Can you buy an empty travel trailer?

[Lady_Katie]

Hi there! My husband and I are just starting to consider getting a travel trailer. I'm pretty attracted to 5th wheel trailers, but we'd have to get a truck to tow it. Either way, I'm kind of interested in completely customizing a trailer to suit our family and my very picky taste. Is it possible to purchase an empty trailer shell? We'll probably just end up buying an older model with good bones and gutting it, but I figured id pop on here and see if there are other options. Thanks!

[Veebyes]

Don't know about a RV rebuild but I do know what it is to rebuild a boat after a sinking.

Whatever your first estimated costs, at least double them. Whatever the estimated time to get the job done, at least triple it.

If you do not already have the skills & know how to do the job that dream of building your perfect trailer is likely to turn into a nighmare. When it is time to sell, & that time will come, you will get only pennys on the dollar vs a production unit.

Stuff to think about.

[westend]

After reading the thread Rick Jay linked to, describing your reasoning about RV ownership, I'd suggest RJ's ideas are about spot on. Also, from experience, remodeling an RV is a long, drawn out experience requiring a big commitment of time and expense. I've built a dozen whole houses faster than restoring one trailer.

FWIW,I have a small business and have been in the construction trades for years. I come in contact with all manner of homeowners and meet newer owners that are overwhelmed by maintenance (nobody told them rule of thumb is 1.5% of original cost/per year for maintenance). Newer owners typically try to save money by DIY'ing many of the maintenance tasks (at least in this area they do). That can be a large part of a family's "free time". If your budget allows, I'd suggest to hire some help. It could be as simple as hiring a local kid to do some of the yard work or hiring a local handyman to help out. That newly compensated "free time" will allow you and the fam to get out and do some camping/traveling.

Best of luck!

[Rick_Jay]

Lady_Katie,

Based upon your Is this completely ridiculous? thread, I would recommend that you FIRST find a ready-built, used RV which has a usable floor plan for your needs.

First and foremost for my reasoning is that this will be the least expensive option should a.) you decide you can make full-timing work for your family and need to sell the rig to build your "dream RV" or b.) you decide living full-time will not work as you had hoped and you need to sell your RV.

Either way, if you need to sell your RV, a custom unit you built will probably NOT be desirable by anybody. So whatever you put into it, will probably be lost. If you do build your own unit, you also have to be aware of all the weight limits and proper balance. Can you prove to a prospective buyer that was done? Or that electrical & plumbing was done to acceptable standards, let alone code?

I read all of the posts in your other thread and really have some concerns that this option is not going to be all you expect it to be. You're contemplating leaving a 1,700 sq. ft. home with two kids for 240 sq. ft. of trailer with limited storage. Where will the kids keep all of their toys? Games, bikes, sporting equipment, etc.? Where will you keep all of their clothes?

If you feel "trapped" in your current home, then I'd recommend you keep the house, buy a usable trailer, and take every opportunity to go camping in it. Better yet, find a campground nearby so work obligations can still be met, and get a seasonal site. Everyone lives in it the entire season and see how that goes. This will help show if you really can live in the limited amount of space needed, yet you'll be close enough to keep tabs on your current house. If things work out for you, then you have your answers and you can work to build your ideal RV and sell your house. If things don't work out, unload the RV and figure out your new "next step".

You mentioned you didn't like the maintenance you had to do on your house. Well, the RV will have all the issues your house has and more. Bouncing "your house" down the road creates all sorts of problems too. The difference is you (or hubby) or whoever tries to fix them, doesn't usually have the benefit of a workshop area full of tools to make the repair. So if you then have to rely on a mobile RV tech, you'll be paying dearly for their service.

You also mentioned you didn't like the idea of having to have a truck to tow a fifth wheel. I can empathize with you on that, BUT, since you're looking for full-time use, the fifth wheel provides MUCH more storage than a trailer, and I would think that would trump the lack of desire to drive a truck.

In other words, you WILL have to make compromises. 🙂

I'm not trying to completely dissuade from your pursuits, but I think you need to test the waters before diving in head first. You mentioned "being picky" and that, in my opinion, does not always go hand-in-hand with the RV'ing lifestyle. Being able to "settle" and "compromise", in my opinion, guarantees a greater chance of happiness in the RV lifestyle. I've seen a lot of people on these forums over the years, and there have definitely been some who have found out that RV'ing is not for them. Some learned this in a very expensive way.

Anyway, I still think getting an RV and a seasonal site nearby would be a great first step for your family. In fact, sometimes seasonal sites are available with an RV already on it. If things don't work out, you just sell the site next season. But at least you'll being taking a step to see if your idea has some merit before committing to a plan which might end in disaster.

Good Luck in your pursuits. I hope you find the happiness you seek.

~Rick

P.S. Homeschooling IS great and I would fully encourage you to do that! 🙂

[wa8yxm]

The short answer is YES, you can.. I've met one person who bought a class A that way (But then he worked for the company who made the thing and fixed my A/C when it failed.. that's his job over at Thor).

Your dealer may wonder but I will warn you.

There is a process by which most trailers are built.

You start with the trailer frame/chassis
Then you add ther waste tanks, and possibly the fresh tank

Then you put the floor in... Getting the trailer with floor and sides (they come later) already in place means you can not easily install the black and gray tanks since they go UNDER THE FLOOR. Does not mean you can not do it. Just means it may not be an easy task.

[JiminDenver]

Get a FEMA trailer.

[time2roll]

Go to a show and find something used that works. You can customize some but get out and use the thing while you decide what suites your needs.

[tatest]

Probably not from an RV dealer, as an empty trailer is not a travel trailer, it is just a trailer. There may be trailers that are built light travel trailers available from a specialty division at a large diversified vehicle manufacturer like Forest River, but most "empty" enclosed trailers you find will be cargo trailers, with quite different construction.

For most modern RV construction, the furnishings tend to be structural, e.g. interior walls and floor to ceiling cabinetry will be used to help keep the walls in place and keep the structure square. Box trailers designed for cargo will have sturdier construction of the box, to be self supporting empty and for many, to carry the loads of tying down heavy cargo.

For gutting, you will likely have more luck with an older trailer with framed walls (house-like construction) as those shells, while not necessarily stronger than modern RV paneled wall boxes, were at least built to stand alone, rather than depend on interior bulkheading.

Or, you could start with something like an Airstream or Avion, with a shell built something like a 1930's aircraft fuselage. Those will stand alone.

[frankdamp]

I don't think you can buy a new travel trailer shell to outfit yourself. Most "super-customisers" have to buy a cargo trailer. This means that all the insulation needed to make the finished trailer comfortable is part of your "customisation".

Bear in mind also that many CGs won't allow "non-professional" trailers to camp there.

We have a neighbor who has made several "TTs" from various sizes of cargo trailers on a custom basis. Even though the interiors are of spectacular design and construction, the outside still looks like a cargo box with windows!

[DougE]

Don't know where you are, but yes you can buy a shell from Trailer Showroom. They'll take a cargo trailer and add features to any finish level. Interior sheathing, A/C, windows, insulation, etc.

[DrewE]

If it's empty, it's not a travel trailer, by definition. Your DMV defines what an RV is, at least in terms of registration, and typically it has to have at least some minimal combination of cooking, sanitation, sleeping, etc. facilities to be considered an RV.

An empty enclosed trailer is just a cargo trailer. Enclosed cargo trailers are readily available from many different sources, and it certainly is possible (though a lot of work) to build one into a travel trailer. Many cargo trailers have a lower floor than many travel trailers, so fitting things like tanks can be tricky. As bsinmich mentions, weight and balance also needs to be considered.

I might suggest looking at some of the plans from Glen-L if you're really interested in this project. They're older, but many of the construction techniques and so forth haven't really changed in the past 40 or so years. Certainly you could customize and update the interior finish and similar details as you see fit.

[Rangerider]

Check on You Tube for videos of TTs being assembled. Looks like they do it from the inside out. May be hard to attach the walls if the inside was empty.

[bsinmich]

You can't just put everything where you may like it to be. Sme items are heavy and some are very light. Even the cheapest RVs have some sort of thought that goes into weight distribution and balance.

[westend]

Not that I've seen. I did a complete gut and rebuild. The demolition part of the project probably involved a day or so of labor. Depending on how you wish to outfit the mechanicals, buying a working trailer and saving the appliances and plumbing fittings would save a good bit of money over buying new. I only saved the bathroom sink and countertop, the shower stall, and the toilet. The restoration thread is in my signature line.

Here is a guy that knows a few things about building a travel trailer:Adirondack Airstream

[Dr_Quick]

If you are thinking of building your own trailer I would recommend that you see this video. There is a lot of what goes into the building of a trailer that you do not see. I have rebuilt water damaged areas of a trailer and I can attest to what you will find when you have to disassemble to do the work. I have replaced the entire plumbing water, Potable water, on a trailer and it was no easy task. There is 12 volt wire, 120 volt wire, LP gas lines, water lines, drain lines, AC duct, floor duct for furnace, Light weight cabinets, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXMJrRQ3SVk&safe=active

There are companies that Custom build trailers, but they are quite expensive.:)