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Utility Trailer Serves As Foundation for Tiny "Wooden Temple" – A Little House on Wheels

Aaron H., or Anzu, built his small "Wooden Temple" after a quarrel with his landlords. Faced with the prospect of a three-week notice, Anzu bought a double axle, +10,000 lb rated payload trailer and built his dream house on it.
Wood House on Trailer 11 photos
Photo: YouTube/FLORB
GymWooden TempleShinglesDeck viewEntranceSofaInteriorLoftStaircase of PostsBase Trailer
His experience as a carpenter doubled with a period of living in a small house during volunteer work in New Zealand gave Anzu the confidence to take on the challenge. With a firm base on his trailer and a lot of leftover wood from work, this modern-day truthseeker (in his own words) broke ground. He refused to draw plans; armed with a firm "just-start-building-and-the-plans-will-reveal-themselves" attitude, Aaron soon finished the structure of his new house.

Although the trailer wasn't as large as he'd wished, the man took up the challenge, and with four-by-six timber frames as his preferred material, the idea was set in motion. The wood is thick enough to support the windows (see in the gallery how big the windows are) but also thin enough to keep the overall weight of the entire structure under the 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) limit.

In the video at the end of this story, you can see how Anzu has organized well the interior. His ingenious solution to get up on the loft consists of next-to-the-wall vertical posts of different lengths that he climbs on to. And the kitchen is a minuscule-yet-sufficient arrangement out on the deck. Thanks to its 20-by-8 feet (6 x 2.4 m) size, the deck also accommodates the original "gym" for when the owner feels like working out (which he does daily).

Gym
Photo: YouTube/FLORB
A handy tool shed is mounted onto the wall at the back of the trailer/house for the fixer-upper of a pigpen which Anzu has begun transforming into a wood shed. Speaking of tools, the deck bench next to the open-space kitchen (pun intended) used to be a wood horse, and the table served its purpose in life as a big wooden cable spool.

No paint was necessary, for the carpenter got the better of his craft and applied the Japanese Shou-sugi-ban technique. The wood frames are burnt (or, more often than not, charred on the surface), wire-brushed and oiled. However, to keep the rawness feel of the wood, Anzu went easy with the burner and oil brush.

Very nice work, but also tedious. Especially the wooden shingles, although the house looks quite beautiful with its scaly yet welcoming outside walls (with no plumbing or electrical wires fitted in them). An open-air shower and a composting toilet (read outhouse) are next to the trailer home. To keep the cost in control, Aaron used cheaper fence boards to make the walls, and the roofing is a post-and-beam style made out of 4-by-6 posts (10 x 15 cm). He opted for this solution because he wanted a big enough loft to be able to sit in without having to bow. As for the sofa under the loft, the frame from an old bed proved to be just perfect for a refit.

Deck view
Photo: YouTube/FLORB
Heating comes from a tiny wood stove, which gets hot fast but needs fuel every hour, so the decorative plants can stay safe during cold weather. In a twist of fate, the shelves on which the plant pot sit were traded for two avocado seedlings that Aaron grew himself. As for the cold, despite his day-to-day habit of swimming in rivers, no matter how cold, a propane instant heater will make the outside shower a lot more enjoyable.

Coming from a "long lineage of truthseekers, artists, warriors, and lovers," Anzu advises other adventurers: "Don't be shy to ask for help, do one thing at a time. And just keep going."

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About the author: Razvan Calin
Razvan Calin profile photo

After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads.
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