Building my own Trailer

Hi tonyandkaren,

We had to run around a bit to get the RV licensed. This was in Pennsylvania so it might be a little different where you live. We had to get it inspected to make sure that it was made safely and fit the standards for a RV - about five pages on the checklist. Then to get the it titled we had to go to a title transfer and notary that was used to dealing with custom vehicles. Our insurance company needed photographs of the interior and exterior.

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Can you tell me a little more about the checklist, where you had to get the vehical inspected and by who, and where you found a title transfer and notary that was used to dealing with custom vehicles? Any information, sheets, pdf's or links would be helpful. If you have any attachments I don't know if can send message me in this forum, or if you could email me directly that would be great. I would love to look at the check list. [email protected]

tonyandkaren you also mentioned

we used a high grade fiberglass sheathing for the exterior skin but were stumped on what to use for the first layer that the fiberglass is glued onto.

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I just took a look at this product from Huber, it looks like it could increase your R Value, but I wonder if the excess thinkness and possibly price are worth it?

http://www.zipsystem.com/zip-system/rsheat.aspx

The information that I have probably won't be a lot of help because different states have different requirements. In Pennsylvania AAA handles title registrations so that's where we went first. They sent us to this place - http://www.pushnpull.net/  for the inspection. Some of the requirements are in this document -Specially Constructed Vehicle Titling Procedure - http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/fact_sheets/Specially_Constructed_Vehicle.pdf

Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the checklist but they inspected everything. It took hours. Pennsylvania has strict yearly vehicle inspections so it was probably more thorough that other states. I know that there are minimum  requirements to register a truck or trailer as a RV ,such as having a bed , stove,etc. but I can't find them on a Google search. 

After a successful inspection we went back to AAA but because the motorhome wasn't built by a commercial company they were confused about how to fill out some of the paperwork and refused to give us the title. Luckily a woman in the office knew about a notary who worked with custom car builders so we went to her office ,she filled out all of the papers , took our large check to pay the taxes ,gave us a title and we were on our way.

The sheathing from Huber looks pretty heavy. Check what Coachman uses - http://www.midstaterv.com/index.php/build/azdel-superlite-coachmen-rolls-out-all-weather-sidewalls.html  Azdel - http://www.azdel.com/lwrt.htm
 

Thanks Tony,

Next week I look to post some of the designs and see what you guys think. I can't wait to get going.

This is going to be a fun thread to follow. I'm very interested in what you are doing. Hope to be able to follow from start to finish.

Hello All, I haven't posted in a while. I have been up in Minnesota on vacation. I have attached images of the structure... I want to apologize if it is not clear, I didn't have time to clean it up and label everything. If you want to take a stab at understanding it take a look at let me know what you think. I don't think I have the spacing right I just wanted to get the concept out. The exterior is 1' O.C. alum.  There is a bed up top that you might be able to make out the structure for, and I still have to finish the stairs. I designed this trailer before under the name Blake's Tiny house. If you look at this website you might be able to understand the structure better.
http://www.blakestinyhouse.com/

Side question, when a Dealer purchases an RV from a manufacture do they pay a down payment or just the interest on the loan while they have the RV on the lot?

I have been considering this same thing for some time. There is a place you should visit. These guys build tiny houses on flat bead trailers all the time and have plans available.

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

I have been searching for a 5th wheel utility trailer and will build out the inside to my needs. That is my next project! I am currently full time in a very small 18.5 foot Fleetwood 5th wheel, I think it is about the smallest ever made! The space isn't the issue, but the design is and lack of storage, so I can solve all that by a 20 or 22 foot 5th wheel utility trailer.

Nice to see I am not the only crazy one.

Jim

I don't know if You have found what You have been looking for yet , but have You considered converting a Cargo Trailer or Toy Hauler ?
We have been researching  buying , remodeling and building/modifying for off road use  an older camper to take into the Az. desert camping for the winter on a gold claim.
  We have found everything from Luxury Off-Road Motor Homes , to Military Surplus M109's ( there was one parked near Us when we were camped 9 1/2 mi. out in the Az. desert two year ago ) to Skoolies and Class A's converted to 4 X 4 .
  I also found a site devoted to converting Cargo Trailers into Campers , it is a Sub Forum of another Forum , with a lot of examples of members conversions and how they built it articles , giving Me something else to research while stuck here in Mass. this winter .

