Tiny Home Vs. RVs – A Complete Comparison

If you have been looking into sustainable, affordable housing solutions that promote a simple lifestyle, your research may have landed you with two strong contenders: a tiny home and an RV. Both have gained popularity as functional dwelling units with everything you need to live a content life. But ‘tiny home vs. RVs’ remains a healthy debate and pressing question in the small-space living community (or those who aspire to become a part of it).

The lines between a tiny home and an RV can often be slightly blurred as most laws consider tiny houses on wheels RVs. Therefore, it is good to look at what qualifies as an RV and a tiny house to make a fair comparison.

What Qualifies to be a Tiny Home?

To qualify as a Tiny House, it must be under 400 square feet in most cases. It is usually built of one cohesive space, which means the kitchen, living room, bedroom all flow into each other. The bathroom may have a door, but not necessarily. The biggest difference between tiny homes and RVs may be that the former is built on the ground and is fixed on their foundation. However, even that may not always be the case as some tiny houses are built on wheels, and while they are not meant to be traveled around in, like in an RV, they can still be moved.

Another difference between tiny homes and RVs that may distinguish between the two is more symbolic. And by that, we mean a tiny home is mostly centered around simplistic living without giving up the comfort of the home. They are meant to still feel like permanent dwelling units rather than a vehicle you can temporarily stay in when moving around.

What Qualifies as an RV?

The concept of campers and trailers has existed since the 1800s, thanks to the Roma Caravans for inspiring the first RV – Pierce-Arrow’s Touring Landau that was produced in 1910. This may lead us to the basic difference between tiny homes and RVs, which is the purpose they were built for. When you think of an RV, the first idea that comes to mind is not of a home but of a furnished vehicle that you can live in when out and about. This is also why an RV is not measured or limited by square feet.

So, an RV – short for Recreational Vehicle – is always going to be on wheels and capable of being driven around anywhere and anytime on its own. With a shift toward small-space living, people started looking at RVs as a permanent dwelling unit as most modern RVs come fully furnished, sometimes with better facilities than a tiny house. There are several types available in the market ranging from truck campers and caravans to motorhomes and campervans.

The Contest – Tiny Home Vs. RVs

Whether or not one is better than the other depends on several factors, ranging from where you live to what type of toilet situation you will be fine with. Let’s take a look at some.

Housing Regulations

When it comes to laws and regulations, tiny houses can fall under a grey area. They are often built on wheels to get around local codes and regulations. This is partially why they can escape permitting and zoning requirements (and sometimes taxes too). However, their shady status makes them hard to ensure, and many campgrounds and national parks do not allow them to park tiny houses overnight. This is one advantage of an RV. However, if your tiny house is built on the ground – this should not be an issue.

Plumbing and Toilet Facilities

Since RVs are not necessarily designed for ‘simplistic living’, they come with certain facilities that tiny homes do not have. For example, they have tanks for holding fresh, grey, and black water that tiny houses don’t. Therefore, the latter must be connected to a sewer and water source for fully functional plumbing. However, RVs’ water tanks need to be emptied regularly, which can be both smelly and messy, and tiny homeowners do not like the idea of doing that in a permanent living setup.

Electricity Supply

This is a more subjective factor as the various options available may be an advantage of tiny homes. They can be connected to an electric source, powered by a generator, or be completely off-the-grid with a solar panel powering the whole house. RV is usually powered by a generator but can also be hooked up to an electric source.

Space and Storage

This is an advantage of an RV because many come with slide-outs that provide extra space for storage. Unlike a tiny house, RVs do not have a square-foot limit, so they can generally be bigger and accommodate more people. However, since one would usually buy a mass-produced RV – this factor can vary largely depending on your budget and how big of an RV you are buying.

Insulation and Durability

RVs are designed for the road; they are meant to be traveled in; therefore, a tiny house definitely has an advantage over an RV when it comes to durability and insulation. Not only a tiny house has better insulation for heat and sound, but there are options to control the temperature inside. As RVs are supposed to be mobile, they are made with lighter materials and so are prone to shaking in the wind. Simply to say, RVs can never be as weatherproofed as a tiny house.

Depreciation

This is another advantage of tiny homes that instead of depreciating fast, their value may increase over time – as it does for houses in general. Since RVs are categorized as vehicles, they depreciate quickly as any vehicle would. However, this also means you can easily buy a second-hand camper if you are on a budget, and it will cost you way less than building a tiny house from scratch.

Customization

As we mentioned earlier, companies produce RVs, and you just buy them with everything pre-set and ready inside. An advantage of tiny homes is that you can customize them in every way and form. Everything is up to you, from selecting the color and type of materials your house is built with to choosing its interior design and decoration.

Our Final Thoughts

Both RVs and tiny homes offer common solutions for small-space living. However, despite people using them for a common goal, the difference between tiny homes and RVs is rooted in their functionality and purpose. If you want to live small with minimal travel, a tiny house will be perfect for you. But if you have a more nomadic nature and you will like to be on an interminable camping trip, all the while staying at home – an RV will be the right choice for you.