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Best Value Tiny House Trailers – Tiny House Trailer Costs Explained

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Snifter tiny house trailer

If you’re planning on building a tiny home on wheels, then the trailer is your home’s foundation.

This piece of equipment is responsible for safely transporting your home and family between different locations, so you’ll want to ensure that you pick the right trailer and incorporate all of the necessary features.

In this article, we’ll tell you how much you should expect to pay for tiny house trailer kits, builds and services, as well as which type of trailer you’ll need for your small space. 

What kind of trailer do I need to build a tiny house?

When selecting a trailer for your tiny home, there are a number of features that you’ll want to consider – some are essential, and others depend on your preferences. Let’s start with the essentials.

Your trailer should include:

  • An appropriate Gross weight Vehicle rating
  • Heavy-duty axles
  • High load radial tires
  • Emergency brakes
  • Running lights
  • A flat deck
  • Steel beams and a flange

When it comes to optional features, there are several products on the market to make your life much easier.

A detachable trailer comes with two parts: the chassis or structural skeleton and the deck or detachable frame, which you’ll use as the floor of your tiny home. The benefit of this technology is that you can maneuver your home into place and then detach your house from the trailer, which frees the trailer up for other purposes.

When you travel, the two pieces lock together securely, and once you arrive at your destination, they are simple to separate with the aid of a lifting jack.

It’s essential to factor the trailer into your house designs from the beginning so that you can work around the size and weight of each.

Many trailer styles are suitable for your tiny home. Some of the most common include:

Gooseneck: This is an excellent option for an elevated bedroom which saves you the trouble of climbing into a loft. The Gooseneck trailer also offers greater stability when you’re traveling.

Deckovers: This style of trailer is essentially a deck on wheels. It is a great option to work in with various designs, but you will lose around 12″ of headroom due to the maximum height restrictions.

Bumper Pull: This is the most common trailer type for tiny houses. Its simple design works well with an array of tiny house designs, and its low base allows you to make the most of the interior height of your tiny home.

Here are the tiny house trailers that Build Tiny (NZ) use for their projects:

How much does it cost to move a tiny house?

It costs anywhere between $200 and $10,000 to move a tiny house.

How much it costs to move a tiny house depends on the size of your home, plus the distance you want to move it, and prices can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to $10,000.

If you want to move the house by yourself, you’ll need to invest in a trailer that will cost $4,000 to $7,000. And you’ll have to tow this with a heavy-duty pickup with lower gas mileage, further hiking up your costs.

If you are only moving your house once, it’s likely to be far more cost-effective to hire a moving company.

This saves you the time, effort, and cost of trying to source and set up the right trailer.

The average price for towing a tiny home can vary from $500 to more than $3000. Factors that influence this cost are the ease of access to your pick-up and drop-off locations, plus the size and weight of your home.

If you intend to move your tiny home around to several different locations, it’ll be a far better investment to purchase the right trailer and move it yourself.

While an outgoing cost of up to $16,000 (to invest in the right truck and trailer) can seem like a lot of money, spending over $3,000 every couple of months will add up pretty quickly.

How much is a tiny house trailer?

A typical tiny house trailer costs around $6,000 though the price can range from as little as $4,900 to as much as $16,000 depending on the make and model you choose.

Something you may overlook as you budget for your tiny house trailer is your location.

Some areas have materials readily available at a lower cost, while others have to ship expensive materials in.

This means that the overall cost of building your tiny home is cheaper in some states than others, and you may want to research this before you begin your build (especially if you’re working on a tight budget)

When pricing up a tiny house trailer, the most significant factor is the length. With increased size comes a higher weight capacity, which can increase your cost significantly.

The length of a tiny house ranges from 10ft to 56ft, with the average linear foot of a finished home requiring a 500lb to 550lb weight allowance.

You also need to consider the width of your home. While a standard 10ft wide trailer can have a starting price as low as $2000, you’ll pay a premium for each foot added that gives your trailer an “oversized deck”.

The width also affects whether or not you need a transportation permit. If cost is a significant factor for you, keep your width under 8ft 6″ to keep your trailer and additional costs to a minimum.

When it comes to size, you’re best sticking to factory standards.

If you deviate from the normal, you’ll likely need to have a model specially built, which costs more in materials and labor and may need to be shipped from a different location, further increasing your costs.

Starting prices for a tandem axle:

  • 7,000 GVWR – $4,899
  • 10,000 GVWR – $5,699
  • 14,000 GVWR – $5,999

Add $1800 for a 10ft model

Add $3800 for a 11-12ft model

Starting prices for a triple axle:

  • 28ft – $8,399
  • 32ft – $8,799
  • 36ft – $9,399
  • 40ft – $10,499

Starting prices for a gooseneck:

  • 32ft (24ft lower, 8ft upper) – $8,899
  • 36ft (28ft lower, 8ft upper) – $10,899
  • 50ft (42ft lower, 8ft upper) – $14,000

If you want to reduce the cost of your trailer, keep your width under 10ft, reduce the length where possible, opt for a bumper pull, and source your materials from the cheapest area.