Okay, I have to admit, the threads that have popped up a couple times about the house-bike (the one that was recently torn apart and (?) rebuilt) have really intrigued me. Part of me really wants to see how far I could go in living with low expenses and little use of non-renewable fossil fuels. Right now I live in an apartment that's about the size of a big RV (it's shared between 2 of us) but I know that all of the essentials of life can certainly be had in less space.
I was also kind of inspired by those tumbleweed houses (http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/) and the mention of people who live without paying rent by staying in a 8 by 12 foot trailer attached to their car, etc.
This is really just a combination of some outlandish ideas going through my head and I have no intention of acting on them, at least in the short term. But I was thinking about what I would want in my ideal tiny-home.
I figured that having it be a trailer rather than having pedals on the home itself might be best, because that would allow me to own only one bike and still have the option to ride somewhere without towing my whole living space. In my imagination, the home with its contents would weigh around 500lbs: light enough to bring up a fairly steep hill, but only with a lot of exertion and low gearing/ ~3mph speeds. I also envision it having some minimalist provision for cooking (a couple of my cooking favorites happen to be microwaves and toaster ovens, but I'd need a generator and if I had that, maybe i'd go for a convection microwave though). Another problem would be showering, and water-heat for showering, although in the ideal world maybe my generator would be a water-heater and a water-cooled generator.
I was checking out this diesel generator (http://www.aet.ca/index.php?section=43) which weighs only 36 pounds, although on the down-side it would probably require some serious effort and know-how to adapt it for water-heater duty. (I've heard you can retrofit an air-cooled engine for being liquid-coold, and i've also heard you can use hot engines as a stove, I wonder if that would be workable with a generator.). Another problem, though, is that most microwaves, etc would be beyond the generator's power capacity. I did see one on the market that is only 800 watts and power adjustable though.
Part of the reason I'd want a generator, though, is for charging battery lighting inside and out. I guess there are always hub generators, but electricity is so useful.
The reason I might prefer a diesel generator was because of the possibility of using vegetable oil or biodiesel.
For ease of weatherproofing, for privacy, and for better insulation it might be better to have no windows at all.
Maybe the structure of the home itself could be based on rigid foam insulation panels. An idea that just came to me is that rather than weatherproofing with sheets of flat plastic (the sort that's rigid and maybe 1mm thick, and which lines my shower walls) one could cover the inside and outside of the walls (and ceiling and floors?) in corrugated plastic, which would provide a tiny bit of extra insulation. It might be tougher too.
Some of these things would be pretty expensive but if they were able to get me out of paying rent (and I'm not saying they would) then it would be more than worth it. :)
Cyclaholic
10-26-07, 11:04 PM
Wow, I though I was the only one 'out there' enough to ponder this.
I would try to forego the fuel-burning generator, instead I'd look at a pop-up trailer with solar panels and a deep cycle battery, and a wind generator that can be erected easily.
I think the trailer would have electric power assist and regenerative braking. Be built out of light materials like insulation foam, and the such. Refrigeration is probably not viable due to power requirements.
When it comes to day-to-day living just think of how sailors managed a few hundred years ago with no fuel burning generators, no internal combustion propulsion, no refrigeration, etc.
It would certainly be a challenge, and fun for a little while at least.
You can heat water for showers with solar - sailboats have been using rigs like that for decades - basically plastic bags made of space blanket material with one side matte black.
As far as lightweight and insulation goes - my father built a greenhouse out of bubble wrap sandwiched between clear plastic sheeting tacked to light boards. It was comfortable to sit in in a T-shirt in an Alaskan winter and grow vegetables. Plastics photodegrade, though, so you have to redo them every year or so; he took his down when the plastics started rotting out from sun and replaced it with a chain link fence around a larger garden patch to keep the moose out of the garden in summer.
Newspaperguy
10-27-07, 01:00 AM
I'm not entirely sure what you want to accomplish here. Is it mobility? Is it minimalist shelter? Is it creating a bike-powered version of a motorhome?
If you're looking for mobile shelter, consider the solutions cycling tourists use. You have a lot of choice when it comes to tents, warm sleeping bags, small stoves and other camping gear. You can also get larger tents, such as those used for vehicle-based camping. A system based on camping gear will give you the best value for the weight.
If you don't need mobility but want simple, basic shelter, there are ways to create shelters in the wilderness. These range from cocoons made from leaves, twigs and debris to more elaborate log, sod or rock shelters. In arctic climates, an igloo is a workable winter option. Survial shelters are best used in undeveloped rural areas, not in urban areas. There are plenty of books and other resources available on setting up such shelters.
The bike-powered RV solution seems like it could work in urban areas, but it also has some serious drawbacks. The weight gain is the biggest problem. The weight originally mentioned is much too heavy for a bicycle to pull, except on flat land. Any incline at all will be next to impossible, even with low gearing. To build an RV shelter for a bicycle, ultralight materials would be needed. Would this cause structural problems or durability problems? There would be no room for any wasted weight with such a rig.
My own choice would be a tent and camping gear, but the bike-powered motorhome is an idea that should not be discarded. In the right location and under the right circumstances, it may prove to be a great solution.
cerewa
10-27-07, 08:09 AM
My own choice would be a tent and camping gear, but the bike-powered motorhome is an idea that should not be discarded. In the right location and under the right circumstances, it may prove to be a great solution.
There were some ideas floating around in my head that didn't make it into the original post by the time I pushed "send". The reason this project-idea appeals to me is the idea of living for a long time with no rent payment, and still being able to have a job, avoid looking like someone who doesn't shower, and live "comfortably enough" by my own standards. The fact that I would not be tied down to heating an apartment with $400 per winter of fossil fuel natural gas, (and that's not counting the $40 every month to keep the account open and have hot water when needed) would be a plus.
newspaperguy, I think you're overestimating how hard it is to haul 500 pounds up a hill. I weigh 130#, and with bike+trailer+cargo+self weighing 250# I am able to climb substantial hills without coming close to my lowest gear. Triple the weight of bike+trailer+cargo+self weight to 750# and I could still, barely, move it up a steep hill, albeit 3+ times slower. I have seen a 3000# car moved up a slight incline pushed by one average-looking person; these sorts of things are possible.
I did indeed envision it for urban/suburban areas, partly because finding a job to earn money for food, clothes, bike repairs, etc. seems easier to me in more-populated areas.
dynodonn
10-27-07, 08:50 AM
When it comes to day-to-day living just think of how sailors managed a few hundred years ago with no fuel burning generators, no internal combustion propulsion, no refrigeration, etc.
It would certainly be a challenge, and fun for a little while at least.
Looks like I have lived past my prime if I was a sailor of a few hundred years ago, especially with an average life expectancy of 35 years.
Cosmoline
10-28-07, 08:29 PM
Living off grid in AK for a few years really opened my eyes re. how much crud is required to keep up even a halfway modern lifestyle. If you can stay on grid in your "tumbling" you can keep gear to a minimum. But that costs money and you have to find access points at RV parks, campgrounds and the like. Here are a few observations:
--DC power, which is what you get from small solar arrays and pedaling, is weak as water. Sorry to say it, but that's the fact of life. It will run lightbulbs just fine, esp. the new LED types. And it will cool a mini fridge down. But it doesn't have the juice needed for most modern tools and conveniences.
--DC power, if you want to "package" it and take it with you, requires a battery bank. Most of the folks out in the area I was in used marine batteries. These held quite a bit of juice but are amazingly huge. To run a small energy efficient cabin you need a sizable bank of them.
--AC power from the generators is wonderful, but very expensive. The diesels used to be better because the fuel was cheaper, but not so much anymore. I loved my little Honda gasoline generator, and it did run down to -40 f., but it was a pain in the #@$@ to get up at 3AM when it started to fail, knowing that unless I got out there and got it juiced it would freeze up almost within seconds and be impossible to start again. Also, even the "small" portable generators like the 2000E's I used are quite heavy for a bicycle.
