Southland Flat Deck Trailers
Tancredo Dori
When I started building my tiny house on wheels in June of 2012, there were no specialized trailer beds for tiny homes. Since then, lots of companies have begun manufacturing trailers specifically for tiny houses.
A custom-built trailer is likely to cost more than a regular trailer, but it could actually save you both time and money in the long run. If you would need to make extensive changes to a premade trailer, you could end up spending lots of money on parts, tools, and labor. By buying a custom-made trailer instead, you can avoid that extra work.
By ordering from a local shop, even though the trailer was still shipped from the midwest, I did not have to pay those shipping costs. Even better, Perfection Motorsports was able to register the trailer right at their shop and hand me a license plate to drive away with. Bonus!
All in all, the tiny house only cost them $8,000, in part because of how little they were able to spend on their trailer. Someone they knew offered to build it for them for just the cost of the materials. Wesley therefore highly recommends asking your friends and family if they know anyone who offers custom trailer fabrication.
Perhaps the most obvious option these days is to buy a trailer that has been designed specifically for tiny houses. These trailers are likely to come with steel beams instead of decking and a number of other features that will make constructing your tiny house much more straightforward.
The standard Tiny Home Builders trailer is the Tiny House Bumper-Pull Trailer, but other options include Tiny House Gooseneck Trailers, Tiny House Deckover Trailers, Container Home Trailers, and custom builds.
This second option gives you an extra 3-1/2 inches of height, however, building your subfloor on top of the trailer is better for insulation, allows for a wider build, and gives you more room for plumbing.
For the most part then, the Tiny Home Builders trailers are pretty similar to the trailer that I bought from my local shop, minus the wood decking, with a few tweaks that would make building a tiny house that bit easier.
It did not surprise me when Tumbleweed got into the trailer business. They were already selling lots of plans, shells, and complete homes, so why not round things out by offering Tumbleweed trailers as well?
I can immediately see several differences with these trailers. First of all, they have threaded bolts sticking up from the deck. This is so you can securely attach the framing of your house down onto the trailer. I did something similar on my house, but had to screw into the trailer to do it. It definitely would have been nice to have the bolts already attached.
Tumbleweed also offers several porch configurations. Allow me to explain. When you frame the floor for a tiny house on wheels, you don't want to put sheathing underneath the porch, which would catch water falling through the porch.
These trailers are designed to help you make the most of the space you have. The fenders are at the legal limit and the frame extends beyond the fenders. The crossember supports are recessed below the top of the frame to make room for floor joists and insulation. This reduces thermal bridging and therefore improves energy efficiency without sacrificing floor height.
Depending on the model you go for, you can choose a lower deck for increased headroom, crossmembers flush with the deck to save on height, weight, and money, an extended upper deck, and an extended tongue to allow for more space for your propane tanks, storage, and so on.
PJ Trailers manufactures a variety of trailers including several that have become popular in the tiny house community. They have a network of over 300 dealers across the US and Canada, which should reduce or eliminate any delivery costs. They also have 3D models of their trailers, so you can get a 360 degree view of your trailer.
I like elements of all the options mentioned above. The Tumbleweed trailer makes for the fastest and easiest build, but it comes at a steep cost. I think if you live in or near one of the pickup locations, this one could make sense for you. The Tiny Home Builder trailers are quite reasonably priced and delivery costs less. Tidy Idahomes and Iron Eagle Trailers both come with some nice tiny house specific features.
I don't think you can go wrong with any of these options. The most important thing in my opinion is that you start off with a trailer that is new or in new condition. The reasons for this are many, and I go into them in detail in my in-depth resource, Tiny House Decisions. I'll just say that your trailer is the foundation of your house, and you'll never be able to change it once you're done building. So, start with the best trailer you can afford. Happy building!
Then you'll love Tiny House Decisions! In it, I go through all the major decisions you must make in order to design and build your tiny house, from idea to completion. For each decision, I explain what each option is, what I did (and whether I'm happy with my decision), and make a recommendation. Enjoy!
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