SIP Accepting Trailers

SIP Panel Tiny House Trailers

Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) can be a great option for tiny house building. Up until now though, it’s been tricky to securely attach the SIPs onto a trailer.

Thankfully, Fred has solved the problem by designing his unique SIP accepting tiny house trailer.

Now it is possible to build a tiny house with SIPs knowing that they can be safely attached to your trailer.

Are SIPs easy to use for DIY Builders?

Issues to be resolved before proceeding with a SIP tiny house vehicle (THV):

1.) Weight Savings: Not every SIP available is lighter weight than timber or steel frame construction methods. Some SIPs, known as “cool room panels” are lightweight, but have other issues too (see #4 below).

2.) Fastenings for SIPs: The fastening recommendations that come from the manufacturer of your SIPs will be a valuable resource to know, but please go further and ask your SIP manufacturer if their fastening recommendations include the special case of a tiny house on a trailer. Hopefully the supplier of your SIPS will understand what you are doing with their product, specifically having them attached to a moving and vibrating trailer.

3.) Fastening points to discuss with the manufacturer: a.) SIP to SIP fastening; b.) SIP to trailer fastening; c.) SIP to roof fastenings; and d.) SIP to loft fastening.

4.) Where do the services run?: The tricky bit with SIPs is how to easily run your electrical & plumbing services in the SIPs without compromising the “S” in the SIP, which stands for “Structural”. This is where a SIP construction method starts to lose it’s light-weight-easy-elegant potential, because if these services have to be run outside the envelop of the SIP itself, that’s not elegant.

5.) Complexity: SIPs can leave the realm of a DIY project and might best be undertaken by professionals with prior experience working with SIPs.

Janine Strachan of Tiny House Solutions uses Fred’s Tiny Houses SIP accepting trailers: