Tiny Home Shipping

Measure from the ground to the genuinely tallest point of the home: ridge cap, cupola, chimney flue, roof vent, or solar rack, whichever wins. Measure the width at the widest point, eave to eave, including any bump outs. These two numbers decide whether your home tows free or moves as a permitted load, and they decide the route.

Do not trust the builder’s spec sheet if the home has been modified since delivery: a rooftop solar install or a new roof vent can add the inches that matter. Five minutes with a tape measure and a level pole is the cheapest insurance in tiny home transport.

Latch every cabinet and drawer, and add painter’s tape or childproof locks where latches are weak. Box the breakables and take them off open shelving. Clear the loft entirely: anything left up high comes down hard. Secure or remove mirrors, art, and anything wall hung.

Appliances need their own attention: lock the washer drum if fitted, secure the refrigerator door and shelves, and confirm the range and water heater are fastened to the structure. The carrier’s insurance covers the home, not the contents, so what stays inside should be light, secured, and declared at booking.

Turn off the propane at the tank, cap the lines, and secure or remove the tanks. Drain the fresh water tank, the water heater, and the lines: water is 8.3 pounds a gallon, and in cold months it is also a freeze hazard. Disconnect shore power and coil the cable.

If the home has solar, confirm the panels and their racks are secured for highway wind, disconnect the charge controller, and secure the batteries in their compartment. A home arriving with its power system intact starts its new life the same day.

Everything that was added after the home parked comes off before it rolls: skirting panels, entry steps, porch and deck sections, awnings, and window boxes. None of it is built for 60 mph wind load, and it is the most common source of damage and roadside debris in house moves.

Stack and strap removed pieces inside the home if they travel with it, or leave them for the site. Walk the exterior once more looking for anything attached by habit rather than hardware: hose reels, house numbers, wind chimes. If it can leave, it will.

A home that has sat on a pad for years is riding on tires that dry rotted in place and bearings that have not turned since it arrived. Have the tires inspected or replaced at the trailer’s real load rating, the bearings serviced, and the brakes and lights tested through the connector before move day.

Confirm the coupler type at booking, bumper pull ball size or gooseneck, and confirm the tongue jack works: the driver needs it to hitch. If the running gear cannot be brought back safely, say so, and the move gets planned with the right equipment instead of failing at the curb.

Ask your homeowner’s or tiny home insurer whether the policy covers the home in transit, and tell them the move dates. The carrier’s cargo insurance covers the home as freight, and SAC offers Othex Zero Deductible Protection for additional coverage on high value builds, but your own policy is the third leg and it is worth one phone call.

Photograph the home inside and out in daylight before pickup: every wall, the roofline, the trailer frame, and the coupler. The Bill of Lading condition report is the formal record, and your photos back it up at both ends.

The rig needs room to back under the home, swing its full length out of the pad, and climb back to the road without soft ground swallowing an axle. At the destination, the same in reverse, plus the final positioning on the new pad. Overhead lines and tree limbs matter as much as the ground.

Walk both sites early, measure the gates, and look up. If the pad is tight, discuss staging or a spotter with your SAC coordinator before move day. The hardest hundred feet of a thousand mile move are the first and the last.