Candid Tiny House

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Candid Tiny House Podcast, Lars shares the honest reality of designing and building his tiny house on wheels while studying architecture at university — and why applying standard house-building logic to a vehicle nearly caused major weight problems. Starting his build at just 20 years old, Lars reflects on the mistakes he made, including overbuilding with he...

Send us Fan Mail At just 22 and 23 years old, Alex and Harrison designed and built a beautifully refined DIY tiny house on wheels in Australia — learning resilience, problem solving, and perseverance along the way. In this episode of Candid Tiny House, they share the full story behind their lightweight tiny house build, including planning their trailer size, building outdoors on a nature strip, ma...

Send us Fan Mail No experience. No shortcuts. Just determination. In this episode of Candid Tiny House , Tyson shares his journey from dreaming about van life to building a fully off-grid, 8-metre tiny house on wheels—despite having no prior building experience. Working full-time while learning on the job, Tyson faced everything from trailer levelling mishaps and burnout, to the stress of moving d...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when home ownership becomes a financial trap? Nick flipped the script—and found freedom in a tiny house on wheels. Nick’s journey into tiny house living didn’t start with a dream build—it started with the weight of a mortgage. After entering the property market, he was “house-poor,” locked into a financial situation that simply didn’t deliver the lifestyle or freedom...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a professional builder takes on a tiny house on wheels ? In this episode of Candid Tiny House , we sit down with Aaron, a carpenter and builder, and his partner Amanda, to explore the realities of building and living in a tiny house in Australia. Aaron shares how the process challenged his traditional construction mindset—and what he had to unlearn to successfull...

Send us Fan Mail What’s it really like to build and live in a tiny house in Australia? In Season 3 of the Candid Tiny House Podcast , host Shannon from Fred’s Tiny Houses sits down with past clients who have taken the leap — buying a trailer, attending the How to Build a Tiny House in Australia  Weekend Workshop , or completing the Online Course — and then going on to build their own tiny houses o...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of Season 3 of Candid Tiny House, host Shannon Schultz sits down with Jesse and Esther to reflect on their experience building and living in a tiny house on wheels in Australia — with two children. This candid conversation explores what it’s really like to raise a young family in a tiny house , including the practical realities, the unexpected challenges, and...

Send us Fan Mail Hello and welcome to this bonus [book club] episode of Candid Tiny House! It’s a special occasion because one of our DIY builders, Lou Southerden, who you might remember from Season 1 Episode 4, has written a book about her journey of building her tiny house on wheels. TINY: A Memoir About Love, Letting Go and a Very Small House tracks the story of Lou’s DIY tiny house build in th...

Send us Fan Mail This episode we are looking at present day uptake of the tiny house local laws, and we talk about some of the remaining obstacles to overcome when it comes to tiny house living and hosting in our area. We examine the grey water processing issue : what the limits are and how to work around them. We discuss the clause that states that there should be no 'commercial relationship...

Send us Fan Mail This episode, we will reflect on the key turning points and factors for success from this campaign, so that you can be well armed with a best-practice set of pro-tips to help you create meaningful change in your home town and increase affordable housing options like tiny houses on wheels in your area.  We hear from: Kaz Neilson, Co-ordinator of My Home Network, the leader of the s...

Send us Fan Mail In this eye-opening episode, we delve into the groundbreaking decision by Mount Alexander Shire Council to legalise tiny houses on wheels. Featuring a detailed interview with Councillor Rosie Annear, who was Mayor at the time of the law change, we explore: • The journey from initial proposal to successful implementation • Challenges faced in navigating planning schemes and local l...

Send us Fan Mail This is season 2 of Candid Tiny House where we peek behind the scenes of the successful campaign to change tiny house laws in Central Victoria, to show you how you can campaign to replicate the changes in your home town. Kaz Neilson is key to this second attempt at changing tiny house laws. She is the coordinator for My Home Network, the driving force behind the new campaign. Kath...

Send us Fan Mail This is Candid Tiny House, hosted by Shannon Schultz from Fred’s Tiny Houses. Usually this is a podcast interviewing people about their tiny house builds. This season, Season 2, we are doing something different. Last June, in 2023, the local shire here in central Victoria, Mount Alexander Shire did something extraordinary. They passed a local law that allowed for living in a tiny...

Send us Fan Mail This is Candid Tiny House. I'm your host, Shannon Schultz from Fred’s Tiny Houses. You might have heard that last year, our local government, Mount Alexander Shire here in Central Victoria, changed their local laws to essentially legalize tiny house living. You can now live in a tiny house on wheels on private property where there’s a dwelling, without a permit or a time limi...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Bartz built his tiny house on wheels in Canada. He built the trailer too.  It took him four years and now he lives in it with his partner and their three cats.  This is a bonus episode where we compare notes between building a tiny house in Canada and in Australia. The weight limits, regulations and seasons are all so different that it can lead to really different tiny hou...

Send us Fan Mail Jim wanted to be able to stand up in his bedroom loft, so he commissioned Fred’s Tiny Houses to come up with a design that included a pop-up roof that can be elevated when his tiny house is parked; and lowered when it is being transported. Inspired by a tiny house that he saw in Byron Bay, Jim engaged a local registered builder to undertake this project on a 7.2 meter Flat Top Tra...

Send us Fan Mail Anna & Rowan built their tiny house on wheels in Canberra and moved it up to Newcastle where they now live. They built on a 7.8 meter Protruding Wheels Guard trailer and have recently added a deck and verandah that more than doubles the living area available in their tiny house.  Hear about their: Concerns in getting their tiny house insured as DIY builders; The formal valuati...

Send us Fan Mail Lou built her 7.2m long tiny house on a Fred’s Tiny Houses flat top trailer in the Northern Rivers area in NSW with the help of her partner and a retired tradie friend. An award-winning travel writer, Lou had no prior experience building, designing or using power tools. That all changed when she set about creating her dream tiny house on wheels.  Hear about her: Experience designi...

Send us Fan Mail Bree and Lucas DIY built their beautiful, fully-equipped 7.8m long tiny house in Bree’s parents’ back yard on weekends over a two year period, while they both worked full time.   Hear about their: Experience using the light-weight wood paulownia as exterior cladding; Creation of a design that reflected their values and met their (sometimes divergent) needs; Overcame significant bu...

Send us Fan Mail Deon and Marine DIY built their 7.2m long tiny surf house in Northern Beaches, NSW. Keen to build a tiny house on wheels that supports their surfing lifestyle and their eco values, Deon and Marine learnt on the job and adapted to their changing circumstances.   Hear about their: Experience building their tiny house while off-grid and outside; Finding a place to build and live in t...

Send us Fan Mail Luke and Jess DIY built their off grid tiny house in record time, and lived in it for two years in Brisbane, QLD.  Hear about their: Journey building without previous experience and with family support;  Transporting their tiny house interstate; Living together in their tiny house; Council regulation considerations; How their tiny house chapter has helped them leap-frog into their...

Send us Fan Mail Candid Tiny House is a series of honest interviews with people who have built a tiny house on a Fred's Tiny Houses Trailer in Australia after taking a Workshop or Online Course with Fred.   Mine these interviews for tiny house building tips that are grounded in reality and experience.  Hear stories of everything that it's taken to build each tiny house on wheels, includi...