It Ain’t Pretty But It’s Mine

Wow – this gallery thing has worked twice in a row now.

Hi Folks,

After I got my truck I started looking for a trailer.  I was familiar with Tumbleweed Houses – the company of Jay Shaffer, one of the forerunners of the small house movement.  (If you go to my “My Mentors” page you’ll find a link to TW Houses.)  I love his esthetic, but for me those houses are just too small.  I’m a musician and I wanted enough room to be able to enjoy playing my electric piano and to do some yoga.  I also want to have friends visit me out in the boonies wherever I am and be able to put them up.  And, I want to be off-grid as much as possible.

Another concern I had was stability while pulling my house around.  My dad often mentioned that a gooseneck or fifth wheel trailer was much more stable and easy to handle than one that fastens onto the bumper.   I really took heed of that.  The thought of my new, lovingly built house tipping over as I went around a curve was more than unsettling.

I started looking at flatbed trailers with goosenecks or fifthwheel connections.  I wasn’t sure what size to get or what other qualifications the trailer needed to have.  I did a lot of searching of Craig’s List and just googling trailers for sale.  Got some idea of trailer costs for new and used trailers.  I had to learn the terminology of trailers – I-beams, dove tails, ramps and the distinction between gooseneck and fifth wheel.

I finally decided that a trailer around 28′ long with a gooseneck would probably do for my purpose.  I located a trailer company in Denver, Jayhawk Trailers.  I called there a few times with a bunch of questions and spoke with Aaron, the owner.  He was a huge help in figuring out what would be best.  His wife Shannon is in the one photo in the previous post, doing all the paper work.  I had him looking out for the right trailer for me and when I visited the first time (with my sister who took the photo of me sitting on the trailer) I saw this trailer and everything began to fall into place.

I bought my trailer on 10/18/11.  It wasn’t very pretty, but I could tell it had good bones and I trusted my advisor and knew he would help me get everything fixed up right.  The trailer needed sanding and painting and new tires and all the brake lights and wiring checked out.  She looks real purty now.

Happy Trails,

Robin