About Us

Meet Dave

FRONT AND CENTER: SPIRIT LAKE COMPACT CABIN BUILDER DAVE BATES

SPIRIT LAKE – Dave Bates’ crew is building a custom home for a client from West Virginia.

The customer isn’t moving here – the house is moving there.
It’s mounted on a steel frame outfitted with wheels, and once it’s finished, a trucker will attach the home to a semi and haul it 2,400 miles across America.
Bates owns Portable Cedar Cabins, which specializes in “park model” recreational vehicles – basically, cabins on wheels.
The homes’ footprints are small – no bigger than 400 square feet – but with the help of high ceilings and efficient floor plans, they feel surprisingly roomy.

Cabins Sold

OVER 1500 CABINS SOLD!

400 ft² Cabins Start At $100,000 (+Shipping)
8’ Wide – 16’ Wide Cabin Construction
Delivers Nationwide

Last year, Bates sold 32 units, and is on track to match that output this year. During a recent interview, he discussed how the cabins have evolved since he started building them nine years ago, and how much it will cost to tow one from North Idaho to West Virginia.

Client Testimonials

  • Martha Wolf, Customer

    "I bought a portable cedar cabin last year and just love it. It has been permanently placed on a piece of land and I live in it full time. The ceilings are so high that it seems very spacious. This home is very well made, not like a mobile home but more like a permanent structure. Very well insulated for the winter snow. Am very happy with this purchase!

  • Debbie Cone

    "WOW! We visited this outfit last summer and this summer when the project we originally planned fell through, we came back. Still, beautiful units in process and all the craftsmen make themselves available to answer our questions. We are sold and purchased three of their cedar cabins. So very happy with their unique and beautiful craftsmanship in their cedar cabins and can't wait for ours..."

  • Rod Rawls

    "This is a great place with some great people. I went to look at tiny hoes and fell in love with one. I'm working now to make it my new home. These places are incredibly well crafted, can't say enough about the skill and eye for esthetics that goes into creative these gems. Then we come to the very fair pricing... I was very surprised by just how much you get for your money here. If you're in the market for a tiny home, I definitely recommend you start here to get an understanding for how they feel inside and features they come with. Dave is a great guy to work with. If the builders, I've only met Time and Mark, and they are friendly, professional, and know what they're talking about."