Our goal: travel trailer turned tiny home!
Hey everyone! Just stumbled upon these forums looking for websites to aid in my search for the right type of travel trailer for what me & my husband are looking to turn into our tiny home. I don't ...
Forum Discussion
I did this. Took a 1971 Starcraft, gutted it and made it into what I want. The restoration thread is in my signature line, "The Cowboy/Hilton". Unfortunately, Photobucket hijacked my images so they are not viewable. The text and descriptions are all still there.
Some things learned: I'm a remodeling contractor so have all the tools and had some materials at hand. Remodeling a small space is more difficult than a house. I built this trailer for a Winter in North Dakota but,eventually, didn't need it for that purpose. It can do the job. Solar is the bomb!
Things I did: replaced loose fiberglass batt insulation with extruded polystyrene foam panels. Each cavity was custom cut and friction fit. It took me two weeks to cut and fill with insulation-8 hrs/day. I replaced all windows with Low-E plastic sliders and removed a few. I made a thermal break at the walls with 1/4" extruded foam and a vapor barrier underneath the interior paneling. I replaced all the foam cushions and matresses with new foam and new upholstery. All the plumbing was replaced. All the wiring and load centers, receptacles, and lights were replaced
A 1500W electric heater will raise the interior temperature from ambient 25f to 70f in a half hour. Everything will be cold soaked and take hours to reach 70f (not just the air inside). I use a 20K BTU propane heater with a conventional class B gas vent for Winter use in cold climates. Generating 1500W continuous requires a lot of solar modules. If you use a conventional RV propane furnace, it will also require more power. I am still working on enclosing and heating waste tanks, I have the materials, just need a boot in the butt to get it done. All of my supply side plumbing, most of the drains, and the water heater are inside the heated space.
I rewired and reconfigured both the 120V and 12V power systems. I have a single 235W solar panel and a 15 amp solar charge controller. It keeps the 300AH of batteries charged to operate a 120V fridge, my entertainment gear, and everything 12V. As long as the sun shines. I don't have any parasitic draws like alarms and circuit boards, as is typical for RV's. All the batteries are inside the heated cabin. The main power draw is the dorm fridge and the solar is designed to operate it off-grid. If you were going to full-time with your trailer,you would want a bigger fridge, more batteries and more solar than what I have. I am thinking about upgrading batteries and solar because free power is the ultimate. It doesn't come without cost, however. It's a grade above carrying and operating a generator but a full-timer shouldn't be without one.
The financials: Trailer cost-$750. Remodeling cost-$4K. Solar system, inverter, and battery cost-$1K. I got lucky because my running gear was all good, even the brakes (those were rewired, too). I painted the exterior-$250. I still need to mount a canvas awning and I may run into some small cost for my waste tank project but, just like a house, the costs never really end. I'll never be able to recoup the costs of doing this but the trailer is like new so there are many years that it can be used before I sell it for less than half of what I have into it.
If I had a few tips beyond the above it would be: draw out some plans, even crude ones where the electrical and plumbing are depicted. You don't want to cut back into your completed work for something forgotten. Put as much insulation and thermal breaking into the trailer as you're able. Use residential multipane windows. Your comfort will revolve around the quality of the insulation.
If you have any questions, you can PM me through this Forum's PM feature. I can send pictures, individually. Good luck with your project, the 6 months you spend doing it is all worth the effort.
Some things learned: I'm a remodeling contractor so have all the tools and had some materials at hand. Remodeling a small space is more difficult than a house. I built this trailer for a Winter in North Dakota but,eventually, didn't need it for that purpose. It can do the job. Solar is the bomb!
Things I did: replaced loose fiberglass batt insulation with extruded polystyrene foam panels. Each cavity was custom cut and friction fit. It took me two weeks to cut and fill with insulation-8 hrs/day. I replaced all windows with Low-E plastic sliders and removed a few. I made a thermal break at the walls with 1/4" extruded foam and a vapor barrier underneath the interior paneling. I replaced all the foam cushions and matresses with new foam and new upholstery. All the plumbing was replaced. All the wiring and load centers, receptacles, and lights were replaced
A 1500W electric heater will raise the interior temperature from ambient 25f to 70f in a half hour. Everything will be cold soaked and take hours to reach 70f (not just the air inside). I use a 20K BTU propane heater with a conventional class B gas vent for Winter use in cold climates. Generating 1500W continuous requires a lot of solar modules. If you use a conventional RV propane furnace, it will also require more power. I am still working on enclosing and heating waste tanks, I have the materials, just need a boot in the butt to get it done. All of my supply side plumbing, most of the drains, and the water heater are inside the heated space.
I rewired and reconfigured both the 120V and 12V power systems. I have a single 235W solar panel and a 15 amp solar charge controller. It keeps the 300AH of batteries charged to operate a 120V fridge, my entertainment gear, and everything 12V. As long as the sun shines. I don't have any parasitic draws like alarms and circuit boards, as is typical for RV's. All the batteries are inside the heated cabin. The main power draw is the dorm fridge and the solar is designed to operate it off-grid. If you were going to full-time with your trailer,you would want a bigger fridge, more batteries and more solar than what I have. I am thinking about upgrading batteries and solar because free power is the ultimate. It doesn't come without cost, however. It's a grade above carrying and operating a generator but a full-timer shouldn't be without one.
The financials: Trailer cost-$750. Remodeling cost-$4K. Solar system, inverter, and battery cost-$1K. I got lucky because my running gear was all good, even the brakes (those were rewired, too). I painted the exterior-$250. I still need to mount a canvas awning and I may run into some small cost for my waste tank project but, just like a house, the costs never really end. I'll never be able to recoup the costs of doing this but the trailer is like new so there are many years that it can be used before I sell it for less than half of what I have into it.
If I had a few tips beyond the above it would be: draw out some plans, even crude ones where the electrical and plumbing are depicted. You don't want to cut back into your completed work for something forgotten. Put as much insulation and thermal breaking into the trailer as you're able. Use residential multipane windows. Your comfort will revolve around the quality of the insulation.
If you have any questions, you can PM me through this Forum's PM feature. I can send pictures, individually. Good luck with your project, the 6 months you spend doing it is all worth the effort.
