Mobile Homes vs Tiny Homes: Updated definitions for 2020.
The popularity of tiny homes has exploded across the United States in recent years. But what are the differences between mobile homes vs tiny homes?
With the ever-increasing costs of building & owning a traditional stick-build home; it’s helped push economical, sensible housing into the mainstream. Where will the tiny housing market go?
What are the difference between a mobile home and a tiny home? Is a manufactured home nicer? Is an RV a mobile home? We’ll dive into these questions and more below!
Mobile Home Definition
Mobile homes are manufactured homes. They are synonyms that describe a housing unit that can be moved. Mobile home sizes range from 10′ to 14′ wide, or up to 16′ wide on the newest manufactured homes. Mobile homes can be anywhere from 40′ to 80′ in length. You’ll find anywhere from 1-3 bedrooms in a typical mobile home.
Doublewide mobile homes are transported in two pieces and placed next to each other to make a spacious, large home.
Manufactured homes and mobile homes are “semi-mobile” because the homes are set-up and leveled on a concrete pad before you are able to occupy. Manufactured homes require expensive state-licensed & insured towing companies capable of moving “Oversize Loads” in order to be relocated, and must be completely set-up again at the new destination.
Most mobile homes are set in a manufactured housing community, which is a neighborhood of mobile homes. Many mobile home owners build stairs, decks, and gardens around their home, and rarely move their home once placed.
Tiny Home Description
Tiny homes are housing units built on trailers and attached to a vehicle. Tiny homes sizes are a maximum of 8′ wide (to be legal on roads), and tiny home trailer lengths can be 20′ to 40′ long. Tiny homes typically have 1 bed area, if the size can accommodate any private sections of the home.
Due to their tight size constraints, many tiny homeowners build sleeping lofts and other storage above the main living quarters. Items inside the home are rearrangeable, allowing owners to convert the sleeping area to the sitting area for the daytime.
Tiny homes can be disconnected from the vehicle, and set-up almost anywhere. Their only limitation is onboard water storage and the necessity of a generator for electricity.
Due to their many size and amenity limitations, residents generally do not view tiny homes as a long-term housing option.
Tiny Homes vs Recreational Vehicles
Recreational vehicles, or RVs, technically are tiny homes and vice-versa.
One of the big distinctions I see between tiny home and RV owners: Many tiny home owners choose to build their trailers totally custom from the ground up, and RV owners look to buy a new or used RV.
Regardless if the recreational home was bought or built, the purpose of tiny homes and RVs are for short-term stays.
By comparison, manufactured homes provide the amenities of a regular house like full-size bathrooms and kitchens that can seat the whole family.
Would you rather live in a mobile home or a tiny home?
Let us know in the comments!