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Tiny House With Slideouts – The Updated Guide 2024

Tiny houses with slideouts are increasingly becoming the favorites among tiny homeowners in 2024 because a slideout tiny house provides a fantastic opportunity for people expand their living space without many compromises to space and travel.

But what exactly is a tiny house bump out?

Read on to learn more about tiny houses with slideouts, as these designs are becoming the go-to option for many homeowners looking at expanding their tiny homes.

After reading today’s post, you’ll learn about the pros and cons of expanding tiny houses with slideouts, how much the design cost, and how to build one in case you want to get your hands dirty.

Tiny houses with slideouts: What is it?

Tiny houses with slideouts are dramatically changing the tiny home industry and for the right reasons.

For many tiny home enthusiasts who have always wanted to expand their living space, opting for a tiny house with expandable walls wouldn’t be such a bad decision.

For starters, slideouts are an incredible design that comes with many modern tiny homes today.

Unlike most traditional home designs, a slideout tiny house comes with expanding walls for additional living space.

Thanks to their brilliant design, slideouts can collapse inside the tiny house for hassle-free transportation.

Even though slideouts are super popular in RVs, these designs are gradually finding their way into tiny homes as more homeowners look to expand their living space.

While slideouts are a great addition to any tiny house, the design isn’t quite famous yet, and that’s because they tend to make tiny home construction more complicated and heavier.

Plus, you may encounter a few problems if you opt for slideouts with low-quality materials.

That said, tiny houses with slideouts come with awesome perks.

With slideouts, tiny home enthusiasts can finally get the most out of their tiny homes.

With a simple slideout included in your home, you’ll enjoy tons of extra space out of nowhere.

If your living space doesn’t have a loft and you want to add an extra dining room or extra space for your entire family, you’ll not be disappointed to opt for an expanding tiny house.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s show you some pros and cons of tiny houses with slideouts.

After reading this section, you should be able to decide if a tiny house bump out is for you.

Pros of expanding tiny house

One of the most exciting benefits of having a slide-out in your home is that it provides you with additional square footage that you’ll not typically enjoy with a traditional tiny home.

For people looking to learn more about the perks that come with slideouts, you’re welcome to read further.

Get more space out of your tiny home

While many tiny homeowners want to have as much living space as they like, living in a small home doesn’t come with this luxury.

As a matter of fact, the largest tiny house only offers about 400 square feet of space.

Amazingly, tiny houses with slideouts are gradually changing the fortunes of the tiny home industry as it is proffering solutions to the space problem common with traditional tiny homes.

For people who have extra bucks and don’t mind going all out to expand their living space, you’ll undoubtedly find slideout tiny houses worth giving a try.

Fits perfectly on a smaller trailer

Even though traditional tiny houses on wheels are built on smaller trailers for easier towing, tiny houses with slideouts also follow the same principle as they are fitted on smaller trailers too.

While tiny homes with slideouts are perfect for people looking to expand their living space, they are still built on smaller trailers with built-in bump-outs.

So if you’re worried that opting for a tiny expanding home will mean settling for a much larger trailer, you have nothing to worry about as their design allows them to fit on much smaller trailers, hence making towing super easy.

More extensive interior for more customization

Besides the additional square footage that slideouts offer, one of the most exciting things about this design is that it allows you to enjoy a roomier feel inside your home.

The thing is, tiny homes are pretty narrow, and that’s because they are mostly 8.5 feet wide in most cases.

So any opportunity to open things up a bit to clear walking paths and provide ample space for furniture is something anyone would jump at.

Thankfully, a slideout tiny house is all you’ll ever need to expand your living space.

Cons of tiny house with slideouts

While there are many downsides to having a bump-out in your tiny home, here are a few of them that stand out for us.

Leakage problem

Nobody wants to deal with leakage problems, but when you live in a tiny house with slideouts, having it perfectly sealed in both the open and closed areas is super challenging.

As a result, most slideouts will develop a leak over time.

And if this isn’t fixed on time, you may end up spending a lot to fix the damages caused by the leak.

Moving parts

If there is anything we have learned so far about tiny home construction is that every moving part is a disaster waiting to happen.

This simply means that any section of your small home that has to move will be the breaking point of your home.

And should that be the case, fixing it isn’t as easy as you imagine.

More so, the slideout design for a tiny home requires regular maintenance and repair to continue functioning optimally.

Drafts and pests

When dealing with slideouts, it is almost difficult to make them completely weatherproof.

Even a professional will need some tips and tricks to pull that off.

While air sealing is a critical concern when constructing a tiny home, introducing slideout will be a potential weak point.

