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oceanicmagee's avatar
oceanicmagee
Explorer
Sep 25, 2016

Building our own down in Florida

Hello!
I joined this forum because we couldn't find what we were wanting in an rv/camper for our family so we decided to build our own. My background is in welding and manufacturing so I got out my pencil and drew up a set of plans. My kids thought it would be cool if we filmed the process so we decided to put up short videos on YouTube to document the build. The first of the videos can be found here: https://youtu.be/1-V157Z4HWY

We are a family of 4 with 3 dogs. My kids are big into sailing and surfing so we end up traveling a lot to various regattas and surf destinations and we're tired of spending so time and money at hotels.

Dave
  • Live link to video

    If I had one suggestion to give, it would be to add a few gussets into that "ladder frame". Gussets add a lot of strength and don't add much weight. If you locate them in the corners of the frame, they can be ideal tie-down points to attach the superstructure above to the frame.
  • Make sure you save all of the receipts for the materials and document the build. If the final camper weighs more then 2000 pounds it will need to be titled in Florida. This will require the build documentation and an inspection.
  • Nice looking welds, using a high quality piece of welding equipment.
  • Post some pictures.

    Some of us (ME) don't do blogs etc.

    What are the licensing, registrations and insurance requirements in FL.

    In WY we built lots of trailers -----enclosed, open sided, flat etc and could easily get them reg/licensed but nsurance was a whole different game
  • Welcome to the scrum, good luck with the build. We'll enjoy watching.
  • I wish I had the talent to weld. Your project looks like its going to be a ton of fun and without doubt a much better built RV than a production model. Keep us posted so some of us can live vicariously through your talent.

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