The Shelter Blog has been inactive since May, 2019. Too much to do! From this point on, Lloyd’s Blog will have the buildings, vehicles, and home-related posts such as what has previously appeared here. Go to lloydkahn.com.

Vehicles (128)

Tiny Portable Cedar Cabins

By Evan Kahn on December 23, 2014
1416082749405 Cedar Cabin

“All models of the Portable Cedar Cabins are custom-built. We will work with your budget to build the cabin of your dreams. All models have a beautiful pine interior with a rich cedar siding. The models are from 144 to 400 square feet. Up to 400 square feet, the cabins are considered a park model or an RV. All Portable Cedar Cabins are inspected and certified like an RV and you will be given a vin number. If you want a custom-made unit beyond 400 square feet, it is no longer considered an RV. Please refer to the Workhouse Model if you want a larger, custom-built cedar cabin. Dave can also build cedar cabins on skids…”

www.tinyportablecedarcabins.com

Sent to us by Janet Thome

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The $22,000 (Tiny) Dream Home

By Lloyd Kahn on December 18, 2014
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“It only cost the Morrisons $22,000 to build their dream home. They now live mortgage-free, which has improved the quality of their life and the closeness of their marriage. Thanks to a brilliant design, this 207 sq. ft. space feels much bigger on the inside. The Morrisons have everything they need. There’s a spacious kitchen, with an oven, fridge, and sink. Definitely no lack of counter and shelf space here! They also included a reading area and an office desk that doubles as a dining table. Under the stairs to the loft is a big ‘closet.’ Not a single inch is wasted.”

Article at news.distractify.com/abby-s-marino/itty-bitty-house

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Student Builds Tiny Home from Material Salvaged after an Earthquake

By Evan Kahn on December 14, 2014

Stefan’s home measures just 215 square feet and his main aim when building it was to create a comfortable home while keeping the building costs down. While the home is sustainable, Stefan does not consider himself a dedicated greenie or tree hugger. He simply did what he had to given the circumstances. Repurposing materials to create a home is at the heart of any sustainable living endeavor. The tiny home recently built by Stefan Cook of A Biggish Tiny House is a prime example of repurposing and salvaging building materials done right. He’s a resident of Christchurch, New Zealand, which experienced devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Stefan salvaged the materials left behind by the devastation to build his own tiny home and recently gave a tour of it at Living Big in a Tiny House.
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Jay Nelson's Newest Creation

By Evan Kahn on December 7, 2014

The prolific Jay Nelson has just completed a new vehicle. Jay’s nomadic creations are in both Tiny Homes and Tiny Homes on the Move. Here’s how he describes his latest:

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Golden Gate 2, named after the last electric camper I built, Golden Gate 1. It’s a car camper made with salvaged wood and bike parts. It has a 90″ × 42″ footprint. Sink, water tank, stove, cooler. The entire inside is a bed.

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Lloyd's Camping Vehicles, Part 3

By Lloyd Kahn on November 13, 2014
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

In 1988 I bought a 4-cylinder, 5-speed Tacoma 4×4 with the Xtra cab (meaning a 6′ bed). Then in 2003, I got a new one, same model. The engine is a bit gutless going up long hills, but will run forever.

By this time I knew exactly what I wanted:

A metal camper shell made by Tradesman in Winters, Calif. It opened on all three sides, was way stronger than plastic shells. I bought an aluminum rack from Hauler Racks. It came disassembled via UPS and I bolted it together and mounted it. It rests on the truckbed sides, not on the camper roof.

At Campway’s in Santa Rosa, Calif., I got the inside of the bed sprayed with a waterproof membrane to protect the metal. Also a “carpet kit,” with storage boxes along the sides and sliding middle panels inside the bed.

You can see the pull-out drawer and side storage boxes. I shot this photo on Hornby Island, BC on one of my four trips to Canada shooting photos for Builders of the Pacific Coast. I remember one afternoon collecting oysters way out on a reef (beyond the commercial guys and cooking them for dinner on a beach fire with aluminum-foil-clad potatoes, red wine, AND blackberries with …(ahem)… heavy cream and brown sugar.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI never mounted the rooftop tent. I bought a used pull-out canopy which is great for Baja surfing, sets up in a few minutes as opposed to 45 min. for the flea market tarp. On camper roof: Yakima Rocket Box, surfboard rack. I slept inside when it was raining or really cold, otherwise outside.

This is a fantastic setup for desert travel; the 4×4 will get you just about anywhere. A 4×4 van is another option, but costs about twice as much.

