Serving on the Frontlines, Living on the Move: Explore Wildland Firefighter Couple’s Bandelier Tiny Home

You might spot a few vans and RVs around national monuments, but do you ever spot a tiny house? Well, pay a visit to the Bandelier National Monument close to Los Alamos, New Mexico, and you just might.

A young couple from New Mexico both worked as Helitack wildland firefighters. As they were getting a lot of assignments around the Bandelier National Monument, they wanted convenient housing. You don’t get much more convenient than a house on wheels that can go with you everywhere you go.

The couple contacted Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses, and an eight-foot by 28-foot tiny home on wheels named Bandelier was born.

Bandelier was certainly one of the more unique tiny houses that Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses had worked on. Rather than take on the tiny house project from start to finish, they took over its build halfway through. The tiny home came to them as a well-built shell put together by a Sante Fe-based professional painter.

The seller bought the kit from a builder, which came with a trailer and a Volstrukt steel frame kit. He then purchased and installed windows, roofing, and siding before it eventually made its way from Sante Fe to Durango to Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses.

To the tiny house company, it was a great start! The company started with a re-design to ensure it catered to the owner’s needs. That involved removing one window, installing another in a different location, filling in a door, resizing some windows, and shortening the length of the loft.

While a builder in Sante Fe started this tiny home, it was ultimately redesigned and finished by the Colorado-based tiny home company Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses. They completed this eight-foot by 28-foot tiny home for two Helitack wildland firefighters who would base themselves for work in the Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos in New Mexico.

Entry into the tiny home is via a beautiful craftsman-style door that has been painted a warm, welcoming, and contemporary shade of blue.

As you enter through the vibrant front door, you’ll find the kitchen to the left in the centre of the home. It boasts custom cabinetry and generous quartz countertops with a breakfast peninsula.

This kitchen also has everything the owners need for meal preparation, including a gas cooktop, an electric oven, and a microwave vent hood. There is also a large fridge and a porcelain sink. Adjacent to the refrigerator is a Navien on-demand water heater and an abundance of storage space for clothing and other personal items.

After roughing in the electrical work, the Rocky Mountain Tiny Homes team worked on the finishing touches. They created a stunning interior with painted pine tongue and groove for the walls and brown-stained tongue and groove for the ceiling boards. The solid white oak flooring completes the picture.

While storage can be lacking in tiny homes, a great deal of helpful storage space can be found in the stairs. The customers didn’t require a handrail, but one would typically be standard for such a staircase.

On those cold, wintry days, this tiny home’s occupants can remain warm, dry, and comfortable with a Dwarf Tiny Woodstove. It’s beautifully presented in the heart of the tiny home on a tiled hearth over the top of firewood storage.

The living room is located to the right as you enter the tiny home – or in the front if you’re viewing it from the outside. The owners spent a long time finding a sleeper sofa that fit perfectly.

Rocky Mountain Tiny Homes installed stained pine bookshelves above the sofa for storage and displaying knick-knacks, plants, and books.

The loft bedroom is beautifully finished with white walls, solid white oak flooring, and a stained tongue and groove ceiling. The well-positioned windows let in plenty of natural light until the wall sconces take over once night falls.

The built-in storage in the loft bedroom serves two purposes. While it gives the occupants somewhere to house their possessions, it also separates the loft from the living area. The occupants can enjoy much-needed privacy.

The bathroom is at the rear of the trailer. It boasts a flushing toilet, vessel sink, vanity, and an oak medicine cabinet. The beautiful solid white oak flooring and white tongue and groove walls add warmth to this space.

The bathroom in this tiny home is no ordinary bathroom. The tiny home’s owners had a special request: a full-size tub with a high-quality valve/wand system and faux stone surrounds. It’s a serene space to soak and relax after a hard day at work.