There are very few manufacturers of portable pier-and-beam buildings in America, and, as far as we can tell, only one that builds finished out, ready to plug in buildings. That manufacturer is General Shelters, so it is not an exaggeration to say that the Cedar View III we have on location is the largest portable building of its kind in America.
The decades of experience they have culminates in this cabin. They know how to build wood frame buildings that can be delivered, blocked and levelled, without compromising the integrity of the structure.
The following video is an annotated walk-through of the custom Cedar View III we have currently on location at Trees of Central Texas. Astute observers will note that the actual model we commissioned has a few changes from the basic stock model. Here is the stock floor plan:
Of course, feel free to visit us for a tour of whatever cabins we have on site (unsure when you will be reading this and we will not update this post), as a Platinum Dealer for General Shelters we will always have something that illustrates the quality of their products.
When General Shelters says that the options for customization are practically limitless, they really mean it! Having manufactured finished portable pier-and-beam cabins for nearly twenty years, one would imagine that there is nothing new to offer. But the design team at General Shelters have done it again, adding The Farmstead and The Haven to their collection.
Like all other cabins, these are stick-built structures clad and roofed in steel. Portable, but not mobile homes or trailers. Designed to last generations, these are perfect cost-effective solutions delivered at a fraction of the time as built-on-site homes.
The Farmstead is an 18ft by 60ft (1080sf) two-bed/two-bath cabin with barn-style roofing. Featuring two dormers, the Farmstead is an open, bright model that feels much larger than its square footage. With doors on the front and back, it is ready to add a deck to either side. If you want a country themed cabin, the barn-style is perfect for you!
The master bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, and features a soaking tub, with a linen closet housing a stackable washer/dryer. The guest bedroom has a convenient Jack-and-Jill bathroom, with the commode available from the living area.
This model features the attractive Barnwash paneling, Galvalum ceiling, and brown vinyl flooring. White Dallas Granite is used throughout. Here is the spec sheet which lists all materials used in the construction of the Farmstead.
The kitchen is a chef’s dream, its huge island with its inset double stainless-steel sink perfect for meal prep, service, and clean-up. Conveniently, the island has room for seating four people.
The Farmstead includes a three-ton central HVAC, refrigerator, microwave, stove, oven, dishwasher, the aforementioned stackable washer/dryer, and in-line water heater. It is insulated floor to ceiling.
The Haven is a mono-slope one bedroom/bath cabin. Measuring 18ft x 36ft (648sf), windows at the top of the front wall allow plenty of light inside. Love that covered porch! [NOTE: the top windows are not included in the stock model.]
Part of General Shelters’ ‘Efficiency’ series, the Haven is built to limit costs. Toward that end, counters are formica, with spray sheetrock ceiling. Here is the spec sheet for the Haven.
Another cost-saving move is eliminating insulation beneath the floor, and including two window-mounted 12k BTU air conditioners in place of central HVAC.
The bathroom features plenty of space. While not ADA spec, the door is 36in wide, and features a step-in shower with seat. Featured throughout are Bianco Romano formica counters – very attractive and money-saving.
The bedroom looks dark from this angle, but there is an entire wall of windows on the front wall.; you can see them in pic below. Featured in this model are Pallet paneling for an especially rustic look.
Appliances include a stackable washer/dryer combo, 18cf refrigerator, 30in slide-in range, vented microwave, and the two wall-mounted 12k BTU air units.
As with other General Shelters buildings, they can be ordered to any level of finish and customization. Once you have submitted your changes, we submit those to the engineering team at General Shelters and they will advise whether those are possible or what can be done to meet your need.
We are excited to introduce you to these new floor plans! If you want to visit the homes we have on site at Trees of Central Texas, give a call at 979-836-7225 and swing on by. As a Platinum level dealer for General Shelters, we have helped hundreds of people design their perfect buildings!
General Shelters’ Maverick’s simple design and small footprint provide an excellent template for customizations. For our custom 2 bed Maverick, we balanced the need for open space and functionality by adding two feet to the width, nine feet to the length, a dormer, expanded living space, and a Jack-and-Jill bathroom. At 832sf (16×52) it is a cozy, bright space perfect for full-time or part-time living.
