It’s estimated that the mean price for residential homes in Australia currently sits at $912,700. With statistics like this, it’s no wonder that there’s a serious accommodation crisis in this country.
Because many families and individuals cannot afford the cost of a home, they’ve turned to other, more creative solutions. One option: a tiny house on a trailer.
In addition to being affordable and transportable, these quaint dwellings can look great if done right. That’s why we made this guide. In it, we’ll run you through the basics of how to build a tiny house on a trailer. That way, you can decide if it’s the right option for you.
Find a Trailer
The trailer will be the foundation of your tiny house. As such, it’s worth it to spend some time researching some good options.
When building a tiny home, you’ll want to go with a flatbed. However, there are four different models you can go with, including:
- The deck-between trailer – a flatbed nestled between two-wheel wells
- The deck-over trailer – a flatbed that sits directly above the wheel wells
- The dovetail trailer – either a deck-between or deck-over trailer, but with a rear section pointing toward the ground
- The gooseneck’s trailer – either a deck-between or deck-over trailer, but with a special hitch for attaching to a pickup truck
Finding a good flatbed trailer that can support the size and weight regulations of a tiny house can be difficult in the marketplace. Instead, consider one of our purpose-built tiny house trailers.
Not only are these trailers engineered toward Australian Standards, but they also come with a VIN, compliance plate, rust protection, LED lights, and an electric break-away system. They’re the perfect foundation for starting your tiny house plans on a trailer.
Frame Your Tiny House and Insulate It
Before you begin, make sure you insulate the floor of your trailer. Then, using either wood or metal, you will need to secure a framing piece to each side of the trailer.
One alternative is to purchase a prefabricated framing shell. Once the frame is in place, you can move on to electrical and plumbing concerns. Run all the wires and pipes that you will need for your outlets, toilets, lighting, shower, and kitchen.
Then, insulate the spaces in between. After you install any windows you want, you can put up a vapor barrier wrap. If you don’t have the expertise to do these things, don’t hesitate to contact a professional for help. It’s important to get this step right so you don’t have to backtrack.
Lay the Roofing and Siding
You can finish the exterior of your house by laying down roof material. Make sure you do this at an angle to prevent a build-up of water from rain.
If you live in a part of Australia with significant rainfall, this is essential. Next, put up the siding. Make sure that each section is nice and secure before moving on to the next one.
Work on the Interior
After you install the drywall, paint the falls, and put down the flooring, you can focus on the fun part: making the interior your own. When adding cabinets, bed frames, and countertops, it’s vital to think about space.
With tiny houses, every inch counts, so you need to use it efficiently. Once you have a floor plan of where everything should go, you can begin installing appliances.
This should include things like toilets, refrigerators, water heaters, stoves, light fixtures, and more. Again, we recommend reaching out to professionals for this. Then you can start bringing in any furniture you want.
Make Sure It Meets Regulations
The last step of your tiny house on a trailer checklist is to make sure it meets regulations. In Australia, to fall under the caravan regulations, a tiny house can be no more than 2.5 meters wide, 4.3 meters high, 12.5 meters long and 4.5 tons in weight.
Besides these dimensions, gas installation must also follow the caravan regulations. Make sure you get it inspected to ensure that it’s legal.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Tiny House
The exact cost of your tiny house on a trailer will depend on a few factors. Some of them include the size, quality, and experience level of the person building it.
Regardless of these factors, it’s important to remember that a tiny house on a trailer design will represent only a fraction of the cost that it takes to build an actual house.
However, there will still be an initial investment, which can be sizable for some people. A recent Guardian article interviewed two people who were able to build their tiny house for $100,000.
Most basic models fall around this price range. So you should make sure to budget this type of figure when you begin calculating costs for building a tiny house.
DIY or Pro?
Unless you have extensive experience with all forms of contracting, we generally don’t recommend using the DIY method when building a tiny house.
This is going to be your home so you don’t have the often poor quality that accompanies YouTube tutorial videos. Instead, we recommend finding a good trailer for a foundation and then hiring a professional with experience in this type of construction.
Alternatively, you can go with the pre-made models that we offer here at Aussie Tiny Houses. For example, our Hazel 8.4 features a luxurious family home that has everything you could want out of a tiny house space already there.
That means no headaches dealing with construction workers, material costs, and meeting regulations. We’ve done all the hard work for you and your tiny house on wheels will be delivered to your property ready for you to move in.
Need More Info on How to Build a Tiny House on a Trailer? Explore Our Blog
We hope this guide helped you learn how to build a tiny house on a trailer. Here at Aussie Tiny Houses, we’re passionate about helping individuals discover the joys that come with living in a tiny house.
That’s why we not only provide pre-made tiny houses and trailers but also provide readers with helpful advice on how to make a tiny house on their own.
So if you want to learn more about the realities of building a tiny house, make sure to explore our full blog today.
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