A Most Unusual Trailer in Texas

How do you place a vintage 1950s 40-foot trailer next to a river without even having it swept off by a South Texas flash flood? That question plagued architect Andrew Hinman, whose wealthy customer, the owner of a international beauty products company, wanted to place his 1954 Spartan Imperial Mansion as near as possible to the Nueces River in Uvalde, Texas.

Hinman responded by lifting the trailer 5 ft above the floodplain — 30 ft above the river — onto concrete piers and constructing a new Swiss Army knife–such as attachment for the trailer, complete with large screened-in porches and a sleeping tower having an air-conditioned bathroom. This is 1 trailer that’s not going anywhere for a while.

in a Glance
Location: Uvalde, Texas
Size: 306-square-foot 1-bedroom trailer; 200-square-foot sleeping attic and tower; two full baths

Andrew Hinman Architecture

Andrew Hinman Architecture

The land is on several thousand acres in Uvalde, Texas. (Hinman does not know the specific amount, as there’s an unwritten law in Texas that “you do not discuss how many acres somebody owns,” he says.) The enclosure and trailer sit about 30 ft above the river concrete piers anchored 25 ft into the ground. The household uses the property to hunt, swim and fish from the spring-fed Nueces River.

Though the homeowner has the option to draw water from the river, two rainwater cisterns provide water to showers and bathrooms.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

A deck juts out 25 ft in the home over the river. It’s encouraged by 45-foot-long steel beams. “It’s just like a raft of metal beams,” Hinman says. “You could land a helicopter on that thing.”

The tower is cast-in-place concrete and has a layout that imitates various rainwater-collection structures elsewhere on the property. Although the new home is 5 ft above the floodplain, the tower, with its screened-in sleeping attic on top, offers more protection only in case. “Even if there’s a tsunami coming down the river, it is possible to go up in the tower and you’re not going anywhere, because that sucker is well anchored,” Hinman says.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

The structure itself — built by Boothe General Contracting — is almost entirely made up of steel tubes that were all welded together on site. Hinman calls the structure surrounding the trailer a “Swiss Army knife. The entire project is an attachment to this trailer.”

All of the decks have been ipe wood, including this one that wraps around a redwood hot tub the homeowner had salvaged. The metal roof reflects sunshine, while the Douglas fir ceiling helps insulate the home from radiating heat, as well as acts as a sound buffer during rainstorms.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

Hinman had to design and build a ramp so the trailer may be rolled onto the structure.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

The trailer is not enclosed from the screened porch, but instead connected by means of a gasket link method.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

Many people believe the porch is encased by glass, but the substance is really fine fabric mesh screens from Phifer. (The only windows are on the trailer and both inside the bathroom addition.) The owner is allergic to insect bites, so fantastic attention was given to making sure the living spaces were totally secure. There’s even a steel display underneath the floorboards.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

A sliding barn doorway contributes to a fully air-conditioned bath wrapped in oiled ipe wood. The homeowner had a mesquite wardrobe he repurposed as the dressing table.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

Tub: Spoon XL; fixtures: Dornbracht

Andrew Hinman Architecture

The mirror can slide across the porthole window for solitude. The lights are recycled store lamps.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

Hinman also renovated the trailer, gutting its moldy walnut interior and adding bamboo walls, ceilings and flooring, and enlarging the bedroom.

LED can lights substituted first 1954 glass-reflector lights. The first fridge was too old and too loud to be recycled. Sub-Zero freezer drawers have been installed in its place.

Formica countertops and retro diner seats nod to the 1950s era of the trailer.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

Hinman eliminated the trailer’s shower to enlarge the bedroom, which retains a queen-size mattress.

Andrew Hinman Architecture

The homeowner’s teenage boys enjoy utilizing the tree-house-recalling sleeping attic near the top of the tower.

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