Extreme Downsizing options

timo2

timo2

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Bernalillo, NM
The ultimate downsize! Also will keep out dust from asteroids. Or, this could also be good to put visiting relative in!
Home » Rhino Cubed

"RHINO PRODUCT
Our structures start with a Corten steel shipping container called a High Cube. Shipping containers bring goods from around the world, most often China, to America. Once they arrive, they rarely return. They represent a high embedded energy cost, so repurposing them is very environmentally friendly. Because they are water tight, sturdy, and quasi-portable, they are excellent building blocks. Artistry and design turn them into unique living elements."​
 
Chuckle. I am sure it works for some.

That reminds me ... DW's friend has business collecting and reselling the shipping containers. It took us a while to understand the business' concept as I assumed containers go back to the ship it came from.
 
I would rather have a truck camper.
 
My office at work is warm, has free tea, water, etc. I think I'll stay here another year and save for a place with windows.
 
I have been following the tiny house movement with interest for a few years now. If I was single, I would definitely consider it as an option.
 
FIREd said:
I have been following the tiny house movement with interest for a few years now. If I was single, I would definitely consider it as an option.
Click to expand...

I would like to at least try tiny house living, too. Once the kids are launched I don't see a downside. My husband wants something more mainstream. We've agreed on a lock and go condo for now.

I would still like to try one as a vacation home. It wouldn't take a huge investment so if it didn't work out there is no great loss. I could see having several tiny houses in various interesting locations around the world some day. If they were in ideal climates you could be outside on a patio, at the beach or under an awning much of the day anyway.

This video gave me a lot of food for thought -

Shotgun shack redux: mortgage-free in 320 square feet - videos - *faircompanies
 
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FIREd said:
I have been following the tiny house movement with interest for a few years now. If I was single, I would definitely consider it as an option.
Click to expand...

The shipping container homes have also been of interest to me, but after thinking about the chemicals in the decking and the loss of space to wire/plumb/insulate the interest subsides. Frankly, one can buy a functional mobile home for way way less than converting a shipping container(s). Still very cool though, and some of the cabin designs that lock up solid and then have the doors open into deck areas are just neat.
 
A new unused shipping container runs about $4500 when bought in bulk orders (100,000) However, they are not "rarely returned".

They are usually owned by a corporation or leasing outfit that has a vested financial interest in the container going on to another shipping job. Eventually some are retired/trashed, but most are regularly repaired and go on to fairly productive lives.

Most common loss: falling off a ship in the middle of the ocean.
 
I have been gradually downsizing for the last 13 or 14 years, ever since 2001, when I sold the house I lived in. I am now living in the smallest place so far - a 285 sq foot studio apartment. It's very possible that my next living space will be equally small, or even smaller, in the form of another apartment, or perhaps an RV.

It is quite satisfying to know that I don't need a lot of things to be comfortable and happy, but I do need the right things.
 
Don't know about container housing, but I have stayed in a park model, and of course my 25' motorhome, and was quite OK when I did. I occasionally thought that living in such small places would simplify my life, if I were single that is. But then, where would I keep all my toys, electronics stuff? And where would my wife keep all her dishes and glassware?

We recently hosted a party for 30 from both sides of the family to announce the engagement of my daughter. And we are now talking about hosting a party for about the same number of guests for the coming Mother's Day. And I actually enjoy cooking for a crowd, although the Mother's Day party will be more like a pot luck.

So, why do I keep reading the Tiny House blog? I guess I am an eclectic.
 
I was already downsized when I began ER. I have lived in a 275 sq ft apartment in Manhattan for almost 14 years. The way I look at it, it's incredibly cost efficient, I shouldn't be spending a lot of my ER days indoors anyway, and I could easily sell it and use the funds to buy a nice townhouse or spacious condo in virtually any other part of the country. Different strokes etc.
 
Like FIREd I've been reading about tiny homes for a while too. DW would take some convincing. Lots of convincing.

If I was single, in the right climate I would give it serious thought. But not here with the winters we get.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
I would like to at least try tiny house living, too. Once the kids are launched I don't see a downside. My husband wants something more mainstream. We've agreed on a lock and go condo for now.

