Category: News & Current Events

2nd Annual Highway to Health: Before the Ride

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THE GIST

Tiny SMART House is proud to be partnering with Flat Tail Brewing to sponsor a local charity that’s close to our hearts. Corvallis-based brewery owner David Marliave is organizing his second annual Highway to Health Fundraiser to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS). Last year’s event was wildly successful, exceeding the $5,000 goal for a grand total of $8,250 donated. Marliave has ambitiously doubled his goal for 2018, hoping to raise at least $10,000.

tHE rIDE

The fundraiser is centered around a 24-hour long endurance motorcycle ride from Oregon all the way down to San Diego, California. This journey will take place on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, and cover approximately 1,000 miles. Naturally, Marliave will be following the IBA safety guidelines for endurance motorcycle touring, and if at any point the ride becomes unsafe he will stop.

tHE doNATIONS

We’re happy to report that the Highway to Health Fundraiser has already received some incredibly generous donations, but in order to meet the goal we still need your help! Donations can be made in two ways: either as a one-time flat amount or a per-mile pledge.

  • Donations of 25¢ per mile or more will have the opportunity to display their logo on www.BrewPublic.com in the article posted after completion of the ride (first week of May), along with a live “thank you” on The Brewing Network Session Podcast (the largest beer podcast/radio show in the world!). 
  • Donations of 50¢ or more per mile will have the first billing on the site and the Session Episode. 
  • Early donors will receive mentions on The Brewing Network Session shows leading up to the ride. 
  • 100% of all proceeds go to the NBTS, and donors will receive a tax deductible receipt after their donation. 

Click Here to donate

The man behind THE MOTORCYCLE

“When I began my brewing career almost a decade ago, I never imagined the industry would be full of so many unique people, with so many incredible stories. One of the most impactful of which has been Angelo De Ieso of BrewPublic.com , and NBTS Team BrewPublic. I first met Angelo just months after opening Flat Tail Brewing Co., and he quickly welcomed me into the fold; promoting our tiny, unheard of brewery freely and without compensation. Angelo has opened his heart to countless Oregon Breweries since we first met, and continues to be a pioneer in the craft industry, even since being diagnosed with a oligodendroglioma brain tumor.

It is Angelo’s spirit of giving, open heart, and boundless humor that originally inspired me to make his cause my own. On May 1st, 2018 I will be attempting my second annual motorcycle endurance ride, from Oregon, all the way to San Diego California, with the goal of covering 1,000 miles.

For every mile I ride, I am asking you to match my effort with a monetary donation. No donation is too small, and certainly no donation is too large. As Flat Tail Brewing and a select few partners will be covering all costs associated with the ride, and BrewPublic and The Brewing Network have generously volunteered to advertise our fundraiser at their own cost, absolutely every penny you donate will go directly to the National Brain Tumor Society. 

As you may well assume, any motorcycle ride over 400 miles involves many potential mitigating factors, from weather and mechanical issues, to rider fatigue and traffic. A reasonable minimum distance expected will be 600-800 miles, with a maximum of 1,250 (this is not a likely distance, but I’ll be doing my best to get close, and will probably land right around 1000). Keep these distances in mind when planning your donation, and feel free to list a maximum total amount as well. Otherwise, plan on multiplying the number of miles I successfully ride by the amount of your pledge, I.E. if I ride 1,000 miles, and you donate $.25 per mile, your final donation will be $250.00. That same pledge would yield $150 if I only complete 600 miles, and $312.50 if I complete 1,250 miles.

Together, with your donation, we WILL find a cure!” 

Tiny Tranquility | Tiny House Park

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Where can I put my tiny house?
…

It’s probably the most common question we receive. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most complicated questions we can answer. Basically, if we’re building you a foundation-ready tiny house, we’ll look at the zoning for your specific property. If we’re building you an RV-style tiny house, you can pretty much place it wherever you can legally place a traditional RV (our tiny houses are RVIA certified!). If your tiny house will be your primary residence and you want to live it full-time, there may be slim pickings. Needless to say, we’re always keeping our eyes peeled for new spots.

During some recent internet scouring, we stumbled across a real gem. It turns out there’s a tiny house/vintage trailer park set to open this summer only an hour away from Tiny SMART House! They’ll be offering both long-term and nighty rentals in Waldport, OR.

Take a peek at the photos and description from their previous Craigslist ad, and find links to their new Facebook and website below.

“Welcome to Tiny Tranquility, a 12.5 acre park on the Oregon Coast that was designed and developed to provide a truly unique opportunity for owners of tiny home and vintage travel trailers to live or stay on the Oregon coast. Opening in June, 2018, TT will provide sites ranging from 2,500 – 3,500 square feet in a park-like setting with a variety of features, amenities and gathering spaces – all designed to support tiny home living. These features will include: 

*Generous sites with power, water and sewer hookups and free wifi
*A large 2,400 sq/ft game and entertainment room
*2,000 sq/ft outdoor area with a basketball court and covered eating and grilling area
*Wood fired hot tub looking out onto a duck pond
*Newly constructed commons building with bathroom, shower and laundry facilities (first floor)
*Great room with ocean views and wrap around deck (second floor)
*12,000 sq/ft greenhouse for rental of your own personal nursery or storage space
*Freshly grown organic produce and micro-greens grown in greenhouse available to park users 
*Enclosed dog park
*Over an acre of outdoor area with picnic tables and fire pits, including entryway into a canopied nature trail with a small creek and old growth trees 

Within just a three minute walk to miles of pristine Oregon beaches, the park has been thoughtfully designed by noted landscape architects at KLA with native coastal plants, trees and shrubs to create a park like setting that protects the privacy of individual sites while at the same time featuring a host of communal gathering spaces. By providing for rental of the sites on a longer term basis, the TT community will include park residents who desire to live full time on the Oregon Coast as well as part timers who can use their tiny home or vintage trailer as a “beach house” for weekend or summer visits without being handcuffed to maintaining a traditional beach property. And for those who simply want to vacation and explore an amazing stretch of the Oregon coast, a variety of park and user-owned tiny homes and vintage trailers will be available at the park for nightly rental. 

