HELP! I'm building a custom travel trailer.

westend wrote:
I built what you're proposing, a small RV trailer for year round use. The build thread is linked in my signature.

A few tips: plan out the different systems before you start building, you won't like to tear anything apart to get a needed wire or pipe in place. If solar is in your future (IMO, should be), plan for the solar and upgrades to your 12V system, now. With a residential fridge ( I have one), you may want to carry batteries inside the structure. Allow for it. Low-E thermal pane windows. It's your trailer, you can have the door swing anyway you want, just know that you're fighting physics and Mother Nature. Your take on not messing with a black tank but having a grey tank aren't exactly correct. You're going to find many areas that don't allow grey water discharge and you'll be right back to using a dump station. After you have the insulation between the studs and ceiling rafters, install a thermal break (I used 1/4" extruded foam) between the studs and the interior paneling. This removes thermal conduction from the exterior to the interior.

I like the layout and the counter space, it's more comfortable keeping it simple and open.

:E Thanks for your feedback. The Cowboy Hilton huh? I'm gonna check it out. I agree with you about not wanting to tear anything out after it's built. To avoid this I designed my plans with all the cabling, wiring and plumbing running through interior walls. It should make any upgrades possible. I think you are right with the gray tank dumping issue, but I've read that there are many that RV only boondocking so I gotta believe somebody is dumping somewhere or there is a solution to this. I mean the grey water is gonna just be soapy water from the shower and sink... no more harmful then say rinsing off a soapy car on the driveway. The thermal break suggestion is a good idea...does that also act as a vapor barrier?