Tiny Houses

Taku-Tanku portable tiny house can be towed by bike

Taku-Tanku portable tiny house can be towed by bike
The Taku-Tanku is a tiny house made from two water tanks
The Taku-Tanku is a tiny house made from two water tanks
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The Taku-Tanku is a tiny house made from two water tanks
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The Taku-Tanku is a tiny house made from two water tanks
The Taku-Tanku can accommodate two to three people and has a compartment to store some luggage or belongings
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The Taku-Tanku can accommodate two to three people and has a compartment to store some luggage or belongings
The Taku-Tanku can be pulled by hand or towed by bike
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The Taku-Tanku can be pulled by hand or towed by bike
A wooden ring joins the two water tank sections whilst a two-wheeled trailer is used to transport the house
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A wooden ring joins the two water tank sections whilst a two-wheeled trailer is used to transport the house
Stereotank says the Taku-Tanku is easy to build with off-the-shelf and re-purposed materials
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Stereotank says the Taku-Tanku is easy to build with off-the-shelf and re-purposed materials
A first prototype of the Taku-Tanku is expected to cost US$8,000 to $10,000
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A first prototype of the Taku-Tanku is expected to cost US$8,000 to $10,000
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The tiny house movement is as much about lifestyle as it is size of dwelling. Simplicity and efficiency are key characteristics of such a house. Not only is Stereotank's Taku-Tanku very small, it has few components, can be easily assembled, and even towed by a bicycle.

Gizmag has featured a number of other portable tiny houses. The Leaf House, for example, is small enough to tow with a car but can still accommodate a family of four, whilst the Salsa Box is smaller, but squeezes a huge amount into 9 sq m (96 sq ft). The Taku-Tanku is similar in size to the Salsa Box, but is much less palatial.

The design, created by Stereotank in collaboration with Takahiro Fukuda, was created for the Little House Competition in Saitama, Japan, earlier this year. It is made primarily of two 3,000 l (670 gal) water tanks that are connected by a ring of wood. In addition to joining the two tanks, the wooden ring also incorporates an entrance and a skylight.

The Taku-Tanku can accommodate two to three people and has a compartment to store some luggage or belongings
The Taku-Tanku can accommodate two to three people and has a compartment to store some luggage or belongings

The Taku-Tanku is aimed at being compact and affordable. Its interior can accommodate two to three people and has a compartment to store some luggage or belongings. It is also equipped with solar-powered LED lights. There are no frills inside, however. The house is simply said to be easy to build with off-the-shelf and re-purposed materials, and able to provide shelter in a variety of landscapes.

The house sits on a two-wheeled trailer and Stereotank says it is light enough to to be pulled along by one or two people or towed by a bicycle. It can also be towed by a car or even, the company suggests, by a boat.

The Taku-Tanku can be pulled by hand or towed by bike
The Taku-Tanku can be pulled by hand or towed by bike

Stereotank is in the process of looking for a sponsor to fund a prototype of the Taku-Tanku. It is expected that a first prototype would cost in the region of US$8,000 to $10,000.

Source: Stereotank

View gallery - 6 images
22 comments
22 comments
Bill Bennett
That would not get hot on the inside in the sun, right?
Michael Crumpton
Get the price down 75% and you have solved the homeless problem.
Noel K Frothingham
Bill Bennett, no more than other structures of that size. It's all about air circulation. A nice ol' oak tree to park beneath would help, too.....
The Skud
The company claims: "or even towed by a boat!" I hope they have worked out the joint seal problem . . .
JPAR
They've missed out on the obvious power source available to 99% of the homeless..... a couple of harnessed mongrels would be perfect to pull this.
SteveMc
So it's another overpriced cheaply built caravan then? Plasticiser fumes must be awesome fun too :)
Mel Tisdale
I suspect that watching one of these in high winds would be quite entertaining.
Mike Dubois
While not discrediting the product, it should not be called a tiny house but rather a shelter. Gizmag should differentiate between a shelter and tiny house. Tiny house: provides all of the amenities required of a home: Sleep, cook, wash, toilet, heat/cool as a minimum. Otherwise, i will supply a headline: "Disposable tiny houses used in NYC homeless district". These portable disposable homes are made up of recyclable corrugated wallboard that offer insulation properties.
scott melnick
Kind of cool, but given the materials, this thing weighs more than 1,200 pounds. Not sure I want to tow it on my bike...especially the first time I encounter a hill!
Neil Farbstein
It was invented by sadists to torture poor people with extremely confining quarters. I'm not joking. Don't support tiny house movement its demeaning and sickening.
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