Tiny House: Why not an RV?
If I had a nickel for every time someone has asked us "why not just get a camper/RV/mobile home/park model/double wide?" I think we would be done funding the tiny house project.
First I will share the logical reasons.
- It is difficult to live in an RV during Minnesota winters, most are not insulated well enough to withstand the cold for that long and are not designed for year-round living.
- RV's and mobile homes are not constructed to last forever, they have a lifespan. A tiny house is a house, it just has a trailer as a foundation rather than concrete. If well cared for, it will last as long as you want it to (just like a house).
- Similar to an RV or mobile home, park models or double wides have a limited lifespan plus they are only meant to be moved one time. They are constructed, moved to their location, and typically never moved again.
- You have no control over the materials that are used in any of the above options. Most RV's are constructed entirely out of fiberglass and particle board.
- The cost of an RV or mobile home with similar square footage is not much cheaper than our tiny house and you don't get to customize it.
Now for my main reason... aesthetics.
Photo credited to Evan & Gabby.
If we are going to live in something this small for at least two years, I want it to look and feel like home. I want to design it and know the materials being used to ensure it is a safe environment for our family. I want to customize it to fit our needs and have it feel like our own.
There is something special about building a home and although it is an overwhelming project right now, I know we will look back on this build with such fond memories. We will be able to tell our kids about that one time we built a tiny house. How they were just babies but they were so much a part of it. They inspired us, motivated us and made us stop to enjoy the moments.
The tiny house build is just getting started, but somehow it is already starting to feel like home.
"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do…
but how much love we put in that action."
Mother Theresa