Luxurious Portland Tiny Home on Wheels

The Thermal Performance of a Unique Tiny House on Wheels 

According to Jeremy, who is president and partner of Tiny Innovations Tiny Homes, “we always strive to work one on one with our client. Whether it be a pre-determined production floor model or a complete one of a kind custom home, a Tiny Innovations team member or one of the owners will spend whatever time is needed to work with the client to make sure the project is done 100% satisfactory to the clients’ expectations.”

While the specs used on the Cayman model have been used for other clients, the finished product is 100% unique to the Lawrence family. The trailer for the home is a certified hand-built chassis with trailer brakes and highway lighting. This not only makes the Cayman tiny home Department of Transportation (DOT) approved, but the home also comes with RVIA Certification (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) and a one-year limited warranty that allows the homeowner to pick up their home and travel.

Certifications are an important part of the quality assurance equation because not every tiny home is built with quality in mind. A recent story in Canada’s CTV News revealed that one tiny homebuilder is under investigation for having “scammed dozens of customers in Canada and the U.S. out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.” So it’s important to check out the builder, and builder’s references, prior to putting down any money.

While some tiny homes on wheels sacrifice thermal performance for the luxury of being built on a moving foundation (in other words, on a trailer or chassis), the Lawrence tiny home is specifically designed to optimize energy efficiency through superior construction methods.

Jeremy tells us that to optimize the energy efficiency of the Cayman model tiny home, “we use every precaution, starting with the sub-foundation. We do NOT build directly onto the chassis, [but rather] we actually subframe off the chassis with 2x4 framing and insulate with a metal belly pan and also a rigid foam board. To fill in any cracks, we then use spray foam insulation, sheeting and then the final flooring.”

The rest of the home equally relies on high-performance insulation and other energy-efficient heating and cooling strategies. “In our walls and ceilings,” Jeremy explains, “we typically use a high-performance poly-spray foam and really try to achieve the highest rigidity and insulating factors as possible. To heat and cool, we use a 1-ton mini split that will heat and cool the unit, or a cadet heating source as a back-up."

The Lawrence home also includes several vinyl, energy-efficient windows. This allows natural light to flood the home while not compromising the energy-efficient performance of the home.

Specs of the Lawrence Tiny Home

It is not often that you find a tiny home on wheels that comes complete with a full-sized couch and flat-screen TV. The unique interior spacing and layout of this tiny house on wheels allows for several different rooms and spaces to take shape. The full-sized couch of the living room is placed next to the kitchen, which includes a high end energy-efficient stainless steel stove, an apartment-sized refrigerator, and a propane cooktop range and stove combo. The kitchen area even includes a stove hood vent.

“This (package) will consist of a NEST video doorbell all in one, a carbon-smoke detector 2 in 1, and a NEST thermostat control. An even higher package offers floodlight surveillance along with iPad control and or Alexia voice.” Jeremy goes on to explain that “we can add additional items like the newest system called Brilliant, an all-in-one touch screen command center and touch lights with one-way to four-way switches. Pretty much if you want all the modern comforts of today’s leading “Smart Homes,” our dedicated low voltage and “Smart Home” team can provide those options.”