Background: I currently have a 2001 Lance 820 and a 2007 megacab dually. We recently had our first child so now the size of the camper is being called into question. So it has me daydreaming about building my own so it better suits our needs (towing my flatbed +jeep, fitting 3 humans and a dog). I'd pilfer the 820 for all the wiring and parts and all.So a few questions for those in the know:-If you have a basement model, how tall is the basement?-If I wanted to make a slideout, what would I use for the slide mechanism?-What is used for insulation?I won't be camping in sub zero temps, I'm in Texas afterall. I also had planned on using 1" HREW tubing for the minimal main structure then using aluminum to fill in the structural gaps to keep weight down.Ideal goals would be to use a smaller freshwater tank since we rarely boondock, have a designated storage area for the Honda generators, easier ingress/egress for the wife, maximize usable hang out space inside and have reasonable storage.Right now I'm playing with layouts to even see if this if feasible for me to meet the goals or if I'd be better off fixing up and "remodeling" the 820.

Look up U Tube video on RV home made units. I remember seeing some a few years back.

Find a Lance 881 MAX...Problem solved and more time with the kid. We are 4 plus a 100lbs dog. (wife,me, 10 and 8 year old boys.)Untitled by MooringProduct, on Flickr

mooring product wrote:Find a Lance 881 MAX...Problem solved and more time with the kid. We are 4 plus a 100lbs dog. (wife,me, 10 and 8 year old boys.)Untitled by MooringProduct, on FlickrIf I win the lottery, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat.I'm also investigating a flatbed for the dually. That would certainly open up the floor enough to not need a slide and would simplify things a lot.

You might try looking at the floor plan of the Lance 830 or better yet the 1040. It is very similar to the $250K Earthroamer layout. I have had the standard camper layout before. And when I saw the floor plan and extra room of the Lance 1040 I was hooked. You owe it to yourself to take a look at the 1040 and change the little things to fit your needs. Let me say this about building your own. I priced out all of the material and equipment needed to go into a similar homemade model. I came up with $25K No labor. That is why I paid $24K for a factory built Lance. Now I just have to maintain it to keep it in good shape.

Capt Eddie wrote:You might try looking at the floor plan of the Lance 830 or better yet the 1040. It is very similar to the $250K Earthroamer layout. I have had the standard camper layout before. And when I saw the floor plan and extra room of the Lance 1040 I was hooked. You owe it to yourself to take a look at the 1040 and change the little things to fit your needs. Let me say this about building your own. I priced out all of the material and equipment needed to go into a similar homemade model. I came up with $25K No labor. That is why I paid $24K for a factory built Lance. Now I just have to maintain it to keep it in good shape. This is quite right. Although my TC was just a gut/rebuild (practically a build from scratch) I still invested over 10,000 , not including labor. considering we put in an entire year of work... I would guesstimate our time to be worth another 20 grand. It was more work than I could haver ever imagined.

Design stages of building my own camper | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

rooney77
Explorer
Nov 01, 2014
AKSuperDually wrote:
Jfet wrote:
AKSuperDually wrote:

I can't imagine building a camper for cheaper than I could buy a quality, lightly used one...but I wish you luck, and I'll enjoy watching pictures and learning from your experience. I'd love to build my own some day.

One should not compare a camper build to a used camper (unless you are reusing parts like the OP has plans).

I also think the quality can be much higher in a home build. I certainly have seen some wiring pictures that make me cringe.

No question the quality would most likely be higher. I've seen stuff on my AF that makes me outright pissed off.

I've also seen/inspected hundreds of amateur built aircraft, and you'd be surprised what some people think "good" quality building is. Not saying the OP wouldn't build a higher quality camper.

Resale value on a homebuilt won't be what a factory built camper is, even if it is higher quality. But then....you don't build one from scratch to save money, or resale it at a profit. You build it because you want it done right, and you want it to last forever...and you want it done your way.

That's pretty much it. I got tired of what the aftermarket had available for jeeps so I just picked up a jeep body and made the rest. I pretty much don't leave anything alone and I have learned through the years that a lot of times it's just better to start with a fresh palate than it is to try and modify to that degree.

It all depends on the end goal, the checklist of needs and the persons ability/tool collection.
AKSuperDually
Explorer
Nov 01, 2014
Jfet wrote:
AKSuperDually wrote:

I can't imagine building a camper for cheaper than I could buy a quality, lightly used one...but I wish you luck, and I'll enjoy watching pictures and learning from your experience. I'd love to build my own some day.

One should not compare a camper build to a used camper (unless you are reusing parts like the OP has plans).

I also think the quality can be much higher in a home build. I certainly have seen some wiring pictures that make me cringe.

No question the quality would most likely be higher. I've seen stuff on my AF that makes me outright pissed off.

I've also seen/inspected hundreds of amateur built aircraft, and you'd be surprised what some people think "good" quality building is. Not saying the OP wouldn't build a higher quality camper.

Resale value on a homebuilt won't be what a factory built camper is, even if it is higher quality. But then....you don't build one from scratch to save money, or resale it at a profit. You build it because you want it done right, and you want it to last forever...and you want it done your way.
69_Avion
Explorer
Nov 01, 2014
I rebuilt my Avion and I have over $10,000 in it not including labor. It isn't cheap to do. If the basic camper wasn't so good, I wouldn't have ever attempted it. There is too much work involved in it to make it worth while on anything that isn't going to last at least a couple of decades.
jimh406
Explorer III
Nov 01, 2014
Why a grey water tank? When you dump, you need something other than toilet stuff to clear the line. The grey tank doesn't have to be large.

Building a slide is no joke. Most companies revise their designs several times to get them right. I wouldn't add a slide or add a basement.

You'd want a long bed for the extra length.

I think the only thing you should do is add a fold down bunk for now. You can revisit in a few years.

You don't need dedicated space for generators because you rarely boondock, but you could add a front hitch rack for those cases which will get some weight on the front axle.
Jfet
Explorer
Nov 01, 2014
AKSuperDually wrote:

I can't imagine building a camper for cheaper than I could buy a quality, lightly used one...but I wish you luck, and I'll enjoy watching pictures and learning from your experience. I'd love to build my own some day.

One should not compare a camper build to a used camper (unless you are reusing parts like the OP has plans).

I also think the quality can be much higher in a home build. I certainly have seen some wiring pictures that make me cringe.
AKSuperDually
Explorer
Nov 01, 2014
rooney77 wrote:
So tell me why I need a gray water tank? Why not just have a single waste water tank? Is it to prevent odors from coming up the sink drains?

It seems like there should be a really good answer to this, but I can't think of one. I'll watch someone else give an attempt.

I can't imagine building a camper for cheaper than I could buy a quality, lightly used one...but I wish you luck, and I'll enjoy watching pictures and learning from your experience. I'd love to build my own some day.
rooney77
Explorer
Oct 31, 2014
So tell me why I need a gray water tank? Why not just have a single waste water tank? Is it to prevent odors from coming up the sink drains?
rooney77
Explorer
Oct 31, 2014
Jfet wrote:
You won't really save money building your own camper but you will be able to do things the way you want them done. If there is something you just can't stand about typical campers, do it your way.

This is the great benefit of building it yourself. You need a lot of time. You need a lot of time. That wasn't a mistake, it just needs to be said twice.

I don't see how I wouldn't save money. All I'd be paying for would be the frame work, siding, insulation and interior paneling (maybe some sort of slide mechanism). I'd reuse everything else from the Lance. I'm happy with the layout, just that it's all too close together. Well even that doesn't bother me but the wife thinks it is, now that we have a baby. Happy wife....

I'm not sure this will ever get past the design stages but I'm going to design it anyway because I'm bored. ;)
rooney77
Explorer
Oct 31, 2014
GoinThisAway wrote:
The basement in my camper is about 10" high inside.

Perfect, that's what I was hoping to hear. Thanks.
RedJeep
Explorer
Oct 31, 2014
Go for it. Sounds like a great project. Post pictures.

You may be able to save a lot of time, hassle and money by using some sort of manually pulled out slide. Just a thought.

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Design stages of building my own camper

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