The popular Colony Green color for the exterior steel walls is complimented with faux cedar accent wall and gables. Inside, the new ‘Barnwash’ paneling lends a rustic touch that compliments both dark and light furniture and decorations. To emphasize the rustic atmosphere, we upgraded the ceiling to the metal galvalume from the stock gypsum ceiling tile.
Other upgrades for this model include White Dallas granite counters throughout, 36 inch interior doors, and central heat/air. This model comes with a full-size GE refrigerator, microwave, and stackable washer/dryer.
An island in the kitchen area doubles nicely as a serving area, while providing plenty of space for food preparation. We opted out of the dishwasher for this model, but included a stainless steel double sink.
The Jack-and-Jill bathroom is a space-saving feature that conveniently allows one person to use the bathroom facilities and another to use the shower/bath.
Here is the floor plan of our custom Maverick. We added two feet to the width, and nine and a half feet to the length.
This model sold for $129,900, but we have a slightly redesigned model for sale at $126,900 and available for viewing at our Brenham location.
With President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on imported steel, it is just a matter of time until we see steel prices rise. Because General Shelters buildings are wrapped in steel, steel is a major component to their buildings.
We have not heard any details about how this will affect the prices of their buildings, but we can certainly guess that prices will probably go up on new orders. We suggest to place orders now.
Here at Trees of Central Texas, we have four cabins that are on the lot and ready to be moved to your land. The Owner does not want to raise the listed prices of the buildings, even though replacement costs will probably be greater.
This means that these premium, custom pier and beam cabins are being offered at the lowest price you probably will ever be able to get them. Once these buildings are sold, their replacements will probably be offered at a higher price point; new building orders will probably cost more. Again, how much more we do not know, or even if.
If you have been considering a tiny home, portable building, or shed-to-home project, you should take advantage of this limited time offer. If you are new to General Shelters, they manufacture finished portable pier and beam cabins and install them on your land. Roll-off ready, General Shelters’ cabins are custom-built cabins up to 18x66sf, by a company with fifty years experience. They know what they are doing and bring decades of hands-on experience into every build.
We are updating the website to include more information about the buildings we have to offer, but if you want more information please call 979-836-7225. All stock cabins are available for tours, with delivery possible for less than six weeks after an initial site inspection.
General Shelters has a lot to talk about, but sometimes pictures are worth thousands and thousands of words.
Take this promotional video, for example. Chock full of pictures submitted by customers, and featuring pictures of staged buildings, nothing tells the story of the coziness and quaintness of Genera Shelters’ cabins like seeing them in full color. Rustic and individualized, General Shelters offers flexibility and durability to your building.
When being introduced to General Shelters buildings, a common question we are asked is if they are modular buildings. This makes sense, in that they are manufactured elsewhere and brought to the installation site, same as General Shelters buildings.
While they share this similarity, there is a larger, major difference, While modular buildings are manufactured elsewhere, brought to the installation site, and then joined together, General Shelters buildings are brought roll-off-ready. There is no crew or assembly required post-delivery.
This turn-key approach is what makes General Shelters buildings fairly unique in the industry. A follow up crew will visit the building to tie down anything that may have shaken loose during transport, if necessary. The simplicity of this one and done approach brings down costs, especially when the site is remote.
Like everything else, there are exceptions. For General Shelters, the exception is that customers can order buildings to join together for larger areas. This would all be done post-delivery by the customer’s own contractor. Below is an example of a skilled contractor adding a room and bathroom to a custom Maverick we delivered last year.
Please visit us at Trees of Central Texas, meet our design team, and see what we have immediately available for you!
When we drive by mobile home or trailer home dealers, it is a strong tell that what they are selling is the financing of their buildings and not necessarily the quality of the buildings. When the main message from their signs is 0% down and low payments, we suspect they are selling cost and not value.
Having said that, few want to or are able to pay outright for their building. So what are the options?
Bank Financing
Depending on the bank, they may need to be educated on what they are financing. Their immediate reaction will probably assume the General Shelters building is a trailer or mobile home. We have collaborated with local banks to ensure they understand when our customers approach them for loan service, they are talking about pier-and-beam structures, rather than trailers or mobile homes.
Even though they are designed to be successfully moved numerous times over the years, once installed on your property they are considered permanent structures.
The amount of the loan may vary based on whether one is moving the building to an unimproved location without services or not. Electricity, septic, and well/water service are all costs that can rolled into one convenient payment mortgage payment.
