Travel nursing with a tiny house?

[DeenieRN]

So I was watching this TV show about tiny houses (basically houses on trailers) and there was an episode about this travel nurse who was essentially heading around the country taking assignments with her tiny house.

The concept sounds great, what do you guys think?

Those of you who have travelled, have you ever heard of this? Think its functional?

Worked with anyone who has done this?

[Lisaaanders]

I am thinking of doing the same - RVing. Which agencies do you prefer and why? Have been an inpatient OB nurse for over 30y and deciding that I want to let go and see the country a bit. We have the ability to go via RV and are prepping now.

Any experience getting license in CA. I am currently active in MN and have I actives in good standing in WA, CO, IL & AZ.

[Buyer beware, BSN]

All road prohibitions aside, the tiny houses in my sig-other's vernacular "are "so cute."

Pro's and Con's:

From my perspective this isn't a real house so I question it's resaleabilty let alone depreciation value and upkeep.

Also geared for the young because most have lofts and old people have problems just standing up straight so a granny pod on terra-ferma might be a better choice.

But then again, if you're a traveler, pocketing the housing stipend sounds great to me and is a real incentive.

And when you're ready to settle down again, you could buy God's little acre and have a cool

way station for old hitch-in-the get-along nurses too.

This would provide supplemental income because after working 45 years you like most nurses I know will probly be broke.

[61scout80]

My wife is a nurse, and I lurk here to learn what she has to deal with at work and learn about our travel nursing goal. I'm an architectural design engineer in the field of manufactured housing. My employer builds everything from apartment complexes to "tiny houses", although the industry term for them is a "park model".

Park models CAN be great for the right purpose, but I would never in my life consider one to travel in. They are a great semi-permanent guest house in the back yard, perfect to be installed as a retirement or vacation home in a full time RV resort or a "cabin" on your rural land. They are built with similar methods and materials as a site built house, they aren't meant to be moved several times a year.

Many people love them as a "granny pod". They can set it up in the backyard with power, water and sewer for a reasonable price. Then it can be used to keep your aging parents independent but supervised while assisting them with their end of life needs. When the unit is no longer needed it can be easily removed and the yard can be returned to it's previous state.

They are often built to heights and widths that require special permits to move on the road. Some are big enough to require a chase car and placards. They are also "bumper pull" and a lot heavier than an RV. None of these attributes makes them pleasant to tow with anything that's sensible for a nurse to drive when they are not towing their trailer. our shippers exclusively use tractor trailers to haul them, and fully loaded they can be well beyond the capacity of a one ton pick up.

The shows always seem to leave off the permit process for actually moving the units. They never talk about state inspections, registration and licensing needs if it's to be legal as an on road RV. They also do not have the required lighting to be legally operated on the road after dusk or without an escort.

My wife and I intend to travel someday, and we are looking at 5th wheels with a "midship bunkhouse" that I can use as an office to continue designing Tiny Houses while we're on the road. I would urge anyone looking at park models/tiny houses with the intent of moving them often to look at Class A motorhome or 5th wheel RV. They are built to travel, can be just as livable and in the same price range as some park models.

[Argo]

You're talking about something different than we are. Google "tiny home". Park models and these are quite different.

[61scout80]

I'm familiar, I watch the show all the time.

I'm also aware that the "trailer load" classification is going to go away with the growing popularity of "Tiny Homes". HUD, ANSI, ICC, and the RVIA are already working to reclassify the units. Cities are changing their trailer storage ordinances to ban them, etc. The current code loophole is going to close, and I believe the most logical thing that's going to happen is the absorption into the park model/RV category.

They are built similar to a park model, the only difference is the chassis. A tiny home is built on a flatbed trailer sourced from another manufacturer. Park models are built on a chassis that's built in house. Between the two I feel the park model is better built since it was purpose built.

The worst thing that happened to the people that were taking advantage of the trailer load loophole is the popularity and tv shows. We all know our free country loves to regulate everything, and now these will be as well. Regulators didn't realize there was something to regulate until it wound up on prime time.

