Tiny House, Big Power! Embrace Off-Grid Living with Solar Trailers

You've found your perfect parking spot for your tiny house. But there's no power. What now? If you need to go off-grid with your tiny, you’re going to need a power source and living in Australia, solar is the perfect choice!

You may automatically assume you’ll need to put a bunch of solar panels on your tiny house roof but there is another option that makes a lot more sense… Solar Trailers!

Solar trailers are exactly that. A trailer that houses an array of solar panels, a battery system to capture the power and usually a back-up generator that will kick in if your batteries get a bit low following a few too many days of bad weather.

But why choose a solar trailer instead of just putting panels on your roof?

The benefits of solar trailers include:

1. PARK YOUR HOUSE IN THE SHADE: With a solar trailer, you don’t have to park your tiny house in the sun or with a particular orientation… you can park it near trees to help keep it cooler in summer or just choose a spot with the best view!

2. PARK YOUR TRAILER IN THE SUN: Instead, you can park your trailer in the sun and orient the panels to best capture the most sun. They can even be moved throughout the year with ease if your winter sun is dramatically different from your summer sun.

3. NO HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS: Building a tiny house to the correct height specifications is a big deal. Every millimetre counts. If you don't have to put solar panels on the roof, there's no need to worry about the extra height of solar panels... which might buy you some extra headroom in your loft!

4. EASE OF MAINTENANCE: Getting up on your tiny house roof is fun but it's not something you want to do on a regular basis. The great thing about a solar panel trailer is it's at ground level so cleaning the panels and maintaining the trailer is super easy and much safer too!

5. MORE SPACE: Battery systems take up quite a lot of space. If you put them on a trailer instead of inside your tiny house, you're looking at an extra storage cupboard! You know what that means... more shoes! Some trailers are super cool and are designed like tradie trailers so in addition to saving room in your tiny house, you gain room with your trailer.. a small shed for your tools plus a work bench! It's a win win!

6. BUILT TO MEET YOUR NEEDS: You can work with solar trailer manufacturers to create a trailer that meets your exact needs. If you know what electrical appliances you'll be using on a daily basis, they can do the rest and advise you what size system you need.

7. PLUG IN AND POWER UP: To access power from your trailer, you generally plug your house in with an extension cord! You can also use your trailer to charge your electric vehicle, if you have one (or eventually want one).

8. FIRE SAFE: In the unlikely event of an electrical malfunction, your solar trailer might burn down but your house won’t!

Now for the downside... unfortunately your solar set up (whether on your roof or on a trailer) will be the most expensive part of going off-grid. Depending on how much power you need and how well built the trailers are, they can cost between $15,000 – $30,000. But, once you have one, you’ll never have to pay a power bill again.. and you’re contributing to Australia’s renewable energy targets. There couldn’t be a better investment!

What trailer do we recommend?

There are so many solar trailers to choose from these days! Even some tiny house manufacturers are building them. But it's important to do your due diligence and get a good quality trailer. It's a big investment so you want one that's going to last and going to be safe.

We’re a big fan of IonSled because they are Australian made, offer the custom shed/work bench option and are very focussed on safety. The automotive grade lithium battery has internal fire extinguishers, there is an external electrical fire alarm, solar and battery ground fault detections, and Advanced RVD mains supply protection, through to physical protections of solar panels.

So... if you're going off-grid with your tiny living, solar trailers are an awesome option to consider. You just need to be aware of the cost so you can factor this into your budget ahead of time!