ANAHEIM, Calif. — Wilderwise Homes' "tiny home" concept doesn't appear very tiny.

The 8-feet-by-21-feet modular two-story tiny house on wheels stands 13 feet high while being pulled on the road.   

What You Need To Know

  • Wilderwise Homes has built a two-story movable tiny home, starting at $85,000 

  • Wilderwise is one of several tiny home manufacturers showcasing their product Friday to Sunday at the Anaheim Home, Garden and Tiny House Show at the Anaheim Convention Center

  • The tiny-home trend is a growing movement seen as a way to help the housing and homeless crisis

  • Wilderwise's homes are made out of aluminum and built in Bosnia before shipping to customers in the U.S.

The aluminum-made home weighs four tons, and it takes an F-250 truck to haul it around.

But once it's fully parked, owners can flip a switch and watch the electric actuator and gas springs inside the modular unit expand the roof an additional four feet, providing an extra story of space and comfort that most other tiny homes can't offer. 

The Wilderwise home offers everything one needs in a home. On the first floor, there's a mini-couch, a dual electric cooktop, sink, a mini-split air conditioner, a combo washer and dryer, a refrigerator, a compostable toilet and a shower with a waterfall showerhead. 

Up a narrow and steep stairway is another living quarters with a living room and a separate bedroom with a queen bed. There's plenty of hidden storage — underneath the couch, the bed and built-in pull-outs from the side of the staircase. 

The living space upstairs and downstairs combined is about 295 square feet.

Unlike other tiny homes that are one story and about half the size, Wilderwise's additional expandable second story — and its mobile portability — gives the company an edge in a fast-growing tiny-home movement. 

"With the affordable housing crisis that we are facing, tiny homes are a great way for people to find an affordable solution," said Arya Mazanek, founder and CEO of Wilderwise, during a Spectrum News tour of the tiny double-decker home. 

Wilderwise is one of several tiny-home manufacturers showcasing their product Friday to Sunday, April 29 to May 1, at the Anaheim Home, Garden and Tiny House Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. 

The weekend-long show features several companies specializing in home decor, gardening and remodeling. And, of course, there are plenty of tiny homes, accessory dwelling unit models and ideas for people to expand their homes or place them in their backyard.

In the past two years, the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with historically low mortgage rates and work-from-home policies, accelerated the demand for single-family homes, skyrocketing prices and creating bidding wars. 

The median price of a home in Orange County recently reached $1 million. 

Those left out in the market have to deal with rising rent, and some live on the streets. 

Manufactured homes or separate stick-built additions, ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet of living space, seem to answer the growing homeless problem and affordable housing crisis.

Places such as Los Angeles, North Carolina and others have created tiny home villages to address the growing housing and homeless crisis. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed several housing bills to make it easier and streamline building an ADU, junior accessory dwelling unit and other tiny homes on existing single-family lots. The idea is for homeowners to build ADUs and rent them out, increasing housing supply.

However, several Southern California cities have pushed back on Newsom's housing plans, suing the state to stop the housing bills.

Mazanek, the co-founder of Wilderwise, said Wilderwise's original concept, born five years ago, was to build a sustainable, off-grid, towable, movable lightweight two-story tiny home. It's a hybrid RV and ADU. 

Ideally, people can buy the double-decker home and place it behind their house (following local zoning and ADU laws), in a mobile park or tow it and live off the grid. The homes made out of aluminum are built in Bosnia and shipped to customers. 

The Wilderwise home starts at $85,000, she said, adding that six people have already ordered. 

"We give [owners] the freedom to live outside heavy debt or a heavy mortgage payment and also move it to wherever they want seasonally or traveling across the country," she said. 

However, having a double-decker home can pose problems. It's not as simple as buying a two-story manufactured mobile home and parking it on a driveway or the front of their house. 

"It's a complex answer to a simple question," she said. "The laws around tiny houses have been changing. You can't just place it anywhere. But more and more states and cities are starting to allow them. Some on open lots as a stand-alone, but in places like California, it would be within an ADU ordinance. They can be permitted as an ADU."

Mazanek said more testing needs to be done, but she's found that the two-story modular home can withstand winds of up to 60 to 65 mph. The home can be secured on the ground to protect against heavy winds, she said.

Tiny homes are for a niche crowd — single nomads, young couples starting out or older people downsizing. Living in a tiny space with kids may not be suitable but is doable.   

Still, living in a tiny home allows people to save money, and it provides freedom.

"We want to promote a new sustainable lifestyle for people, one that enables them to live in their values and live a life that's important to them," she said. "We want people to follow their dreams, and their home is the catalyst."

CORRECTION: An earlier version incorrectly listed the country where the modular homes are built. The error has been corrected. (May 4, 2022)