Tumbleweed Tiny House Company — Attraction in Four Corners States

The company advertises themselves as a high quality tiny house manufacturer. The term “Tiny House” is just a moniker they use for marketing purposes. What Tumbleweed manufacturers are actually Recreational Vehicles on a trailer (as certified by RVIA), which poses many (often insurmountable) hurdles when it comes to zoning in most jurisdictions. Don’t expect to be able to place a Tumbleweed “Tiny House” on a lot in the vast majority of places, and know that many RV parks don’t allow them either. I’ve found the best scenario for owning a Tumbleweed “RV on a Trailer” is to own an actual house, and “hide” it somewhere on your property. Of course, Tumbleweed avoids this topic during the sales process. That said, my biggest beef with Tumbleweed is actually low quality of construction and installation, poor response times, a highly condescending warranty claims associate named Christine, and their general unwillingness to take ownership for their mistakes. Immediately after accepting delivery, I noticed the following issues:

The wheel well covers were not cut to fit correctly and the holes were not lined up for installation. One of the windows did not close properly or lock at all as it was warped. The floor squeaked loudly in the bathroom around the shower. The shelf above the refrigerator had a rather deep gash in it. One of the beams was offline by about a foot (randomly).

While attempting to address these issues with their “warranty department,” I learned quickly that, at Tumbleweed, the onus is 100% on the customer to show proof, including photos and complete explanations. This is completely understandable, but the degree to which you have to go to convince Tumbleweed of their errors is absurd. The standard response by Christine, the warranty department representative, is “I don’t know how that could have happened, we have an extensive quality control/inspector/process... we sell so many units and there’s no problems… it’s only you,etc.” Even after providing videos and photos of the defective window and wheel well covers, I had to have numerous conversations with different representatives from the company, as they simply could not wrap their heads around the fact that my window was defective and the wheel well covers were not cut correctly, since, after all, they have a quality control process and everything is “inspected.” After going back and forth, they finally ended up sending me the wrong color window and opposite side shelving, which became another time and shipping hassle. So much for attention to detail.

The final straw, however, and why I am writing this review, is this:

After about 4 months my mini split began making a loud popping/knocking noise every 60 seconds or so. I called Christine, who informed me that it would not be covered by Tumbleweed Warranty since it is (presumably) an issue with the unit, and put me in touch with a local certified Mitsubishi technician. Upon inspection, the technician informed me that there was nothing wrong with the unit itself, but that it had been installed incorrectly according to the manual. Specifically, the insulation sheathes around the lines were not taped, which leads to condensation that causes excessive expansion/expansion/contraction. Also, Tumbleweed added unnecessary wood trim around the unit, which was so tight that the tech could not get it back on. The popping/knocking sound stopped after the tech corrected these 2 installation errors. This service cost me $320, so I called Christine to place a warranty claim for “fit and finish” which is supposed to be covered.

True to form, Christine’s defensive and condescending response to my pointing out that Tumbleweed did not install the mini-split correctly according to the manual, was “that’s not possible… we have a quality control/inspection HVAC guy… we sell so many units… you’re the only one… and to “prove it.” So I provided photos and the exact verbiage from the Mitsubishi manual. I have since been ghosted by the company.

In summary, I do not recommend Tumbleweed “Tiny...

Beware of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company's refund policy and business practices!

I signed a contract for a 33' Alta tiny home and paid a 10% down payment of $18,800. Two weeks later, I discovered my property deed prohibits mobile homes, making it legally impossible to proceed. Despite minimal work being done (just one design meeting), no materials ordered, and no production started, they refused to refund my deposit, citing their non-refundable policy.

As the unsophisticated party, I relied on their guidance, followed all their instructions, and was urged to sign the contract. Their CEO, Steve Weissmann, has ignored my emails and remains unresponsive to mediation efforts by the Colorado Attorney General’s office.

I am now pursuing legal action due to their unfair business practices and lack of consumer protections.

Maybe Tumbleweed was once a great company, but seems like since the founder left the ownership (2012) and bankrupt (2020), their business practices have deteriorated significantly. I strongly recommend reading Yelp reviews and doing extensive research before signing any contract with them. Many customers have reported similar refund issues and concerns about poor construction quality.

So please beware! I don’t want anyone else to go through what I have to go...

I didn't do a tour...I did a ton of research online and decided Tumbleweed was the best. I bought a house that was in inventory, site unseen (pictures) from accross country. Everyone I worked with amazing. From helping me get financed to answering my dumb questions...like measurements from stairs to window...and the list goes on. I feel like I became friends with everyone during the process. They did everything they said they would, delivered on the day promised, and even threw in the washer/dryer for me! The quality of construction is top notch! I'm planning on keeping this forever, but if I ever need another I won't go anywhere else. And I will certainly recommend them to everyone. I have nothing bad to say about tumbleweed or my experience....