HELP! I'm building a custom travel trailer.
Hi everyone, My name is Darla and I’m going to be building a small custom RV later this year to travel solo full time throughout the United States. Yup, I’m doin it! I would love to share my RV ...
Forum Discussion
GrandpaKip wrote:myrvplans1 wrote:GrandpaKip wrote:
The challenge of building an RV from a cargo trailer can be enjoyable. Mine was. I bought a 6x12 V-nose and converted it. The first thing I did was get a mess of cardboard and mocked up the interior. I used RV/Marine grade materials and made all the cabinets and fixtures. Took about 3 months off and on to finish. Then we pulled it all over the southeast. Was sorry to see it go when we decided we needed a little more room inside.
Have fun and good luck.
:E Thanks for your feedback. I have some software that allows me to move around objects on a floor plan. I also taped it out actual size on my garage floor and did walk thrus. Having the 3D model and renderings made probably saved me 1000's as I saw mistakes before they got built. 6x12 is a bit small... did you sleep standing up? I'm leaving the building up to people that have the professional skill. (I'd no sooner do my own brain surgery) :---)
Actually had a full size double bed, 3' of galley, 2'x2' shower, porta potty and a fair amount of storage. The v-nose added almost 2' more. We gave it up because we wanted inside eating during nasty weather.
I can see that a lot of your budget will go to labor; there was a fair amount of that in ours, but it was free :-)
I also believe that cargo trailers are inherently stronger than campers. You might want to rethink putting utilities in the walls like a house. Almost every wire, pipe, fitting, etc. was easily accessible in ours. They were hidden behind trim and panels that were all screwed on.
Good luck with your project.
Yes, in a project like this most of the $$$ does go to labor as the materials beyond the initial cargo trailer are generally inexpensive. Someone with good construction skills and lots of free time could probably build this for less than half of what I'm going to pay. I would agree with you that cargo trailers are strong and I want to build within that kind of structure. My intention to spray foam the exterior walls would make running cables and plumbing in them very difficult to service and would compromise the integrity of the insulation. And by leaving the exterior walls intact I could always make interior design modifications without having to cut into them. Thanks again for your feedback. Your build inspires me!
