Trying to build a home out on the farm without good access to electricity or my tools just wasn’t feasible. I was naïve to think I could do that all by myself. I sat here for several months with my tail between my legs. However, there was a solution to the problem. I could construct a tiny house at my current residence, and drive it to the ideal site on the farm. Why didn’t I commit to doing this sooner?!

Word got around that I was planning to build a tiny house and a buddy informed me that a mutual friend was also in the process of building a tiny house. A few days later we met up and he showed me his build. We discussed details and he gave me some great pointers. It really gave me the confidence to get started immediately.

That week I acquired an RV trailer on Craigslist from a good ole boy in a nearby town. He was a great guy; the father of a soldier about to attend jump school like I had done many years ago. We instantly hit it off (which was more to his benefit than mine as my price negotiation skills are awful with people I like). Several trailers had been sold out from under me already and I needed to get this build started if I wanted to beat the rainy season, so this was the one. We shook hands and I purchased the future foundation of my tiny house for $400.

The trailer smelled like something had died inside of it. Seriously it was gross, but the frame seemed in good shape and it had some other parts I figured I might be able to sell to recoup some of the initial costs.

The first step was to demolish the trailer. This was a lot more fun than it sounds. I stepped inside with a sledgehammer and all the pent up resentment in my heart from recent struggles in my personal life… and went to pound town. I bashed and smashed and Sparta kicked until I could barely lift the hammer anymore. Finally I took a break to get rid of the giant mess I had created.

I threw some of the smaller wood chunks in the burn pile with our lawn debris. The rest went on a pile that would later be hauled to the dump. Unfortunately the wood wasn’t even salvageable as it had taken on the awful smell from the trailer. Turns out there was rotting chicken livers inside of the oven. I removed the stove with them still in there… it smelled that bad, I didn’t even want to open the oven door again!

The metal siding I kept to sell for metal scrap, but first it would need to be cleaned.

The last thing to go was the toilet. It was filthy, and touching toilets is never fun. When I removed the throne from it’s perch I was met with a 2^nd ungodly smell. Turns out the blackwater tank was still full. For those who are unfamiliar with the term blackwater let me fill you in. It’s shit. Literally whatever you flush down the toilet ends up in this tank. The gaping hole from where the toilet had been reeked of poo. I grabbed a large ball of insulation and jammed it into the hole to stop the smell from escaping from the tub. As I disposed of the crap I couldn’t help be picture the scene from Joe Dirt where he has a septic tank strapped to his back… https://youtu.be/0F324755_oA?t=20s

After the camper and blackwater tank were removed, the frame was exposed and ready for touchup. I used a grinder to remove surface rust from as much of the areas as possible while my father hit the tight spaces with the sand blaster.


We repainted the frame with some rattle-cans of Rustoleum to prevent further surface rust.

Next on the agenda is to remove the axles to ensure they are serviceable and to weld a few additional supports onto the frame.

Check out the completed tiny house here.

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