TT is nestled between the sleepy towns of Waldport and Yachats and just a 20 minute drive to “big town” amenities found in Newport, Oregon. Waldport serves as the gateway to amazing crabbing on Alsea bay and salmon/steelhead fishing on the Alsea river while Yachats has been named the “Best place to stay on the Oregon coast” (Oregonian, July 2016) and the “gem of the Oregon coast”. With its location on the central coast, TT is just a short drive to a stretch of coastline that is unmatched for its natural beauty and for the multitude of natural features available for your exploration. Whether you want to see the spouting horns or Thor’s Well and then hike or drive to the top of Cape Perpetua for an amazing vista, throw the crab pot in Alsea bay, watch for gray whales, bike in a corridor of old growth trees, visit an active lighthouse, watch the huge waves roll in during a winter storm or simply kick your feet back and relax on the beach while your kids are flying a kite or building a sandcastle, the opportunities here are boundless.

If you are interested in living or staying at Tiny Tranquility, please email us your contact information at tinytranquilitypark@gmail.com. We will contact you as soon as our website and Facebook pages are up and running and welcome your questions in the interim.”

Tiny Tranquility
Facebook | Website

THOWs and the Oregon DMV

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The Oregon Chapter of the American Tiny House Association was kind enough to assemble an at-a-glace guide to the issues facing RV tiny houses in today. Unfortunately our state hasn’t taken as kindly to the Tiny Houses on Wheels as we would have liked, but do not be discouraged! Tiny SMART House actively participates in advocating for our movement, and you can too. The first step is getting informed. Cheers to our tiny house peers!

– Oregon DMV FAQ Sheet –

Can I title and register a Tiny Home on Wheels as a vehicle in Oregon?
DMV cannot title and register tiny homes on wheels (THOWs) because it is not specifically allowed under Oregon laws and rules.  This includes THOWs built new by a manufacturer, already titled in another state, or assembled (not built by a manufacturer).  However, customers can apply for permits from the Oregon Department of Transportation to move a tiny home on public roads and highways:

Trip Permit – Apply at DMV for a light vehicle or heavy trailer trip permit, depending on the loaded weight of the trailer. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/pages/vehicle/trippermit.aspx

Over-Dimension Permit (Commonly known as a Wide Load Permit) – If the tiny home is more than 8.5 feet wide, apply at the Motor Carrier Transportation Division for an over-dimension permit. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/Pages/Over-Dimension.aspx

What if I already titled and registered my THOW as an RV in Oregon?
Previously, THOWs qualified under Oregon laws and rules as a recreational vehicle.  If the trailer was issued an insignia of compliance by the Oregon Building Codes Division, an owner could apply for title and registration. Insignia of compliance are no longer issued for THOW structures.

If a THOW already has an Oregon title, it will remain valid and the vehicle registration can be renewed.

Relevant Laws and Administrative Rules
Some current Oregon laws and administrative rules related to THOWs:

Definition of “travel trailer” is ORS 565.
Definition of recreational vehicle is ORS 003(33) and further defined by DCBS Building Codes Division in OAR 918-525-0005(9).  This rule excludes THOWs.
Definition of prefabricated structure is ORS 010(6). Building Codes Division has rules for prefabricated structures. OAR 918-674-0005(20) describes the types of structures and components that are considered prefabricated structures.

Visit from the Regional Solutions Team

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Part of our mission here at Tiny SMART House is to remain active in the advocacy of tiny houses, particularly in the state of Oregon. After some issues last year, Oregon stopped certifying tiny houses as RVs and drove many builders out of business or out of state. Thankfully Tiny SMART House turned to RVIA for international certification and bounced back, but now Oregon is creating even more barriers to tiny house living in response.

Our owner Nathan Watson is of course a proud defender of the tiny house movement, RV or otherwise. He’s always been active in the current events and legislation, and has often attended meetings of the Building Codes Division (BCD) to provide testimony. This time, he decided to host his own.

On Wednesday, January 10th, Tiny SMART House hosted city and state officials as well as members of the local Regional Solutions Team, Oregon Housing & Community Services, the Employment Department and the American Tiny House Association here at our shop in Albany. As we gathered into one of our tiny houses to begin, there were some big names and big topics on the table.

– Main Takeaways –

  • Tiny houses have the ability to play a pivotal role in the housing needs of community members at all levels.
  • There are significant discrepancies in licensing of Tiny Houses on Wheels for in-state and out-of-state products.
  • The industry feels they don’t have a voice in the such decisions being made by the BCD, despite the fact that they are a thriving and expanding niche part of the building market.
  • Tiny home manufactures need an advocate in discussions with the BCD because changes in definitions and regulations have, and will continue to, negatively impact sales and cause confusion for customers.
  • Although the industry is growing rapidly, these changes have been, and will continue to, stifle growth in many avenues. The result is that many manufacturers are been forced to shut down or relocate outside of Oregon. This equates to a critical loss of jobs, tax revenue and potential economic development for the state.

All attendees were passionate, well-spoken and respectful. We so appreciate the time and efforts of everyone who joined us for the meeting, and made honest efforts to understand our struggle. Ultimately, we feel optimistic about our discussion and the revelations made by some very influential people. Cheers to our new tiny house peers!