There are many ways to spend time in the wilderness, surrounded by peaceful landscapes, beautiful greenery, and the calming sounds of nature. Most people would rather spend just a few days on a camping trip rather than a full vacation. But, there are those folks who prefer going on long vacations, or even living for few months, in an RV on a tiny house. I admire those people.
A few years ago, my partner and I wanted to do something different for our summer vacation. After we bounced around many ideas and did lots of thinking, we decided to rent a tiny house and spend our vacation by a lake. We had ten of the most fantastic days surrounded by nature, and it was all thanks to this tiny house. From then on, it’s my dream to have some sort of mobile home that I could take wherever I want.
But, like many people, I hesitate, undecided if I should get an RV or a tiny house since both of them are equally cool. I realized that in the past few years tiny homes are getting more and more popular, and many people have decided to get one. But, there are pros and cons to getting a tiny house, just as there are with trailers, RVs, or fifth wheels.
So, how do you decide which one is the better choice? That depends on your needs and what exactly it is you are looking for. To help you with your decision, here are few pros and cons for both options.
Unlike an RV, when you live in a tiny house you have the feeling that you’re in an actual home. The interior of the RVs is more generic, even clinical, and they have a more basic layout, unlike tiny houses. Since you build the tiny house according to your needs, it’s generally unique, cozy, and it feels like home.
Finding and buying an RV is a lot easier and less expensive than building a tiny house. There are many options for getting an RV, from budget friendly to expensive ones. You could find used RV, and pay a couple of thousands of dollars for it, or you can get a brand new motorhome for a million dollars. The best thing is that annual maintenance for the RV is not expensive at all.
Unlike the RVs, the tiny houses are not so affordable. Yes, the average price for a tiny house is $30-40K, and you could get a second hand one for $8-10K, or build your own which is the best way of keeping the cost down, but you also need to have a vehicle for towing the tiny house, at least to where you’re going to park it for a bit. The other downside is that the resale values of the tiny houses is not so good, and many people find it a riskier investment. As for the RV, you can often keep the value of them, as long as you maintained it properly.
Every part of the tiny house is built according to your wishes and needs. So, in that process, you decide what kind of materials to use, how much storage to build, how many openings to have, etc. The interior space of the tiny home is easier to customize than the one on the RV, where almost everything is pre-made.
When you buy something that’s mass-produced, like an RV, you don’t know how exactly the product was made. Many factories first focus on the assembling costs, so they don’t care if they use toxic materials for the build. Many trailers and RVs have glue and parts that contain formaldehyde, which is very dangerous for human health, especially if there’s ever a fire.
But, when you build your tiny house, you know exactly what goes inside, and which materials are used to make it. You are the one that makes the decision on what kind of materials to use, how to assemble them, and how to decorate the space.
Throughout the years the RVs have been made more aerodynamic and easier to drive. With an RV you can get everywhere, well, most places you’d want to, even on bumpy and steep roads. Unlike RV’s, the tiny houses can be challenging when it comes transporting them. They are significantly heavier than the RVs, so they can be tough to drive around, you can go over some rough ground but you need to be much more careful.
Since the tiny houses have better insulation, it’s a lot easier to control the temperature inside them. In winter, you could keep the space warm and cozy, and in summer, cold and chill. With the thin walls, and not so great insulation, the RVs are more influenced by the outside temperatures.
Although there are many pros and cons to both the tiny house and the RV, there are also many personal factors that would help you make a decision. Are you going to use it as a full-time living space, or just for a vacations and weekend getaways? Are you looking for a more comfortable option or a vehicle in a particular price range? Where are you going to park it when you don’t use it?
RV’s are for hitting the road and traveling to places in your home and it does well at this task, Tiny Houses are more for taking somewhere beautiful so that you’ve got a place to go, rather like a portable cabin.
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