Host a Tumbleweed Vacation Rental

We are looking for a place to host the Fencl as a vacation rental.

This might be for the summer only, or could turn into a long term opportunity. You must have a place in the continental U.S. that would be a desirable vacation spot. In addition, electricity must be readily available. The house needs its own 20 amp circuit. Also, a sewer hookup must be present, and a water source within a few feet. Basically, the house needs RV hookups. Because it is a vacation rental, we don’t want to deal with cleaning of any tanks. We are looking for a place with a sewer hookup. [Read more]

Logo Contest Finalists

Congratulations to the winners of the logo contest. Originally, we were going to pick our 3 favorite designs and test them on our website. This turned out to be a problem since we like so many of the designs. So, we picked 4 designs. It was certainly a lot of fun, and 2 of the top 4 designs were created by amateurs who learned about the contest from our blog. The other two winners are professional designers. When we selected the winning designs, we didn’t know anything about the designers, and it was really exciting to discover that one of them has dreamed about owning a Tumbleweed Home. We also gave prizes to a few of the runners up … many of whom were also amateur designers.

Vote for your favorite logo

Below are the 4 logos selected with our current logo at the bottom.

Logo #1

Logo #2

Logo #3

Logo #4

Current Logo

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Jay Talks Tiny

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Jay Shafer discussed some of the economic and environmental aspects of our housing laws.

Fencl School Project Underway

Bob St. Cyr teaches construction and woodworking classes at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School (KCI) in Ontario, Canada. Normally the classes might build sheds, but this year the 45 students ranging in age from 15 to 19 are building a Fencl. Not only will they be building a tiny house on wheels, but the project will raise the student’s awareness of environmental issues and consumerism. It’s the perfect assignment for students because it covers all elements of building: reading architectural plans, ordering materials, framing, exterior work, insulation, plumbing, electrical, roofing and interior finishing.

Bob has been busy putting together a materials list and ordering. Susan been busy figuring out what kind of cupboards, siding, finishes, etc. Do we get propane for the burners and fridge or just go with electric? We’ve got to make decisions about how to customize things and it is all fairly anxiety inducing. What if we make the wrong decision? Is it fixable? It is important to remember nothing is set in stone and learn to breath again.

One decision we made that is definitely right is to use a new trailer. We trekked out to a farm to look at a used one, and by the time we put on new tires, new suspension, new electrical, sandblasted the rust off and painted it, it would have cost only marginally less and since it is already at least 20 years old who knows what the true condition of the axle is.

The axiom — a house need “good boots and a good hat” — is true in this case. If the trailer represents the boots, it better be the best one around.

I’ve had lots of great discussions with students and teachers about why I’m doing this. The most common question is “why not just buy a real trailer? Second hand ones are cheap.” Yes, but they’re all metal and plastic and not remotely anything I’m interested in living in. I’d stick with a tent before I’d move into metal. Heck I’ve tented for 27 years on my gram’s property and it is doable, but a tiny house on wheels will be a home.

Written by Susan with Kitchner-Waterloo

Inside the Bodega

Over the years, we’ve accumulated a catalog of interior photos for our tiny house on wheels. However, since we don’t build the larger houses (250 square feet or more), but only sell the plans, we simply haven’t had the photos to show. We’ve begun creating 3d drawings of the interiors, and will add more photos for our other “small house” over the next few months.

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