Real Advice for Tiny Home & RV Living
Welcome back to the Blog & for those of you who might be new, Hey!
My name’s Anna & I’ve been ‘tiny-home’ living in a renovated 2007 Keystone Hornet 38DQDS trailer since December 2020.
If you’re reading this right now I’m going to assume you’re interested in the idea of tiny home living. It’s been coming into view of the mainstream for about a decade now, made more and more prevalent through covid, inflation and our current housing crises in Canada and throughout North America. I’ve been fairly quiet about my tiny-time living situation over the past few years partly because I wasn’t really proud of it, but an article on a Toronto area Mayor inspired me. She spoke out about having to live with her parents because she was unable to afford a home in her own Township, and chose to forgo a false sense of shame in order to speak out about a very real housing crisis younger generations and first-time home buyers are facing more and more. Same girl, same!
This post is going to offer some real-life advice, as well as some questions you should be asking yourself. Spoiler alert, I am PRO-TRAILER.
The very first question you need to answer is WHY? Why do you want to live in a tiny home? My decision was essentially born out of necessity; I was a single income earner, with a child, paying off my student loan and consumer debt, and at that same time, found myself in need of a new rental. A 2-bedroom space under $1,200 a month, even without utilities included, would be completely unheard of in my area. Adding insult to injury, was the fact that if I were to rent I would never see any of that money back, as opposed to potentially being able to re-sell the trailer once I had paid everything off and was able to move forward. I went a little more in depth in last week’s post, but basically it was a smart financial decision that would allow me to purchase a tangible asset, and would save me money in the long run. You need to know your why, trust me, there will be situations that will frustrate and challenge you and if you don’t ask it now, you will inevitably as yourself why?! and your answer, well it better make it worth it.
Make a plan, make it make sense, and make sure it works. Tiny home living is terribly romanticized. I recently watched Homesteady’s Youtube video about their off-grid living experience and how they felt lied to. What?! Tiny-home, off-grid living is hard?! I laughed; yes, yes it is. Tiny-home living, even on its own, is hard; you will miss the natural light, the over-headspace, the elbow room, the storage, the ability to do laundry, and if you’re like me, you will miss the baths. So be realistic in your planning. How long will you be living there? Does it meet your current needs and will it accommodate future lifestyle changes, such as a growing family or even pets? Do you need and are you able to have running water in the winter? What are the local by-laws? Does a tiny-home, an Amish Shed, a yurt or a trailer make the most sense for you? What is your budget, and what are you willing to compromise on short-term to achieve that budget? Where will you put it? Will you have reliable utilities such as water, sewer and hydro and if not, will you relative access to them?
Consider a trailer. There is a reason why I chose to go with another trailer even though we were ready to ‘upgrade’. Cost was big factor, there was no way I could purchase a livable property for the same price. Insurability and Safety were two more big factors, as it is a commercially manufactured, inspected and certified unit it is also insurable. There is no DIY or safety concerns from an un-certified company or tech, the plumbing and electricity is all up to code, and parts and service repairs are relatively easy to come by. Plus, it is still a road-legal vehicle that is accepted at nearly all camping & RV sites. Should an emergency happen, or even if we just want a change of scenery, we are able to park it for at least 2-seasons nearly everywhere. A tiny or mobile home will not always have that same accommodation, and will not always have black-water holding tanks that can offer bathroom conveniences if and when you move to a place without septic access. (Say if you’re planning to live in a tiny-home while you purchase/pay off a property and build a house) Newer models of trailers even offer better insulation, enclosed bottoms, dual-pane windows and extreme-weather packages. That said, skirt like your life depends on it!
Check your By-laws! Another reason I went with a trailer is due to my local by-laws. Many tiny homes are unregulated and uninsurable, which makes them a liability in the eyes of many Townships, and I don’t blame them! If your home catches on fire because of a shoddy DIY electric job, is uninsured, and causes damage to the property, a neighbors property, another home, or God forbid harms someone or takes a life, you are in sh*t! Add in that my neighbor has already gotten into a conflict with by-law for their own tiny home, and my sister was only able to secure flat-bed insurance for hers, I am very wary of that option. My local township also does not allow for mobile homes unless it is within a park, or the resident’s only source of income is from the farm itself. This is meant to maintain local home and property values, while providing allowances for migrant works and full-time, multi-generational farming families. Now, because I maintain a full-time (and part-time) job off-property, this does not apply to me. A trailer allows for 3-season and periodic winter camping when an alternate main residence is accounted for.
Know This. Most people, myself included, will run out of space and patience in a long-term scenario. Eventually you will probably have to empty a black-water tank, take a ‘baby wipe bath’, you will spend time and money running into town to fill up your propane tanks, at some point you will run out of hydro, water, or heat, or all three at once, and you will probably bump into things on a regular basis.
But it could also be the best decision you will ever make. It could save you money, force you to simplify your life, and make you realize how conditioned we are to constantly live on and aspire to ‘more’. There is eventually this invisible line that balances sustainability and need with want and quality of life, and I think everyone needs to find that for themselves.
For all our wants in the world, I find it refreshing when people realize their true needs and find their authentic journey, and the peace that comes from meeting them.
I hope you find yours, and never stop growing towards it,
-Anna R.
