One of the biggest oversights in tiny house design is water management. You spend months building a beautiful home, only to realize that without gutters, rain is splashing mud onto your cedar siding and pooling around your trailer foundation.
But here is the catch: You cannot drive 60 MPH with standard residential gutters.
Standard gutters act like wind sails on the highway. They will rip off your fascia, damage your roof edge, and potentially become a dangerous projectile on the road. The solution? A Removable Gutter System.
This guide explores how to design, install, and manage gutters that work perfectly when parked but detach in seconds for travel.
Why Removable Gutters are Non-Negotiable
For a stationary house, gutters are permanent. For a Tiny House on Wheels (THOW), they must be transient.
- Wind Load: The air resistance at highway speeds creates massive torque on the gutter brackets.
- Width Restrictions: Tiny houses are often built to the maximum legal road width (8’6″). Permanently attached gutters might push you over the legal limit, requiring special wide-load permits.
- Clearance: Low-hanging tree branches at campgrounds or RV parks can easily crush a fixed aluminum gutter.
The Best Design: The “Drop-In” Hook System
The most reliable method for DIY removable gutters involves using heavy-duty hooks or modified brackets rather than permanent screws.
How It Works
Instead of screwing the gutter trough directly into the fascia board, you install “J-hooks” or cradle brackets permanently to the house. The gutter trough simply rests inside these cradles, held in place by gravity and maybe a simple pin or clip.
Materials You Will Need
- Aluminum K-Style or Half-Round Gutters: Aluminum is preferred over PVC because it is lighter and less likely to crack during repeated handling.
- Heavy-Duty Fascia Brackets: Look for “wrap-around” or “cradle” style brackets that support the gutter from underneath.
- Flexible Downspouts: Standard rigid aluminum downspouts are hard to store. Accordion-style or chain downspouts are much easier to manage.
Installation Guide: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Install the Permanent Hardware (H3)
Attach your gutter brackets to the fascia board of your tiny house.
- Pitch is Key: Ensure you maintain a slope of 1/4 inch for every 10 feet of gutter length towards your downspout location.
- Spacing: Since the gutter won’t be screwed in, install brackets closer together than standard (every 18-24 inches) to prevent sagging when full of water.
Step 2: Modify the Gutter Trough (H3)
Cut your gutter to the exact length of your roofline. Cap the ends securely.
- The “Handle” Trick: Consider attaching small, discreet handles or using the internal brackets as grip points. You will be lifting this long piece of metal up and down frequently; make it easy to grab.
Step 3: The Downspout Connection (H3)
This is the trickiest part. You cannot permanently rivet the downspout to the gutter outlet because it makes storage impossible.
- The Solution: Use a drop outlet on the gutter and a flexible connector (like a dryer vent hose or specific gutter flex-pipe) that slides over the outlet.
- Rain Chains: Many tiny house owners skip the pipe entirely and hook a rain chain to the outlet. When it’s time to move, unhook the chain, coil it up in a bucket, and you’re done.
Step 4: Secure for Stationary Living (H3)
Even when parked, a strong wind can lift a lightweight aluminum gutter out of a hook.
- Add a Safety Clip: Drill a small hole through the bracket and the lip of the gutter. Insert a stainless steel pin or a simple cotter pin. This keeps the gutter locked down during storms but allows for tool-free removal when it’s time to drive.
Travel Protocol: Stowing Your System
When you are ready to hit the road, your breakdown checklist should look like this:
- Disconnect Downspouts: Remove rain chains or flexible pipes first.
- Pull the Pins: Remove the safety cotter pins from the brackets.
- Lift and Lower: Ideally with a helper, lift the gutter trough out of the cradles and lower it to the ground.
- Storage:
- Roof Rack: If you have a roof deck, strap them flat against the deck surface.
- Interior Aisle: Lay them down the center aisle of your tiny house on a blanket to prevent scratching your floor.
- Under-Trailer Box: If you have a “basement” storage box built into your trailer tongue, this is the perfect spot.
A Note on Rainwater Harvesting
Removable gutters are the first step toward off-grid water independence. Because you can direct the flow anywhere, many tiny house dwellers route their flexible downspouts directly into a gravity-fed reliance tank or a filtration system. Just remember: Keep your gutters clean. Since you take them down often, use that opportunity to rinse them out so debris doesn’t clog your filtration system.
Conclusion
Removable gutters are a small detail that solves a massive problem. They protect your siding from backsplash, keep your foundation dry, and allow you to stay road-legal and aerodynamic. By using a simple cradle-and-pin system, you get the best of both worlds: residential protection with nomadic flexibility.
FAQ: Removable Gutters
Q: Can I use velcro or magnets instead of brackets? A: No. High winds and heavy rain/snow loads are too much for adhesives or magnets. A mechanical bracket system is required for safety.
Q: Are vinyl (PVC) gutters better for this? A: Vinyl is flexible, but it becomes brittle in UV light and cold temperatures. Because you will be handling them often (installing/removing), aluminum holds up better to the physical wear and tear.
Q: How do I handle a gutter longer than 20 feet? A: If your tiny house is 24′ or 30′ long, do not try to manage one massive gutter. Split it into two sections that meet in the middle or slope away from each other. Two 12-foot sections are much easier to store than one 24-foot section.