We are proud to finally introduce the Joy Box tiny house on wheels, an off-grid 7.2m x 2.4m home. Watch the video to take a tour. 

The Joy Box is an off-grid and eco-friendly tiny home built on a trailer.

We are delighted to finally hand over the Joy Box to her new owner. This tiny home on wheels has been months in the making and we are pleased with how she has turned out.

Here is a recap on what’s included in the Joy Box:

• 3kW of solar panels with two lithium batteries that will power the home for 4+ days without sun (we changed the batteries from four heavy to two light lithiums)
• A generously sized kitchen with full-size fridge, a sink, pantry and heaps of storage including in the kick boards
• Cooktop and small oven
• Cabin locks on all the cupboards so everything is secure while she is in transit
• A full-sized washer/dryer
• A custom-built lounge which doubles as a single bed, with storage underneath
• A bathroom with large shower and waterless, no-flush toilet (read more about how this eco-friendly toilet works)
• Ground floor queen size bedroom with storage underneath the bed, including access to under the bed from the outside
• Reverse cycle air-conditioner for Australian hot summers and cool winters
• Loft storage above the bathroom
• A 4500 tonne GVM custom-built trailer

The Joy Box is on its way to being an award-winning tiny home

We are also excited to announce that we are a 2018 Lake Macquarie Business Awards #lmba finalist for the Excellence in Sustainability Award.  The winner will be announced on 28 July. To top this off, we are also up for a couple of Hunter and Central Coast Master Builders Association Awards to be announced in September! We will keep you posted with the results!

This article goes into detail about how the Joy Box tiny house has all the creature comforts of home, like a bathroom, laundry, air-conditioner and full-sized fridge, but is off-grid, fully powered by the sun. 

Solar panels and battery system brings tiny home to life

The Joy Box has a 3kW solar power system, including 4x165 AH battery storage (I mistakenly said 4x100amps in the vid!) What does this mean? It means she will not need to plug into the main electricity grid; she is self-sufficient and will draw her energy from the sun.

I can hear you asking – but what about on cloudy days? The Joy Box tiny home has enough battery storage to run for about 4 days. Yes – her owner will need to be conservative with power usage, like avoiding using the air-conditioner all day, to allow her to stay energised.

What happens if there’s no sun for more than 4 days? We have ensured that the Joy Box can be plug into the main grid. The grid power doesn’t power appliances directly but charges the batteries. (This is my basic understanding.)

The Joy Box includes the following appliances, which will be powered by this system:

• Reverse cycle air-conditioner
• Full-sized fridge
• Small oven and cooktop
• Washer/dryer
• Waterless toilet fan
• Lights
• Incidental small appliances

Waterless eco-friendly toilet

The toilet in the Joy Box is a much more environmentally friendly option compared to a ‘normal’ toilet. Here’s how it works:

• It doesn’t use up precious water.
• Liquid (urine) is separated from solids (poop!) by closing a trap door. Depending on how many people use the toilet fulltime, you’d probably only need to empty it every 3-4 weeks.
• When you need to do a ‘Number-2’, open the trap door so it drops into a lined bucket. Separating the liquid from solids helps decomposition and minimises the smell.
• Again, I think you would only have to change this once a month or even longer.
• You can choose to add wood shavings to the solid waste as the Carbon from this helps to break down the solids and turn into a compost. Doing this will also mean you don’t have to empty it as much and will minimise any smell even further.
• If you don’t use woodchip, you can dispose of the waste which is collected in the biodegradable bag, which lines the bucket.
• A low-voltage fan pulls down emissions (smells) from the toilet, drawing it to the outside. This ensures there is little to no smell.

NB: Your poop can be used as compost, but it’s not recommended for use on vegetation that you plan on eating.

Water

Typically, hot water can take up to 30% of your total energy usage. To minimise drawing on lots of the solar power, we have installed an instantaneous gas hot water heater.

Grey water

It is unhealthy for the environment to dispose of waste water on the ground (not to mention illegal). Water from the shower, washing machine and dirty dishes will be collected into a 110 Litre grey water tank. This will be located under the trailer.

The Joy Box tiny home owner can connect a hose to dispose of the grey water at many, designated locations around the country.

Fresh water supply

The tiny house roof is way too small to collect and provide enough water, for usage. We have installed two 90 Litre fresh water tanks under the trailer, which will be pumped up into the home when the tap is turned on.

Some digital monitors will show when the grey water tank is full and the fresh water tanks need re-filling.

