10 Tips for Tricking Out Tiny

June 23, 2019

12:00 AM

Words by Megan Kopp

Hard-core tent campers, we finally bought a tiny home on wheels, a.k.a. a mini-trailer. We're active hikers and bikers and prefer to travel light and spend as much time as possible outdoors. Weighing in at 374 kg (825 lbs) (dry weight) and stretching out 3.9 m (13 ft) in length, the Canadian-made Prolite Eco 12 is basically a bed on wheels - with lights, sink, fridge, stove, furnace and cupboard thrown in for good measure. Perfect!

Well... almost perfect.

We took the trailer out for an overnight test run and to make a list of everything we'd actually need to make it work for a six-week trip this summer to northern BC but also a four-month winter slide south to Utah, Arizona and into Baja, Mexico starting in November. The list flowed over to a second page. Adjust the suspension to raise the trailer clearance for back roads, check. Create a lightweight "grey water" capture system for the sink and pull together the perfect outdoor shower system, check and check. Solar panels? Installed. All that was left to do was maximize limited storage space inside.

Here are 10 tips we discovered that will help make your small space sing:

Megan Kopp

1. Mount a light metal shelf above the stove/sink unit and place a couple of lightweight woven baskets attached with Velcro for instant storage of plates, bowls, and cups. Magnetic spice containers attach well to the underside of the shelf. The bracket holding up the shelf becomes a towel rack. The side of the shelf is the perfect anchor point for a paper towel holder.

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Tip 1 Before

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Tip 1 After

2. Buy a metal cover for the stove top and build a wooden cover/cutting board for the sink for more useable counter space.

Megan Kopp

3. Put hinges and a handle on the little false front "cupboard" space beside the fridge and add modified bamboo cutlery/spice drawers – with corner cutouts to fit around drain pipe - for a useful little space.

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Megan Kopp

Tip 3 Before

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Tip 3 After

4. Install a wire basket on sliders in the floor cupboard space. It provides instant, easy access to the entire cupboard – not just the front half – for pots and pans, measuring cup and a big salad/mixing bowl.

Megan Kopp

5. Add extra shelves in the closet to make better use of the space and attach a lightweight cloth basket on the open space on top of the closet to hold games and books.

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Tip 5 Before

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Tip 5 Before

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Tip 5 After

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Tip 5 After

6. Change out legs on the table and move the tabletop back 20 centimeters to allow easier access to the seating area and increase room for two people to navigate the small floor space. The pushed in tabletop also works to hold rolled up bedding in place at the front of the seating area, making a handy lounge pillow.

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Megan Kopp

Tip 6 Before

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Tip 6 After

7. Hook it! Add coat hooks on open panels on both sides of the trailer door. Use one for keys, some for a shoe rack, others for coats, and the rest for clothing to be worn again the next day.

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