Buying a TT to remodel

After looking at dozens of new travel trailers at a couple different shows, I've reached the conclusion that I need to buy a used-but-not-too-used trailer and do some customizing of my own. I'm looking for a 20-23-footer and the new ones that are closest to what I want are Cougar, Passport, Milan, and Tracer. But there are specific things I want to do. 1) Install solar panels. 2) convert lighting and all electrical that I can to 12-volt (LED, etc.) so I only need to use an inverter or generator to power specific appliances or to charge devices. 3) Strip out extra beds and/or dinette to make room for my mobile office. 4) Insulate for 4 seasons. 5) Put in pleasant to the eye and touch flooring. 6) Prepare for satelite internet (I don't care about TV). 7. Keep the overall dry weight under 5,000#.

I'm going to be sifting through all the posts on this forum over the next few days to find out what others have remodeled and their tips on the experience. I hope to decide my trailer in the next 60 days and be on the road by the end of August. If you've got a tip, I'd love to hear it, including vendors for any of the products above or advice on making the initial purchase. Thnx!
Wayzgoose

Are you planning on completely gutting the trailer and refinishing it... as in tear out all the cabinets and finish work?  Or something less drastic?

I am looking in the 25-30 foot range and can't afford a new one.  Even the nicer used ones are covered in pet dander.  I am thinking it is better to get a good quality older unit with a solid sealed body and a shabby interior.  Then gut it and rebuild the interior.  I really hate the look of the vinyl stamped with oak grain particle board cabinets.  I can build some nice cabinets out of maple ply myself and have much nicer looking and sturdier cabinets.

I also have the goal of solar, led lighting and elegant hard surface floors (I hate carpet).  I always seal the heck out of everything I build...  My friends make fun of me and my caulking gun!

I would be interested in swapping ideas with you.  I will be carting around a family of four with a 2500 Duramax crew cab for a tow vehicle.  I am pretty sure I want a 5th wheel.  My first decision is slideout or no slideout.  I like the extra room of slideouts but it seems like they are just something extra to go wrong or leak.

I found an add for some nice Corian sheets for only $150 on craigslist.  I am half tempted to buy them even though I don't have a trailer yet.  I have worked with Corian in the past and it is a great material to work with... just expensive and hard to find!

Oughtsix,
I'm hoping for something less drastic than a complete gut and start over. I've found a couple that are "almost" there, but need a bit of work to get them up to my standard. I don't have a shop and a lot of workspace, but I can do some work. I'm still trying to get details on running everything on 12-volt, for example, instead of 110. I know the microwave, air conditioner, and stereo are probably locked into the system, but lighting shouldn't be that tough to convert (IMHO). Electrical systems aren't my forte, though. Sounds like you've got some really valuable skills and as we uncover the right trailer and systems we should definitely stay in touch. I'm in the Seattle area, but might travel as far south as some of the dealers in Oregon if that's where the good deal appears to be. I'll be interested to see what you come up with. BTW, I'm towing with a Ford F150, so plan to keep my weight as low as possible. It will definitely be travel trailer and not 5er.
Thnx,
Wayzgoose

Most if not all of the lighting is already 12v. So there is half your battle. You might want to go to LED bulbs to save more battery. Also on inverter equipped models the micro and TV will likely be wired to the inverter already as well as some of the outlets.

Steve

wayzgoose said:

After looking at dozens of new travel trailers at a couple different shows, I've reached the conclusion that I need to buy a used-but-not-too-used trailer and do some customizing of my own. I'm looking for a 20-23-footer and the new ones that are closest to what I want are Cougar, Passport, Milan, and Tracer. But there are specific things I want to do. 1) Install solar panels.

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Look at the amsolar.com web site.  They have great products for the money, but the information there is useful even if you ultimately buy elsewhere

2) convert lighting and all electrical that I can to 12-volt (LED, etc.) so I only need to use an inverter or generator to power specific appliances or to charge devices.

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Nearly all recent RVs (1970 or later) are already equipped with 12 volt lighting.  Switching to LEDs is a common mod.  I prefer fluorescent lamps which have nearly the same practical efficiency and offer better quality light.

4) Insulate for 4 seasons.

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It is my experience that RVs are not practical in weather colder than a certain point.  If the nights are in the teens and the days don't get up above the mid 30s then it's not practical to use the plumbing.

5) Put in pleasant to the eye and touch flooring.

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Common mod.  Many people use cork.  I recently recarpeted.

