Hi there! My husband and I are just starting to consider getting a travel trailer. I'm pretty attracted to 5th wheel trailers, but we'd have to get a truck to tow it. Either way, I'm kind of interested in completely customizing a trailer to suit our family and my very picky taste. Is it possible to purchase an empty trailer shell? We'll probably just end up buying an older model with good bones and gutting it, but I figured id pop on here and see if there are other options. Thanks!

If you are thinking of building your own trailer I would recommend that you see this video. There is a lot of what goes into the building of a trailer that you do not see. I have rebuilt water damaged areas of a trailer and I can attest to what you will find when you have to disassemble to do the work. I have replaced the entire plumbing water, Potable water, on a trailer and it was no easy task. There is 12 volt wire, 120 volt wire, LP gas lines, water lines, drain lines, AC duct, floor duct for furnace, Light weight cabinets, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXMJrRQ3SVk&safe=activeThere are companies that Custom build trailers, but they are quite expensive.:)

Not that I've seen. I did a complete gut and rebuild. The demolition part of the project probably involved a day or so of labor. Depending on how you wish to outfit the mechanicals, buying a working trailer and saving the appliances and plumbing fittings would save a good bit of money over buying new. I only saved the bathroom sink and countertop, the shower stall, and the toilet. The restoration thread is in my signature line.Here is a guy that knows a few things about building a travel trailer:Adirondack Airstream

You can't just put everything where you may like it to be. Sme items are heavy and some are very light. Even the cheapest RVs have some sort of thought that goes into weight distribution and balance.

Check on You Tube for videos of TTs being assembled. Looks like they do it from the inside out. May be hard to attach the walls if the inside was empty.

If it's empty, it's not a travel trailer, by definition. Your DMV defines what an RV is, at least in terms of registration, and typically it has to have at least some minimal combination of cooking, sanitation, sleeping, etc. facilities to be considered an RV.An empty enclosed trailer is just a cargo trailer. Enclosed cargo trailers are readily available from many different sources, and it certainly is possible (though a lot of work) to build one into a travel trailer. Many cargo trailers have a lower floor than many travel trailers, so fitting things like tanks can be tricky. As bsinmich mentions, weight and balance also needs to be considered.I might suggest looking at some of the plans from Glen-L if you're really interested in this project. They're older, but many of the construction techniques and so forth haven't really changed in the past 40 or so years. Certainly you could customize and update the interior finish and similar details as you see fit.

Can you buy an empty travel trailer? | Good Sam Community

Rangerider
Explorer
Sep 09, 2015
Check on You Tube for videos of TTs being assembled. Looks like they do it from the inside out. May be hard to attach the walls if the inside was empty.
bsinmich
Explorer
Sep 09, 2015
You can't just put everything where you may like it to be. Sme items are heavy and some are very light. Even the cheapest RVs have some sort of thought that goes into weight distribution and balance.
westend
Explorer
Sep 09, 2015
Not that I've seen. I did a complete gut and rebuild. The demolition part of the project probably involved a day or so of labor. Depending on how you wish to outfit the mechanicals, buying a working trailer and saving the appliances and plumbing fittings would save a good bit of money over buying new. I only saved the bathroom sink and countertop, the shower stall, and the toilet. The restoration thread is in my signature line.

Here is a guy that knows a few things about building a travel trailer:Adirondack Airstream
Dr_Quick
Explorer II
Sep 09, 2015
If you are thinking of building your own trailer I would recommend that you see this video. There is a lot of what goes into the building of a trailer that you do not see. I have rebuilt water damaged areas of a trailer and I can attest to what you will find when you have to disassemble to do the work. I have replaced the entire plumbing water, Potable water, on a trailer and it was no easy task. There is 12 volt wire, 120 volt wire, LP gas lines, water lines, drain lines, AC duct, floor duct for furnace, Light weight cabinets, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXMJrRQ3SVk&safe=active

There are companies that Custom build trailers, but they are quite expensive.:)

Forum Discussion

Can you buy an empty travel trailer?

About RV Newbies

Related Content

Travel Trailer Tires

travel trailer

Travel Trailer Length

Travel Trailer Tow Vehicle

Best Travel Trailer Tires