The C.O.W. (cabin on wheels) aka Tiny house on wheels

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By ryansanden | July 13, 2015 | Category blog

I am a true believer that you should always follow your dreams. Well I am finally making headway on my tiny house project I have been dreaming up for the last 4 years. Living with little to no debt, rent or mortgage and being able to have the option of on or off grid living.

I started with having a custom 30ft flatbed with 2 7k axles made for me. Then I added my own cross members and welded in side supports to make it 8ft wide. The panels are the waterproof underbelly. Re-purposed Aluminum and plastic sheets.

Next goes roofing tar paper, 2×6 laying flat subfloor with 1 1/2″ polyiso insulation. Then 3/4 tounge and groove plywood to make up the waterproof insulated subfloor with aluminum underbelly. Support beams are made with 4×6″ and 2×12 doubled up for a 15″x3 1/2″ structural beam to support weight and reduce any flexing while traveling.

After non stop daily rain storms I had to keep pushing forward.Finally framing  is nearly complete and its time for the arched roof that will keep the rain out! All the design is done on the fly depending on what doors and windows I have to work with. No blueprints just ideas that i have in my head.

The arched roof idea I had to make happen so I cut 2×12’s down and formed a 2×6 arch with a skill saw and a belt sander. Shout out to my buddy Rob for all the help during this crucial stage!

Next up my high tech aluminum space craft roof from free junk! Shout out to James M for getting me hooked up with the scrap of the amazing material. I do 1/2 ply first, roof tar paper then the aluminum composite sheets tiled on top of each other and screwed to the ceiling joists with rubber washer backed self tapping screws. And of course I had to add a sky light over bedroom for stargazing from bed!

Doors windows and siding is next. All doors and windows I got at steep discounts from buds warehouse and are all aluminum exterior, wood clad interior. High end and mostly new  still wrapped in plastic. I really wanted to do arched windows to go with the arched roof. The siding is cedar fence material and the upper part will be cedar shingles.

Now its time to start figuring out the exact layout of kitchen, living room,  bathroom and bedrooms to prepare for electrical. I did hickory cabinets in kitchen with a propane stove and hammered copper sink. The kitchen walls will be a copper sheet with a custom patina. The counter top will be a solid slab of african mahogany. The floors are solid 3/4 koa wood. Large rv propane fridge, microwave oven, and lots of storage. The loft is cedar with tounge and groove beetle kill flooring. Bathroom has a full size acrylic clawfoot tub with shower, natures head composting toilet, mexican tile sink, and a washer dryer combo unit. Bedroom will have fold down murphy bed that transforms into a office table. Living room will have a love seat and a projector screen with surround sound. All lighting will be 12v LED on dimmer switch with custom color changing for different moods. And will be on a battery bank ready to add solar panels.

Stay tuned for more progress I will keep updating this more often. Please leave comments and subscribe. Thanks!