Where can your tiny house adventure take you?

Tiny homes are gaining so much acceptability across the US, the opportunities are endless for where you could go and what you could do with your tiny house.  If you have chosen a size of tiny home that will allow it to travel well, you have probably already planned out your travels and accommodations.

 Some campgrounds, including privately owned and larger well-known campgrounds scattered across the country, are now accepting tiny homes at their sites.  This really opens a lot of options for short- term and some long- term stays for the tiny dweller depending on the campground. This brings up some good questions to ask yourself regarding what you will need while you are on the road.  Make sure a campground can accommodate your tiny house as well what your needs are. Do you require dumping, electric or water? 

Seasoned campers recommend purchasing a reduced rate discount card that is available for anyone to purchase and use.   Camping discount cards can save anywhere from 10-50% off at certain campgrounds, so that’s a no brainer for most, and most of them will pay for themselves in just one to three uses.  Just make sure before you set out on your adventure, that your house and your discount cards will be accepted where you will be staying.  You can purchase discount cards from AAA, Good Sam, KOA, Passport America, Camp Club USA, and The Happy Camper Club. 

Many long time and full-time RV’ers and experienced campers will debate whether you should join a camping club or not.  Camping clubs are an option for full time living on the road but often come with steep initial fees to join, some up to $5000 for some and then members are required to pay a  yearly dues, which can run anywhere from around a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on where you will be traveling to.  Depending on your lifestyle and where you plan to explore this could be an affordable option. Clubs like this can have strict stay restrictions as well as a lot of rules that are not always very clear to the buyer. For instance, after a stay, you may have to wait 7 days before re-entering another club location. This option could make financial sense for a lot of people but would require a lot of research and planning. These rules will more than likely require you to stay at other campgrounds outside of the club in between club stays, which is another good reason to purchase one or a few of the discount cards.  One drawback to one of the major clubs was resort locations or lack thereof. It seemed they were concentrated on the outskirts of the country and the coastal areas of the US, not so much throughout the middle of the country, which is disappointing if you are wanting to visit a lot of the nations National Parks and landmarks in those locations.

Boondocking is gaining in popularity across the country and is a great option for tiny home dwellers who can sustain themselves off the grid.  Boondocking refers to usually being parked without any modern connections out in the “boondocks” or very rural areas. This type of stay usually is without any cost to the camper, so it’s quite appealing to those on a tight travel budget.  More and more people are seeking out boondocking situations, and it has influenced several websites that now serve as a database for those looking to boondock.  You could find yourself in the middle of the desert, or in the woods near a creek, on a portion of someone’s land, or even in someone’s driveway in a suburb.  You might be surprised to know that a lot of the National Parks will allow boondocking just a short distance away from where many campers pay to park and use their amenities.  For those looking to meet new people and make lifetime connections boondocking can be a great affordable way for anyone to travel the country.

Alexis and Christian-photo from Tiny House Expedition

Tiny house communities are popping up in places unexpected.  The East Coast has been primarily slow to catch on to the tiny lifestyle, but demand is helping new communities to develop.  There are of course some campgrounds that have small pods of tiny homes as a part of their overnight rentals, but we are seeing more true living communities on the rise.  We were honored to host Alexis and Christian from Tiny House Expedition as they made their way through our part of the country last year with their THOW.  Tiny Estates is always open to future tiny house travelers looking for short term accommodations. 

There may be somewhere around an estimated 16 tiny home communities located on the East Coast at this point, most of them being in the Carolinas.  Many of these communities are foundation-built homes or park models and may not accept tiny house travelers looking for respite.  There are a few that are open to traveling THOWs that will require some personal research and planning prior to your trip.  We are excited about the potential for new tiny house communities look forward to the movement growing and gaining more acceptance. If you have a THOW and are interested in parking at TE during your travels, please email us, we would love to hear from you!