Having toured a few RV manufacturing factories, all RV's are built from the frame, to the holding tanks-plumbing-electric wiring, to the floor, to the interior. Inside walls first, inside cabinets first, then wall frames, attach the upper cabinets and roof frame. Then last is the insulation, and outside wall skin. Roof covering is almost always last and finally, air-conditioner and vents installed.
Before building, may I suggest a tour through an RV factory and see how they do it. It will be a good experience, give you a new perspective, and you'll walk away with many "take-away" ideas you'll incorporate in your plans, things you never thought about or didn't know about.
What you are doing sounds like a lot of fun. But having done my own fair amount of home construction, remodeling, and rebuilding myself, may I suggest you go ahead and figure your costs (on paper), figure your time, and figure the total effort. THEN double those figures and you'll probably hit it right on the mark! Things always cost more than expected.
Still, sounds like a really fun project. Anyone can go out and simply plop down money and walk away with a nice camper, but the one who builds his own, appreciates his investment on a very personal level. This is something money can never buy.
Story: 2 men decided to go to the top of very high, very rugged mountain for the excitement of being able experience the "view" that so few in life have ever witnessed. The view from the top was reported to be astounding, breath taking, amazing!
The first man got his climbing gear together, his food supplies, and literally, inch-by-inch scaled the sides of this mountain. He slept in the rain, endured the cold, his fingers became cracked, his muscles ached, he had to literally scale the side straight up, pounding anchors to attach safety lines, one at at time.
Finally, he reached the top. He climbed on the highest flat surface he could stand on and he looked around! The view as more than amazing! It was MORE than everyone could have ever described.
About that same time, the second man suddenly appeared. He was in a helicopter that was now hovering over the same spot where he was standing. The second man jumped out of the helicopter. The helicopter flew away a bit. They both stood there looking around.
The second man then summoned the helicopter back. Got on board and flew away.
So.... who do you think really appreciated and respected the view more?