I'm going to be sifting through all the posts on this forum over the next few days to find out what others have remodeled and their tips on the experience. I hope to decide my trailer in the next 60 days and be on the road by the end of August. If you've got a tip, I'd love to hear it, including vendors for any of the products above or advice on making the initial purchase. Thnx!
Wayzgoose

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Hello Wayzgoose,

I live in Redmond Oregon.  I am trying to do most of my looking on the eastern side of the mountains.  The trailers seem to not have as much of a funk smell when they are from the dryer side of the state.  (Or maybe you valley folk just don't shower as often?)    ;D

In my price range I have resigned myself to have to change out any carpeting and probably upholstery.  I haven't seen any threads on increasing the insulation in a trailer without a major remodel.  It would be nice to be able to take a trailer to the mountains on a x-country skiing strip and not freeze to death.  It would also be nice to be able to enjoy a trailer without spending every spare moment working on it.  As this is my first trailer I figure it won't be everything I want it to be... mostly because I really don't know what I want yet.

How big is your crew?  My crew is myself, my girlfriend, her 9 yo son and my 8 yo daughter.  We like camping but I am sick of tents!

What price range are you looking in?  My max is about $5K for this starter trailer.

I haven't gotten any good vibes from the RV lots so I am mostly looking at private party sales.  I find it valuable to be able to evaluate the previous owner as much as evaluate the trailer itself.  On the lots all of their rigs are "Perfect condition!!!... NO WARRANTY!!!!"

Good luck in your hunt,
Michael.

Hey Michael,
I've noticed the funky smell in many of the used units I've looked at. Was thankful that last weekend I went to look at a trailer in the rain and found out water was streaming in through the skylight!

My crew is small. Me. I'll be going solo and full-time, so I'm looking for something in the $15k range. At that price there are some new units available, but most don't have essential things I think I need. I'm on RV Trader almost every day looking through the listings. I'm not quite as handy as it sounds you are. I don't have a shop and minimal tools. Most of the things I can do myself are cosmetic. With luck, though, I'll find something that doesn't require too much. I guess I'm willing to pay a little more for less work.

My plan is to be on the road in August. I have commitments here in Seattle through the 4th and then it will be as quick as I can get out of town.

Good luck, and let me know what you find!
Wayzgoose

Hello Wayzgoose,

Are you a techno-nerd?  (I am a windows/web developer / techno-nerd)  I ask because I saw your requirement of satellite internet connection.  The two satellite internet connections I have worked on in the past have had fast download speeds but pretty bad latency.  For surfing the web and loading up a big web page they were fine but trying to do something like a remote desktop connection was beyond frustrating!  I believe the latency is a physical limitation of the radio waves traveling at the speed of light bouncing off a satellite in space.  If you plan on depending on any sort of interactive session like remote desktop or telnet you may want to check out the responsiveness of a satellite connection before you commit... just a thought.

Full timing it definitely will have much different criteria than a weekender.  On a different forum the following list of manufactures was given to me as older quality units worth researching.  Hitchhiker, Excel, Arctic Fox, Carriage.  I am guessing that you are probably more concerned with finding a real quality shell than eye candy.  Maybe this list might give you a place to start researching different manufactures.

There is a big RV show here in Redmond (Oregon) next weekend we are planning on doing a lot of looking and hopefully educating ourselves. (I messed up.  It was this past weekend) I have gotten pretty frustrated with the salespeople on the RV lots.  Maybe I can find some people with less biased opinions while steering clear of the sales people.  I should probably see if I can find someone that specializes in multi-brand RV repair.

It is great you were able to catch the leaking skylight.  It makes me wonder if I should take a strong running hose to a trailer while checking it out?

The couple of local trailers I have looked at have had a much less musty smell than the ones I have looked at in the valley.  I am pretty confident it is due the the much drier climate we have on this side of the mountains (I grew up in the Portland area and I am always amazed at home much more humidity there is when I go back for a visit).  I have come across a few mentions of dehydrators for trailers in storage.  I think they were mostly desiccant based.  I wonder if full-timers use some kind of dehumidifier?

Good luck on your search.  If you would like to give me an idea of what you are looking for I would be happy to keep an eye open while I am searching.  You might want to check out a "Chrome" add-in called "CraigsList Multi-Search".  There used to be much better multi city search utilities available before CraigsList shut them down.  This add-in is the last working multi-city search for Craigslist I have found that still works.

Michael.

P.S. Jammer - Thank you for the info!  I, for one, got a lot out of it!  Cork flooring?...  I considered it for my house... very interesting possibility for a trailer remodel!  I hadn't considered that until now.