--You're better off using old fashioned oil lamps and LED btty lamps for light and propane for heat. Propane weighs a LOT less per unit than gas or diesel, for obvious reasons. Most of the weight is in the steel container, and it's nowhere near as hard to tote as a gas can by bicycle. You can make one hell of a hot water heater with a large can of propane and a high pressure tripod, plus a nice big 5-15 gallon stew pot. I could boil 15 gallons of water in as many minutes with mine when I wanted to rig a bath. ANd I've never had a bath so hot or nice as the ones I made myself in the woods with the propane tripod and the old USN surplus stew pot. All of that would be easily bike portable with a trailer, and no electrical source can even come close to heating water that fast. Plus it's pretty easy to find places to refill propane tanks.
--You can also get portable propane heater/cookers that work quite well for boiling water and heating a small living space. The lower end ones wear out after about a winter of constant use, but they're only $40 or so. Don't get the Coleman ones. I had one turn into a flamethrower on me. They're designed for a few weeks of use at most.
--The old oil lamps like Deitz makes and Lehman's sells are amazingly useful. The fuel is pretty cheap and the wick burns very little. One of those can go in a trailer no problem and provide light without batteries or electricity. For more light a pressurized multi-fuel lamp is excellent. You can find them at military surplus places. Or a propane lamp, of course, with the mantels.
--The only time propane heaters will fail you is when it gets below -15 f. or so. Then they start to slow down and the whole radiant heat concept fails. Then you really need kerosene heaters, but frankly there's not much chance you'd be biking around in those temps unless you're doing some extreme sport.
Platy
10-28-07, 09:17 PM
Candles might be useful in some situations. Unlike propane or kerosene, they don't require a special burner or a container for the fuel. The energy density of paraffin is similar to kerosene. Candles can have multiple wicks, each giving around 100 btu/hr (30 watts) of heat, you can decide how many wicks to light. During a power outage in an ice storm last winter, we cooked eggs here with an emergency candle in a pie plate over a rigged up tripod.
shumacher
10-28-07, 09:27 PM
Wow. Thanks for the link to the Tumbleweed homes. I think I might be into the idea. Something related, but different: sailboats.
A sub-30' sailboat can provide living quarters and is portable. Get on eBay and have a look. The value of sailboats plummets pretty rapidly, making $10-20k a reasonable price for a well sorted boat with woefully unfashionable curtains.
On the other hand, be sure to check slip rent at your local marina.
If I did a tumbleweed home, I'd probably want it on a normal foundation, and connected to the power grid. I'd build it as efficient as possible, and possibly use solar, but I'm thinking the impact assciated with the tiny amount of power I'd be using would have less environmental impact than the effort and cost associated with other methods of energy production.
Besides, environmentally speaking, aren't these tiny homes the equivalent of single occupant motoring?
Cosmoline
10-29-07, 11:04 AM
A shower is as simple as a bag of hot water hung in a tree, and as noted the hot water is very easy to make with a propane burner. You can also rig a very nice bath with one of these:
In fact I still use one for a weekly soak. They don't weigh much when empty, they're extremely rugged and you could easily incorporate one into a trailer.
cerewa
10-29-07, 05:29 PM
Besides, environmentally speaking, aren't these tiny homes the equivalent of single occupant motoring?
If we're comparing homes to transportation solutions, the tumbleweed home is kind of like an electric bike compared to the stretch-limo-hummer that is your typical 4bedroom-plus single family house.
You'd have to ride ten electric bikes at a time before you got as inefficient as a stretch hummer with a whole family in it...
