them to rent the land

[LittleIggy]

My favourite episode so far but a couple things stood out. I also think it hasn't moves in the 3 months. What happened to that nice set of stairs for the entrance? Why did they trade it for a hay barrel?

Why are people using the term squatting? The homeowner/landowner is allowing them to rent the land

I think people are using the term facetiously since it seems that almost all the THers end up on a relative's land. We never get to see them actually traveling or perhaps running into problems with zoning.

[Jellybeans]

I do not understand people who give up pets.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Jellybeans

[Ipse Dixit]

On the very slim chance a show runner has eyes here: YES- please refocus on tiny houses that have been occupied for a few years. Perhaps as half of a given episode.

I knew a couple who sold their 9-room rambling home and lived several years (at least 4 or 5) in a fifth-wheel. I was able to visit them for dinner and an evening's chat.

The place was every bit as cleverly kitted out as a tiny house. The bedroom area was elevated by a couple of stairs (in the part of the trailer that hovered over the pickup truck's bed when attached ).

They were artists and their equipment was stored neatly In cleverly designed cubbies and under-trailer compartments.

There was a definite feeling of homeyness but without the rustic look THN subjects seem to favor. The rig cost a lot, but several times THN subjects have mentioned their "tiny house mortgage."

Tiny houses are the most fun for me when they've been constructed cleverly and at a low cost per square foot. Most of the dwellings that THN shows appear to me to cost relatively as much per sf as the other couple's 5th wheel.

[auntjess]

I thought the $30k they mention is the cost for the house as fitted out, plus whatever cartage is.
Which is obviously less than an RV, but you get something that moves more easily, and is built to certain safety standards.
I 'd guess an RV might be easier to resell or trade, but I don't know.

[Jellybeans]

We never get to see them actually traveling or perhaps running into problems with zoning.

Yes!

I have "seen" pictures on Pinterest, etc of "Tiny House Communities" one can join- utilities, etc are not an issue and you pay a fee. Community gardens, etc are also available. Looks very charming but I have never seen one with a location given....and I live in CO where you would think I'd hear more about this.

[DangerousMinds]

Yes!

I have "seen" pictures on Pinterest, etc of "Tiny House Communities" one can join- utilities, etc are not an issue and you pay a fee. Community gardens, etc are also available. Looks very charming but I have never seen one with a location given....and I live in CO where you would think I'd hear more about this.

I would also love to see this kind of thing. I can only watch this show by FFing through 3/4 of it, most of it bores me.