Tow This Tiny Barn Around and People Will Think You Bet the Ranch and Lost

Compost toilet and lack of shower won’t help your case

January 27, 2017 9:00 am

Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses have pushed downsized dwellings to the limits of their definition.

But with the Bitterroot Valley Barn, they’re showing they can do bare bones just as well.

The towable 20-foot home was constructed for a Colorado retiree interested in “reclaimed materials, simplicity, off-grid living and thermal efficiency,” writes the company. Those lofty ideals manifested into a $45K mini-barn made with leftover materials from previous projects, including luan plywood, rough cut lap cedar, cedar shakes and corrugated metal that others thought looked a little too rusty.

Tiny House Barn (4 images)

While lil’ baby barn does include basic amenities like a sink, toilet, stove, LED lighting, staircase to a sleeping loft and space for an under counter fridge—the off-grid preference takes precedence.

The sink has “a pump faucet that pulls water from a 6 gallon container below.” The bathroom consists of a Lovable Loo compost toilet, but no shower. And all the power comes from “a 1,000 watt solar array on the roof that’s hooked-up to a battery bank.”

And to answer your inevitable question from looking at the photos: yes, this is move-in ready, but the owner will be painting, staining and decorating so it’s a little more homey than the Home Depot lumber aisle.

Looking to get your own? “Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses says that a similar build but with added shower, hot water heater, proper plumbing and larger appliances would come in at around $46K,” writes New Atlas. “Not including the solar power.”

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