More so, the design makes it super easy for pests to find their way into your home.

More weight

Even though slideouts are a brilliant idea, the design adds a lot of weight to your tiny home.

If you’re worried about the weight of your home, then get set to add as much as 1,500 lbs if you decide to add a single slideout to your home.

With the extra weight, you may have a pretty tricky time towing your small house on wheels.

Uneven weight distribution

One of the most dangerous things about slideouts is their uneven weight distribution.

A single bump-out can make your tiny home a little heavier on the side, which poses a lot of danger.

 

How much does a slideout tiny house cost?

A traditional tiny house will typically cost between $35,000 to $95,000 if built by a professional.

That said, adding a bump-out to a small home will cost an additional $4,000 in materials and $5,000 for labor.

Unfortunately, many builders no longer take on projects that include slideouts because of the many shortcomings of the design.

And that’s because even if they are built properly, it is only a matter of time before you start experiencing leakages.

For many builders, tiny houses with hydraulic roofs and expanding walls are more trouble than they are worth.

Building a tiny house with slideouts: What you should know

When constructing a home with slideouts, the first thing you need to get right is balancing the tiny home’s weight.

While we wouldn’t recommend a DIYer attempting to construct a slideout on their own, we would love to take you through the general process just for reference purposes.

Build your home on a trailer frame

If you’re interested in a tiny home with bump-outs, you’ll need first to have a custom house trailer frame built.

And to do it correctly, you must ensure that it is designed to extend footings to stabilize the trailer just before you proceed to extend the bump-out.

Also, another important thing is to ensure that you build a solid metal frame using 2-3-inch square tubing to serve as the opening for your slide out.

While at this, keep in mind that some slideout design requires that you embed seals, bezels, and rollers into the frame.

Attaching the slideout rollers

Building a small home with slideout isn’t complete without a set of slideout rollers.

Typically, these rollers are mounted on the metal frame, just at the bottom of the opening.

While these rollers are typically fitted on the bottom part of the slideout, the top is left loose.

Similarly, the top part is equipped with rubber stripping to seal any gaps and prevent any leakages.

Install a cable system to your slide-out frame

A cable system is usually installed to the rough frame of your tiny home, just where you have installed the slideout.

This holds the motor and routes the cables so they are adequately tensioned to ensure the slideout mechanism functions seamlessly.

Install steel-framed slideout

Your bump-out should be framed using 2-3-inch of square tubing welded together.

It’s vital that you get this right as you need the box to be as solid as possible.

Even though some slideout designs come with a slight outward taper to allow water to run off, you want to ensure that the frame is square and plumb.

Fitting your cables to the slideout

While the cables here don’t support the slideout as much as you think, it kind of helps to balance it.

Also, when the slideout is fully extended, the lines help prevent the top from tipping out.

Attaching seals, bezels, and stripping

Even though each slideout has its unique design, most bump-out systems will require fitting bezels, stripping, and seals.

This allows for the entire thing to seal up tightly when extended.

Install support legs

While it isn’t always required, we suggest installing support legs to the slideout if you plan to use it for a long time.

Any slideout you’ll be using for a few weeks or years would typically need to have proper support.

Install a topper awning

A topper awning, also known as a rolled-up awning, is a unique mechanism that extends from the inside of the cavity to the outside edge of the bump-out.

It provides extra protection from the rain.

Also, it gives a steeper angle to drain water away.

Because leaks are a widespread problem with slideout, you want to make sure you do this correctly.

Where to buy tiny homes with slideouts

Because tiny homes with slideouts aren’t trendy quite yet, very few home builders offer this option.

That said, if you’re interested in expanding tiny homes, you’ll not be disappointed to give top home builders like Zero Squared Tiny Homes and Mint Tiny Homes a try.

These guys have built many impeccable tiny houses with expandable walls and will be more than happy to take on your project.

Frequently asked questions

Do they leak?

This is one of the major complaints about homes with bump-outs.

Because of the leakage problems, many builders generally shy away from these designs.

Are slideouts expensive?

Because of their complicated designs and the extra materials needed to construct them, installing slideouts will drastically skyrocket the cost of tiny homes.

So before you consider going for a home with bump-outs, consider the cost implications and see if it is something you’re willing to take on.

Is a slideout worth it?

If you’re all about expanding your living space, then opting for slideouts wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

However, make sure it is constructed properly as the design is prone to leakage.

Conclusion

Tiny houses with slideouts are an excellent option for people looking to expand their living space.

And even though it would cost you a fortune, it wouldn’t be such a bad investment, especially if you share your home with multiple people.