This article argues that they should change the IRC to include tiny homes, but knowing the code differences I disagree with the author. I think accepting the RV classification and utilizing the loopholes there would be the better choice to keep them affordable. IRC builds get expensive.

It's already illegal to "full time" in an RV, although I've never heard of it being enforced.

Should Tiny Houses Be Afraid: HUD Proposal

by any account or classification, it's still my opinion that a 5th wheel or Class A will be the best option for travel nurses. And since many nurses keep some sort of home base for tax benefits they'll be able to skirt the permanent residence laws.

[NedRN]

It is illegal to RV full time? What country do you live in?

[61scout80]

It is illegal to RV full time? What country do you live in?

The United States. :-( We regulate everything.

The NFPA is the governing body that sets the codes that are adopted into laws for RVs. NFPA 1192 defines an RV as:

3.3.4650* Recreational Vehicle (RV). A vehicular-type unit that is primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or seasonal use; has its own motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle; is regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a vehicle or vehicle equipment; does not require a special highway use permit for operation on the highways; and can be easily transported and set up on a daily basis by an individual.

The NFPA also sets the rules for enforceability:

​3.2.2* Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). An organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure.

California, as they tend to do, modifies the definition:

18010. "Recreational vehicle" means both of the following:

(a) A motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupancy, that meets all ofthe following criteria: (1) It contains less than 320 square feet of internal living room area, excluding built-in equipment, including, but not limited to,wardrobe, closets, cabinets, kitchen units or fixtures, and bath or toilet rooms. (2) It contains 400 square feet or less of gross area measured at maximum horizontal projections. (3) It is built on a single chassis. (4) It is either self-propelled, truck-mounted, or permanently towable on the highways without a permit. (b) A park trailer, as defined in Section 18009.3.

So one could argue that full time occupancy qualifies as "other occupancy", but the definition of park models does say that they are temporary:

18009.3. (a) "Park trailer" means a trailer designed for human habitation for recreational or seasonal use only, that meets all ofthe following requirements: (I cut out the characteristics)

So you could probably argue both sides in California.

In the end, a recreational Vehicle is defined as a place to temporarily live, and can be enforced by the local code office in any town. I guess i'm too new to post links without review, but if you were interested you could google Costilla County, CO's fight with homesteaders living full time in RVs. for a place that it is being enforced.

Now, just because it is illegal doesn't mean it's actually enforced everywhere, I think that Colorado example is the only one I've heard of. There are plenty of laws on the books that never see enforcement. You might get an overzealous local once in awhile, but probably only after neighbors file complaints. Like when someone is renting their RV in their yard as an apartment.

There is an entire industry built around full time RV living and many newer RVs are built with full timing in mind.

For the Travel Nurse it's unenforceable, unless you stay in the same code jurisdiction for an extreme time and have no home base.

I hope that clears things up!

[NedRN]

Well, no. The term fulltimers is used by RVers who live a mobile lifestyle "full time". You are apparently discussing those who park and live year round in the same location that falls under local jurisdiction zoning regulations. These are not national laws but alway local. None of that matters for travel nurses who by very definition are not in the same place all year. And under no circumstances, for travel nurses or fulltimers (who often rotate between the same 2 to 5 locations) is it illegal to live in an RV year round. Or a tent or car for that matter. That would be unAmerican!

Similarly, local jurisdictions may have laws about sleeping overnight on public roads or even on private property, thus preventing legal boondocking. Until you shift 6 miles away out of that jurisdiction.

[Argo]

Sometimes knowing to much "stuff" can confuse the outcome of the conversation. Those codes are not something anyone here would be concerned about.

I can, and many do, live fulltime in my TT if I wanted to without any other permanent residence. Some neighborhood, city, county codes could keep me from buying a lot and parking it there as a permanent residence though and I would never do that. My TT is intended to travel in.