Full 2-Story Movable Tiny House with Lifting Roof
A innovative German company, Vagabundo, recently debuted their version of a full two-story tiny house with a lifting roof. Impressively, it can be put on wheels and relocated as desired. During the pandemic, two young industrial engineers and an architect developed a versatile and minimalist movable home—the result: the Vagabundo Flex.
To them, "Vagabundo" means freedom. Flex implies a flexible home. So their model caters to people who want the flexibility to roam around as they wish, to feel free.
Vagabundo envisions it as a way to provide a sustainable, versatile homeownership opportunity. For example, they think it offers an excellent shared property option for residential properties in Germany and beyond. Their tiny house could be placed in a side yard and used as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). This means utilizing existing properties in a mutually beneficial way for the landowner and tiny home dweller.
Co-founder Andreas shares more about the role their movable tiny house with lifting roof can play:
"I think tiny houses can be part of the solution to our housing crisis because housing is expensive. Nowadays, not everybody can afford it. Tiny houses are a solution, or a part of this at least the solution, to afford a living space.
This is how we have to establish the housing market and the "living market," I would say, to be more flexible. Because flexibility also creates sustainability. Because the more flexible you can use a space or a property, the more sustainable it gets."
An Innovative Tiny House with Lifting Roof
Vagabundo seeks to go beyond a cozy feel with the Flex model to create a beautifully designed, spacious-feeling interior. They combined minimalistic and futuristic vibes with inviting material choices, namely wood and glass.
The downstairs features an open plan for relaxing, dining, and cooking, surrounded by huge windows. Upstairs offers a more secluded space for privacy in the bedroom. However, a massive window divides the room between the bed and the home office/closet area.
Above all, the dynamic trio behind this innovative concept wants their tiny homes to be quality built. Their goal has been to meet German building regulations. This was a significant challenge to achieve while meeting European road legal requirements for height. It's similar to rules across most of the USA, at 4 meters or 13.12 feet.
Roof Lifting System & Relocation
Vagabundo ultimately developed their full two-story tiny house with an automated lifting roof system. When parked, it rises to an impressive 20.3 feet height (6.2 m) to create 300 square feet of living space (28 sqm).
Their clever relocation solution begins with the foundation, a swap body system. In a nutshell, it's a demountable cargo solution commonly used by big rig cargo trucks.
When ready to relocate, lower the roof of the Vagabundo Flex. Then, load it onto a flatbed truck. You can do it yourself or hire a professional hauler to handle it all. Alternatively, customers can keep their tiny house mounted on a trailer base. This way, it's more mobile-ready.
Further, the swap body system allows for three tiny house parking configurations. First, keep it on wheels. Second, demount the Vagabundo Flex to rest on the extendable sturdy supports. The best thing about this option is the extra storage space underneath, plus a raised deck. The third option is to use a crane to place the tiny home on the ground, or a prepared concrete pad.
US-based Wilderwise also developed a tiny house on wheels with a lifting roof. In theirs, no furniture needs to be removed during transport. In contrast, all the furniture in the Vagabundo Flex second story must be removed. It can be placed & tied down downstairs. Alternatively, these items can be moved with a separate vehicle.
Innovation Comes with a Hefty Pricetag
With that, Vagabundo achieved something special with its mechanical lifting system. The necessary bulky elements do not disrupt the aesthetic of the tiny house. Instead, they're hidden in the corners and tucked away in cupboards. Oak pillars upstairs provide safety redundancy. Of note, railing system options for the upper floor are coming soon!
A Flex tiny house with lifting roof costs about $140,000-154,000 Euros, depending on furniture and appliance selections.
