DIY 8x24 Tiny House Shell on Wheels

Selling a beloved DIY project: Warm, watertight, and welcoming! Use it as a blank canvas to create your dream house on a budget. I built it as a project. I'm a mechanical engineer and RV designer, by the way. This was a personal project.

We're selling it because we moved to the East Coast before we finished!

LOGISTICS

*Speaking of moving: Since this Tiny House is 14 feet tall, you may need a permit in some states or some areas to move it. I'm not an expert on moving cross-country, but my understanding is: Generally, you'll need oversize permits (for the 6-12 inches extra height) and a pre-approved route. You can either hire a professional moving service or do the paperwork yourself.

- Buyer is RESPONSIBLE for pickup/delivery!
- Tiny House is sold in as-is condition, no warranties express or implied. If you arrange for delivery, ownership and responsibility transfers to you at the time of pickup, not delivery.
- Payment must be made in full before pickup and delivery.

CONSTRUCTION HISTORY
If you want to know specifications, here's how we built it :)

It's built on a secondhand deck-over 8x24-ft utility trailer. The floor is insulated with 2-inch thick EPS foam boards, and the floor is 3/4-inch OSB tongue n' groove subflooring. On top of the subflooring is 100% waterproof vinyl click-lock Cherry flooring. All trailer lights (running, taillights, etc.) work just fine. You'll need a 7-way trailer connector and a 2-inch ball.

The walls are 2x4 stick construction (24OC) with 7/16-inch OSB sheeting and R-13 fiberglass batt insulation. On the outside, you'll find bright galvanized metal siding with red window and door casing (and a beautiful yellow door!) We protected the shell with Tyvek housewrap, taped/caulked at all edges. On the inside, you'll find 1/4-inch plywood paneling (edges mudded & sanded) with a white/light cream latex paint finish. We used ambrosia maple trim for the interior window casings and trim.

The fit n' finish of the plywood mudding and trimwork is middling; we were in a hurry at this stage, so they're not professional grade. Looks alright in most places; not so great in others. Cover up the mistakes with a picture frame, lol.

If you like the color red, you'll love this camper! The ceiling showcases beautiful finished fir wood beams and red painted plywood decking. On top of the roof decking is four inches of foam board insulation (R-20 total), Grace HT Ice & Water underlayment, 1x4 roof purlins, and a Grand Rib red screwed-down metal roof.

The shell is simple, but bombproof. We've never had a leak, never so much as a drop. Easy to heat and cool! We used a 5,000-BTU window air conditioner and it kept the house at 65 degrees in the middle of southern Utah summer.

ELECTRICAL
You'll find an abundance of outlets and light switches! It's all wired with a 100-AH breaker box, circuit breakers included!* Some features of note:

- Outlets galore! Tons of GFCI outlets in the kitchen and bathroom, outlet for the window seating area, outlets in each loft, the bedroom, the living room – seriously everywhere.
- We included 3-way light switches** and 15-amp outlets in each loft.
- You get power through a 30-amp 120VAC twist-lock power inlet. There's also a 15-amp GFCI power receptacle for exterior power access.

*Note: I bonded the neutrals and grounds at the breaker boxes. Depending on how you hook up to power, you may want to change that, or hire an electrician to make that change.

**There are two minor errors in the wiring (one 3-way switch doesn't work, and one junction box prewired for lights is controlled by the wrong switch), but all in all, it works pretty well.

FURNITURE & CABINETRY
The floorplan was originally laid out for a first-floor bathroom (tiny, but functional), a kitchenette, a living area, and a bathroom nook.

How finished is it? Well, the shell is 99% done. A few screws to add to the exterior window trim and some pieces of trim to finish around the loft and floor. Just some punch-list items.

In order to turn the shell into a full-fledged house, it needs interior walls, cabinets and furniture. It needs lighting fixtures. Also, there is NO plumbing. I installed a city/gravity water supply inlet on the outside wall in case you want to add any, but you'll have to run the PEX pipe/tube through the future cabinetry.

OTHER SPECIFICATIONS

Exterior Size: 8x24x14*
Interior Size: The interior height ranges from 78 inches underneath the lofts, to 96 inches at one wall, to 120 inches at the other. Total interior width is 7-ft-4 inches; total interior length is 23-ft-4-inches.
There are two interior lofts. One is 89x60 in; the other is 89x94 in. Both are set at 78 inches above the floor.

Now, technically, they aren't sleeping lofts, at least by codes. We used the smaller one for sleeping, though. Neither has a window. Both are 1 ft tall at the low end, 3 ft tall at the high end. No ladder or stairs.

Weight: Approx. 6400 lbs, empty.

Trailer: 8.5x29-ft double-bed deckover utility trailer with dual 3,500-lb axles and 15-inch tires.* Lights, jack, 7-way connector, electric brakes: Everything works.

*Yes, the axles are a bit light for a THOW this size. We had talked about upgrading to 5,000 lb axles, but never got around to it. AT THE CURRENT WEIGHT, you shouldn't have a problem moving the trailer cross-country. But it's not a bad idea to upgrade the axles before you add too much additional built-in weight.

Windows: The two front windows are 24x36 single-hung.* The two rear windows are 24x36 and 48x84 sliders. The side window is a 36x36 slider.
*I used single-hung windows in the front so you can use a small window AC.

CONCLUSION
All in all, guys, it's a decent Tiny Home, especially for the price. It's not the sort of Tiny Home you should tow all over the country, but it'd make a great small home, guest cabin, hunter's cabin, etc. It has good bones.