[nosuchthing]

Imagine an affordable mobile home for college students, or developing nations, or even just Americans who are priced out of the area where they work..

http://www.designboom.com/design/cornelius-comanns-bufalino/

[catbird]

That's so strange. If you're going to park your tiny home somewhere, why not make it the size of a regular car, like the VW Westfalia camper van?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Westfalia_Campers

[nosuchthing]

Westfalias retail for upwards of ~$50,000, with 1980's models still fetching upwards of $15,000...

If the Elio [1] can retail for $6,800 new, it's not a stretch to imagine a modern minimal camper-motorcycle/tuktuk/scooter for under ~$20,000... models for countries with less regulatory requirements like India or Asia regions might have much less expensive versions.

[1] http://eliomotors.com/

[shanemhansen]

Westfalias are expensive because they are a bit of a fetish item. I have a 2000 converted camper van (pop top, fridge, solar panels, stove, running water) that I bought for 13k. It's still expensive, but not compared to a tempermental westfalia that's 20 years older.

[nosuchthing]

I assume it's somewhat due to the slim form factor?

There are ford/dodge van campers but they're cumbersome compared to the slimmer Volkswagen Westfalias and similar early Toyota TownAce models. Westfalias have a much larger userbase and parts aftermarket though.

[catbird]

Ah, I had no idea that they cost so much. Thanks

[fwn]

Looks cool but maybe overengineered?

I don't know about college students in the US, but German students live pretty cheap in shared flats. I pay 350 Euro for my share of an inner city Wilhelminian apartment house. It goes down to maybe 200 Euro. I can't see this to be a bigger problem in developing nations.

I'd consider those mobile homes for the mobility though..