One of the people who works for Tumbleweed and lives in one of their homes claims, anyway, that it's only $5 a month in propane for winter heating bills.
wahoonc
10-29-07, 05:53 PM
I love the concept of the Tumbleweed homes. I have lived in some that were almost as small. And I have lived in a pickup camper (smaller) and a 31' Airstream Travel trailer (almost as small) If you dig for the statistics you will find that the average square foot per occupant has climbed steadily since the 1930's, partly due to smaller families and partly due to larger average sized homes as we spread to suburbia and the McMansion. IIRC the average in the 1950's was around 250sf per person with the average today at about 3 times that.(the link I had is dead) Families have gotten smaller and homes have gotten bigger. According to one set of statistics, if we still consumed energy at that same per person level that we did in 1950 our current energy consumption would be halved. Another thing we as Americans excel at is the average amount of retail sales space per person...can you say Mega Stores? We are at about 5 times the level of any other first world nation. I much prefer a smaller house, it makes you weigh your options before you purchase another probably unneeded piece of plastic Chinese made crap.
Aaron:)
Cosmoline
10-29-07, 07:22 PM
Try living in an 8'x10' shed for a year.
GrantParkerB
10-29-07, 08:08 PM
Just another thanks for the tumbleweed link / idea cerewa... I hope this doesn't mean that I gotta start watching Oprah :)~ Maybe she bought one for each person in the audience that day?
wahoonc
10-30-07, 03:02 AM
Try living in an 8'x10' shed for a year.
That is about the size a pickup camper...;) It actually worked pretty well for me...at the time.
Aaron:)
oldfool
10-30-07, 08:21 AM
That is about the size a pickup camper...;) It actually worked pretty well for me...at the time.
Aaron:)
I also have lived in a pickup camper on several occasions. 6 months in a 10 foot (luxury) and 4 months in a 8 foot. I have also lived on a sail boat (13 years), a 15 foot trailer and a converted 1951 Greyhound bus. I didn't find any of it difficult or even uncomfortable. I currently live in a 690 square foot house on a 100 by 200 lot with my wife, grandson (he is adult size), 2 dogs, 5 cats, 3 turtles and a hamster. The population grows by as many as 5 kids on weekends. The dogs and cats live outside.
I still have the Greyhound (about 200 sq. ft.) and spend most of my indoor time there or in my shop which increases the effective space another 300 sq. ft. Life can be just as comfortable in a small space as in a large on. There is much less to clean, keep up and repair so there is much more free time to pursue other interest.
Couple that with debt free and life is very good.:)
Artkansas
10-30-07, 10:05 AM
When I lived in Coachella Valley there was one fellow with such a rig. He had created a large home-built trailer that he towed behind his bicycle. I saw him all over the valley and it was obvious that he lived in it. He kept to himself so I never got to speak to him or see inside it. So I can't tell you much more about it. The valley floor of the Coachella Valley was very flat, and I would see him pedaling along slowly with very very low gears.
astronomerroyal
10-30-07, 10:21 AM
Regarding the pushing/pulling of things up hills. A quick scribble reveals that given an incline of A degrees, and pushing/pulling a mass M up this hill against gravity, this requires the same force as lifting (vertically) a mass Meff, given by
Meff=0.017 M A
for small (i.e all realistic) inclines A. To use the previous example, pushing the 3000 lb car up a 1 degree incline is like lifting a mass of 51lbs, which is perfectly doable. A 500lb trailer would be a mere 8.5 lb equivalent. Obviously bicycle gearing also becomes the issue.
For human propulsion, comparing the trailer mass to the human's mass (i.e. the ratio) is relevant, since humans are generally configured to be able to shift weights comparable to their body weight.
bmclaughlin807
10-30-07, 10:30 AM
I also have lived in a pickup camper on several occasions. 6 months in a 10 foot (luxury) and 4 months in a 8 foot. I have also lived on a sail boat (13 years), a 15 foot trailer and a converted 1951 Greyhound bus. I didn't find any of it difficult or even uncomfortable. I currently live in a 690 square foot house on a 100 by 200 lot with my wife, grandson (he is adult size), 2 dogs, 5 cats, 3 turtles and a hamster. The population grows by as many as 5 kids on weekends. The dogs and cats live outside.
I still have the Greyhound (about 200 sq. ft.) and spend most of my indoor time there or in my shop which increases the effective space another 300 sq. ft. Life can be just as comfortable in a small space as in a large on. There is much less to clean, keep up and repair so there is much more free time to pursue other interest.
Couple that with debt free and life is very good.:)
http://cheaprvliving.com/index.html
gerv
10-30-07, 05:55 PM
There were some ideas floating around in my head that didn't make it into the original post by the time I pushed "send". The reason this project-idea appeals to me is the idea of living for a long time with no rent payment, and still being able to have a job, avoid looking like someone who doesn't shower, and live "comfortably enough" by my own standards. The fact that I would not be tied down to heating an apartment with $400 per winter of fossil fuel natural gas, (and that's not counting the $40 every month to keep the account open and have hot water when needed) would be a plus.
newspaperguy, I think you're overestimating how hard it is to haul 500 pounds up a hill. I weigh 130#, and with bike+trailer+cargo+self weighing 250# I am able to climb substantial hills without coming close to my lowest gear. Triple the weight of bike+trailer+cargo+self weight to 750# and I could still, barely, move it up a steep hill, albeit 3+ times slower. I have seen a 3000# car moved up a slight incline pushed by one average-looking person; these sorts of things are possible.
I did indeed envision it for urban/suburban areas, partly because finding a job to earn money for food, clothes, bike repairs, etc. seems easier to me in more-populated areas.
I kind of agree with newspaperguy that the tent, thermarest and sleeping bag solution is much easier on a bike. But I kind of see what you are saying. Maybe you should travel by bicycle to some warmer climate for the Winter, living in a tent and doing a lot of sight-seeing.
Anyway, not sure if that would work for you, but that's my fantasy.
Newspaperguy
10-30-07, 06:09 PM
Regarding the pushing/pulling of things up hills. A quick scribble reveals that given an incline of A degrees, and pushing/pulling a mass M up this hill against gravity, this requires the same force as lifting (vertically) a mass Meff, given by
Meff=0.017 M A
for small (i.e all realistic) inclines A. To use the previous example, pushing the 3000 lb car up a 1 degree incline is like lifting a mass of 51lbs, which is perfectly doable. A 500lb trailer would be a mere 8.5 lb equivalent. Obviously bicycle gearing also becomes the issue.
For human propulsion, comparing the trailer mass to the human's mass (i.e. the ratio) is relevant, since humans are generally configured to be able to shift weights comparable to their body weight.
You've lost me here. The numbers aren't making sense to me. If I understand this correctly, there is no additional weight factor on a flat surface since it a zero degree incline. Multiplying by zero gives zero.
But I know from experience with loaded bikes that the weight will make a difference every time. On a flat surface, you'll be slowed down considerably the more weight you're carrying, no matter how you're hauling it. And the moment you get an incline, you're simply going to add to the effort.
If I don't understand the numbers, please explain them to me.
JeanCoutu
10-30-07, 07:21 PM
You can play around with this and get a good idea for numbers:
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
Domromer
10-30-07, 07:25 PM
http://cheaprvliving.com/index.html
Cool site, makes me wanna hit the road in a diesel Golf.
oldfool
10-31-07, 03:47 AM
http://cheaprvliving.com/index.html
Thanks:)
Percist
10-31-07, 10:02 AM
One issue you need to consider is security. Are you going to carry your home with you everywhere like a turtle? That could be very limiting especially if you want to do something as simple as go to a movie. Either make it large and secure enough to detract theft, or find someplace to store it. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
I love the idea, but I also love being able to leave the house knowing it'll be there when I get back.
StephenH
10-31-07, 11:38 AM
I don't really see it addressed here, but it seems water and sewage would be the biggest problems. If you're in an RV park, no problem, but that doesn't seem to be part of the deal. If you're out in the boonies, you can dig a hole and bury the crap. But trying to live in a camping trailer in an urban environment and not in a campground, it seems like you'd wind up bumming water and sewer services off someone else in some way.
On the trailer issue, the weight works both ways. If you keep weight very low, you also have a shelter that can potentially blow away, quite likely one that can be easily broken into. Or as weight increases, you get something harder and harder to move.
I have in fact moved a small car up a small incline by myself. It is thoroughly exhausting if that helps. I don't think anyone mentioned it, but a headwind might be a bigger problem. Moving a trailer-sized object around on the roads at very very slow speeds would seem to be a safety concern, too.
It seems to me that if you're really interested in persuing this, the first step would be to move somewhere that has no hills and minimal heating/ AC issues.
wahoonc
11-04-07, 04:57 PM
I was wandering down the road on my trusty 3 speed today and happened to see one of these (http://www.leesurelite.com/) being pulled by a motorcycle. I have seen these set up before and the concept is excellent. They weigh in around 230# but I suspect a lighter version could be developed for bicycle use. It would not need to be as heavily built because it isn't going to be towed at interstate speeds. As far as toilet facilities a small chemical toilet is one way to go.
A shower is as simple as a bag of hot water hung in a tree, and as noted the hot water is very easy to make with a propane burner. You can also rig a very nice bath with one of these
In fact I still use one for a weekly soak. They don't weigh much when empty, they're extremely rugged and you could easily incorporate one into a trailer.
Another way to do a solar hot shower is to coil a black water hose on an overhead platform. Fill the hose with water, wait for the sun to heat the water in the hose, open the spigot and enjoy a nice hot shower.
Roody
11-04-07, 05:44 PM
Tree house!
A platform in a tree with a popup tent on it. A RC garage door opener to lower a rope ladder. The guy built his in a tree in a forested city park. Nobody noticed it was there, and the RC ladder gave him pretty good security.
You can read about it in Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson. (Fiction=it might not really work? Or it might...)
cerewa
11-04-07, 07:56 PM
It seems to me that if you're really interested in persuing this, the first step would be to move somewhere that has no hills and minimal heating/ AC issues.
I think the heat/AC issue is one of the biggest problems with the idea. I have been considering how it would work for a climate like Philadelphia, which doesn't get the worst of the heat or the cold that one gets in, say, Florida or Minnesota. And I live here so I know the climate pretty well.
The concept of a trailer that's about 6' tall, 8'x12' floor, walls made of foam insulation, would work fairly well for cold. Just cooking something on a propane stove should be enough to warm it up pretty well. But that doesn't help in the least with cooling.
For water and sewer, it may be feasible to depend on any ol' big box store for bathrooms and for a place to buy water (or just take free water from water fountains).
Platy
11-04-07, 10:10 PM
...a trailer that's about 6' tall, 8'x12' floor, walls made of foam insulation...
That's 96 square feet. The Project Mercury space capsule had 40 square feet in the crew cabin.
"Because of their extremely small size it was said that the Mercury spacecraft capsules were not ridden, but worn. At 1.7 cubic metres in volume, the capsule was just large enough for the single crew member." - Wikipedia
If you can get the trailer down into that size range, you could possibly camouflage it as something else, like a small boat. The advantage of doing that is you could park it in an out of the way place and hope not to be discovered by someone who might tell you to move on.
Edit: Why not actually make it a small boat. Then you could possibly tie up in a lot of places where you wouldn't be bothered.
Newspaperguy
11-04-07, 11:45 PM
The concept of a trailer that's about 6' tall, 8'x12' floor, walls made of foam insulation, would work fairly well for cold. Just cooking something on a propane stove should be enough to warm it up pretty well. But that doesn't help in the least with cooling.
If you've insulated a place to keep you warm in cold weather, it will also keep you from getting too hot in the warm weather. This is the method I use to keep my house comfortable in summer when the temperatures reach 40 C or 104 F. At night, I'll open the windows and let the place cool down. In the morning, before it heats up, I'll shut the windows and close the blinds. Using this method, I have no need for air conditioning.
wahoonc
11-05-07, 02:53 AM
If you've insulated a place to keep you warm in cold weather, it will also keep you from getting too hot in the warm weather. This is the method I use to keep my house comfortable in summer when the temperatures reach 40 C or 104 F. At night, I'll open the windows and let the place cool down. In the morning, before it heats up, I'll shut the windows and close the blinds. Using this method, I have no need for air conditioning.
Called Thermal Cycling...it used to be the way people did it way back before A/C became readily available. They also planted shade trees, and oriented houses to catch the prevailing breezes. I have had several well designed houses over the years that did not require A/C even in the humid deep south, the best was built in 1921. It was designed in such a manner that the lowest door on the rear of the house was opened and the windows at the front on the top dormer were opened and you got a natural breeze through the house. Coupled with the large shade trees and tall ceilings the house would stay comfortable on all but the very hottest of days. McMansions are not designed with these features.
Aaron:)
astronomerroyal
11-05-07, 08:43 AM
You've lost me here. The numbers aren't making sense to me. If I understand this correctly, there is no additional weight factor on a flat surface since it a zero degree incline. Multiplying by zero gives zero.
But I know from experience with loaded bikes that the weight will make a difference every time. On a flat surface, you'll be slowed down considerably the more weight you're carrying, no matter how you're hauling it. And the moment you get an incline, you're simply going to add to the effort.
If I don't understand the numbers, please explain them to me.
To Newspaperguy, the German link provided is obviously recommended. However, the formula I provided was ONLY for moving things up and down hills. If you want a comprehensive account of the 'effort invovled in moving things' then you have to also calculate wind resistance, rolling resistance and so on. In general you might calculate the force required to overcome each of these forms of drag, and usually one will dominate. On a flat surface, the force due to overcoming gravity is zero. The effort you're referring to is probably rolling resistance (tyre vs road, axle vs bearings etc)
when cycling up a hill it is almost always the gravitational force that dominates (over wind or rolling resistance), especially with large loads since this force is proportional to mass, which is not the case for wind resistance.
astronomerroyal
11-05-07, 09:01 AM
That's 96 square feet. The Project Mercury space capsule had 40 square feet in the crew cabin.
"Because of their extremely small size it was said that the Mercury spacecraft capsules were not ridden, but worn. At 1.7 cubic metres in volume, the capsule was just large enough for the single crew member." - Wikipedia
If you can get the trailer down into that size range, you could possibly camouflage it as something else, like a small boat. The advantage of doing that is you could park it in an out of the way place and hope not to be discovered by someone who might tell you to move on.
Edit: Why not actually make it a small boat. Then you could possibly tie up in a lot of places where you wouldn't be bothered.
I recently saw a short film, probably on youtube, about a chap who did this; a bicycle trailer which turned into a boat. Quite Heath Robinson, however. An artistic statement.
GrantParkerB
11-05-07, 10:13 AM
+100 on the Thermal Cycling! My Grandfather introduced me to that trick... Always yelling, "Shut the door, you'll let the cool out" Hahaha! He had a good point though, I practice it now.
bizzz111
11-05-07, 01:25 PM
You could always build a version of the traveling coffin. http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/06/collapsible_bike_trailer_has_c.html
wahoonc
11-05-07, 04:07 PM
You could always build a version of the traveling coffin. http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/06/collapsible_bike_trailer_has_c.html
KEWL and I bet with a bit of finagling and modern materials that weight could be brought down a bit.
Aaron
Platy
11-05-07, 04:55 PM
KEWL and I bet with a bit of finagling and modern materials that weight could be brought down a bit.
Aaron
Yeah, this is getting interesting. It seems that back in the 1960s there were several avant garde architects who proposed different variations on "living capsules".
“Bewitched by nomadic fantasies, Archigram argued that an architecture based on mobility and malleability could set people free.”
You could always build a version of the traveling coffin. http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/06/collapsible_bike_trailer_has_c.html
Interestingly, Henry David Thoreau conceived of this idea back in the 1840s (without the bicycle, since it hadn't been invented yet). In Walden he wrote:
I used to see a large box by the railroad, six feet long by three wide, in which the laborers locked up their tools at night; and it suggested to me that every man who was hard pushed might get such a one for a dollar, and, having bored a few auger holes in it, to admit the air at least, get into it when it rained and at night, and hook down the lid, and so have freedom in his love, and in his soul be free. This did not appear the worst, nor by any means a despicable alternative. You could sit up as late as you pleased, and, whenever you got up, go abroad without any landlord or house-lord dogging you for rent. Many a man is harassed to death to pay the rent of a larger and more luxurious box who would not have frozen to death in such a box as this. I am far from jesting.
wahoonc
11-06-07, 02:36 AM
Another thing just wandered across my mind...there was a news report several years ago from CA where a woman wanted to donate a number of the large dog igloos for the homeless to use as temporary shelters. I can see why she thought it was a good idea, the local homeless coalition turned it down cold because it was "degrading" to sleep in a dog house. But they would make an ideal shelter too...and are relatively inexpensive, though not particularly easy to transport.
Aaron:)
GrantParkerB
11-06-07, 10:31 AM
That's funny... The homeless coalition turned it down, I wonder if any of them are homeless? I'd take a dog igloo over a cardboard box and day! :)
Artkansas
11-06-07, 12:27 PM
Another thing just wandered across my mind...there was a news report several years ago from CA where a woman wanted to donate a number of the large dog igloos for the homeless to use as temporary shelters. But they would make an ideal shelter too...
An ideal shelter? The largest dogloo is 48" long. So unless you are a midget or dwarf, you cannot lie down flat. I think I'd rather take my chances in a refrigerator box with a plastic painters tarp.
This is my velomobile. The kids in the neighborhood nicknamed it "The HouseBoat".
wrafl
11-06-07, 05:20 PM
This is an interesting thread. I stay and live on a 25' sailboat that I leave at a marina in Gulf of Mexico. Marina fee is reasonable which include electric and water hookup. At the day room, it has a kitchen, bathroom with showers and laundry facilities. How much I love to stay there and watch the clear skies at night and leave hatches open to let nice breeze from the gulf. Simple living at it's finest.
wahoonc
11-06-07, 05:48 PM
An ideal shelter? The largest dogloo is 48" long. So unless you are a midget or dwarf, you cannot lie down flat. I think I'd rather take my chances in a refrigerator box with a plastic painters tarp.
Most of the homeless people I see sleeping are usually curled up in a ball, so they would fit the extra large igloo just fine. They used to make a 60" one years ago, we had a couple for the Newfies we had at the time.
Aaron:)
MyBikeGotStolen
11-06-07, 06:41 PM
My dad has an old 22' sailboat he would probably give to me just to get it back in the water, I have thought about checking into docking fees for it and live on it. Heck I could fish off my front porch! I think I would have to have only beater bikes or my folder that I could bring inside to get out of the salt air.
If I wasnt about to move into his remodeled shed for free rent, I would definatly be looking more into the boat. The only down side is that I will be moving farther from school which will be 15miles each way and I think it will mean alot more time in the car and not biking to school. :(
Roody
11-06-07, 06:55 PM
My dad has an old 22' sailboat he would probably give to me just to get it back in the water, I have thought about checking into docking fees for it and live on it. Heck I could fish off my front porch! I think I would have to have only beater bikes or my folder that I could bring inside to get out of the salt air.
If I wasnt about to move into his remodeled shed for free rent, I would definatly be looking more into the boat. The only down side is that I will be moving farther from school which will be 15miles each way and I think it will mean alot more time in the car and not biking to school. :(
I bet you could keep riding to school if you really wanted to. 15 miles would be well under an hour by bike. City driving that far would probably be 30 minutes or even more. You'd have to try to schedule classes consecutively so you only went to campus once a day. Some terms you might even schedule no Friday classes, or even fit them all into 2 or 3 days a week. Think about it!
MyBikeGotStolen
11-06-07, 07:58 PM
Yea I definately will be trying to schedule my classes like allday tuesday and allday thursday and work on mon, weds, friday. The ride will be 15 miles down a 55 mph 4-lane road with only 3 or 4 redlights the whole way. There is a shoulder on the road but no bike lanes. I will be leaving an island to get to school, so there is no alternative routes. One bridge on and off the island.