The desire to have in the country house is not a stationary structure, but mobile housing is explained not only by the dream of traveling. Everything is much simpler. In the summer, the owners of a suburban area actually move there and, of course, equip their house, creating comfort in it. Part of the property also moves here, providing summer residents with comfortable accommodation. With a cold snap, many residents return to city apartments, visiting summer houses from time to time to make sure their property is safe. Of course, if instead of a stationary building they would have a motor home for a summer residence, the problem of winter trips and experiences would be solved much easier.
Benefits of Mobile Home
In fact, a mobile home on wheels is a type of trailer conceived and then designed and developed for one or more people to live in it in conditions of maximum comfort.
The basic equipment of such a structure, as a rule, includes a stove for cooking, a refrigerator, furniture and other items, without which it has become difficult for a civilized person to imagine himself.
The undoubted advantages of such a structure are:
- it occupies a minimum of space on the site;
- special or complex care is not required;
- it can be operated not only in the country. It is convenient to take it with you on a trip, so as not to look for a temporary overnight stay and not spend money on it: all the necessary property will always be at your fingertips.
- the ability to use a car to tow it to the parking lot.
As for the last advantage, it is necessary to clarify that the dimensions of the trailer trailer should not exceed the following:
- height - 400 cm;
- width - 255 cm;
- length - 100 cm, excluding the part protruding beyond the trailer.
Larger structures during transportation require special equipment and support. When it comes to towing by a conventional passenger car, it is understood that we are talking about a country house-trailer.
In Western countries, traveling with your own home is a widespread practice. Our fellow citizens are just beginning to master this way of tourism. But, given the vast expanses of our homeland and its beauty, we can assume that the popularity of mobile designs will only grow from year to year.
Varieties of Mobile Housing
Mobile housing is a design that can combine many functions. The honor of this truly ingenious invention belongs to specialists from America. For the first time, such a structure based on a conventional automobile chassis was introduced by Jennings in 1938.
With the development of scientific thought and technology, the range of mobile homes is expanding. Different models differ from each other not only in size, but also in technical equipment, quality of interior decoration.
Based on these parameters, from the whole variety of mobile structures you can distinguish:
- tent trailer;
- trailer cottage;
- auto caravan on wheels.
Consider the options listed in more detail.
Mobile tent trailer
This design can rightfully be considered the simplest and relatively budget solution to the problem. At the initial stage, a folding tent trailer is a great option for mobile housing.
At first glance, this structure resembles a simple trailer. But differences arise after a special tent is fixed around the base structure. It sets all the attributes necessary for life.
There is enough space in the tent for:
- a refrigerator;
- sinks;
- cooker;
- several items of folding furniture needed in the household.
Surprisingly, this lightweight design has enough space for a double bed and a dining room, which is located in the middle of an impromptu house. If desired, the dining room in most models of such tent trailers can also be transformed into a double bed.
A small space is designed for a family of up to four people. The tent itself, as a rule, is made of fabric, which allows you to well ventilate the room and protect residents from weather, insects and snakes.
These tents are popular with tourists, hunters and fishermen. But this design has a significant drawback: when moving it will have to be regularly disassembled and reassembled.
Comfortable cottage trailer
This type of housing is often referred to as a caravan, camper or trailer. Unlike a tent, the dimensions of this design are more in line with our concepts of living in comfort. The length from 6 to 12 meters allows the cottage trailer to play the role of a full-fledged suburban building.
The usual trailer configuration includes the following components:
- heaters;
- kitchen stove;
- refrigerator;
- shower stall;
- a bathroom;
- basic set of furniture and additional items of furniture.
If life in the tent was like a camp, then the owners of the trailer can feel almost at home. The interior in it is slightly different from what we used to see in a small country house or in a small city apartment.
The range of furniture that you can afford is expanding significantly. And it will be not only a sofa, but, for example, a wide bed, wardrobe and kitchen cabinets.
Not all trailers have the same life management system. Depending on this parameter, the following models are encountered:
- Camping. Abroad, there is a campsite system specifically designed for certain trailer models. These campsites or summer camps have a centralized power and water system that you can simply connect to.
- Standalone. Owners of these models can only rely on their own strengths and reserves. Therefore, they have all the necessary plumbing equipment with a fair supply of water, as well as a generator that runs on diesel fuel and provides the trailer with electricity.
Auto on wheels
This mobile design can become a full-fledged housing for the owner of a suburban area. It can accommodate up to 7 residents. The average length of such a summer residence will be 12 meters, but models are already available in 15 and 17 meters in length. It may contain all the equipment that is usually found in the trailer, and additional pieces of furniture and equipment.
There are also features in the design of the auto cottage. In the upper part of its body, there is a ledge - alcove, located directly above the driver's cab. It also has a comfortable sleeping place. Inside the house there is a shower cabin, and a separate kitchen room, in which there is a cooker and fridge. There are several sleeping places.
Auto submission is not only a dimensional, but also a heavy construction. Its weight is approximately 3500 kg. It costs a lot. However, if you give preference not to the latest model, but to products that are sold on the secondary market, you can buy decent auto-cottage, paying relatively cheap.
Three comfort classes
Campers can be divided into classes according to their level of comfort.
Luxury Class A
Class A motorhomes are large-sized autonomous mobile structures. These trailers are considered not just comfortable, but luxurious. In the European classification, integrated campers correspond to them. In fact, these are residential buses.
Their equipment includes a built-in generator, gas cylinders, the volume of which is about 200 liters, high-capacity batteries and a decent supply of drinking water in the tank. Thanks to these resources, owners of an A-class house can be independent of campsites and travel autonomously for a long time.
Alcove Class B
The base for a class B motorhome is a truck chassis along with a driver's cab. This model is specifically designed as the basis for mobile housing. In Europe, such structures are called an alcove motorhome. This name arose thanks to the alcove, located above the driver's cab.
The presence of a driver's cabin provides a separate entrance for the passenger and the driver. This trailer is good for novice travelers as it is much easier to drive than a Class A camper.
Compact Class B
Class B motorhomes belong to the category of small and relatively inexpensive mobile campers. The basis for them is often the extended chassis of the van. They can be standalone housing for a company of four travelers.
As a rule, the increase in their space is due to the lifting roof, which is made of fiberglass. Class B offers its owners a set of basic amenities: a portable toilet, a modest kitchen, a bedroom and a dining room.
Popular Model Manufacturers
If you already had the idea of buying a motor home for a summer residence, it would be nice to find out who produces the models that enter our market. Such products are in demand, which means that products created in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, France and other countries are necessarily present on the market.
Different types of mobile housing are produced in Belarus. The MAZ-Kupava caravan bodies are made of sandwich panels sheathed with aluminum sheets. The interior decoration of the home is made of fiberboard. The price of Belarusian auto houses varies in the range from 8000 to 500 dollars.
Selection recommendations
If the desire to buy a mobile summer cottage is backed up by financial opportunities and it is time to start choosing the right model, listen to tips that will help you not to make a mistake:
- Have a good look at the ceiling and walls of the structure. They should not be any defects. Check them for dryness.
- There can be no through slots in the room.
- If a house ready for use is obtained as a result of transformations, check the serviceability of all mechanisms.
- All shelves, bedside tables and cabinets must be in good condition.
- Inspect the bathroom especially carefully. There should be no signs of mechanical damage on the toilet: chips and cracks.
- Open the ventilation hatches. This procedure should be performed without much effort. In the closed position, the hatches should tightly adjoin the holes.
- Check how windows open and close. Make sure they are not leaking.
- Make sure that all doors and other opening furniture elements have reliable locks.
- Consider the sewer system: the passage of water through it should be unhindered.
- Inspect the ventilation holes. Make sure that they are not sealed, welded, or closed in any other way.
- Seals on the doors should be flexible and soft. Only in this case they will close tightly and without gaps.
- Check if the front door locks well and if the locking device works reliably.
Not knowing which model you have chosen for yourself, it is very difficult to predict all the nuances of the design and give more detailed recommendations, but we have provided you with the basic ones. And the general principle of testing new and used mobile structures should be clear to you.
We offer you an overview of modern models of cottages on wheels: