Rubitracks builds mobile mini-house on continuous rails

After months of development, Canadian manufacturer Rubitracks has introduced Rubishack, a small house To continuous tracks that can travel on roads, sand, hills, and even water. A wooden cabin sits on four triangular, continuous rails that support it. In their recent Q&A video, Scott Profit, the owner of Rubitracks and design lead of Rubishack, describes how he and his team brought the mobile tiny house on rails to life. They announced that they would produce a tiny house on rails powered by a 1993 Dodge Cummins engine in February 2024.

In July 2024, they took it out for a test drive after putting the finishing touches on the hand-built vehicle. The original wood they used for the exterior is a light brown, but the team uses coffee and tea stains to increase the tannin content of the wood and bring its raw qualities to the surface. They then spray it with two or three gallons of vinegar to give it a rustic look, which was always the goal. For the headlights and flashing lights, they use the ones used on school buses, hence the big orange ones on top and the flashing red lights in the back.

All video stills courtesy of Rubitracks, via Youtube

‘Rubishack’ had a double bed and panoramic windows

In front of Rubitracks’ mobile tiny house on rails there are flowers that make Rubishack feel homely even when on the move. Design team plants a gutter as a vase to make it easier to anchor it to the cabin. Rubishack may look old-fashioned, but Scott Profit says it’s 16 feet long, 7 feet wide and 11 feet tall from floor to ceiling. Because of this, it can accommodate people of certain heights, as can the double bed that sits directly in front of the driver and the numerous picture windows. Under the bed is the mobile mini-home’s engine.

The driver’s position in the cab is about halfway up, allowing the design team to align components and controls such as the throttle cable, brake lines and steering shaft angle, which Scott Profit says were all designed for this position. “Moving the steering to the front left corner, as suggested online, would have required a lot more engineering and redesign. We also needed a place for the bed, and placing it across the engine was the smartest solution,” he adds in the question and answer session video.

a wooden hut stands on four triangular, continuous rails and holds it

No running water or toilet, but still cozy

So far, Rubitracks’ Rubishack is a dry cabin, meaning there is no running water, shower or toilet. “Basically it’s a pimped-up tent,” says Scott Profitbut that doesn’t stop him and the team from making it as cozy as possible. In fact, the welcome sign comes from the owner’s mother’s restaurant. The red door symbolizes an old Scottish tradition associated with a paid-off house. The picture windows are made of Lexan (polycarbonate) panels framed to resemble old wooden windows. The Rubishack is also insulated with fiberglass (R-12 pink) in the walls, ceiling and under the floor.

The team also sprays about an inch of closed cell polyurethane foam into these parts. Scott Profit admits that Rubishack was created as part of a marketing gimmick. It’s a platform for vehicle advertising, a means of promoting products through advertising around the mobile tiny home as it travels around the city on rails. It’s also not currently road legal. “We couldn’t get any approval or registration for road use. We didn’t intend for it to be a roadworthy vehicle. The whole point of it was a social media experiment.” says the owner and design director.

The design team uses coffee and tea stains to increase the tannin content of the wood

Still, he wonders if he would ever build one again. “Maybe if someone paid me to do it. The cost to build it would be pretty high. The tracks alone cost $30,000 a piece. Then you’d have to buy a suitable vehicle, which costs between $5,000 and $10,000 for a good chassis. Building the cabin on top would cost another $20,000.” says Scott Profit.

“So to build this cabin, you would probably spend $60,000 to $70,000. It depends on how much you want to invest and how elaborate you want it to be.” he adds. Potential owners may have to pay paper bills, but at least they can drive through their city on continuous rails in a hand-made mobile mini-house.

Rear view of the handcrafted vehicle

a double bed is located in front of the driver

View of the Rubishack before the finishing touches

Finished product of the Rubishack, with its original use for vehicle advertising