Build Your Own Travel Trailer

Gdetrailer wrote:


Your sarcasm has been noted..

Actually, YES, I HAVE "paid attention" to the frames of TTs. In fact I have studied a lot of trailer frame designs because my plan for my second TT WAS to build from scratch frame up..

But you missed the point. The house bolted to the frame is the strength of the trailer. While it is true, remove the top rail from the landscape trailer, and you don't have much strength left. You will need to understand this when designing/building but bolt a house to it and you can replace the lost strength.

What YOU did was wrong to start with, NEVER unbolt the "house" until you are ready to "scoop" it off the frame. The "house" by design ACTS as one huge truss and adds considerable amount of strength to the steel frame.

Yes, you understand. Why not the OP?

YOU should have cut the bolts at the dump, THEN push or better yet LIFT the house off the frame (pushing off can twist or tweak the now weakened frame).

No. What I learned I should of done was towed to the dump, un-hooked next to the pit, used the loader or excavator to lay the trailer on it's side, cut of the suspension and coupler. Let the big toys smash and put it in pit. The scrap value of the frame was not worth the labor to get it.

Those cheap landscape trailers WILL make a horrible base for any "RV" unless you REWORK the frame CONSIDERABLY which WILL require a lot of heavier steel.. New steel prices are insane..

Now IF the OP is considering a heavy duty flatbed trailer with real I beams and has 2" deck boards then that IS a different critter than the cheap landscape trailers..

I have not done a lot of work on RV frames, or for that matter landscape trailer frame. But I have worked on the trailers, and can say that for the same GVWR, the landscape trailer would win. (Most I have worked on lately haul 3 zero turns, a couple of walk behinds, plus fuel tank, tools, and whatever the crew is likely to need.

I also have a 18' heavy duty 10K GVWR flat bed trailer which CAN and is able to haul a full sized pickup truck up to 7500 lbs.. It IS a beast, weighing in at 2,400 lbs EMPTY.

Compare that to a cheap landscape trailer which might weigh in at 700-800 lbs..

Yeah, my 18ft trailer did cost me $3500 vs a cheap landscape trailer at $1000 but I can assure you a 7500 lb truck would simply squash the cheap landscape trailer..

I still have some light duty stuff like that, that I built myself

Just trying to steer the OP away from a potential money pit mistake that they WILL regret down the road.

Don't ignore the foundation, going cheap on that will result in reworking and reworking and reworking..

I can see no reason why somebody wanting to build should be told it must be on something that much stiffer than what the factory uses. A little stiffer, like the landscape trailer might be better than factory frame...

But, hey carry on folks, MR "Scooby" your shot of sarcasm reminds me of why I rarely post on this forum any more..

I'm sorry, I had no intention to wad panties. I saw what I thought, and still think, was false information. If that offends you I think that is on you. Maybe the OP should look under a few TTs before he decides what to start with. I recommend thinking about a water damaged RV as a source of appliances, if not frame, for the build.