Those of you who love building and renovation would understand my obsession with watching the Joy Box tiny house being built.  The floor and insulation are down, the framing is up, the structure is braced and the windows and door are in!

Clay and the team are now working on dressing this gal with the Colorbond steel and timber cladding.

In this article, we give some detail about the tiny house structure and how we’ve kept the design light, practical, and of course – beautiful!

Tiny house flooring

Under-floor insulation

We originally thought we’d be using a thick foam substance under the floor for insulation, but thanks to a wonderful local supplier, they put us onto Kingspan Air Cell. It’s Australian made and BCA (Building Code of Australia) compliant.

It’s only 4 millimetres thick and functions as a 2-in-1 insulation and moisture management solution. It’s lighter, easier to install, and will last much longer because it has a unique anti-tear material – good for being exposed to rocks and debris on the road!

Structure and materials

Significantly lighter than timber, the steel frame is anchored to the foundations (the trailer!) using a bottom plate that is glue and bolted (M10).

The frame itself has been assemble with rivets, screws and glue (my uncle has built cars and trucks his whole career and said to glue and screw everything!). The entire frame is braced with 1mm steel strapping; this stops the walls from moving in transit or in high winds.

Also, within the structure is a steel rod that has been threaded on each side from top to bottom.  This anchors the roof and structure to the foundations.

We engaged an engineer, who has “signed-off” on the structure, although this is not (yet) required in NSW Australia. (It’s always safety first for Clay!)

Roof structure

To give the interior of the Joy Box a greater sense of spaciousness, there will not be a ceiling. Instead, we’re using timber framing because we’re exposing the beams and rafters. (So pretty!).

Clay sourced clear pine; there are no knots in the timber, making it much stronger and oh-so beautiful.

We have sacrificed on weight here for aesthetics, so we will have to “go light” elsewhere in the build to make sure she’s well under 3500kg!

On top of the timber is painted, V-groove panelling – beautiful!

What’s next?

Sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss out on our next article that will go into detail about off-grid plumbing, solar and power storage. The Joy Box will function completely off grid!

Click on the image below to view the image gallery to see our progress!

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This article is all about the tiny house trailer design and the thought put into making it work for our client.

Freedom and flexibility is what our client dreams of. She wants to be able to pack up her house, take it with her and hit the road to wherever its takes her.

Using it like many do with caravans, our client plans to drive her house around rather stay put.

Named by our client, the Joy Box will be large for its type, but light weight to ensure it’s legal and towable by a standard four-wheel drive vehicle.

Tiny house trailer size

The Joy Box tiny house trailer is 7.2 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, not including the draw bar.

In NSW Australia, the maximum width of a trailer is 2.5 metres.

Our trailer width of 2.4 metres allows for the cladding, guttering and even external fixtures such as lights, to fit within the maximum allowable width.

The trailer could be up to about 12 metres long, but while our client wanted a generously sized tiny house, it also needed to be light and easy enough to tow with a standard 4x4 vehicle.

Tiny house trailer design

It has a flat deck with wheel arches, meaning the wheel hubs stick out.

 We opted for this design to minimise the overall height of the deck. While the wheel hubs take up floor space inside, we’ll shave off about 20-30cm in overall height, making it oh-so slightly more aerodynamic.

Why we went for a double axle instead of triple

Most tiny houses of this size you see online have a triple axle trailer. Guided by Felk Engineering, our trailer manufacturer, we went for a double axle because it:

•  saves on overall weight, which is a critical design requirement;
• is more agile on the road compared to a triple axle; and
• is designed to drive on the highway, and the commercial truck wheels should last longer.

Weight capacity

If you Google tiny houses, you’ll likely see timber-clad beauties that exude quaintness and charm. They will also likely be from America, which has much more generous weight requirements than Australia.

Timber is extremely heavy. A timber-clad tiny house of this size could weigh anywhere from 4.5 to 8 tonnes.

To tow it legally in NSW, the tiny house will need to weigh no more than 3.5 tonne. This is because most 4x4 vehicles available in Australia have a 3.5 tonne towing capacity.

Anything above that would need to be towed by a truck (heavy vehicle).

For this reason, the GVM rating of the trailer is 3500. Our client wants the freedom to hit the road with her tiny house whenever she pleases, so this was the defining factor in the overall design.

It’s now registered and we’re already starting to the lay the floor and secure the house framing!

But that’s for another instalment! Don’t miss out on the next update about the light-weight framing and cladding – sign up to our newsletter.