I can take the camper shell off (four quick-release clamps) to haul straw, topsoil, gravel, etc.

(Interesting factoid: The Toyota Hi-Lux trucks, beefed-up Tacomas, and mounted with machine guns, were used in the Iran-Iraq war and more recently by Afghani rebels.)

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Tiny Nest Construction Videos

By Lew Lewandowski on November 10, 2014
Tiny Nest - Jake & Kiva

Jake and Kiva have produced a YouTube series of construction videos documenting a tiny home build on Vancouver Island.  The videos follow their tiny house project, from early design to completion and beyond showing materials, tools, and construction techniques. A 3D Google Sketchup plan is also available as a free download.

Check out their videos below:

 Tiny Nest is a video series following our tiny house project, from early design, to completion and beyond. In this episode, we introduce ourselves and catch you up on what we've done so far.

In this episode, we introduce ourselves and catch you up on what we’ve done so far.

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In this episode, we talk about the trailer that we have acquired for the project, why we chose it, and the process we went through to get it.

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Toyota Ski Chalet

By Lew Lewandowski on November 7, 2014
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I thought you might get a kick out of this “Hippy Shack” I built on the back of a 1988 Toyota pickup. I use it as my ski chalet. It has a 7-foot-long ski locker and a heated boot locker. A domed skylight provides passive solar heat, but it also has a propane heater and a wood-burning stove.… Also a sink and a stove with an oven. Read More …

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SIP: Mobile Juice and Cocktail Bar

By Lew Lewandowski on November 6, 2014
sip-mobile-lodge-13

Portland-based design firm Von Tundra did the conversion of a 1969 Dodge Chinook into a mobile juice and cocktail bar. Their client wanted something a little different to serve street food to the city’s public as well as host guests inside. It went from a bland old white truck to Sip Mobile Lodge, a stylish vehicle that feels right for the American Northwest with its heavy use of wood and comfortable interior.
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Categories: Food, Nomadic Homes, Vans, Vehicles 
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Lloyd's Camping Vehicles, Part 2

By Lloyd Kahn on November 5, 2014
Camping setup

1983 Toyota 4×4 Pickup Truck

I bought it used from a builder friend. It didn’t have the “Xtra cab,” so the bed was 8′ long.

Tarp for Shade:  I had a Yakima Rocket Box on racks on the camper roof, with a flea market tarp (12’×14′) folded up inside. The frame was 1″ electrical conduit, with special connectors tightenable with wingscrews. The tarp was aluminized fabric. It was weighted down with canvas bags filled with sand and hung from each corner (ingenious!). Took maybe 45 minutes to set up. I’d place it butting up to the truck bed.

BA-03A-copy-lo-resRoof-Top Tent:  This was the star of the camping show. It folded up to about 4′ by 4′, 20″ thick, with a waterproof cover. At night I’d remove the cover and fold it out. The tent popped up when this was done, and the mattress and bedding were already there. The outer cantilivered side was held up by a telescoping ladder (more ingeniousness). It was real canvas, had a raincover, mosquito net. On beaches, I’d park with the open end facing the water and sunrise. It was luxurious sleeping up there. This unit was called AirCamping and was made in Italy; they’re no longer in business, but there are a number of truck- (or car-) top campers.

Cooking:  I had a sliding drawer in the bed with my cooking stuff. Table made from plywood with ¾” galvanized pipe legs that screwed into the four corners.

Other Stuff:  Surfboard, chairs, ice chest, blah blah…

The Baja locals liked this model because it did NOT have independent suspension in the front. The straight axle could take more of a beating.

Articles, photos of my travels in Baja California Sur here: www.shelterpub.com/_baja/baja.html

To be continued…

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Lloyd's Camping Vehicles, Part 1

By Lloyd Kahn on November 1, 2014

At my Vancouver presentation of Tiny Homes on the Move, someone asked what kind of camping rig I had. Bearing in mind that most of my camping was in the desert or on beaches in Baja California, I had a VW bug modified for desert travel; then three different trucks, a 1983 4×4 Tacoma (not with the “Xtra Cab”), a 1987 Toyota Tacoma 4×4 with Xtra Cab, finally a 2008 Tacoma with Xtra Cab. I’ll describe these vehicles in that order.

Baja Bug

BA-34-copy-lo-res

I bought this in the early ’90s from a guy who raced cars in the Baja 1000. It was called a pre-runner, so named because it was used to scout out the race in advance. Read More …

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