HELP! I'm building a custom travel trailer.

myrvplans1 wrote:

westend wrote:
Linky to the OP's building blog

I looked at the sketchup file and the renderings. A couple of things caught my eye: Why is the floor height up so high? Nice depiction of four solar modules on the roof but I think you'll find having them that close to the vent cover will lead to some panel shading.

:E Well, maybe the rendering does look a little misleading. The floor is only up another 10" to get me a flat floor over the wheel wells. The space between will make for some good insulation and storage. Here is a picture that might give more detail: http://i57.tinypic.com/zjwgad.jpg

Good point on the panel shading... I'm planning on putting in the Maxxair fax with the moveable hood. Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for replying back on this Forum, a lot of us really dig the custom builds. Forum Member Boonhauler is really doing a great job on his.

About the height, .....again. ;) Your depiction shows a wheel well continuous under the whole floor. With a cargo trailer, that isn't the usual build. Most of them have the wheels outboard of the cabin or they are in a well that is a little bigger than the wheel width with part of the well into the cabin. If you decide to build the whole floor above the latter application, you'll certainly gain storage and insulation space but will be making things difficult, expensive, and will have more drag when towing. I would suggest that you keep the trailer height as is when bought and work around the wheel wells if they're inside the cabin. You can insulate the floor with 4" of extruded styrene from the exterior or spray. If you need a lot of storage, add 2' to the trailer and build closets. The lower you can keep the final overall height, the happier you'll be with the towing aspect, also with egress.