NOTE: IF SOMEHOW YOU FIND THIS NOW (it is not indexed yet) THIS IS SIMPLY A MESSAGE TO SOMEONE WHO ASKED. I'LL BE CLEANING IT UP AT SOME POINT.
First, lets address the elephant in the room....
There are no photos, at least not now.
So far, nearly all of our housing shelters are built primarily from re-claimed materials... and they look like it. Also, we've had so many versions and variations that the concepts should be more helpful to most people than actual photographs. Third. We cover almost everything with EPDM rubber roofing... you can't really see much anyway.
Each series is several generations in, but still has a long way to go. I still consider each series prototypes, but the first is close to the end of it's design cycle.
SLED Based portable housing:
The basics: These are built in sections and each section is constructed so they can fit on our largest garden wagon (long moves), be dragged like a sled (short moves), or have an axle fitted and be moved almost as you would a wheelbarrow. (hard moves) The roof lines are shed-type, from front to back and are highest in the back and lowest in the front. The front overhangs and forms the structure for the "handles" for dragging as a sled and moving as a wheel barrow. On each module, one side (opposites) is closed off and the backs are closed off. The overall sizes are around 30" x 48" and the roof lines and heights are the same and matching. The two buildings are placed around 4' away from each other and a modular roof panel spans between the two sections. A piece of EPDM rubber roofing (pond liner, to many people) goes over the entire assembled unit and is held in place with installed grommets and bungee cords.
These sled-style shelters are built on pressure treated 4X6 cut into trapezoidal bases/runners. The wider part is at the top, the narrower toward the ground. The runners go from front to back, long ways (48") and the ends on each side are angled or rounded (jig saw) to ride (fairly) freely over the ground. Attached directly to these runners are planks around 30" wide. They are attached the same width as the runners and the runners are set so the side that is still 90 degrees of each runner is on the outside. Four boards on each corner are attached upright starting around a 1" off the ground on the runners and then also connected to the plank base. The wider these boards are, the better. I have used a lot of old 5/4 decking boards. Anything (I've used old doors, pallet lumber, plywood, etc) can form the two enclosed walls, but the more airtight the better, especially for the side wall. These walls are attached to the uprights and there is a gap that makes the shelters semi-self cleaning if moved often enough. The corner supports mentioned above are higher at the rear and lower at the front. We have made the front so it is a usable height to act as a handle for moving/sliding. (goats can jump on these) Those same corner supports are cut at angles or match the roof line and cross members run between them. We have gotten away with very small scrap wood to serve as those cross members and if EVERYTHING is put together with screws and a few lag bolts, it all holds up quite well with frequent moving.
NOTE: It is important to have the roof sections lined up well or goats will penetrate the rubber roofing.
TRAILER based portable housing:
I won't go into as much detail here because a lot of the concepts are the same. We have bought many junk small trailers and now wish we had only ever purchased deck-over style trailers where the wheels are under the trailer decking. (snow mobile trailers are great for this!)
Basically uprights attached to the OUTSIDE of the trailer deck (like above) so that there is gaps between the uprights and whatever wall or enclosure that you use. At the bottom inside of the trailer run 2x3's or 2x4's just above the trailer deck surface leaving a gap of 2" to 4". This makes things (semi) self cleaning when moving. This gap can be filled in the winter with (for us, scrap) rubber cove base molding to keep out the drafts at the coldest times of the year.
Our big difference with the trailer based is that we divide the main area in two. We divide under the trailer as two sections. (Front of axle and behind axle) And we have as many as two overhang sections that also are/can be divided into two section each. Our female herd do not put up with all sharing the same spaces. (our males do quite well) and all the separate areas keep the lower ranking goats from getting beat up.
The roof can be rubber on cattle panels AS LONG as the goats cannot jump unto it. Our trailer based housing is really progressing and most people would not be interested in many features that we have started to incorporate, but we use wood inside attached to the uprights that have pretty decent gaps for summer shelter and PVC corrugated roof placed on the outside in winter for less draft. We have upper storage (fencing and tools) and I can sleep there if needed. We have a roof that tilts either direction with solar to charge batteries for the electric fence and communication and security gear. We think we will eventually have the trailer powered so it can propel itself up inclines. I can move our biggest by hand on flat ground, but going up, or down hills or across small streams is very difficult.
Hope some of this helps - Bruce
