Well what do you know? It has been one whole year since I got my travel trailer and started writing about it. (“Happy birthday dear blog…”)
If you’re just tuning in to thistinyhouse.com for the first time, let me walk you through the story of my trailer. Here are the top 10 the highlights:
- The Christmas present finally arrives [Jan] – I finally bought a trailer. This was written back when I thought a complete renovation would be a cinch…
- Gutted and primed [Feb] – I wasted no time in ripping out the guts of the camper, leaving only a shell behind.
- She’s got color and personality [Feb] – Fearing another rainstorm we reinstalled the windows. Michael meticulously painted the trailer in the color of my choosing and I gave her a name: Calliope.
- We have a floor to stand on [Mar] – We varnished and reinstalled the floor with a beautiful new piece of plywood. We’re both wanting the project to be done. We dilly-dally for the next 3 months…
- Indoor plumbing, yay! [Jul] – Michael, AKA my hero, re-installs the original sink and stove. Here I explain the simple plumbing system we decided on.
- Sizing ourselves for solar [Oct] – Summer vacations out of the way, we get down to business measuring our appliances and planning our ideal photovoltaic power setup.
- Maiden Voyage, continued [Oct] - We knew she was road-ready, and though we didn’t have the interior walls done, Michael and I traveled around Northern California for a month living in this unfinished trailer.
- Our visit with Tumbleweed Tiny House Company [Nov] – During our month-long journey, we visited our friend Jay Shafer, designer and founder of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, at his home in Sebastopol.
- How our house compares to a Tumbleweed House [Nov] - Michael gets a job offer. We move ourselves back down to San Diego. Surprisingly, the house we rent has a striking similarity to Jay Shafer’s Enesti design.
- Tiny house gets a new roof [Dec] - Our tiny trailer just barely fits in our new garage. Hopefully not for long, as she is itching to do some more traveling!
Thanks everyone for reading. Follow me on Twitter and be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed. Suggestion box? Comment below.
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Nice read! I had not read the first few posts yet. I’d love to hear more about living on the road in the tiny house.
I am planning to buy/build a tiny trailer to make my frequent road trips more enjoyable for me and my two Aussies (dogs, not people!). I was planning either a teardrop or an Aliner, but I’m limited to $2000. Now, I am looking into a Compact Junior and I have come across two for sale in this region. Your pictures and experiences in rehabbing your trailer are very helpful, but I didn’t see what you did about the insulation. Did you put insulation in after stripping off the vinyl and what did you use? I would love to see an interior shot after your renovation! Before and after comparison would be even better!!
Regarding insulation. In brief, we glued in Reflectex as the base layer and then some foam board insulation, anywhere from .5 inch to 1 inch thick. You can get all that at Homedepot, as well as a bunch of adhesive. We had adhesive woes… I will write about the insulation process in a separate blog post soon.
Just wanted you to know that I love your Compact Jr! You are on a awesome journey!
Thank you and thanks for joining me!
I like the idea of small house, no mortgage or small one. But codes being what they are, where does one park them to live in besides secluded rural spaces? I am approaching the time I need and want to work less. I am exploring the options, I want to garden but not commute a huge distance to work. Everywhere I look to rent, even Rv parks, camping are about $700. month plus, here in my state. Ideas and experiences appreciated.
thanks Jay
We have a Compact Jr. that we acquired last June, then promptly took on the road for 10 weeks. (It was a BUSY three weeks getting it road ready!) I’d really appreciate seeing a close up photo or three of your battery/spare setup. What holds that shelf in place? How do you protect the trailer body from the spare and battery box? I’m working on redesigning the tongue storage to accommodate these items. THanks for sharing!
Jay,
There are many people who want the same. Please consider joining the Tiny House Village Network, a private community to discuss creating actual communities. http://tinyhousevillage.com
Hi Jen!
Sure, I can write more about that in an upcoming post. I’m not sure about how a standard Compact Jr. tongue looks so just know that whatever custom work was done, it was done by a previous owner.
Saw your new post with the new car towing your compact (you years to have a suv of sorts) – what model of car? A Honda? I too have a blue Compact Jr (and a Casita 13) I tow each with a 91 Honda civic hatchback (1500 cc – 98 hp) and have gotten as good as 30 mpg!! But usually about 26-27. I have installed “racing” shocks/springs and brakes when the car need new ones but got along well with stock before. Glad to see the new tow! I have a long story of how the trailer websites treated my posting of towing with a Honda!!!
Fair winds and following seas,
Dennis
This is the story of the construction of our tiny house built by C&E Construction. In December 2008 we attended a construction seminar in Florida and were fortunate that our general contractor was able to attend the seminar with us. While the seminar was helpful for design, it really did not give us any of the details we’d need in order to build a tiny house. As Chuck Peterson of C&E Construction built our beautiful tiny house he taped the construction details, showing the specific methods and critical tips for success. We now offer a detailed 2 hour construction DVD full of these details and helpful hints that are necessary to actually build a tiny house. We hope it helps others get the joy we do from our tiny house.
Hi Dennis,
I wrote back to you on this thread:
http://thistinyhouse.com/2009/traveling-with-our-compact-jr/
Hi Dawn,
Interesting video you have for sale. Thanks for the update.
What is a good price for a 72 Compact Jr in really good condition?
Hm, no idea — check the FiberglassRV.com forum.
I have a teensy trailer, too! Meet Betty here: http://theusualbliss.com/2012/04/16/travel-bug-30/
Excited to check out your adventures!
Compact Jr tiny fiberglass RV group on facebook. If you are interested check it out.