Modern Mobile Homes
May 25, 2011 3:13 AM Subscribe
Looking for mobile (trailer) homes with modern design similar to the Tumbleweed Popomo?
What I like about the Popomo: use of materials like metal and glass and the modern design compared to the more traditionalist design of the other Tumbleweed houses or standard RV/camper-trailer type styling.
What I dislike: the length, at 20' it's the longest of the Tumbleweed trailer designs, and lacks the sleeping loft of the other designs (contributing to its length). The Popomo appears unsuited to a loft modification due to road vehicle height restrictions.
Do any similar mobile houses exist, preferably with loft or maybe other creative sleeping arrangements? Doesn't have to be in the exact same style just something leaning towards modern than rather than traditional and using less typical building/cladding materials, more boxy than peaked roof, that kind of thing. Definitely more interested in small designs vs mobile homes intended for permanent installation.
What I like about the Popomo: use of materials like metal and glass and the modern design compared to the more traditionalist design of the other Tumbleweed houses or standard RV/camper-trailer type styling.
What I dislike: the length, at 20' it's the longest of the Tumbleweed trailer designs, and lacks the sleeping loft of the other designs (contributing to its length). The Popomo appears unsuited to a loft modification due to road vehicle height restrictions.
Do any similar mobile houses exist, preferably with loft or maybe other creative sleeping arrangements? Doesn't have to be in the exact same style just something leaning towards modern than rather than traditional and using less typical building/cladding materials, more boxy than peaked roof, that kind of thing. Definitely more interested in small designs vs mobile homes intended for permanent installation.
Best answer: It's a modern mobile home, but it's not very mobile: the miniHome.
posted by evoque at 7:12 AM on May 25, 2011
posted by evoque at 7:12 AM on May 25, 2011
Best answer: I am very interested in green living. I moved into a 'park model' RV (no water tanks) rather than build a tumbleweed house because of the fairly large cost differential (well, if you go used, anyway). The thing about RVs is that they are not built to a very high quality standard.
Tumbleweed houses are essentially like a mini-house, they have stud framing and walls just like a stickbuilt. RVs are built to minimize weight, and that means thin studs (or no studs at all, depending on how the construction is managed), luan or wood veneer-plywood instead of drywall/wood paneling, single-pane windows, crappy insulation. The newer RVs are very good at looking less, well, cheap, than older ones, but underneath the fancier interior lies essentially the same construction methods.
You didn't say what you were looking for this RV for, but be very careful going the RV route if what you're looking for is a home. If you just want an awesome camper, a cool modernist RV (if you can find one, I suspect they don't exist) might do the trick. But if you want a small, efficient place to live, and you can afford the tumbleweed costs, you'll probably be happier with that option in the end (and I suspect they will hold their resale value much longer). Of course, I saved about 30k going with the old RV, so if cost matters you might choose to make-do anyway.
posted by zug at 9:09 AM on May 25, 2011
Tumbleweed houses are essentially like a mini-house, they have stud framing and walls just like a stickbuilt. RVs are built to minimize weight, and that means thin studs (or no studs at all, depending on how the construction is managed), luan or wood veneer-plywood instead of drywall/wood paneling, single-pane windows, crappy insulation. The newer RVs are very good at looking less, well, cheap, than older ones, but underneath the fancier interior lies essentially the same construction methods.
You didn't say what you were looking for this RV for, but be very careful going the RV route if what you're looking for is a home. If you just want an awesome camper, a cool modernist RV (if you can find one, I suspect they don't exist) might do the trick. But if you want a small, efficient place to live, and you can afford the tumbleweed costs, you'll probably be happier with that option in the end (and I suspect they will hold their resale value much longer). Of course, I saved about 30k going with the old RV, so if cost matters you might choose to make-do anyway.
posted by zug at 9:09 AM on May 25, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the links, mikepop.
evoque, I loved the style of those even if they're not really mobile.
zug, from what it sounds like the Tumbleweed-style homes, built like conventional houses, are more intended for semi-permanent placement, perhaps moving seasonally or a few times a year at most, compared to a traditional RV that one might travel with continuously for months at a time. I'm more interested in the idea of a "real" home that avoids the whole mortgage and location traps rather than living in an RV, although the perceived increased mobility of the RV is also appealing. Cost does matter but my inclination is to build myself with the help of family/friends, aiming to use reclaimed materials (scrap lumber from construction/remodels where possible, things like that) in an effort to do it frugally, if I end up going down this road. Thanks for the input, much to think about.
posted by 6550 at 2:57 AM on May 30, 2011
evoque, I loved the style of those even if they're not really mobile.
zug, from what it sounds like the Tumbleweed-style homes, built like conventional houses, are more intended for semi-permanent placement, perhaps moving seasonally or a few times a year at most, compared to a traditional RV that one might travel with continuously for months at a time. I'm more interested in the idea of a "real" home that avoids the whole mortgage and location traps rather than living in an RV, although the perceived increased mobility of the RV is also appealing. Cost does matter but my inclination is to build myself with the help of family/friends, aiming to use reclaimed materials (scrap lumber from construction/remodels where possible, things like that) in an effort to do it frugally, if I end up going down this road. Thanks for the input, much to think about.
posted by 6550 at 2:57 AM on May 30, 2011
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posted by mikepop at 5:20 AM on May 25, 2011 [1 favorite]