Why Your Tiny Home Kit Needs A Foundation Built Right

The Kit Is Only As Good As What Carries It

Having a Tiny house kit can help take the intimidation out of a project. The plans, the materials, the frame, and soon enough you can envision the completed dwelling on your plot. But the one part of that vision that tends to be glossed over is what is under that vision. After researching trailers, requesting quotes from less expensive manufacturers, and examining used trailers, I was confronted with an unpleasant reality: If the home ends up weighing in at 13,000 lbs. by the time it‘s completed, the trailer is not a convenience it‘s an essential.

Cheap Trailer Quotes Need A Second Look

Look I get it, your eyes see the cheaper trailer and draw there. The tiny house industry already has a problem of turning the list price into a suggestion. But a low quote can also disguise questions about the frame, axles, GVWR, welding, coating, paperwork and how the trailer was really engineered. An old frame reselling in a yard may look fine but if it has no VIN or was not built based on your home‘s final weight you may already be carrying someone else issue without even getting off the starting block.

GVWR Has To Match The House You Actually Build

Here‘s what they may not always tell you about the forums: GVWR is not just a safety number in blank. It‘s a structural statement on what this particular trailer is rated to carry. A 24X8 home designed for around 18,000 pounds is a very different building than the same 24X8 home just sitting on a 14,000-lb-rated trailer, once you add appliances, water, furniture, roof and siding and trim and appliances and electrical and solar panels and everything else that adds up, from that 15 flat-tray House-and-Wah-wah trailer Shop. Trailer Made offers from a few 12K fundamentals packs with 2 6K axles to 28K packs with a set of 4 7K axles, so the serious builder can have, if not quite the perfect foundation, the last workable foundation available.

The Welding Question Most People Ask Too Late

Then there is welding. Not “is it welded?” that one is too easy. The better question is who welded it, to what standard, and what does that standard say it takes? Trailer Made states that they have AWS D1.1 certified structural welders working to the associated standard with a certificate of qualification that references structural steel and commercial construction. That doesn‘t mean somebody has years of experience running a production weld. AWS D 1.1 covers the procedure, material, joint prep, welder qualification, and inspection side of the job. When your house is depending on those joints, that difference begins to look very big very fast.

All-Tube Steel Changes The Conversation

Trailer Made also has begun to construct its frames using a full all-tube steel superstructure--something I would keep in mind while getting distracted by flooring choices and shiny finishes. A little house trailer needs to support weight over the whole framework, not merely serve as a nice easy rectangle for the floor system. The frame has to be rigid through construction, transport, parking, and relocation years later. This is the reason you can‘t make a simple comparison of trailer length and price.

Making the decision is the first step. The starting point. The bottom line. The foundation. It all begins with the decision.

Bumper Pull Or Gooseneck Isn't A Cosmetic Choice

A longer build also complicates the bumper-pull versus gooseneck debate. For certain projects, a gooseneck may give enough deck space and improved weight-distribution traits; for others, a bumper pull may be more appropriate for a different towing arrangement or residence layout. Since Trailer Made makes trailers sized from 14’ bumper pulls to 40’ goosenecks, we can begin the debate with the actual build rather than whatever generic trailer platform is currently in inventory. Wouldn‘t it be nice to approach a large custom tiny house with that kind of flexibility?

Steel Protection Matters After The Trailer Leaves Colorado

The frame will need to last more than its delivery day. Instead of just called the trailer ‘rust resistant’, Trailer Made applies a three-stage Hentzen Industrial Coatings epoxy/ urethane finish, which the company calls a military-grade system. Imagine a small house in Florida‘s humidity or Colorado‘s snow, or sun, or somewhere with multiple freeze-thaw cycles for several years. No coating makes steel indestructible, but a good-looking surface protection helps the trailer‘s lifespan as much as a high-quality trailer. It‘s reassuring to know straightforward, straight-to-the-point information about trailer‘s surface protection instead of the vague guaranties.

The VIN Can Become A Very Expensive Detail

While most people will not consider the VIN when selecting a trailer, they should. Trailer Made is licensed by NHTSA as a RV OEM, and its trailers are properly identified with a VIN and meet all federal safety requirements. This is always relevant when registration, insurance, financing, resale, or state-specific considerations come into play. A used or un-certified trailer may be less costly initially, but the paperwork is a real inconvenience down the road especially when you need to clearly identify the exact trailer. Most trailer companies will not disclose this information because it is not as glamorous as shopping for a tiny house foundation.