Teardrop and Tiny Travel Trailer Forum
      Cargo Trailer Conversions

http://www.tnttt.com/
    http://www.tnttt.com/viewforum.php?f=42
Bob

I have seen tumble weed tiny houses and they were the initial inspiration. We then had a buddy (Blake) who a couple years ago wanted to travel the county and see the U.S. That's how this project got started.  I am now looking for a trailer builder in Colorado, preferably Longmont.

P.S. Does anyone know any RV factories in Colorado, I would like to tour one.  I also make it into Wyoming, and New Mexico infrequently but if there is one there I would consider the drive.

I have a few minutes before football starts and I will relate a story and what originally gave me the idea for "building my own"! I have a friend who was a vocational welding instructor at a local high school. He also had a small welding shop. After he retired from teaching he ran the little welding shop until his wife got very ill and passed away. Kids grown and out of the house, he figured it was time to move on and fish and see the world. I knew him basically from fishing, I helped him pick out a boat and taught him a bunch about back-country fishing.

Anyway - he sold the welding business to two of his students. The business had two small box trucks to deliver product and take welding machines to a job site each had a generator (diesel underneath the frame) and both had a lift gate for lifting heavy welding projects. The guys that bought the business had no need for two trucks so they didn't want one of them. They kept the older of the two for financial reasons.

the newer one was an 20' box on an Isuzu cabover truck. My buddy was going to sell the truck, but he used it often to tow his boat. He met me in a remote area of SW Florida with the truck and boat, there were no places with occupancy except a campground, so we set up in the campground and slept in the back of the box truck....The idea was sprung.

He literally built a studio apartment in the back of the truck. A couple unique features he put on are listed below. Forst he framed out the entire interior with 2 x 2's and insulated the walls and roof. It rained while we were camping in it and it sounded like sleeping in a drum, so he put stringers across the roof, arched to match the metal roof and made the stringers 1/8 inch smaller then the thickness of the hard styrofoam insulation he was using, he then put the insulation between the stringers and screwed up 1/8th inch drywall, in effect when he tightened that down hard to the stringers it compressed the styrofoam very firm against the metal roof and stopped the vibrating noise from rain. He used the same method on the walls. He put in a full sized shower and bath with tile floor and walls, used laminate flooring for the rest of the apartment. Being a welder he fabricated fresh water tanks and waste tanks to fit under the truck and plumbed it with standard RV waste disposal fittings so he could go in any RV park.

He put the back wall in 4 feet from the rear roll down door and put in beautiful glass french doors. The 4 feet allowed him to put his small motorcycle on one side and his outdoor gas BBQ on the other side. He also fabricated a railing and stair system for the lift gate. So when parked, he lowers the liftgate and removes his motorcycle then raises the lift gate, puts up the railings and stairs and that is his Back porch!

He bought a queen sized bed from a toy hauler - the one that raises up and down and it is forward on the driver side of the box and goes up during the day and down at night. The bathroom is on the other side. He put beautiful beadboard on the lower half of the drywall walls and hung a wonderful 42 in flat screen tv directly across from his recliner which is also bolted down to the floor. The galley is fairly small but more than adequate for his needs.

I just wish I had some pictures, he has been on the road with this unit now for over three years and of course he has added other little niceties along the way, but when he built it, it was pretty well thought out. Of course it has a rooftop A/C unit and a 50 amp electrical hookup and all the appliances are residential. Full sized fridge, micro wave and a nice 4 burner RV propane stove and of course the propane BBQ on the back porch. He installed som every nice thermopane windows on both sides, but when you put the roll down door in the back you would have no idea it has an apartment inside.

Towing his boat he averages about 16mpg and without the boat he gets 22 plus. Keep in mind this truck was made to haul 20 thousand pounds and he is no way near that with what he built.

Just passing along a nice story. I am going to email him and see if I can get some pictures.

I want to do basically the same thing to a 5th wheel cargo hauler!

Enjoy,

Jim