After years of brainstorming and research, my Mom decided she wanted a Tiny House for her future home. If you have never heard of the Tiny House Movement, give it a quick Google. Essentially, it is a rebellion against the ever increasing size of homes (and their mortgages).
I was more than a little dubious at first, but eventually (and after much research) came to like the idea. You have all the benefits of a mobile home or trailer, while actually looking good! I also really liked the off-grid possibilities, and I'm and minimalist at heart. Plus the fact that this was something I could build myself in my own backyard - golden.
After tinkering with many designs I found online, I decided to design it from scratch myself. Of course, the design was dependent on what kind and size of trailer could be found. So began the shopping. Hard to believe, but it is dang hard to fight a flat deck trailer around here. I would find a likely candidate, call or email the dealer, only to be told it wasn't really in-stock. "Oh, but we have this other trailer - that is totally different from what you are asking for in stock! Want it?" No.
Eventually I found an 7x18, all the way up in PA. I contacted the dealer, verified they really actually had it in stock - then headed up there in my worn but steady Dodge Ram 1500. When I arrived, low and behold, they had just sold my trailer to someone else. Wow.
After almost an hour of scrambling, they came up with a 7x16. Way shorter than the 20' my mom really wanted. But everything else was good, it was actually a flat deck car hauler (whereas all the ones I had seen had some sort of beaver tail). Being frustrated and not wanted to make the 3 hour drive back home empty handed I went ahead and bought it. I saw some trailer modification in my future.
Of course, the difficulties weren't quite over! They brought out the trailer - with a beaver tail. Sigh. Back inside for another pow-wow. Finally, the flat deck was produced. I hooked it up and got the hell out of there before I lost my mind. Then I heard an odd noise from below the hood - and just before turning onto the I-83 south exit, it become a load grinding screech. Idle pulley disentegration.
Luckily, Advanced Auto Parts have propagated everywhere, and I quickly Googled one on my phone. Wincing from the metal screeching, I squeezed the truck and trailer into the parking lot. It was gonna be fun getting back out again. After an interminable wait, a new idle pulley was located. I whipped it on, checked the belt was still in good shape (it was!). And headed for home at last.
I have the modifications all laid out, and some steel on it's way. I'll start stripping down the stuff I don't need this week, and if all goes according to plan shortly the trailer will be transformed into a 7.6 x 20' flat deck ready for a house.
After tinkering with many designs I found online, I decided to design it from scratch myself. Of course, the design was dependent on what kind and size of trailer could be found. So began the shopping. Hard to believe, but it is dang hard to fight a flat deck trailer around here. I would find a likely candidate, call or email the dealer, only to be told it wasn't really in-stock. "Oh, but we have this other trailer - that is totally different from what you are asking for in stock! Want it?" No.
Eventually I found an 7x18, all the way up in PA. I contacted the dealer, verified they really actually had it in stock - then headed up there in my worn but steady Dodge Ram 1500. When I arrived, low and behold, they had just sold my trailer to someone else. Wow.
After almost an hour of scrambling, they came up with a 7x16. Way shorter than the 20' my mom really wanted. But everything else was good, it was actually a flat deck car hauler (whereas all the ones I had seen had some sort of beaver tail). Being frustrated and not wanted to make the 3 hour drive back home empty handed I went ahead and bought it. I saw some trailer modification in my future.
Of course, the difficulties weren't quite over! They brought out the trailer - with a beaver tail. Sigh. Back inside for another pow-wow. Finally, the flat deck was produced. I hooked it up and got the hell out of there before I lost my mind. Then I heard an odd noise from below the hood - and just before turning onto the I-83 south exit, it become a load grinding screech. Idle pulley disentegration.
Luckily, Advanced Auto Parts have propagated everywhere, and I quickly Googled one on my phone. Wincing from the metal screeching, I squeezed the truck and trailer into the parking lot. It was gonna be fun getting back out again. After an interminable wait, a new idle pulley was located. I whipped it on, checked the belt was still in good shape (it was!). And headed for home at last.
I have the modifications all laid out, and some steel on it's way. I'll start stripping down the stuff I don't need this week, and if all goes according to plan shortly the trailer will be transformed into a 7.6 x 20' flat deck ready for a house.