Why Would A Florida Builder Buy From Colorado?

The reason that Trailer Made location is intriguing. They are located in Olathe, CO a small Western Colorado manufacturer of town, but all builders from around the country schedule their delivery from this location. Why? Because “local” does not always equal preferable. Trailer Made has been in business since 2013 with the support of owners Natalie and Damon DesChamp. Their partner network consists of 30+ small house builders throughout the nation including Tiny House Nation, Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses, Modern Tiny Living, New Frontier Tiny Homes, and LuxTiny. When professional builders designates the same foundation manufacturer time after time, it piques my curiosity.

The People Behind The Trailer Actually Matter

Trailer Made is a female-owned family business small business – Gina‘s Owner/CEO, and Natalie‘s Owner/GM/COO and Damon is Owner/GM/COO. That‘s not the same as getting jilted by a faceless production line, which assumes you‘ll never be speaking with the same people again. Their love of teaching through The Tiny House Experts YouTube channel, and The Tiny House Talk Show podcast, also says a lot about how they stand in their industry. They don‘t just make pieces of pipe They‘re discussing the choice builders need to make. And as you listen to enough stories from those who ordered the cheapest first and called the better producer second, there is nothing left to question.

A Better Kit Starts With A Better Trailer

For serious tiny house builders, the trailer buying decision comes long before the final walls, cabinets, insulation, and trim, but it impacts the entire process across all of them. Trailer Made builds tiny house foundation trailers, steel frame kits, shells, deck-over trailers, ADU and custom platforms with ANSI A119.5 / NFPA 1192 and IRC Appendix Q foundation-placed tiny home compliance.And a full limited lifetime warranty is there, too. And as far as the manufacturer having sold and delivered more tiny house trailers and shells than all other U.S. makers combined, well that makes for quite the aggressive market position except that seeing it in the work is quite compelling.

Spend More Time Comparing Foundations Than Paint Colors

I wouldn’t tell someone to buy the most expensive trailer just because it is expensive. That is lazy. I would tell them to compare what they are really getting: the GVWR, the axle configuration, the steel structure, the welding certification, the coating system, the VIN, the declaration of conformity, the warranty and the builders’ experience with homes like theirs. When you get to this stage, where you know you’ll be going so far out of state to have a custom tiny house built that you start thinking, “Is Olathe, Colorado too far?…”, think about the builders in Florida and other states who have already concluded that it’s worth the journey. Maybe that is the one piece of this process I will remember even when I look back years from now after spending months studying the foundation of a home you are going to live with for the rest of your life. Of course they think it‘s worth the journey and they’re saving a few dollars on this single thing that is holding up your whole house. If you’re at that point now take a look at trailermadetrailers.com and request a personalized quote. Make the call, ask the uncomfortable questions, compare the specs, and discover why the Builder’s foundation is the part that no builder wants to compromise on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I look for when choosing a Tiny home kit trailer?

Don‘t just look at the price and size. Research the intended GVWR, number of axles, type of frame, type of welding, VIN documentation, coating system, warranty, and whether the manufacturer has built foundations for other homes like yours.

Why does AWS D1.1 certification matter on a tiny house trailer?

AWS D1.1 is a code focusing on the structural welding practices,welder qualification,materials, procedures, joint preparation and inspection. For a tiny house trailer supporting so many pounds, that is a far more valuable quality criterion than being told the frame was professionally welded.

Is a gooseneck better for a larger tiny house?

Not automatically, but the goosenecks, when compared to a double-joint beam, can give extra deck space plus desirable weight-distribution properties in a longer, heavier build. It really depends on the size of the house, final weight, tow-vehicle and usage.

Why buy a tiny house trailer from a Colorado manufacturer?

Trailer Made has been built in Olathe, Colorado since 2013 and sells around the country. Our construction method of structural welding, all tube steel, coating system using Hentzen, NHTSA RV OEM certification, warranty, and familiarity with tiny house builders are why some customers ship us a trailer rather than working with a local builder.