Standard credit requirements will then determine down payment and interest rates, as with any other mortgage. Obviously, we are able to provide any information a loan officer would need to evaluate.
General Shelters Financing
We do not receive any compensation or incentive if a customer finances directly with General Shelters. The chief difference between General Shelters financing and bank financing is that General Shelters will finance the cost of the building and delivery only, so this would work if one is able to pay separately for utility costs,
General Shelters financing typically asks for 15% down payment, and shortens the loan to ten years. There is a $150 credit application fee. At the annual dealer seminar, this was another topic of discussion. If a customer is having problems having the bank understand the product or hesitant to loan, the customer can pursue the loan with General Shelters and then refinance for a longer period with the bank; once the building is set on the land, some banks find it easier to understand what they are being asked to loan for. This approach has been successful for several buyers.
The main point of this post is to offer a general review regarding financing. Key to this process is thoroughly educating the loan company on the differences between a General Shelters building and trailer and mobile homes. For more information call us at Trees of Central Texas.email. or visit our contact page.
We look forward to the annual General Shelters dealer seminar, and every year we are astonished to see their current projects when we visit. 2025 did not disappoint!
Located in the piney woods of far East Texas, General Shelters hand crafts all of their buildings in several sprawling manufacturing facilities in Center, TX. It is a beautiful part of the state, and so far East Texas that one could hit Louisiana with a rock. There is always a lot of work going on, but the workspace is incredibly organized and picked up.
Because they are built in a dried-in environment, there are no rain delays or materials left out in the weather. Above, a standard Cedar View is midway through its all-wood construction, the colony-green offset nicely by the steel cedar accent wall. Below, the truss for the dormer; the insulation has yet to be installed, which can be blown fiberglass, or foam cell.
The buildings are all clad in 29 gauge steel, which is “rolled” in another facility on the property. The siding passes easily as board and batten siding. Never paint again: the siding and roof colors are backed by a 40 year waranty. The building below is our custom “Texas Two-Step (2be/2ba),” with a custom painted cedar gable.
The executive staff have worked alongside each other for decades, bringing valuable years worth of experience and love of craft to their builds. It really is a family business at heart, and it feels like visiting with a family of incredibly skilled individuals. Because they have worked closely with each other, they have seen and done everything; if you have an idea for your cabin, they can expertly advise based on over fifty years of experience
We were excited to see examples of their mobile product, as well. Unlike the custom cabins, which are delivered on a trailer and carefully slid off then blocked/leveled, their mobile buildings are permanently fixed to a trailers. And what a trailer: five axles! This means all one needs is a powerful truck and a hitch to relocate. This is one of twenty that they were building at the time of our visit; two others are seen on the far side of the lot.
Very straightforward design, with an office on each end and a large room in the middle. It was surprising to see only space for a half fridge: whoever ordered this was all business. Built for functionality, it featured steel doors and window bars, vinyl paneling for walls and flooring, with a gypsum ceiling.
These units were custom-made for deployment in the oil field, and perfectly illustrate the versatility and deep bench that General Shelters brings for anyone who needs a large, secure place of business. To say it again: if you submit a design idea, the engineering team at General Shelters will expertly advise what it will take to make your vision a reality.
The seminar itself was very informative, with an emphasis on properly advising customers on the delivery and installation of the buildings. It is a significant engineering feat to get buildings to their final destination, and a lot of things need to be properly done for this to be done seamlessly. Oftentimes the buildings are delivered in relatively remote locations with unimproved access, and it sounded like some team members did a better job of observing the delivery route before the building arrives on-site than others.
Thankfully, the team at Trees of Central Texas performs pre-delivery assessments to follow up on the initial site-inspection to determine that action items have been completed. The biggest snafu was, apparently, the presence of branches and tree limbs along county roads. Even then, it sounded like General Shelters went the extra mile and remediated any damage that occurred.
It was good to hear from other team members about what they have been designing, and look forward to next year’s meeting. If you are seriously considering purchasing a building, they will entertain visitors for brief tours of the facility,
Very straightforward design, with an office on each end and a large room in the middle. It was surprising to see only space for a half fridge: whoever ordered this was all business. Built for functionality, it featured steel doors and window bars, vinyl paneling for walls and flooring, with a gypsum ceiling.
Texas Big Little Cabins 