How to pick the best tiny house on wheels floor plan

Do you want to live in a tiny home on wheels? That’s an easy question. Of course, you do, right?!

But when it comes to choosing your ideal design, it’s complicated to determine what tiny house on wheels floor plan would actually work best for you.

Like many others, if you’re serious about moving forward with your tiny living goals, you probably spend countless hours on Pinterest pinning, watch hundreds of YouTube tour videos, and continuously scroll Instagram for inspiration. Unfortunately, all this research can leave you overwhelmed with layout options.

As the tiny house movement has grown, so has the diversity of tiny house designs. 

So, how to weed through these to find the best tiny house on wheels floor plan for you?

Let’s explore factors to consider to help narrow down your options.

Determine what’s important in your tiny house on wheels floor plan

Before you can find your dream tiny house on wheels floor plan, you need to determine your priorities. It’s time to distinguish between what you want and what you need in life.

Identify the essential factors that complete your lifestyle and the things that help you with these. 

Also, create a list of what you’re willing to let go of, if needed, when downsizing. Perhaps, it’s hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your place or enjoying a bath. 

Compiling a list of your wants versus needs is paramount when you’re planning to move to a tiny house.

This also helps you to understand what’s essential in your lifestyle and living space. 

Remember, this isn’t about sacrificing to be the most minimalist you can be. Instead, it’s about curating.

Consider the following:

• Belongings – Like Marie Kondo would say, what sparks joy? And what doesn’t?
• Household Functions – For instance, if you love cooking, you want a tiny house kitchen that accommodates your home gourmet style.
• Goals – Do you want to work from home in the future? Do you want to live nomadic?

Ultimately, these considerations help you identify the floor plan that is most fitting for you. 

Remember, your tiny house design can be crafted around what you need and what you genuinely love, even if that includes a shoe collection. 

Make your perfect tiny house on wheels floor plan checklist

After pondering your essential needs and desires, now it’s time to consider specific design features that are must-haves in your dream tiny house. 

The more you can thoughtfully anticipate your needs, the easier it will be to select tiny house plans that maximize comfort and function, as well as aesthetics for your style.

For example, while ladders provide space-efficient sleeping loft access, the thought of coming down one in the middle of the night might be terrifying to you. Or, perhaps you plan to retire into a tiny home, and long-term mobility is a concern. Whatever the reason, you’ll want a floor plan with stairs or a downstairs sleeping area.

Keep in mind, this is a tiny house floor plan feature that cannot be easily modified in the future, so it is important to think about it before you decide on your floor plan. 

On the other hand, some design elements can be added or renovated in the future to better suit your needs. For example, in my tiny house, we added a second work space after my boyfriend and I got tired of sharing one table for all our needs.

Review this tiny house design checklist and select features most important to you:

Based on what you selected above, you can use these criteria to compare available tiny house on wheels floor plans to choose the one most suitable for you.

Custom vs. ready-made tiny house on wheels floor plans

Right now, we’re at the height of popularity of shows, like Tiny House Nation, that showcase incredible custom features tailored specifically for the new tiny homeowners. Does this inspire you to dream up your own customized plans?

You can use 3D modeling tools, like Sketchup, to create your own architectural and interior design drawings.

While this provides excellent DIY customization flexibility, beware that it is easy to forget essential elements that can affect your design, like the placement of wheel wells.

Beginning with a set of ready-made tiny house floor plans can help you figure out how to accomplish challenging aspects of the build. This is especially important if you plan to build it yourself. 

Another excellent perk of buying plans is that they typically include approximate costs to build, as well as a materials list.

Additionally, if you hire a contractor to build for you, professional tiny house plans will be in a language they can easily understand and execute. They provide go-by dimensions for critical aspects of the structure, like framing. From this starting point, you can more easily add or subtract space for any custom built-ins, like a compact transforming table.

Keep in mind, a quality set of tiny house on wheels floor plans should include trailer specs.

Of course, you can always hire a designer or an engineer to create custom plans for you. Opt for someone with familiarity with tiny house design. Also, keep in mind, this is a more expensive route.

6 Incredible tiny house on wheels floor plans

1) hOMe Tiny House Floor Plans

Plans Cost: $89
Size: 207 square feet (plus 110 sqft of lofts)
Approximate Cost to Build: $33,000 (DIY) or $65,000+ (turn-key by professional builder)

The famous hOMe tiny house is one of the most livable designs out there. The layout is open and spacious while keeping within legal road restrictions (8’6″ wide x 13’6″ tall). 

It features a full-sized kitchen, home office for two, copious amounts of storage, stair access to master loft, spacious bathroom, and secondary queen-sized loft. This elegant design makes this an ideal home for a single person wanting a bit more space, a couple, or even a small family.

These tiny house floor plans have been engineered and are tried-and-true (built by dozens of happy customers). 

Importantly, the building system was designed with the novice builder in mind by combining basic building techniques with innovative engineering. Also, it includes an instructional video to help you understand how to read the architectural plans.

Want to customize the hOME tiny house? The plans include the SketchUp files with 3D scaled model that is unlocked and editable.

“When we started designing the hOMe tiny house, we had a long list of items we weren’t willing to compromise on: a kitchen with full-sized appliances, stair access to our master loft, a comfortable place for both of us to work from (we’re self-employed), loads of storage for our gear, a secondary loft large enough for playing guitar and watching movies, a bathroom with a normal-sized sink and shower stall, and a clean, modern aesthetic. 

After many renditions, we finally had a design that reflected each of these needs and four months later we had finished building hOMe.”

-Designers, Andrew & Gabriella Morrison

If you are looking for a design that offers tiny house living without compromise, then these plans are worth considering. Learn more here.

2) Terraform One Tiny House On Wheels Floor Plans

Plans Cost: $199
Size: 250 square feet 
Approximate Cost to Build: $40,000+

The Terraform One is a gooseneck tiny house design that demonstrates that you don’t have to give up all the comforts of a larger home. 

It features an easily accessible main loft over the gooseneck of the trailer. 

Rather than having to climb up and down ladders to fit into a cramped sleeping space, T1 only has three steps to get into the bedroom. The loft is open and airy with the high point peaking at 6’4″, with two large windows providing a fantastic cross breeze on warm nights.

These also include a full editable SketchUp Model, organized and layered to be edited to fit your particular needs.

Good news for builder beginners! The Terraform One tiny house plans are designed with the DIYer in mind. Click here to learn more.

Additionally, with the plans, the designer includes his inspirational story and words of kindness to get you started on your own tiny house journey! 

3) The Tiny Project Tiny House Floor Plans

Plans Cost: $199
Size: 160 square feet (plus 80 sqft of lofts)
Approximate Cost to Build: $30,000 (DIY)

Do you work from home? The Tiny Project tiny house features two cozy, functional office spaces ideal for the digital nomad.

It also features a modern, passive solar design with ten windows and a full-glass door for tons of light.

Additionally, it has a low-sloping shed-style roof to maximize functional interior space for a spacious loft. The Tiny Project plans include a folding deck to maximize indoor/outdoor living potential. Learn more here.

4) Desiderata Tiny House Floor Plans

Plans Cost: $89
Size: 380 square feet
Approximate Cost to Build: $70,000 (turn-key by a professional builder)

The Desiderata tiny house, named for the Max Ehrmann poem, which translates to “desired things”, is a home rooted in manifesting-dreams, especially the wild and unconventional ones. 

The plans are designed to accommodate creative individuals at every stage of their unfolding adventure. With an open and flexible layout and a full-size bathroom and kitchen, this home is perfect for an individual, couple, or family with room to grow and breathe with each new change that life brings. 

“It was important to me in designing this home that each room be left open and spacious for whatever life brings at each new stage. I intentionally stayed away from any built-in furniture or convertible elements. In the first 12 months of living in the house the entry way has had at least half a dozen arrangements of furniture and the gooseneck has had about 4 different layouts. 

I love the flexibility that this design affords me and I know that my home will be able to grow with me and my growing family.”

-Designer, Heather Markowitz

It is built on a 32′ x 8′ gooseneck trailer and boasts a master bedroom loft, a secondary loft for storage or guest sleeping, and a comfortable open area in the gooseneck. In the original build, the open area has served as a yoga and meditation room, painting space, and now a living room with the possibility of it turning into a secondary bedroom.

Learn more about the Desiderata tiny house plans here.

5) The Salsa Box Tiny House On Wheels Floor Plans

Plans Cost: $39
Size: 89 square feet
Approximate Cost to Build: $8,000 (DIY)

Do you want to travel with your tiny house on wheels? If so, these are the ideal plans for you!

The Salsa Box tiny house is an 89 square foot instant cabin designed to be efficient, durable, and budget-friendly. It is cozy and compact with enough space for a queen-sized bed and lots of creative nooks and crannies for storage.

Do you lack any building experience? No problem. 

The Salsa Box tiny house incorporates a simplified construction process using weight, energy, and space-saving measures. Further, it was initially built and designed as an instructional model to give workshop students a clear look at each step involved in building a tiny home. 

Learn more about the Salsa Box here.

6) Aspen Tiny House Floor Plans

Plans Cost: $225
Size: 192 square feet (plus 118 sqft of lofts and 16 sqft external “garage”)
Approximate Cost to Build: $35,000+ (DIY) or $65,000 (turn-key by professional builder)

The Aspen tiny house plans were designed by Byron and Dot Fears, founders of Simblissity Tiny Homes. Their designs prioritize sustainability and romance. As they see it, there’s no reason why a tiny home should feel uncomfortable or hinder the owner’s passions, hobbies, or love life.

“The original SimBLISSity 24’ Aspen Tiny Home was designed in 2014.  After extensive research into tiny house designs, we wanted to create a home that was suitable for 4-season living, and provided for features we felt were often lacking:  a spacious, comfortable lounging area, sufficient storage for the realistic needs of necessities as well as the items that enrich our lives whether that be books, 20 pairs of shoes and boots, seasonal clothing and gear, a bright kitchen with enough room for gourmet needs and room to joyfully prepare food with your partner or friends.”

This tiny house on wheels floor plan features their signature spacious loft, as well as open living area. Believe it or not, there’s enough room for yoga! Learn more here.

Trusted tiny house on wheels floor plans

When shopping for tiny house on wheels floor plans, look for those that have a proven track record. By that I mean, find out if they have been successfully used before. 

Untested plans can be a risk. On the other hand, if they haven’t been used in an actual tiny house build, make sure they come from a professional designer. This will help ensure that quality standards have been met.

Bottom line: do your due diligence when searching for your perfect tiny house plans!

Have you found your dream tiny house floor plan? Let us know in the comments below.

Other posts you might like:

• How to pick the best tiny house trailer for your build
• Buying land for a tiny house
• Tiny house furniture ideas for a cozy space in 2020