The Tiny house Blog

Essential Tips for Securing Your Tiny Home During Transportation

By
Jason Francis
Designed and built over 100 custom tiny homes, lived on a sailboat for 9 months, and loves to live life to the fullest with his wife and their 4 kids.
Updated on:
February 5, 2024
Essential Tips for Securing Your Tiny Home During Transportation

View Kill Devil Hills by Modern Tiny Living

Your decision to transport your tiny home could be due to an adventurous road trip or maybe just moving to a new location. Successful transportation of your tiny home means absolutely meticulous planning. It should consider every point that matters in some way or the other. 

Tiny homes cost a lot and you love them a lot. This means any wrong move during the transportation will end up putting you under unnecessary financial burden and breaking your heart. It can be really heartbreaking and financially denting to see your tiny home damaged during transportation. 

To avoid such a thing from happening, ensure maximum safety and follow all the basic rules. Every piece that you will need to fix later also costs a lot. 

To make sure that it reaches its destination in top shape, you need to follow every rule and do careful planning.

Careful initial planning is the key

It does not matter what the exact reason for the move is. For a move, you should calculate the distance first and assess the terrain for planning well. For road trips, plan your route and schedule stops along the way. 

Use Google Maps or any website that can provide you with a list of stops along the way. The next step is to decide the most suitable transportation method based on your needs. Research flatbed, gooseneck, and fifth-wheel trailers and try to understand their advantages and disadvantages.

Once you have clarity on stops and distances, calculating the approximate cost of transportation becomes easy. Based on that, prepare a comprehensive budget that includes things like transportation costs, permits, insurance, and other potential expenses.

Careful planning is not limited to your tiny house. There's another tiny thing which when full can cause a lot of frustration and unnecessary delays in work. We are talking about the storage on your Mac. 

With the number of software, apps, and media we use, even the maximum expandable memory of 2TB on a Mac starts looking small. But there is other storage on Mac that comes to your rescue in those problematic times. 

So what is other Mac storage? It's in the other category. It contains numerous installer packages, cache files, old backup data, temp files and so much more.

Getting rid of these means a lot of free memory on your laptop. This results in greater Mac output which translates to higher productivity for you. So sit inside your tiny home and work like a free bird on your Mac.

Legal requirements and permits

Compliance with legal requirements is important. Most states have maximum height and width limits. You need to make sure that your tiny home adheres to these standards or gets special permits. Also, understand state-specific weight limits for vehicles and trailers.

Get special permits if your tiny home exceeds these limits. If your tiny home surpasses standard limits, get oversized load permits. Sticking to rules and following every legal requirement will ensure hassle-free transportation.

The right transportation method

To select the right transportation method, you need to do a detailed analysis of your tiny home's characteristics. Your choice should be based on the distance of your journey. Short distances go fine with a flatbed trailer. But longer trips usually need a gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailer.

Another factor that comes into play here is the terrain of your route. Mountainous or rough terrain will need the use of a gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailer. This is instrumental in ensuring better stability. The size and weight of your tiny home is also important.

Larger and heavier homes need the stability that a gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailer provides. Or you could also use a deck-over or enclosed trailer (you will need to customize this one) to take care of tiny homes that have slightly more headroom.

Securing your tiny home

A tiny home is built from several components that need protection during transportation. This is why your tiny home has to be securely prepared for a safe journey. You should use straps, bungee cords, and tie-downs to secure all loose items inside and outside your tiny home.

To keep delicate features like windows, doors, and siding, with blankets safe, head to Target, Walmart, or any hardware store or buy protective materials. It's a small investment that will save your delicate features from any potential damage.

View the Gunyah by Hauslein

If you are good at DIY, you should remove and store certain features inside during transportation. Just before transport, disconnect all utilities. These include water, electricity, and gas. This will enhance safety and reduce the risk of accidents. 

Collect all the small items - appliances, electronics, books, etc and put them in cardboard boxes and secure them nicely. Label everything so that your tiny house transportation remains stress-free after the journey is over.

Preparing your tiny home for the journey

Preparation steps are a must before the transportation of your tiny home. Before the journey, thoroughly inspect your trailer's tires and brakes. They should be in good condition and properly inflated to prevent accidents.

Verify that all lights on your tiny home and trailer are working. This includes headlights, taillights, brake lights, and turn signals. 

Spend some time to prepare detailed route plans. For this, factor in the daily and overall distances, terrain, and potential hazards like low bridges or narrow roads.

Hiring professional transportation services

You might be good in one thing but not in another. So if you feel that tiny home transportation is not your cup of tea, hire a professional service without a second thought. 

It is always better to trust the professionals to do the job in such a scenario. Rather than losing money that any damage might cause or meeting with an accident, simply outsource your work.

Go for a transportation company that has a lot of experience in transporting tiny homes. A proven track record will ensure that the company has the necessary knowledge and expertise for safe transportation. 

For this, you should read reviews and testimonials from previous customers. This will give you a clear idea of its reputation and reliability.

Last but not least - confirm that the transportation company has insurance coverage to handle any potential damage or accidents. When using a professional transportation company, communicate clearly to ensure they understand your specific requirements.

Enjoy the new location with your tiny home

So now you know how to move a tiny home and what to do in case you think you are not the right person to do that. 

All in all, we hope that this guide helped you understand the basics of tiny house transportation. Tiny homes are expensive and there's a lot of time that goes into building one. Even if you buy a new one, it involves a lot of time - searching, finalizing, closing the deal.

All in all, it's a prized possession. And then there are times when you have to move it. This is when you have to carefully plan and execute those plans both as per rules and your specific requirements. It's a mighty difficult task. But, careful planning ensures that every step in transportation is successful. 

And at the final step, you just need to sink in the feeling and enjoy the new location to the fullest.

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