I would still like to try one as a vacation home. It wouldn't take a huge investment so if it didn't work out there is no great loss. I could see having several tiny houses in various interesting locations around the world some day. If they were in ideal climates you could be outside on a patio, at the beach or under an awning much of the day anyway.

This video gave me a lot of food for thought -

Shotgun shack redux: mortgage-free in 320 square feet - videos - *faircompanies
Click to expand...

I heard of a new "tiny house hotel" in Portland, OR. For those who want to give it a try...

A hotel hooks up to the tiny houses trend, campfire included
 
FIREd said:
I heard of a new "tiny house hotel" in Portland, OR. For those who want to give it a try...

A hotel hooks up to the tiny houses trend, campfire included
Click to expand...

An excerpt:

...Caravan's lot currently has four tiny guest houses, ranging in size from 100 to 160 square feet...

Each tiny guest house is on wheels, with hot running water, showers, flush toilets, full-size beds, small kitchens and sitting areas that could be "as big as a table or as small as bench," said Delman.

Rates at the Caravan are $125 a night...
​


Compared to the above, my small motorhome is roomy at 8'x25' = 200 sq.ft. And while it burns more than $125 worth of gasoline a day when on the move, I do not drive it everyday and it's my home-sweet-home when traveling. :smitten:
 
I admit that I am intrigued by them. I would have to get rid of a whole bunch of stuff though. I know that my DH would not ever consider it. It would be fun to stay at one on vacation though!
 
Once I realized those cans were 8' wide, I wondered how anybody could stand them for very long without joining several together and addressing the condensation and ventilation issues that come with human habitation. Factory built or panelized cabins would likely be better and cheaper in the end.
The "camp" value is worth something if people are into that. Starbucks recently built a drive-thru bar in my town made of shipping containers.

Back in 2006 when housing construction was booming in my port city, I thought the ticket would be to ship dirt back to china in them since the hauling and disposal costs here are so high in-city.
 
marko said:
Most common loss: falling off a ship in the middle of the ocean.
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I always wonder if people who set sail for around the world cruises across open oceans in RV sized sailing boats understand how massive container ships are, how far above sea level the very top stacked containers sit, how strongly they are attached to the other containers yet in rough weather those top containers still get knocked off now and then.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
I always wonder if people who set sail for around the world cruises across open oceans in RV sized sailing boats understand how massive container ships are, how far above sea level the very top stacked containers sit, how strongly they are attached to the other containers yet in rough weather those top containers still get knocked off now and then.
Click to expand...

A blue water sailboat with all of the hatches battened is pretty damn strong. Might lose the mast though.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
I always wonder if people who set sail for around the world cruises across open oceans in RV sized sailing boats understand how massive container ships are, how far above sea level the very top stacked containers sit, how strongly they are attached to the other containers yet in rough weather those top containers still get knocked off now and then.
Click to expand...
Short answer is yes, they understand.

In 1963, the first manufacturer of fiberglass yachts used a bow radius so large it was inefficient. The designer had seen Navy shipping containers in WW2. He knew of the modern container, introduced in 1955. He knew they would fall of ships, so he designed his boats with a fighting chance to survive an impact with one.
 
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ItDontMeanAThing said:
Short answer is yes, they understand.

In 1963, the first manufacturer of fiberglass yachts used a bow radius so large it was inefficient. The designer had seen Navy shipping containers in WW2. He knew of the modern container, introduced in 1955. He knew they would fall of ships, so he designed his boats with a fighting chance to survive an impact with one.
Click to expand...

I wasn't referring to getting hit with a container. I didn't see whatever movie people are talking about. I've just been on container ships (docked) and heard stories about how high the waves can get out in the ocean.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
I wasn't referring to getting hit with a container. I didn't see whatever movie people are talking about. I've just been on container ships (docked) and heard stories about how high the waves can get out in the ocean.
Click to expand...
I understand now. Between being a (former) sailor and the movie reference, I went to the consequences of a boat ramming a barely floating container which had been knocked off a ship in a BIG storm.
 
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