Good info, Michael. Thanks.

Techno-nerd? No. I worked at MSFT for nine years, but was a publishing and strategy specialist. My background is publishing and I have a small publishing company. So, while I need dependable connectivity for email, file uploads, and web browsing, I don't need to have a lot of packet data transfer unless I'm on Skype. I don't do a lot of phone work, but latency could be an issue for some of my clients. I'll definitely check it out.

Do you have a link to the Redmond RV Show? There's one near here this weekend as well and maybe I should just make the long drive down to Oregon and shop there for the weekend. The Evergreen RV show details are at http://www.evergreenrvshow.com/. It's smaller than the Seattle or Tacoma shows, but is a different batch of dealers.

While I'm not inept, I'm not overly handy and don't have a wide range of tools. As a result, I may need something that is in better condition so I don't have to hire out too much work. I'm considering changing my criteria a little as I look at trailers this weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Keep in touch,
Wayzgoose

If you're going to be replacing the carpets and upholstery, don't worry too much about a musty smell.  Most of it will go with them.

I once got a great deal ($400) on a Class C that had been owned by a smoker who also loved fried foods.  All carpets and upholstery (including the mattress) hit the junk pile.  Then I washed down the interior with an ammonia/water mixture (actually, Windex spray) which cut through the nicotine stains on what remained.

The smells were gone when I was done.

You will probably have to increase your buy in budget some, but start looking for Airstream or Silverstreak.  Both are awesome trailers in their own right and older ones seem to be sitting in some really unlikely places.  One of which you might be able to pick up reasonable.  Us in the valley don't all have funky smelling trailers BTW.  Just the ones that have or are leaking.

I messed up guys!!! The RV show was this past weekend.  My apologies!


I have always loved Silverstreaks/AirStreams since I was a kid and a neighbor had one.  Am I correct in my understanding that they are bumper pull only (No 5th wheelers)?  Am I also correct in my understanding in what makes them so special is that they have a full aluminum frame with no wooden structural members? (Besides their unique shape).

Actually it's only aluminum body.  The frame is still steel if I remember correctly.  Airstream did make a few fifth wheels and motor homes many years ago.

I love the look of the Airstream, but in general its weight is too much to be practical for me. Also, not sure I could live in a 50s diner long term! 

donn said:

Actually it's only aluminum body.  The frame is still steel if I remember correctly.

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The subfloor frame is steel.  The ribs in the sides and roof are aluminum.

Airstream did make a few fifth wheels and motor homes many years ago.

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Airstream still makes motorhomes although the current ones are on a Sprinter chassis and as such are technically B-vans.  They made aluminum-skinned class A motorhomes for a while, and then for some years made motorhomes that were largely indistinguishable from the ones every other RV manufacturer makes.

In any event, the Airstream trailers are the best candidates for remodeling. 

wayzgoose said:

I love the look of the Airstream, but in general its weight is too much to be practical for me.

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The shorter ones weighed around 3000 pounds dry.

In general, it's the shorter Airstreams that are the most sought after for remodeling projects.  They have a certain "cuteness" to them that is lacking in the 25'-30' trailers.

Also, not sure I could live in a 50s diner long term! 

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We're all entitled to our tastes.  I myself have trouble with the idea of living in a white fiberglass box.

Hi WayGoose,

I came across this link on another post regarding solar.  The text is very long winded but is the best hands on advice I have found about solar so far.  I thought you might find it useful.

http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

Personally my only aversion to the AirStreams are that I would like a 5th wheel and I have never come across an Airstream 5th wheel.

Come on, living in a 50's dinner would be pretty retro cool!  ;D

06,
Yeah, you are right about that. I opted for the fiberglass box, though. I actually bought a trailer this week (sent the deposit) and it will be delivered at the end of the month. It was a tough decision, but I finally decided that I could buy a used box and spend the next two months refitting it the way I wanted and end up with a trailer that cost almost as much as a new one. So I bought the new one. It's a 2014 Lance 1685. Solar is included as well as satellite ready. 12 volt LED lighting, even a 12 volt LED TV. R22 insulation, insulating covers for the hatches. Dual batteries, dual LP tanks. Heated water tanks. It's so well insulated and such a compact space that they put a 9000BTU air conditioner in it instead of 13,500. That means I can start it up and run it off a 2000 watt generator if I need to. It's beautiful, comfy, and new. I guess I'm just a sucker. But a happy one!
Wayzgoose

How much did you pay for your Lance, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks!