Hi Kiva and Jake. Thanks for all the info on your trailer purchase. My son and a friend are building me a tiny house in Ontario. We looked at importing a purpose-built trailer from the U.S. but decided the hassle wasn't worth it. So we had a local trailer company custom build a trailer to our specs (8.5' x 24'). We're very happy with the result and it was much less hassle than your experience, but it cost us about $8000 rather than the $6000 you paid. Ours look at bit heavier than yours, but is 4" wider and 4' longer. We're at the Tyvek stage in building. Looking forward to reading the rest of your blogs. Jennifer
Jennifer Penney That's great! We explored the option of getting a custom built trailer for our purposes but the trailer companies kept referring us to Iron Eagle so that's where we went! Thanks for following along with our series and good luck in your build, sounds like it's coming along nicely!
I contacted the guys over at thetinylife.com only yesterday to ask them to do an article just on trailers. For such a fundamental part of the whole process I am amazed there isn't more information out there. The custom trailer looks like an excellent choice, I would never have thought of it. Thank you both.
Mat2001uk We also found it to be lacking in available info. A lot of people seem to grab some sketchy unit off craigslist and proceed to modify it, at which point I would not personally feel confident with its integrity. Glad we could help ;)
That flange is definitely a great addition to the trailer. I used a camper trailer for my tiny house and a trailer such as yours definitely would have made life a little easier. Good video, your up to date plumbing videos surely have helped me out, as I am in the same stage of my tiny house.
You should be able to skip the whole importation part then... just need to look after insurance and that it's recognized as a road-legal vehicle in Canada :)
i started at EP19 and watched thru 22, was really impressed with your build quality, that frame is really impressive, looking forward to the rest of your videos!
Hi guys! I'm about to embark on my own tiny home building venture and am so, so glad I came across this video, thank you so much for sharing your journey and your awesome trailer design. I live in Australia, so custom trailer companies here had literally no idea what I was on about as far as the design I need. Your trailer is exactly what I'm after and then some! So I'm going to copy you shamelessly. I highly doubt it'll be as cheap over here, but my home will definitely be solid :) love the videos and thanks again!
Nice trailer there folks. Enthusiastic myself about building some tiny houses. I named them Micro Mansions. Most will be built on skids though that can be loaded to a flatbed to move if necessary. I want to build about 40 in all on 2.36 acres purchased in Nova Scotia and have a large organic garden too. Presently in Victoria and the Bay Center on Douglas will almost fit on the property too. Best wishes with your endeavors and good luck.
cant wait to start the build. Still compiling research materials for heating techniques like external boiler systems to sawdust stoves. Rainwater harvesting and a well to be dug, and then there is the 3 methods of composting 1) for left over vegetaion from salads, etc 2) composting plants, leaves,etc using red wigglers to be used in organic garden to grow food, and 3) composting toilets with other waste management techniques for deposal after a year to allow the human waste to break down Such composted material is not to be used for growing food even though it is considered safe after tthe one year period
I can confirm that buying a custom trailer is probably the best way to go when building a tiny house. We bought a used trailer and adapted it to suit our needs to save money but it wasn't worth the time spent on it and we lost several inches of potential loft space because the trailer deck height wasn't optimized for a tiny house. Unfortunately by the time we realized it was possible to get a custom trailer we had already bought and started modifying the used trailer so now we are stuck with it.
Most definitely. We were lucky enough to have a personal recommendation from a local Portland builder and were very impressed with the product available.
Very excited to see this. I just ordered my trailer from Iron Eagle through my contractor, Derin Williams of Shelterwise in Portland. I kind of wish I could build it myself, but my physical constraints forbid that. Are you out in the Straits of Georgia? I've been to Salt Spring and Lesqueti islands. Beautiful. I live on Whidbey island, just south of you. I hope we can meet someday when we're further along.
Considering the dizzying amount of fees and associated costs you guys had to pay along the way I am surprised that it only cost $6,000 dollars. The trailer looks very well made and it looks like it will make for a very good foundation for a very roomy tiny house. Nice job and good choice. I wish the both of you well.
Hey JZ, I don't know if you'll see this (I can't seem to reply to your comment directly) but we'll be building near Parksville on Vancouver Island. Send us a message if you are coming to the area ;)
Had you already purchased your trailer before you started making the CAD model in order to get the exact dimensions, or did you contact the company and get the measurements from them beforehand? I'm considering doing the same thing, but with the longer triple-axle 24' model. Thanks!
Michael Logue We did most of the 3D modelling before physically acquiring the trailer, based on specifications supplied by Iron Eagle. I asked for some pretty specific dimensions (highlighting photographs to indicate what I was referring to) in order to be confident that the 3D model that we were starting from was going to match the physical reality.
So the final resting place of your trailer/tiny house is an island. Will you be able to take your tiny house back across on the ferryboat ? if so, will they charge by length or by weight ?
Troy Nall is building an actual "tiny house" (with foudation,etc...) really worth it ? the main ideas behind this project is (money, size, portability and doing it yourself). would you do things differently now before building ? maybe buying your own vehicle? not having it(tiny nest) land locked ?
Looking on the RIV Canada website and noticing that "Iron Eagle" is not listed among their "Admissible" manufacturers, is that why you had to get the inspection? Did you have any snags with it not being on the admissible list?
+Mercedes Schrödinger They have the proper US trailer certifications and the trailers get VIN numbers, so there wasn't an issue in terms of where the trailer came from or if it would be road-legal in Canada. The inspection process was pretty simple, just to make sure it wasn't missing turn-signals and that sort of thing. It was a fair bit of paperwork (if you include making sure we had insurance in each jurisdiction we drove through) but there weren't any actual challenges.
Hello Tiny Nest, Your journey is so impressed to me. Great and Excellent!! I would like to follow your Tiny House build method. What is the height from the ground to trailer bed top. Did you drop axles? So what is the total height of house? I understand that 8ft 2in width.. due to 8ft 6in is the max width allowed by the Department of Transportation in US. Total Height is 14ft.. Normally US Tiny house are following to use 13ft and half for covering all US states DOT. My question is. What is the height from ground to top of bed trailer and what is the height from top bed to top of roof?
If one owns the property where the house is to be built, is it feasible to build the house on a permanent foundation? Because of the small size, I think that would probably cost less than the trailer. Thanks for taking us along on your venture.
+Vincent Miceli The problem is that anything larger than about 10x10 ft built on a foundation requires official permission from local building authorities, and there are many minimum requirements for any building that is intended to be lived in... so you essentially cannot build something of this size on a foundation legally. Building it on a trailer makes it a vehicle, and thus not a permanent part of any jurisdiction. This allows you to basically build what you want. Many tiny house builders are trying to build to very high quality standards to prove that this kind of thing is practical, safe, and livable.
Does Iron Eagle Trailers have an email address? I searched their website and found nothing. I called but their toll-free number doesn't work for me. Your video series is truly great. I have so many questions, but your videos have answered a vast majority of them. Well done guys. Thanks.
Thanks for watching! Do you mean to say that you can't place the call at all? or that no one answered? We might work with them to upgrade their website, but for now it's still best to call them. Are you outside the USA?
Well, apparently, the toll-free number is not accessible from Canada. So they don't have an email address? That's a bit unusual for a business to not have an email address. I like the features in the new trailer design. I'm trying to get some dimensions from them so I can design my tiny home. I'm currently in Nova Scotia but I'm moving back to Alberta in the spring. When I get there, I want to buy a 20' trailer and build an off-grid tiny home to take with me to the "oil patch".
Have you tried just placing an international call? Obviously over here at Tiny Nest, we are super tech-friendly but Iron Eagle's setup is still quite old-school... we're hoping to help them get a better system in place to more easily field online inquiries. They do email, but I guess they don't have a public address listed on the site right now :P
May I ask what is the weight of your entire build and what can support the trailer? How many axles of how much pound each do you have? Have they been reinforced? Do you find the jack (4 corners) to be absolute necessity or not? Was the trailer galzanized or not? :)
Firstly, I would highly recommend that you get directly in touch with Iron Eagle for things like technical specifications. You can find a link to their website on our page here -> www.tinynestproject.com/werecommend/ For our own build, we kept track of the weights of our building materials as we went, and it looked like we'd end up somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds (which includes the 1,600lb trailer frame). The dual axles are rated up to 10,000lb so we're definitely pushing the limits. There are a few places where, in retrospect, we could have saved more weight, but since we don't plan on moving the house much at all, we'll be removing everything from the interior that isn't nailed down if we take it on the road (plus we'd hire a towing company to haul it). The corner jacks are extremely useful and I would recommend them. It is not galvanized, but I believe it has a polyurethane coating.
Do you think now that it was necessary to get the temporary BC permit before you left to pick up trailer? I am also going to import an Iron Eagle trailer next week and I have read some websites that say the temporary 3 day permit I get from the vendor should allow me to drive in BC until it expires. I should be able to get inspection and everything done within the 3 days.
I think there are two things to consider here: 1. If it can be confirmed that the permit stays in effect across the border, then that's the answer (it's been a while, but I don't remember being able to get a straight answer about this at the time) 2. If the permit is not in effect, then you could still transport without one, but you'd be at risk of penalty if an incident occurred on the road :P
Where are you guys located? There isn't much support from the government in this movement especially in Ontario. The west coast is a different story however. I have found quite a few companies who make them, but to live in on is very difficult.
+supercooled We are on Vancouver Island in a rural area. There is definitely a lot of "don't bother anyone and don't get bothered" when it comes to living in a tiny house. I think the actions of people show that there is a demand for this lifestyle to be officially recognized and accepted, and it's just a matter of time before it's totally legit.
Dave RR We thought we'd try to stay relatively tiny, and something that came up was the weight rating and axles of anything bigger than 20ft. It becomes more and more unwieldy of an object beyond 20ft,... it seems like 16 is fine for one person, 20-24 is good for a couple, and anything bigger is only if you have a family or really need something big. 20 just seemed like the most appropriate choice.
Toronto is much farther! heh I'm not sure this was an option when we were looking into it, plus it looks like there are still additional costs (tax/fees) because they still come from the US.
+Kristin Hefner Well... you're free to tow it around without one, but an organization might hassle you and demand fees etc. and then of course there are insurance issues...
Don MacDonald Good eye. The flange is wider than the bottom-plate so there is a small span that is mostly uninsulated. This type of situation is why we put the sil-gasket everywhere, to give that small amount of thermal-break. There is also 1-1/4" of plywood on top of that. Hopefully it won't be too much of a cold spot in the finished house. It rarely gets below freezing where we live.
Tiny Nest You could box that overhang in and have someone spray foam that part with closed cell or just use ridged foam insulation inside the box That could be easily made but since it doesn't get that cold where you are then you probably would be fine :o)
So the trailer would cost me about $4,000 since I'm in the United States. Does anyone know if you can go 10' foot wide in the US? Is the 8'2" width just for Canada? Hmmmm I wonder?
Sachi WI Iron Eagle's trailers are an american product intended for americans and I believe the 8'2" is for american road regulations (and they are nearly identical in Canada)
Sachi WI, check your state's dot for regulations. In Wisconsin, your trailer/load width can be 8'6" (semis have slightly wider and longer allowances). Over 8'6" in Wisconsin requires a wide load permit which can be quite pricey. Also, you have to worry about height, again in Wisconsin, it's 13'6" high from ground to top of load. These should be similar in other states.
Uthman Yunis inorite... still worth it though. We're finally doing plumbing and other systems, and being able to drill through that flange is priceless.
ilmanil it depends on what you build on top of it , more wood (heavy wood it will be heavier) other than furniture or personal belonging and windows heavy-ness what so ever
Those are the standard road-legal dimensions, meaning that if what you are towing does not exceed that, then you can haul it without any special permit or license.
Do you guys have a facebook page? Im from Edmonton alberta, and starting a to plan for a tiny house, Im a small cabin builder ( Check out my facebook page - Forest Trek Cabins) and enjoy watching some other Canadians getting into tiny houses.
I have watched many of your videos. What disturbed me the most is what it cost you before you even got to the wood. You stated you spent $6,000 before you even got to the wood. If you are going to start with such a detailed project....then why did you not build your own trailer? You could of saved yourself about $4000.00. Trailers are cheap to build. Actually less than the cost of wheels and axles. I would think such a savings would be worth your time and effort.
+Kristin Hefner We decided to fork out the money for a quality base to start on, instead of adding a significant DIY project to our already elaborate DIY project :P we still have zero regrets about this choice. Time is proving more valuable than money in many ways. But if you want to see the self-built route, Dan over at Tiny House Customs built his own trailer from scratch and it was quite impressive.
I cant see why you wouldn't have a local welder produce the trailer, it wouldn't have cost more then half, think of the upgrades your project could of received with another $3000 in your budget, im nearly sick to my stomach at those fees/extra costs, and it wasn't even my money.
Funny enough, the first local place we called told us not to bother because it would be too expensive and to source it from the states. The other factor was that we would have had to specify highly custom attributes and hope that it would work out in the end. Iron Eagle had already done the R&D and felt more solid and trustworthy. I definitely see where you're coming from but so far we don't regret the ordeal. If you keep up with the project, you can decide for yourself how good the trailer is once you see it being built on ;)
I am also in Canada (Alberta) and for some reason trailers are much more expensive here then in the United States. A new 20' 10-12 thousand pound trailer is about $5000 (CAD + GST), and that isn't for a custom job.
Canada is quite a bit more expensive. We're in BC and a custom 24' trailer for a tiny house started at $7600. The quote we got from Ontario was a bit cheaper, but would be the same by the time we moved it out here. Most things are more expensive here
Is the BC Bud really worth paying all of those fees,duties and/or taxes? That's probably why Rosie and all of the others that threatened to jump the border when trump was elected, didnt,due to all of the vig the man wants. I bought property in Arkansas 20 years ago, and would have a hard time leaving, just based on the affordability. That would make me second guess a lot of purchases. I realize that you had to cross a border. Someone should dig a tunnel to send trailers and other misc items that way. All it would cost in my neck of the woods would be the cost of trailer, $40 for a permanent license plate, no sales tax based on farm waiver, but no one has to pay sales tax on any vehicle,trailer or anything reg. with Revenue office as long as it cost less than $4500 I believe, it was $2500 but was raised several years ago. Hell just the fees that you were required to pay are more than I pay for personal property, including home, acreage, cars, trucks,mtc,boat, tractors, and multiple trailers. I guess I shouldn't complain as much as I do.
You are absolutely right that it feels ridiculous to pay so many different fees, but most of them make sense in the situation... maybe 1-2 are over the top and unreasonable... it was not a simple task, but the trailer was worth it in the end :)
Hi Kiva and Jake. Thanks for all the info on your trailer purchase. My son and a friend are building me a tiny house in Ontario. We looked at importing a purpose-built trailer from the U.S. but decided the hassle wasn't worth it. So we had a local trailer company custom build a trailer to our specs (8.5' x 24'). We're very happy with the result and it was much less hassle than your experience, but it cost us about $8000 rather than the $6000 you paid. Ours look at bit heavier than yours, but is 4" wider and 4' longer. We're at the Tyvek stage in building. Looking forward to reading the rest of your blogs. Jennifer
Jennifer Penney That's great! We explored the option of getting a custom built trailer for our purposes but the trailer companies kept referring us to Iron Eagle so that's where we went! Thanks for following along with our series and good luck in your build, sounds like it's coming along nicely!
Hi Jennifer, I am in Québec, about to build my own THOW. May I ask what company provided you with the trailer? Thanks! :)
I contacted the guys over at thetinylife.com only yesterday to ask them to do an article just on trailers. For such a fundamental part of the whole process I am amazed there isn't more information out there.
The custom trailer looks like an excellent choice, I would never have thought of it.
Thank you both.
Mat2001uk We also found it to be lacking in available info. A lot of people seem to grab some sketchy unit off craigslist and proceed to modify it, at which point I would not personally feel confident with its integrity.
Glad we could help ;)
That flange is definitely a great addition to the trailer. I used a camper trailer for my tiny house and a trailer such as yours definitely would have made life a little easier. Good video, your up to date plumbing videos surely have helped me out, as I am in the same stage of my tiny house.
spencer sousa The flange has been super useful during construction. Thanks for watching, propane videos coming up ;D
Awesome! Can't wait to see them.
This is excellent. I plan on having a TH built in Alaska and towing it to Canada to visit. Now I know what to expect.
You should be able to skip the whole importation part then... just need to look after insurance and that it's recognized as a road-legal vehicle in Canada :)
i started at EP19 and watched thru 22, was really impressed with your build quality, that frame is really impressive, looking forward to the rest of your videos!
Hi guys! I'm about to embark on my own tiny home building venture and am so, so glad I came across this video, thank you so much for sharing your journey and your awesome trailer design. I live in Australia, so custom trailer companies here had literally no idea what I was on about as far as the design I need. Your trailer is exactly what I'm after and then some! So I'm going to copy you shamelessly. I highly doubt it'll be as cheap over here, but my home will definitely be solid :) love the videos and thanks again!
Peta Pan 88 Glad we could help, good luck on your project!
Hi Peter Pan, did you get to build your Tiny house? I am in the process of starting my build right now and would have a few questions for you. Thanks!
I just read the comments further down and found the price of the trailer thank you guys you doing a great job
+Udom Simon ;)
Nice trailer there folks. Enthusiastic myself about building some tiny houses. I named them Micro Mansions. Most will be built on skids though that can be loaded to a flatbed to move if necessary. I want to build about 40 in all on 2.36 acres purchased in Nova Scotia and have a large organic garden too. Presently in Victoria and the Bay Center on Douglas will almost fit on the property too. Best wishes with your endeavors and good luck.
AffordableHousingAlt Sounds like an epic project. We lived in Victoria for 10 years, so I know just what you'er talking about ;)
cant wait to start the build. Still compiling research materials for heating techniques like external boiler systems to sawdust stoves. Rainwater harvesting and a well to be dug, and then there is the 3 methods of composting 1) for left over vegetaion from salads, etc 2) composting plants, leaves,etc using red wigglers to be used in organic garden to grow food, and 3) composting toilets with other waste management techniques for deposal after a year to allow the human waste to break down Such composted material is not to be used for growing food even though it is considered safe after tthe one year period
I am in Nova Scotia currently. We should talk...seriously. Do you have a website/email?
It's great to see the process guys!
I can confirm that buying a custom trailer is probably the best way to go when building a tiny house. We bought a used trailer and adapted it to suit our needs to save money but it wasn't worth the time spent on it and we lost several inches of potential loft space because the trailer deck height wasn't optimized for a tiny house. Unfortunately by the time we realized it was possible to get a custom trailer we had already bought and started modifying the used trailer so now we are stuck with it.
Most definitely. We were lucky enough to have a personal recommendation from a local Portland builder and were very impressed with the product available.
Very excited to see this. I just ordered my trailer from Iron Eagle through my contractor, Derin Williams of Shelterwise in Portland. I kind of wish I could build it myself, but my physical constraints forbid that. Are you out in the Straits of Georgia? I've been to Salt Spring and Lesqueti islands. Beautiful. I live on Whidbey island, just south of you. I hope we can meet someday when we're further along.
Considering the dizzying amount of fees and associated costs you guys had to pay along the way I am surprised that it only cost $6,000 dollars. The trailer looks very well made and it looks like it will make for a very good foundation for a very roomy tiny house. Nice job and good choice. I wish the both of you well.
Thanks! We still feel like it was worth it, and we'll find out for sure when we start building in a few weeks! Keep an eye out ;)
Tiny Nest I will; thanks for sharing.
Hey JZ, I don't know if you'll see this (I can't seem to reply to your comment directly) but we'll be building near Parksville on Vancouver Island. Send us a message if you are coming to the area ;)
Had you already purchased your trailer before you started making the CAD model in order to get the exact dimensions, or did you contact the company and get the measurements from them beforehand? I'm considering doing the same thing, but with the longer triple-axle 24' model.
Thanks!
Michael Logue We did most of the 3D modelling before physically acquiring the trailer, based on specifications supplied by Iron Eagle. I asked for some pretty specific dimensions (highlighting photographs to indicate what I was referring to) in order to be confident that the 3D model that we were starting from was going to match the physical reality.
So the final resting place of your trailer/tiny house is an island. Will you be able to take your tiny house back across on the ferryboat ? if so, will they charge by length or by weight ?
Troy Nall is building an actual "tiny house" (with foudation,etc...) really worth it ? the main ideas behind this project is (money, size, portability and doing it yourself). would you do things differently now before building ? maybe buying your own vehicle? not having it(tiny nest) land locked ?
Looking on the RIV Canada website and noticing that "Iron Eagle" is not listed among their "Admissible" manufacturers, is that why you had to get the inspection? Did you have any snags with it not being on the admissible list?
+Mercedes Schrödinger They have the proper US trailer certifications and the trailers get VIN numbers, so there wasn't an issue in terms of where the trailer came from or if it would be road-legal in Canada. The inspection process was pretty simple, just to make sure it wasn't missing turn-signals and that sort of thing.
It was a fair bit of paperwork (if you include making sure we had insurance in each jurisdiction we drove through) but there weren't any actual challenges.
Hello Tiny Nest, Your journey is so impressed to me. Great and Excellent!! I would like to follow your Tiny House build method. What is the height from the ground to trailer bed top. Did you drop axles? So what is the total height of house?
I understand that 8ft 2in width.. due to 8ft 6in is the max width allowed by the Department of Transportation in US. Total Height is 14ft.. Normally US Tiny house are following to use 13ft and half for covering all US states DOT.
My question is. What is the height from ground to top of bed trailer and what is the height from top bed to top of roof?
If one owns the property where the house is to be built, is it feasible to build the house on a permanent foundation? Because of the small size, I think that would probably cost less than the trailer. Thanks for taking us along on your venture.
+Vincent Miceli The problem is that anything larger than about 10x10 ft built on a foundation requires official permission from local building authorities, and there are many minimum requirements for any building that is intended to be lived in... so you essentially cannot build something of this size on a foundation legally. Building it on a trailer makes it a vehicle, and thus not a permanent part of any jurisdiction. This allows you to basically build what you want. Many tiny house builders are trying to build to very high quality standards to prove that this kind of thing is practical, safe, and livable.
Does Iron Eagle Trailers have an email address? I searched their website and found nothing. I called but their toll-free number doesn't work for me.
Your video series is truly great. I have so many questions, but your videos have answered a vast majority of them. Well done guys. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Do you mean to say that you can't place the call at all? or that no one answered?
We might work with them to upgrade their website, but for now it's still best to call them. Are you outside the USA?
Well, apparently, the toll-free number is not accessible from Canada.
So they don't have an email address? That's a bit unusual for a business to not have an email address.
I like the features in the new trailer design. I'm trying to get some dimensions from them so I can design my tiny home. I'm currently in Nova Scotia but I'm moving back to Alberta in the spring. When I get there, I want to buy a 20' trailer and build an off-grid tiny home to take with me to the "oil patch".
Have you tried just placing an international call?
Obviously over here at Tiny Nest, we are super tech-friendly but Iron Eagle's setup is still quite old-school... we're hoping to help them get a better system in place to more easily field online inquiries. They do email, but I guess they don't have a public address listed on the site right now :P
May I ask what is the weight of your entire build and what can support the trailer?
How many axles of how much pound each do you have? Have they been reinforced? Do you find the jack (4 corners) to be absolute necessity or not? Was the trailer galzanized or not? :)
Firstly, I would highly recommend that you get directly in touch with Iron Eagle for things like technical specifications. You can find a link to their website on our page here -> www.tinynestproject.com/werecommend/
For our own build, we kept track of the weights of our building materials as we went, and it looked like we'd end up somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds (which includes the 1,600lb trailer frame). The dual axles are rated up to 10,000lb so we're definitely pushing the limits. There are a few places where, in retrospect, we could have saved more weight, but since we don't plan on moving the house much at all, we'll be removing everything from the interior that isn't nailed down if we take it on the road (plus we'd hire a towing company to haul it).
The corner jacks are extremely useful and I would recommend them.
It is not galvanized, but I believe it has a polyurethane coating.
Do you think now that it was necessary to get the temporary BC permit before you left to pick up trailer? I am also going to import an Iron Eagle trailer next week and I have read some websites that say the temporary 3 day permit I get from the vendor should allow me to drive in BC until it expires. I should be able to get inspection and everything done within the 3 days.
I think there are two things to consider here:
1. If it can be confirmed that the permit stays in effect across the border, then that's the answer (it's been a while, but I don't remember being able to get a straight answer about this at the time)
2. If the permit is not in effect, then you could still transport without one, but you'd be at risk of penalty if an incident occurred on the road :P
Where are you guys located? There isn't much support from the government in this movement especially in Ontario. The west coast is a different story however. I have found quite a few companies who make them, but to live in on is very difficult.
+supercooled We are on Vancouver Island in a rural area. There is definitely a lot of "don't bother anyone and don't get bothered" when it comes to living in a tiny house. I think the actions of people show that there is a demand for this lifestyle to be officially recognized and accepted, and it's just a matter of time before it's totally legit.
what is the name of the trailer you bought? I am thinking about building a tiny house and i like the trailer you guys picked out.
Preston Dues Iron Eagle. There is a link in the description ;)
Is there a reason you didn't get the 24 ft trailer, was the cost a whole lot more?
Dave RR We thought we'd try to stay relatively tiny, and something that came up was the weight rating and axles of anything bigger than 20ft. It becomes more and more unwieldy of an object beyond 20ft,... it seems like 16 is fine for one person, 20-24 is good for a couple, and anything bigger is only if you have a family or really need something big. 20 just seemed like the most appropriate choice.
do you think they sell trailers here in the us that are made the same ?
Yes Iron Eagle trailers is located in Oregon: ruclips.net/video/Raonw6HcrVQ/видео.html
Why not go with Tiny Home Builder trailers in Toronto Canada?
Toronto is much farther! heh
I'm not sure this was an option when we were looking into it, plus it looks like there are still additional costs (tax/fees) because they still come from the US.
One must have permits in a free country?
+Kristin Hefner Well... you're free to tow it around without one, but an organization might hassle you and demand fees etc. and then of course there are insurance issues...
how much was the cost of your trailer?
Damn fees. Thumbs down to BC ferry prices.
I may be confused but isn't there a gap in the insulation where your insulated floor and insulated walls meet at the trailer
Don MacDonald Good eye. The flange is wider than the bottom-plate so there is a small span that is mostly uninsulated. This type of situation is why we put the sil-gasket everywhere, to give that small amount of thermal-break. There is also 1-1/4" of plywood on top of that. Hopefully it won't be too much of a cold spot in the finished house. It rarely gets below freezing where we live.
Tiny Nest You could box that overhang in and have someone spray foam that part with closed cell or just use ridged foam insulation inside the box That could be easily made but since it doesn't get that cold where you are then you probably would be fine :o)
So the trailer would cost me about $4,000 since I'm in the United States. Does anyone know if you can go 10' foot wide in the US? Is the 8'2" width just for Canada? Hmmmm I wonder?
Sachi WI Iron Eagle's trailers are an american product intended for americans and I believe the 8'2" is for american road regulations (and they are nearly identical in Canada)
Sachi WI, check your state's dot for regulations. In Wisconsin, your trailer/load width can be 8'6" (semis have slightly wider and longer allowances). Over 8'6" in Wisconsin requires a wide load permit which can be quite pricey. Also, you have to worry about height, again in Wisconsin, it's 13'6" high from ground to top of load. These should be similar in other states.
WTFFF! SO MANY FEES DUDE
Uthman Yunis inorite... still worth it though. We're finally doing plumbing and other systems, and being able to drill through that flange is priceless.
What is the whight of the caravan ?
ilmanil it depends on what you build on top of it , more wood (heavy wood it will be heavier) other than furniture or personal belonging and windows heavy-ness what so ever
Is 8.5 feet wide and 13.5 feet tall fine
Those are the standard road-legal dimensions, meaning that if what you are towing does not exceed that, then you can haul it without any special permit or license.
Permits and taxes, good God.
Do you guys have a facebook page? Im from Edmonton alberta, and starting a to plan for a tiny house, Im a small cabin builder ( Check out my facebook page - Forest Trek Cabins) and enjoy watching some other Canadians getting into tiny houses.
Mark Lacroix facebook.com/tinynestproject
I have watched many of your videos. What disturbed me the most is what it cost you before you even got to the wood. You stated you spent $6,000 before you even got to the wood. If you are going to start with such a detailed project....then why did you not build your own trailer? You could of saved yourself about $4000.00. Trailers are cheap to build. Actually less than the cost of wheels and axles. I would think such a savings would be worth your time and effort.
+Kristin Hefner We decided to fork out the money for a quality base to start on, instead of adding a significant DIY project to our already elaborate DIY project :P we still have zero regrets about this choice. Time is proving more valuable than money in many ways. But if you want to see the self-built route, Dan over at Tiny House Customs built his own trailer from scratch and it was quite impressive.
jeez, it would have been cheaper to just move to the US.
Let's hear it for Big Brother Bureaucracy! And people still continue to worship the state.
all those papers and fees destroy a lot o projects all over the world .. our society is ridiculous in our days
plstrom it was nothing short of absurd for what we wanted to do... but still worth it imo
I cant see why you wouldn't have a local welder produce the trailer, it wouldn't have cost more then half, think of the upgrades your project could of received with another $3000 in your budget, im nearly sick to my stomach at those fees/extra costs, and it wasn't even my money.
Funny enough, the first local place we called told us not to bother because it would be too expensive and to source it from the states. The other factor was that we would have had to specify highly custom attributes and hope that it would work out in the end. Iron Eagle had already done the R&D and felt more solid and trustworthy. I definitely see where you're coming from but so far we don't regret the ordeal.
If you keep up with the project, you can decide for yourself how good the trailer is once you see it being built on ;)
I am also in Canada (Alberta) and for some reason trailers are much more expensive here then in the United States. A new 20' 10-12 thousand pound trailer is about $5000 (CAD + GST), and that isn't for a custom job.
Canada is quite a bit more expensive. We're in BC and a custom 24' trailer for a tiny house started at $7600. The quote we got from Ontario was a bit cheaper, but would be the same by the time we moved it out here. Most things are more expensive here
Is the BC Bud really worth paying all of those fees,duties and/or taxes? That's probably why Rosie and all of the others that threatened to jump the border when trump was elected, didnt,due to all of the vig the man wants.
I bought property in Arkansas 20 years ago, and would have a hard time leaving, just based on the affordability.
That would make me second guess a lot of purchases. I realize that you had to cross a border. Someone should dig a tunnel to send trailers and other misc items that way. All it would cost in my neck of the woods would be the
cost of trailer, $40 for a permanent license plate, no sales tax based on farm waiver, but no one has to pay sales tax on any vehicle,trailer or anything reg. with Revenue office as long as it cost less than $4500 I believe, it was $2500 but was raised several years ago.
Hell just the fees that you were required to pay are more than I pay for personal property, including home, acreage, cars, trucks,mtc,boat, tractors, and multiple trailers.
I guess I shouldn't complain as much as I do.
We really wanted this trailer so we were fine to pay the taxes and fees that come with importing something like this from one country to another :P
Tiny Nest
You guys are doing a great job, I was just shocked at the expenditures required. I'm just cheap. Sorry, Great videos, keep em coming....
You are absolutely right that it feels ridiculous to pay so many different fees, but most of them make sense in the situation... maybe 1-2 are over the top and unreasonable... it was not a simple task, but the trailer was worth it in the end :)
Tiny Nest
It confirms your commitment, and with your positive outlook, probably not much that can impede your progress.
Keep em coming....