Building own travel trailer legality?

10k is a ton of money for an already build trailer. spend less and fix up or spend more and fix less. both well within your budget.

trailer in my sig was bought at the start of last season. its a 2008 in very good condition. needed only a battery and a cleaning. paid 8K all in Canadian so thats like 2 coffes and a pack of smokes in USD.

the one before that was a 1990 that needed substatially more. paid 2k (also canadian) for it. spend 1k on it and a few weeks of my time. it served me well for 5 years and i got almost all of it back when i sold it.

if you have the skills to build you have the skills to maintain.

literally there is no legal issues you need to worry about. If you are a paranoid lawyer and want to protect your millions in assets then pursue it, but this is a non issue in reality. Trailers are made to haul stuff... lawnmowers, bikes, cars, trash - none of this is safewhen you think about it. Building something permanently attached to the trailer will be way more safe than strapping it on with a 1/2 nylon strap.

As others have said, and I know from lots of experience, building it yourself will cost 3 to 4 times more than just getting a used one. You will spend more just buying individual components than you would on a new trailer.
Get a used one, do a little fixing up and be happy.
My first build, I spent so much time on it, and learned along the way, that it was hard to enjoy bc all I saw was all the work (aka wasted time) I put into it and also all the things I still wanted to tweek or finish or that I could have done better if I only had a few 100 more hours to play.
If you must build one, then go buy a messed up used trailer, because with that you get all the parts you need. appliances, and plumging, and fittings, and electrical components and more, all these things add up to thousands of dollars.

I just converted a cargo trailer to be barely a camper. kind of a dual use camper cargo trailer. I already have $2,000 worth of parts including Ac unit, heater, water pump, tank, PEX parts, so I did not have to spend much, but still spent about $2,000 to build it out. You would never guess if you looked at it. So, thats about $4,000 worth of purchases on a $2,500 trailer, which I also had already (6,500) to get just bare minimal function as a camper.

You can buy a used trailer that works starting at $1,000 or so. Find your budget and spend a little less so you have some $ for upgrades.

Here is a forum that is all about diy trailers;
http://www.tnttt.com/

Many there can answer all your questions about building, licensing, etc.

Once you price out a flat bed, building a box and equipping it, you will probably find it’s really not worth it. Both money and time wise.
10 years ago, I took a 6x12 v-nose cargo trailer, added all the proper additions (12V and 120V, city water and a water tank, reefer, kitchen, head, etc) and had over 5 grand in it. I’m a professional woodworker so I had quality cabinets and fixtures. I also used either marine or RV equipment. Don’t know what it would cost today. If you have the skills, I’m sure it could be done for less than 10k.

WNYBob wrote:
Try looking for "buikding a stealth" trailer. They usually start with a enclosed box trailer.

Ditto.

There's a lot of people that take an enclosed trailer and convert it to a stealth RV. Some even add full plumbing systems just like a TT has.

Here's one that a friend built a few years ago.

Legality aside, If you don't have $10k to buy one then you won't have the money to build one! Also there are plenty of very good trailers out there for $5-6k. You just have to shop wisely.

WNYBob wrote:
Try looking for "buikding a stealth" trailer. They usually start with a enclosed box trailer.

Been there, done that. Did it not because of low cost (it isn't) but because I wanted a small toyhauler for my 3 bikes that I could use for day trips as well as camping in addition to the use as a toy hauler. By the time you put in trailer stuff, like sinks, fridge, stove, shower, furnace, AC, build cabinets, scrounge up a fold down bed, come up with a fold up couch, put on an awning, it wasn't less expensive than a bigger toy hauler, but it did fit what I wanted, something that was useable on longer trips but also useable for day rides.

And it's still registered as a "utility" trailer not a TT, so registration is way less expensive.

Lynnmor wrote:
Buy a used one in need of repair, you should be able to save more than starting from scratch. Don’t worry about modifications unless you go crazy.

The most common TT repair is a failed roofing system. Besides repair the roof, you may need to repair delaminated siding and wall framing.

Worse, if the leak has been there for a long time, the floor can be rotten. If the rotten area is small and in an accessible location it is doable. When you start getting to more than 10 sq ft, you may need to remove most of the interior and then it would not be cost effective.

I built a cargo trailer. Got a weight slip, went to license bureau with weight slip and receipts, and got plates.

Uglyduckling88 wrote:

K Charles wrote:
What part do you think is not legal? Over loading the trailer, wrong lights, too wide, too long?

Modifying

Modifying?

Inside?

Outside?

Both?

In reality, at least in the USA there is no "legal" issues with "modifying" the inside, electrically, plumbing, heating, AC or physically. Just be aware, electrically and plumbing wise you SHOULD follow NEC(electric codes) and any good plumbing rules, no US campground inspects those systems and chances of ever getting rejected are near zero.

Modifying the outside in most US States should be "legally" fine provided you follow all State and Federal rules for lighting requirements (running/turn/brake lights and placement of said items), brakes, your modifications do not pose a road hazard , exceed maximum width, length or heights..

But your BEST source of information IS YOUR LOCAL DMV, they should be able to get you all information you will need to legally register a trailer for on the road use. Good chance that YOUR STATE DMV already has a lot of resources online. You can also do a search for "Homemade trailers", your State DMV most likely has some procedures that they require you to follow in order to be able to register a homemade trailer.

As far as modding an existing trailer, you should be able to register it as is with the original title, they should not care if you have changed or altered the interior and the exterior provided you have all of the road safety items in their proper place.

Building a trailer from scratch in many states can be a huge hassle to get titled, better do your research up front before committing to making one, it will be a huge expensive paperweight if you cannot get a title and tags for on the road use.

If you insist on building from scratch, I would highly recommend buying a rotted out trailer that has a good title, remove the rotted box and salvage the windows, doors, appliances, tub and any other super expensive and hard to ship items, it will save you time and money.

Alternatively is if you can get a good deal on just the frame and title, you can do the same but now you will have to source super expensive windows, doors, appliances and so on.

But, really, if this is your first RV trailer, do yourself a favor, buy a older used one, fix what is needed to be fixed (rotted wood can be removed and replaced) and go camping, should have no problem finding bunches of low cost used RV trailers IF you are not picky. This is where you learn how RVs are built and avoid a lot of potential pitfalls of wasting money building your first one..

Something else to consider, a customized to you "one off" build WILL be far more expensive, weigh more than you think it will and in the end IF you need to sell, most likely will not sell or sell for scrap prices.. Folks are used to "name brands", they have an expectation of those brands, a "one off" homemade RV is going to have a very narrow appeal and market..

There are some campgrounds catering to high dollar RVs that may have rules which reject Homemade or cargo trailer conversions so just be aware that if it doesn't look something like a RV with RV siding (like using home vinyl siding or home wood siding) some of these campgrounds may reject your RV.