There isn’t much to report on my mission to obtain a tiny house, specifically, but I have been researching the options quite a bit.
Nik and I have always said that we would get an RV tiny house, but that hasn’t stopped me from looking at the plethora of other options. If you aren’t familiar with the Tiny House movement, you may not be aware of the tons of options that await you in the “rig arena.”
Back in high school, I researched American Gypsies and became acquainted with the non-homeless nomad lifestyle. After writing a school paper on it, I was hooked. Any person with whom I shared my “Short Bus Tiny House Drea
m” expressed their concerns. Generally, they consisted of goodhearted concern for my safety, the drive-ability, and the lack of support one would have constantly on the road. When I was growing up, I was constantly moving from couch to couch, “house sitting” for friend’s families, all the while knowing that they were throwing me a bone in the form of a place to stay and some spending cash in exchange for me “watching their house,” in some of the safest neighborhoods in Central Ohio.
I was grateful for the unspoken charity and loved getting to sleep in a real bed in between sleeping in my car. So, I’m used to being shuffled around. I enjoyed it, even. That was one of the major draws to a nomad lifestyle for me in first place. Well, back in the early 2000s, there wasn’t a large network of similarly minded individuals. At least, not one of which I was aware.
Now, websites such as www.fulltime-rving.com, fulltimervingmadeeasy.com, and www.hitchitch.com make finding research and experiences of other full timers extremely easy. Not only can you read about their personal journeys as RV Tiny Home enthusiasts, you can join forums to ask questions and decide if it’s right for you, too.
Additionally, more “traditional” Tiny Home websites can give you an insight on the more “Stick and Brick” looking homes, but in the minuscule square footage, such as www.tinyhouseliving.com. Their more traditional looking homes don’t seem to have the purpose of facilitating travel, as they are not as aerodynamic as an RV and don’t have the bits and pieces needed a lot of the time for “full hook up” at campsites or RV parks. The purpose of these is to build them off, or on, site and move them to a property permanently or, at the very least move them very infrequently.
tinyhousetalk.com
I’ve seen handy high school students construct mobile “130-sq ft dorm rooms” in their backyards in an attempt to skirt having to pay for room and board at college. Whatever the reason someone starts looking to a Tiny Home, be it environmental stewardship, travel, or debt reduction, there is likely an option out there.
Some other neat ideas include:
The Bufalino, cart style solo-journey vehicle, if you don’t plan on living in your rig full time and just want a way to travel around!
The Bufalino
A full size bus conversion, this one even gives you step-by-step guides to build one yourself.
JakeSlatt.com
If you’re interested in full time RV living, and traveling, but you have kids… all is not lost! I have read the blogs of parents who Road School, or homeschooling on the road. I was attracted to the Newschool Nomads blog because of the renovation they did on their first rig. I found it in a google image search and LOVED what they did with the interior. I’m trying to convince Nik to downgrade our purchase to something a little more affordable out-of-pocket and do some personalization and renovations! In fact, seeing the renovations that people did to make their RV look more like a home is what changed my mind from building a bus conversion from scratch to wanting to reno an RV. This picture, from their newschoolnomads.com website, was the tipping point for me! That living space in their RV is nicer and prettier than my apartment. Their hard work is what convinced me, after reading their blog, that this is TRULY what I want.
Go read through her blog for her take on living and traveling with 3 kids and road schooling. They sold the rig pictured above, but the new one is just as stunning as the first one.
If you have a lot of kids, don’t think you’re down and out for the option of road schooling! The Norton Family has 6, read that again SIX, kids living and road schooling in their toy hauler RV. Mrs. Norton’s video series on their Norton Family Website is a pipe dream of organization!
Almost daily, and sometimes multiple times a day, I peruse RV trader websites and craigslist looking for the perfect rig. Or, at least, one Nik and I can make perfect for us. There is so much push right now making me want to just get up and go. Like, yesterday! I can’t wait to be able to write a post on the purchase of a rig, but until then, I’ll live vicariously through the blogs of already full timers and look through their albums of interior images!
In the next blog post, I’ll be talking about what kind of work there is to be found on the road. Be on the look out for that!
Thanks for reading and feel free to comment or contact me using the forms on the website.
thewanderlustingnerdturtle 